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Cool 60's basses (OTHER than main-stream brands)

#101
GretschWretch said:
Okay; so what's this one (34 secs. in)? ...
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Presumably this 5/150 model, one of the several "Star Bass" varieties by Framus:

5841452FramusStarBass01.jpg
 
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#102
GretschWretch said:
Okay; so what's this one (34 secs. in)? The mix reeks, but there is a good shot of the bass -- early sixties at the latest.

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Don't know - but a pencil-thin looks-to-be 24 fret neck! They toured Japan in '62 so could be a promotional MIJ bass given to him then?

edit - yes, @cdef is correct - looks to be that Framus bass!
 
#104
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#105
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#106
Dynacord said:
Does look like your style finish :) That bridge is crazy but the seller's prices (this one being a comparative bargain...) are completely insane.
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Yah, I know - that's why I prefaced not focusing on what sellers are asking for these basses in my opening post. Maybe someone will pay that price, maybe it will sit forever. Part of the fishing expedition that sellers of "vintage" items have consistently employed over time. There's a couple I would love to own but their asking price prevents further ownership interest.

Like this one -

Teisco Fire Bird

o1fisuo1hd6vexwwelhb.jpg
 
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#108
Dynacord said:
That one is admittedly very cool.

Still, I have to wonder if there is anyone who would actually pay close to $5K for a Danelectro U-2. I found one at a San Francisco garage sale for $10...
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I think the days of the cheap garage sale finds are behind us with the advent of computer searches and TV shows like Antique Roadshow.
 
#109
JIO said:
I think the days of the cheap garage sale finds are behind us with the advent of computer searches and TV shows like Antique Roadshow.
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True. That was well before eBay, Craig's List, et al. When working at Real Guitars I remember a guy brought in a Fender Broadcaster, poodle case and tweed Champ he picked up the previous weekend at a garage sale in the Sunset - for $80! There were some other stories but that was the most extreme example I know of. On the flip side, I know a guy who's wife sold his early 60s LEFT HANDED Hofner Beatle bass at a garage sale - for $20...
 
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#111
cdef said:
It's to engage the string mute pad (missing).

View attachment 3045818
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That's a great design - the best mute adjuster I've seen as it can be added with nuance and easily 'rolled-off'. Unfortunately, the bridge leaves much to be desired.You can see how the saddles are bottomed-out with no room to intone correctly.
 
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#112
Dynacord said:
True. That was well before eBay, Craig's List, et al. When working at Real Guitars I remember a guy brought in a Fender Broadcaster, poodle case and tweed Champ he picked up the previous weekend at a garage sale in the Sunset - for $80! There were some other stories but that was the most extreme example I know of. On the flip side, I know a guy who's wife sold his early 60s LEFT HANDED Hofner Beatle bass at a garage sale - for $20...
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You mean ex-wife right? :) I knew a guy in Chicago who amassed an awesome collection of 40's-50's classic balloon-tyre bicycles. (Schwinn Phantom's etc) He would get them for next-to-nothing from garage sales in the 60's-70's. Now they are highly collectable and very expensive. There were a lot of them because the young men who went away to war (WWII) owned them and if they returned they wanted cars - not bicycles, so their aging parents sold them just to clear out the garage.
 
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#113
JIO said:
You mean ex-wife right? :) I knew a guy in Chicago who amassed an awesome collection of 40's-50's classic balloon-tyre bicycles. (Schwinn Phantom's etc) He would get them for next-to-nothing from garage sales in the 60's-70's. Now they are highly collectable and very expensive. There were a lot of them because the young men who went away to war (WWII) owned them and if they returned they wanted cars - not bicycles, so their aging parents sold them just to clear out the garage.
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Touché. Yes, in fact that actually is correct. Ex. Not too long after that...

The Chicago reference along with going away reminds me of another of the stand-outs that came through Real Guitars: a guy brought in a dead mint (tags, strap, original strings, mutes, etc) 1963 Sonic Blue/matching headstock Jazz Bass and B-15N and had the original purchase receipt from a store in Chicago. He had bought it for a garage band in his senior year of high school then went off to college and career while the bass went into the attic. Fast forward many years, parents house sold he needed to clear it out - time capsule examples.
 
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#114
Dynacord said:
Touché. Yes, in fact that actually is correct. Ex. Not too long after that...

The Chicago reference along with going away reminds me of another of the stand-outs that came through Real Guitars: a guy brought in a dead mint (tags, strap, original strings, mutes, etc) 1963 Sonic Blue/matching headstock Jazz Bass and B-15N and had the original purchase receipt from a store in Chicago. He had bought it for a garage band in his senior year of high school then went off to college and career while the bass went into the attic. Fast forward many years, parents house sold he needed to clear it out - time capsule examples.
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Oh my - that would have made my eyes big! I could be wrong, but I swear I was in Real Guitars once in the 90's and they had what I recall being thee prototype Jazz bass pictured in books with the 2 black soap-bar looking pu's. I'm pretty sure it was marked "1959 Jazz bass". I didn't know the history of it at the time and thought it looked odd as it looked old but I'd never seen a J with pu's like that. I would think that bass would be in a Fender museum.
 
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#115
JIO said:
Oh my - that would have made my eyes big! I could be wrong, but I swear I was in Real Guitars once in the 90's and they had what I recall being thee prototype Jazz bass pictured in books with the 2 black soap-bar looking pu's. I'm pretty sure it was marked "1959 Jazz bass". I didn't know the history of it at the time and thought it looked odd as it looked old but I'd never seen a J with pu's like that. I would think that bass would be in a Fender museum.
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Good memory! I remember that bass very well - and tortured myself over buying it or not; I could have had it for $3,500 but just did not have that spare... There were at least two of those prototypes (5 polepiece Jazzmaster-like pickups, three knob controls, spaghetti logo decal, etc). It was, in fact, marked 1959. I believe that one went to Japan. There were also about half a dozen 1959 Jazz Basses made in the regular configuration as sales samples. A friend still has one of these (incredibly good bass).
 
#116
JIO said:
Oh my - that would have made my eyes big! I could be wrong, but I swear I was in Real Guitars once in the 90's and they had what I recall being thee prototype Jazz bass pictured in books with the 2 black soap-bar looking pu's. I'm pretty sure it was marked "1959 Jazz bass". I didn't know the history of it at the time and thought it looked odd as it looked old but I'd never seen a J with pu's like that. I would think that bass would be in a Fender museum.
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This one:

1959 Fender Jazz Bass Prototype - Appeared on the book 'The Fender Bass' by Klaus Blasquiz

And I can assure you, I did not buy it ;).
 
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#117
Dynacord said:
Good memory! I remember that bass very well - and tortured myself over buying it or not; I could have had it for $3,500 but just did not have that spare... There were at least two of those prototypes (5 polepiece Jazzmaster-like pickups, three knob controls, spaghetti logo decal, etc). It was, in fact, marked 1959. I believe that one went to Japan. There were also about half a dozen 1959 Jazz Basses made in the regular configuration as sales samples. A friend still has one of these (incredibly good bass).
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Wow! Then I wasn't imagining it! I had no idea there were more than one made - that doesn't seem like a lot now but $3500 was a chunk of change then - $20k for a vintage Fender would have been unheard of at that point. (as I witnessed and played a '62 J at Chicago Music Exchange marked at that price about 6 years ago)
 
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#119
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