Diana Bass - origin?

[GregBEL]

Hi everybody,

Very recently I picked up an old bass - after a visual inspection and some testing. I was looking for something cheap, with character, p-bass-ish to experiment with flatwound strings... Lo and behold I found this (beauty): It says Diana on the headstock and that's about all I seem to find about it. It's in fairly good shape but it will need some mending and adjusting. I was hoping Japan, but I'm guessing Korean now... what do you guys think? Any thoughts on age? Nothing shows up on google, it seems.

rundown top to bottom:
-Diana brandname on the headstock
-paper patch on the back 'Inspected by' and some unreadable markings (blue pen)
-Laminated fretboard, I'm guessing Maple. Very similar feel to my deluxe J-Bass
-Fretboard in good shape // action at the nut too high (needs adjusting)
-Truss rod nut at heel
-thumb rest (might not be original)
-soapbar style pickup with chrome finish
-ashtray with chrome finish and completely decomposed felt strip on the inside
-Volume and tone pegs are aftermarket, I have the originals also (or at least what the previous owner thought to be the originals - they are plastic with a marking, will add pictures later)
-Note on the back: 'EB 5002'
-Laminated body

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Might even be put together from several parts? Please share your experiences / thoughts!

Thanks!
Greg

 

[GretschWretch]

It makes no difference if your bass says "Diana," or "Minerva," or even "Aphrodite"; it is a badged Japanese bass, my guess from the early lawsuit era. Good luck on finding its origin.

This bass does have the (to me at least) coveted "Seinfeld" pickup, on whose account I have been buying basses and even the pickups alone when I can get them. I've got a lawsuit-era Memphis P and and Electra long-necker J loaded with these, and I just recently picked up a project J, just for those pickups. That J is destined for the lead player in my very first garage band and has the very same spray-on badge as yours, only mine says "Global." (I wish it said "Gerbil.")

Try a Google Image search for japanese EB 5002. Sometimes those model number searches yield some surprises in the results. The neck plate looks quite like what is on the Global, and the Global has some sticky residue where the EB5002 label is on yours.

 

[TomB]

Try googling Japanese bass and click "Images". You'll find many similar to yours with a Teisco lineage. I had a "Conrad" with that pickup - still have the pickup and a few spare parts. They can be decent instruments with a little effort invested.

 

[GregBEL]

Thanks for the advice. Found somewhat similar types when doing a google search on 'japanese bass': same tuner pegs, looks like similar pickup (example: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]). Yes indeed, japanese 70ies era. Cool, what I was hoping for!

EDIT: found another thread with a similar type of bass, exactly the same tuner pegs, ... (http://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-bass-masada-performer-japanese-fender-lawsuit-era-p-bass.619928/). Confirms Japanese origin.

This bass does have the (to me at least) coveted "Seinfeld" pickup, on whose account I have been buying basses and even the pickups alone when I can get them. I've got a lawsuit-era Memphis P and and Electra long-necker J loaded with these, and I just recently picked up a project J, just for those pickups. That J is destined for the lead player in my very first garage band and has the very same spray-on badge as yours, only mine says "Global." (I wish it said "Gerbil.")

Can you share some more info on these pickups? I didn't know what to expect and at the moment I'm playing with old flatwound strings (which were on the bass) but I'm liking what's coming out of the amp so far.

 

[GretschWretch]

[QUOTE="GregBEL, post:

Can you share some more info on these pickups? I didn't know what to expect and at the moment I'm playing with old flatwound strings (which were on the bass) but I'm liking what's coming out of the amp so far.[/QUOTE]

The red bass from Centaur has what are commonly called "staple pickups" resembling Hofner (or Japanese Hofner knockoff) instruments -- not at all a garbage pickup in my opinion. The pickups on your bass are single-coils, the (faux) double row of pole-pieces nothwithstanding. My first set of these came on an Electra J bass copy obtained from a Leeds, AL pawnshop in 1996. It has only ever had rounds on it since I've had it, so I cannot speak to the sound with flats. No data.

BUT, IMO, with rounds these pickups are special. They undeniably are more suggestive of a Jazz than a Precision sound to my ears. But they have a little added something I have never heard from a standard Jazz. I call it the Seinfeld pickup because it suggests the keyboard interludes on that show between scene changes. There is a discernable "whonk" blended in with the standard J sound, especially when the strings are plucked so they drive back into the frets -- not the dominant sound but a nuance, sort of like an elusive spice blended into a fine entree. [TomB, if you want to clear out your Seinfelder, pm me; we might come to an arrangement.]

I just noticed where you are posting from. I sat through a four-hour WWI marathon last night on our History Channel. Learned some things about 2nd Ypres I did not already know (Passhendaele wasn't paid much attention). Was Loos part of 2nd Ypres? In addition to all the good men of all nations killed, England lost two very fine poets at Loos.

 

[GregBEL]

Thanks for that information. I'll make sure to give some feedback on this pu with flats (after I have it set up properly).

I can't say I know a lot about the events at the Western front but I did a brief search and found that the battle at Loos (Sept. - Oct. 1915) was before the second at Ypres (April - May 1915). This website gives a nice overview: Invalid Link Removed. It seems that Rudyard Kipling lost his son in Loos.

I might be too young to fully grasp what happened there, however, my grandparents have on numerous occasions told me stories about WWII. Nevertheless, remnants are everywhere, and even more in the western part of Belgium. At least once per week the bomb squad will have their hands full disarming or remotely detonating remaining shells found on/in the ground. Farming in that area can be somewhat of a gamble...