Egmond Rambler & Typhoon bass projects

[JIO]

Incoming holiday break project - '60s Holland made Egmond 1EBS1 Rambler bass loaded body, original tuners, neck-plate, and tr cover. Everything but the neck, which was badly warped according to the Reverb seller.

Not certain if the finish is original, but it looks like it could be. I plan to strip & refinish it.

Nice and light - and thin (looks to be ply top & back over a solid core)

Bridge cover intact - a selling point for me as these usually go missing.

Things look relatively clean for a 60yr old bass

Ply back - tiny strap pegs

Pics of a Rambler I found on a search - not sure the scale but it looks like either medium or long-scale. 24 frets w/zero fret. Not sure if this particular finish is original but I like the way it looks.

I dig the basic design - actually looks like many of the new 'retro' inspired basses out there.

Cool green 'outline' - neck plate looks recessed into the back.

Found this pic of one with a different hs shape - probably from a different year older or newer. I'll guess older as the top one looks like a Vox hs from the mid-late '60s. This pic makes me think it's not a short-scale. Maybe the one above was green like the one in the lower pic and front & sides stripped as it looks like the same hue.

I found this site about Egmond www.Egmond.se - lots of info. Through its links I sent an email to a guy in Sweden seeking info on this bass so I can determine how to go about making a correct replica neck for it and hopefully learning years it was made etc.

So... more to come when it arrives and I hopefully get a reply from Hans in Sweden.

 

[JIO]

I received a (quick ) response from Hans - both the guitars and the basses are short scale. The guitars have a scale length of 620mm (approx. 24½") - the basses have a scale length of 710mm (approx. 28"). So very short scale as a short-scale bass is usually 30". My recently sold short-scale 24fret WEM Watkins was 30.5" scale, my Teisco Del Rey's are 30". So once it arrives I'll get the neck-pocket dimensions and search for a neck seller from China to made a now more specific ss neck; 28" scale/zero fret/24 frets/set-back hs/specific heal width (with paddle hs - I'll take it from there) ...

I'll start by seeing if this seller will make it - they offer many 'custom' options. This one is 30"/24 frets/tr access at either end. They could also add the 10 fb dots.

 

[JIO]

Got a reply from Hans - most likely from 1968, which I suspected because of the Vox-like paddle shape. The green one must be an earlier version.

 

[daveman50]

I dig the basic design - actually looks like many of the new 'retro' inspired basses out there.

Yeah - I dig it too - such as the Orange O-Bass:

 

[JIO]

That was fast! From the east to west coast in three days! Anyway - tuners look like they will clean up nicely.

Original finish - very thin and a kind of pale orange shade.

Curious deep swimming-pool rout under the string-stop. For an already very light body, I wonder what their rational was for going through the trouble.

Same here - "chambering"? Maybe used for other models with pu switches, etc? Who knows?

Electronics are very clean and work as they should. 1m CTS pots. Interesting overlapping metal base-plates.

Router stratta - no shielding paint... I will do a full monty on it in that regard.

Not sure what the mottling is - only under the scratch-plate.

First finish removal investigation - it appears there are two 1/6" ply's on the top & two on the back. I'll know more about the core once it's fully stripped. Body is 1/16" over 1" - very thin.

Top/back wood is very smooth and relatively grain-less (no grain pores or striations) Nor sure what type of wood it is but it's very light.

Simple but does the job. Cover just slides over the threaded posts. Bridge plate has what looks like a thin layer of phenolic.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That was fast! From the east to west coast in three days! Anyway - tuners look like they will clean up nicely.

View attachment 5290067
Original finish - very thin and a kind of pale orange shade.
View attachment 5290068
Curious deep swimming-pool rout under the string-stop. For an already very light body, I wonder what their rational was for going through the trouble.
View attachment 5290069
Same here - "chambering"? Maybe used for other models with pu switches, etc? Who knows?
View attachment 5290070
Electronics are very clean and work as they should. 1m CTS pots. Interesting overlapping metal base-plates.
View attachment 5290071
Router stratta - no shielding paint... I will do a full monty on it in that regard.
View attachment 5290072
Not sure what the mottling is - only under the scratch-plate.
View attachment 5290073
First finish removal investigation - it appears there are two 1/6" ply's on the top & two on the back. I'll know more about the core once it's fully stripped. Body is 1/16" over 1" - very thin.
View attachment 5290074
Top/back wood is very smooth and relatively grain-less (no grain pores or striations) Nor sure what type of wood it is but it's very light.
View attachment 5290075
Simple but does the job. Cover just slides over the threaded posts. Bridge plate has what looks like a thin layer of phenolic.
View attachment 5290076

Egmond probably routed all the bodies the same. If you look at the guitars in your earlier post they appear to use a variation of the Jaguar / Jazzmaster trem which that bridge route looks about the right size for.

 

[JIO]

Yeah - I dig it too - such as the Orange O-Bass:
View attachment 5289864

For sure.

 

[JIO]

Egmond probably routed all the bodies the same. If you look at the guitars in your earlier post they appear to use a variation of the Jaguar / Jazzmaster trem which that bridge route looks about the right size for.

Yah, that sounds right.

 

[JIO]

Before & After

Still looks old, but now it's shiny -

Sent an email to the China eBay neck seller with requested neck specs - hope they can do it. 28" scale / zero fret / 24 frets / dotted (10) finger-board / left-side position dots / set-back hs with truss-rod adjust at head-stock / heal width: 53.5mm x 55.8mm x 86.8mm / nut width: 42mm / paddle head-stock / unfinished (pics included)

 

[Dark Horse]

That body is clearly constructed of wonder wood.

 

[JIO]

About a dozen of the screws (all the same size) developed a dark patina. Sandpaper, filing and emory-cloth got them in line with the rest. I want to keep it as original as possible.

Everything cleaned up and ready for re-assembly down the road.

There's a thin white base-coat. I'm wondering if this wood is a very clear pine. It would explain the smoothness, lightness and because these were inexpensive when new - the manufacturing cost-saving.

 

[JIO]

That body is clearly constructed of wonder wood.

Could inspire a finish...

 

[Dark Horse]

Could inspire a finish...
View attachment 5290433

 

[JIO]

China eBayer sez' no... the search continues. A custom neck made by SF luthier Dan Ransom would cost me around $500*. It would be perfect, but it would push the bass into a price-range that most people would consider excessive. Time to get creative.

*cost of a MIC Orange O bass...

meanwhile...

Overcompensated DIY strap-peg hole. I will move the central location up the E-side for better balance. The core is made up of 4 pieces - you can see the seams in this pic.

 

[rickwrench]

That's Egmond's tremolo/vibrato route under the string stop, btw. Already done for you. Just waiting there...
It already has the roller bridge.
Just seeing the roller bridge would cause me to source an Egmond tremolo/vibrato, and drill the new holes to make it work with bass strings.
Tension on a 28" scale bass would be quite close to guitar string tension. I doubt a new spring would be needed.

Rick

 

[JIO]

That's Egmond's tremolo/vibrato route under the string stop, btw. Already done for you. Just waiting there...
It already has the roller bridge.
Just seeing the roller bridge would cause me to source an Egmond tremolo/vibrato, and drill the new holes to make it work with bass strings.
Tension on a 28" scale bass would be quite close to guitar string tension. I doubt a new spring would be needed.

Rick

interesting...

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Hmmm… I wonder if the Jazzmaster trem would fit. That just has a bar for the string anchor. You could probably make a new bar with 4 holes instead of 6. Those are easy to get through various sources from cheap to “wow!” pricing.

 

[Beej]

@JIO "Yinfente" is a Chinese manufacturer or distributor that often has tiltback paddle headstock, 24 fret, 30" scale necks with no Inlays available on Amazon or eBay. I don't see one right now, but they are usually under 100. With no binding, you can file the sides narrower to fit the edgmond pocket. It changes the scale, but something like it may be a workable option.

 

[13ghosts]

I can't recommend this manufacturer (they sell under different names) - or I was really unlucky. The wrong scale length was delivered, one fingerboard came off and the fretting was also bad. That's why I'm now building my own neck.

 

[JIO]

Hmmm… I wonder if the Jazzmaster trem would fit. That just has a bar for the string anchor. You could probably make a new bar with 4 holes instead of 6. Those are easy to get through various sources from cheap to “wow!” pricing.

I want to keep it simple - more or less restoring to its original state but including things like a re-fin, cavity shielding and a bridge ground.