• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Epiphone Upright Bass research questions

#242
MollyKay said:
Yes…I realized I was getting increased hits to my Epiphone website from the UK, looked it up and found this bass on EBay in the UK. The owner of this bass did not contact me for any of the information he posted in the listing. He gathered his information from the Epiphone website, which is just fine by me. That is why I made my research free to all who are interested.

I was able to catalog the bass from the pictures in the EBay listing. My only observation is the W/B/W purfling on this bass (Gibson/Epi had W/B/W, Epi have B/W/B purfling) is really white and stands out too much. If the bass is a B4S it was originally a “shaded” factory finish, so my gut tells me this bass may have been stripped of its shaded factory finish and is now blonde.

All Epiphone’s are great basses, the late model Gibson/Epiphone are slightly different then their early predecessors. I find the really early basses to be the most powerful and resonate…again I am bias. Hope this bass find a great new home.

There is only one other bass cataloged from the UK. That would be a B-1 # 621, per the owner…it was owned by Canadian bass player Jack Fallon who brought it over to England where he lived and worked in London from 1946 to 2006. I acquired it from him in spring of 2004. Jack sadly passed away in May 2006. He wrote a short autobiography called "From the top". I believe it contains photographs of this instrument.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Old post but interesting to see reference to Jack Fallon. I remember my sister worked in London in 1981 and Jack was her booking agent! He had been bassist formGeorge Shearing back in the day and is on some of the recordings playing the Epi
 
#243
james condino said:
John (360guy) sent me a few prototypes of his cast Epiphone tailpiece badges a while back to checkout. 'Gotta say that they are a unique solution and anyone that did not know it would never know it was not the real deal. If I was missing one, I'd jump at a chance to get one of his reproductions. I have a customer that has been trying to find an original for 7 years (!!!!!) with no luck.

Here is a sneak at the end result of the scroll graft I mentioned a few months ago. Everything came out great, but the nerdy little detail that I liked the most was remembering to match the stamped serial numbers on the pegbox cheek shelf. That funky looking nut is the original- it had such a unique look and tooling that we decided to keep it.This was a cool bass when I first saw it....imagine taking that as the core and then having a full new neck custom built to your specs and hand size out of curly European maple; perhaps the ultimate vintage Epiphone nerd's bass. Trying to match a vintage sunburst that had different color fades every time you rotated the bass 90 degrees was no simple task either! This one (along with a BUNCH of other vintage custom rebuilds I have done) will be on stage at the IBMA Awards festival in Raleigh, NC all week. Don't hesitate to ask and give it a good thump!

j.
condino.com
kaybassrepair.com

View attachment 2434033
Click to expand...
Sorry this is a late my time back but does anyone still have an epi badge like this for sale? I have B5 #962 but missing the badge
 
#245
Hello. As an Epiphone collector I heavily hoarded these badges for my restoration effort. I have several, vintage original Epiphone bikini badges. A few are factory sealed from the Kalamazoo factory when they discontinued bass production. My badges are NOT reproductions. They are vintage original. Let me know if you are interested.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshua, Steven Ayres, Jim Ingraham and 2 others
#249
When I say travel more…we do mainly bluegrass festivals. My new husband, David is a fantastic musician. He loves to go to festivals early, watch the circus roll in, and then stay until it’s over. He has played thousands of festivals where you jump off the bus, hit the stage, perform and move on. Now it’s a real treat for us to hang out with friends for a few days and enjoy the RV.

And yes, I have bought a lot of stuff in my day…and loved every minute of it. I/we have so many friends that we have made through bass collecting and music. I feel like I made a very small contribution that has rewarded me many times over. Now is my time to pay it forward…and enjoy the process.
 
  • Like
Reactions: james condino, Peregrinator, marcox and 1 other person
#251
MollyKay said:
I feel like I made a very small contribution that has rewarded me many times over.
Click to expand...

It's bigger than that, of course, and many of us appreciate your work, dedication and love for the instruments and community.

I want to let everyone here know that Wendy has asked me to take custody of bassmonkey.net and her Epiphone database and notes, and I'm honored to do it. I'm in the process of adapting the site to my server (most always a tricky business, and this has been no exception, rrr), so it's currently looking a little weird, sorry all. I hope to get it cleared up pretty quick, but in the meantime please direct any inquiries to me directly, here or at [email protected].
 
  • Like
Reactions: james condino, marcox and KUNGfuSHERIFF
#253
don peyton said:
I've got an Epiphone B4 serial #3076. Original nickel tuners, endpin, badge, tailpiece and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard in two tone sunburst Serial #3076. Does anyone know the year? I know it doesn't really matter, just curious. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Our current estimates put production of your B4 in mid-'57. Can you share some photos?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Dave Leighton

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back