It honestly looks like something you'd find in the trash. Not to nay say, but it probably isn't worth putting any time or money into. There's some rough looking details I see in the pictures.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Help Identifying Mystery Bass Found in the Trash
- Thread starter ForlornedBass
- Start date
Freekmagnet
Commercial User
No truss rod, hand-chiseled pickup cavities and neck pocket - I'd double check the fret spacing, too. I'd say without a doubt this is a home built job done by a first-timer. That's not to say it cannot or will not be a good instrument. But, if there's no truss rod, and the fret spacing is off, you're going to have spend some time and money on it.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,796
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I would not waste money and energy on this. Suppose you go ahead and buy all the necessary parts and you can't get the thing to set up correctly. Pass
Just amazing that someone would put this in the trash.I found this husk of a bass across the street today in a pile of trash and had to save it from being thrown into a landfill. I'm just not sure what I'm looking at here. My first thought is that maybe it's an Ibanez, but since it doesn't appear to have ever had strap buttons drilled and the holes for the tuners screws are only partway drilled, I'm starting to think it was a custom made project someone did? Does anyone recognize this? It's got a pretty thick burled top and it's a multiple piece neck-thru. I'm shocked someone would just dump this, but I'm happy to have found it. I'd like to get it completed and up and running.
View attachment 5473778 View attachment 5473779 View attachment 5473783 View attachment 5473784 View attachment 5473785 View attachment 5473786 View attachment 5473787 View attachment 5473788 View attachment 5473789
Do it up good!!!!!
I found this husk of a bass across the street today in a pile of trash and had to save it from being thrown into a landfill. I'm just not sure what I'm looking at here. My first thought is that maybe it's an Ibanez, but since it doesn't appear to have ever had strap buttons drilled and the holes for the tuners screws are only partway drilled, I'm starting to think it was a custom made project someone did? Does anyone recognize this? It's got a pretty thick burled top and it's a multiple piece neck-thru. I'm shocked someone would just dump this, but I'm happy to have found it. I'd like to get it completed and up and running.
View attachment 5473778 View attachment 5473779 View attachment 5473783 View attachment 5473784 View attachment 5473785 View attachment 5473786 View attachment 5473787 View attachment 5473788 View attachment 5473789
Has the headstock snapped off, and been glued back on?
There's something that doesn't look quite right to me.
If that's the case, and there is no truss rod, that may explain why it ended up in the trash.
If not, then provided the neck is true, I'd consider shaving off the finger board, installing a truss rod, and glueing on a new finger board (if the original can't be saved).
I guess it's possible the original maker croaked mid project, and their spouse just wanted rid of anything they considered junk?
Last edited:
The geometry says neck dive to me. It may end up being pretty, but will it ever be a bass that you'll actually want to play?
The bass looks great at first glance but then I noticed the pickup routing. It's rough but might could be made into something cool with some skilled hands
There is a truss rod adjustment bit located at the heel.
Also, here's more photos in general. Poor thing unfortunately has a neck like a longbow. I wonder if it could be steamed out or it's too severe or since it's multi-piece if everything would come undone.
I picked it up in across the street from a family member's house where I'm visiting and it has to stay here for a while since I don't have the room to take it home with me, but I'm going to try and talk with the neighbor who threw it out before I leave. The story I've been told so far is that an old lady who didn't play lived in the upstairs apartment for many years and when she did, they moved her stuff to the attic. No one ever came for it and now they're throwing everything out. Unsure if it was hers or not.
Attachments
Ok. Having a truss rod is good. The neck being bowed with no string tension isn't great. Stay away from steam. The usual method to try and straighten something like that is heat and clamping the neck into a backbow. There's a couple of threads in the hardware, setup and repair forum. If you don't want to tackle it yourself I believe warpedneck.com can handle set neck/ neck throughs like that for a comparatively minimal cost but you'd want to contact them obviously.
There's some luthiers around this neck of the woods I've gone to before that have done some pretty major repairs on other instruments of mine before. If I can squeeze some time in before I leave this week, I'm going to try and make a visit to get insight from one of them.
It's got a backbow as big, if not bigger, than Quasimodo's.
It's the better of the 2 bowing options, but still not a great thing to see.
I've got to pop over to the local hardware store; there's no hex key here for me to check at the moment.
I'm starting to wonder how feasible it would be to turn this into a Bass VI-like instrument if the neck isn't salvageable. I've always liked the oddity of how they're not quite a bass and not quite a guitar, and if I end up needing a new neck, why not go for that?
