Just Bought a Mystery Bass (please help ID)!

[bumperbass]

I like the 'variable string spacing'.

 

[oranje]

What #16 said!

 

[lowphatbass]

Maybe it's a "back door" bass; made by an employee of a small guitar shop on their spare time. Most shops let they're employees do this type of thing as it basically amounts to free training. The upper horn has something going on, like maybe the bass was refinished after considerable playing.

'Gilembic Reed Smith'?

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Has a homemade vibe to it. I would say that the set of wavy Grovers are worth more than the rest of it. Still, I think it's kind of neat.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I'm stumped on this one. How does it sound?

 

[alembicguy]

Early Turner

 

[bassbully]

Homemade job.

 

[chuck1073]

Kinda looks like a Vantage bass to me but, pretty rough.

 

[Relsom]

Hohner headstock but nothing else. I'm thinking a homebrew.

 

[AndyPanda]

Weren't the original Badass designed for recessed mounting on Gibson basses and the later 11 and 111 more for Fender style? This body reminds me a lot of Hamer's take on a double cut Les Paul body . The pickups and mini toggles are Hamersque as well. Headstock has shades of Flying V and Alembic. Probably a one off/home brew as said.

Original BadAss was for surface mount on Gibson and that meant when people put them on Fenders they had to recess them --- and that is why BadAss made the II so Fender people didn't have to recess. I cry for all the PreCBS fenders that have an original BadAss recessed into the body. (some of them desecrated and defiled at my own hands )

 

[Element Zero]

Homemade. Enjoy.

 

[DanAdams]

BadAss I is another $100 maybe.

Not that bad ass bridge. it is highly customized... just looking at those bridge saddles gives me anxiety.

Obviously a replacement bridge, the string spacing is VERY TIGHT. The only bass I've owned that had a similar spacing was a Teisco Kingsman. Also the overall style makes my guess very early 70s Japanese. it's style is reminiscent of, but less refined than a Washburn Vulture or Ibanez Artist.
Very cool, but my fingers would have problems on the plucking end.

 

[Continuum]

Pickups look homemade. They're all a little different shape.

The Badass could have been installed way after the fact.

The same tuners from 1960s/1970s Rickenbackers.

 

[DanAdams]

My Theory: Perhaps this bass had a binding on the front at one time. it was removed and sanded down for comfort. That would explain the dodgey looking finishing and edges on the front. Look at the back, the routing and overall look is cleaner in comparison.

 

[40Hz]

Yeah. I'm going to say custom build. Possibly partly inspired by the looks of a Brian May Bass or a Gibson G3.

Wonder if the three toggle switching scheme is like Brian May's…



Pups are definitely not Gibson although I've only seen the two mounting screws through the center on the first Ripper pickups Bill Lawrence designed for it.

So what does it sound like????

 

[two fingers]

Homegrown.

How does it play?

 

[Bourbongangster]

The headstock reminded me of this thread I read recently:
Bleacher Bass

Looks to me like someone was inspired to do a homebrew by Brian May's and/or by a Gibson G3. Or a Japanese company in the 70s was inspired by something along those lines. Either way, I'd rock the crap out of that thing.

 

[jackn1202]

What's the scale on that thing? It looks enormous, can't tell if it's an optical illusion though.

 

[foolforthecity]

No idea what it is, but...

 

[Rudyboy98]

A copy of an Alembic, perhaps?