Let's See Your Unique/Rare Production Model Basses

[Raw N Low]

'75 Ibanez P

 

[Mickp]

whoa, i remember that one getting lots of questions about the bridge on the guitar side, and lots of ric facebook bannings due to comments, lol

Yep, right...I stayed quiet. Don't necessarily disagree with some of those comments but I love it, now that I'm starting to forget how much I paid ;-).
It's made from the "spare body" when they made the two for Les Claypool for the "Tribute to Kings" tour (which I got to see a couple of months back) so I think it's fits the "unique/rare" criteria!

 

[ThudThudThud]

Whoa! What is this? It's like the Subaru Baja of Fenders!

Edit: I see the headstock says Jaguar bass - is that the full model name?

2015 American Standard Jaguar Bass. Something like 390 of each colour were made.

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

View attachment 4532187 View attachment 4532192

Love that Big Al - killer color (I remember when they first came out) and love the control layout. Congrats.

 

[groooooove]

I think my Ibanez USATK with the brass nut is kind of rare. I dunno, you tell me. This is the second bass I ever bought. I purchased it used around '96. The store owner had it on display in the window, so the blue finish faded to this greenish color. It was my gigging bass for more than a decade, so it has some well loved character.
View attachment 4532848

a lot of numbers get thrown around of how many of these they actually made. usually cited to be a few hundred.

i dont know though, i see them for sale.. well, "often" would be a big word, but i see them popping up from time to time. nonetheless this is a great rare bass, even if they made more than some think. I had one briefly but the truss rod system was broken, which seems to happen to some of these. that aside they're absolutely awesome and a fantastic thing to collect.

 

[JReno]

Ah fun! And such beautiful examples. For me it's my 1000 yr old Redwood topped stingray. 50 made in H, 50 made in HH. Favorite part about it is that with the top, the mahogany neck, and mahogany tone block, and HH pups, it's the smoothest sounding Ray I've ever played.

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

Yeah. It’s pretty weird for a Gibson in a lot of respects. Skinny neck profile. Feather light. Oddball bridge too. Plastic saddles! And as far as looks go, most people think it looks kinda cheap at first. But it also grows on most people after awhile.

All that said, it has a pretty cool sound. Tonestack is just a V/T circuit with two slide switches that turn the pickups on or off. But despite being dirt simple, it actually provides a surprising number of decent useable tones. And it’s one of the few basses I’ve played that I really like using a pick on. The pickups really respond to your attack and playing position when a pick is used.

This guy demoed one he was selling. It’ll give you some idea of what it sounds like. And I also think he’s wrong about the manufacturing dates. AFAIK Gibson was shipping them in 69, 70, and 71. But the ones shipped in 71 constituted only a relative handful. Which to me would seem indicate they all were built between 69 and 70. The 71s were just clearout shipments of already existing inventory.

Cool Gibson bass.

 

[Evanforbass]

not exactly production but definitely the only one in existence NBD!! Custom Jazzblaster Bass / Bass VI body / WRHB burgundy misttttt

 

[Spent]

My 1986 Fender Performer. Recorded with it back in 1987, but haven’t touched it since I picked up a 1979 Ric 4001 in 1988 (followed by 20ish other basses, but that’s another story). It actually recorded quite nicely. The first time we played the recording for a venue manager, his initial response was “who’s playing bass?” I had only been playing for 9 months when we recorded, having recently switched from guitar. I was exactly who this bass was aimed at.

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

Most rare?
First gen Dargie Delight Bongo. 4Hp, one of one ever made in this configuration.

Rare? First year Big Al SSS and a later year 4h.View attachment 4532325 View attachment 4532326 View attachment 4532327

I'm not even a "drinker", and I like the Dargie Delights. Nice.

 

[40Hz]

Cool Gibson bass.

Oh yes. Definitely different. In a good way. I had my eye out for one since the early 90s. Most were either in really sad shape, priced into the nosebleed section, or both. It was sheer luck that this one basically dropped in my lap.

Definitely got a lot of curious looks and questions any time I took it to a gig or a jam.

 

[mellowgerman]

This is what started it's life as a 1970 Guild Starfire I bass - aside from the obvious modification of the added ACG EQ-01 preamp and Wenge control plate, this one is special/unique because it was a very early specimen to come out of the newly established Westerly, RI factory and donned the new larger headstock and an early poly finish. So just a month earlier it's likely that it would still have gotten the smaller headstock and a nitro finish.

 

[tumbo]

Emerald Balor, Fodera Hybrid, and Stradi Red.

 

[Lownote38]

Not totally rare yet, but there was only one run of these...

20201106_194714

• Lownote38
• Nov 7, 2020
• fender jazz bass

New Jazz!

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

I took this pic on my condo balcony in '79. The infamous Ampeg Devil bass. Don't know how many were built but there can't have been many. This one had the screw-in stand up pole and the huge OHSC.




View attachment 4532490

View attachment 4532491

I had a pair of hiking boots like that, in 1979.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Some really cool bases on this thread! I’ll play:

Fodera Yin Yang Standard.

 

[Daniel Piper]

2017 20th Anniversary Reverend Mercalli

 

[Benjamin Earl]

a lot of numbers get thrown around of how many of these they actually made. usually cited to be a few hundred.

i dont know though, i see them for sale.. well, "often" would be a big word, but i see them popping up from time to time. nonetheless this is a great rare bass, even if they made more than some think. I had one briefly but the truss rod system was broken, which seems to happen to some of these. that aside they're absolutely awesome and a fantastic thing to collect.

Cool, thanks for letting me know these details! I agree, this bass is amazing. It sounds great, and is fairly versatile. The action is the best and most consistent of any bass I've owned (my US Peavey Cirrus' are very close). I've never had any problems with it besides the input jack wearing out. I played the crap out it, and the barrel jack they used isn't the best. It is kind of heavy too. I really only stopped playing the ATK when I switched to mostly playing a 5-string.

 

[P-Belly Evans]

Westone Thunder II, version 3 with super boomer pickups. I assume it is a one off custom colour as I have never seen another and it was not in the sales brochure at the time. Also with optional XLR.

 

[Avezzano]

Yamaha Attitude Deluxe. Light and aggressive bass. Sixpack pickup. By the strat switch, it is a very versatile instrument. Bought in the Usa 1998/99, never seen another around.