Looking for information on an obscure German bass

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by rpsmithy, May 11, 2019.

  1. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    I’ve had this Corina bass for about ten years, I only know three things about it, it was made in West Germany, it’s early to mid 60’s, and it sounds insane. Besides the knobs everything is original to my knowledge. Does anybody have any information on this brand? I would love to learn more it’s been a fruitless search for years.

     
  2. Mark76

    Mark76

    Dec 1, 2015
    Leicester
    Nice headshot, but where's the rest?
     
  3. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    There should be three pictures to scroll through, in case it doesn’t work I’ll post the other two now
     
  4. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    61605D5E-09BC-449E-BE9D-4F01DA1EA7B1.jpeg D677EF89-9314-4A0B-9FC1-18FAAC94DB53.jpeg
     
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  5. B-Mac

    B-Mac Happiness is a warm puppy and a great bass Gold Supporting Member

  6. GretschWretch

    GretschWretch Supporting Member

    Dec 27, 2013
    East Central Alabama
    The zero fret, nut, and tuners suggest a Hofner connection, the metal knobs resemble some I've seen on Vox basses, and the controls suggest Egmond or Goya. I have seen those strap buttons on Teisco basses, and to me the body shape and finish suggest Japan as well.

    If the "Corina" badge is merely stenciled on, then this may be a jobber bass for a distributor's house brand.
     
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  7. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    7C86A59D-5A34-4A02-B516-BA41398732A6.jpeg
    @GretschWretch Thanks for the info, if it helps I did find this guitar someone posted online which seems the same
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
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  8. B-Mac

    B-Mac Happiness is a warm puppy and a great bass Gold Supporting Member

    Anything on the back of the headstock?
     
  9. Mark76

    Mark76

    Dec 1, 2015
    Leicester
  10. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    No nothing, I got a reply on reddit with some helpful information that you can see in this thread here
     
  11. JIO

    JIO Be seeing you. Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Jun 30, 2010
    The Mission SF/CA
    musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
    Too bad someone removed the original T & pu selector knobs (like on the guitar) and tr cover. You may be able to find 2 eventually by searching on-line, but the pu selector will be hard to locate. One could be replicated if you started with the right-sized knob by adding a side-post to it and a tr cover could easily be made. (to look like the one on the guitar) Having the bridge-cover intact is a plus. At first I thought it had a speckled pg but it looks to have been painted black (at the factory) over aluminum(?) and has just gotten chipped from playing.
     
  12. Dynacord

    Dynacord

    Jan 1, 2005
    Also evocative of some of the Musima basses.
     
  13. rpsmithy

    rpsmithy

    May 11, 2019
    Yeah the guard is chipped away not replaced, also I believe the pickup selector is original just missing the side-post, as there is a spot for it to fit into it looks like. If I can get the other four knobs and tr cover as you said I would be in good shape. I can’t imagine those original knobs would be too easy to come by though. Any idea where to start looking? I’m not too experienced with vintage gear restoration.
     
  14. cdef

    cdef

    Jul 18, 2003
    Schaller was the provider of those pre-wired pickup+controls+pickguard units for Framus, Klira, Hoyer, Isana and other deutsche manufacturers. Höfner never used them, AFAIK.
    I feel this is closest to an Isana. Same bridge, same pickup frame, one original narrow-skirt metal knob.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2019
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  15. JIO

    JIO Be seeing you. Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Jun 30, 2010
    The Mission SF/CA
    musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
    Unfortunately it's very time consuming finding vintage parts. Reverb and eBay are 2 places to scan - on eBay narrow it down to "vintage metal guitar knobs" as "guitar knobs" has thousands of pages. For Japanese vintage parts, that can be a search title and it can offer what you are looking for as those knobs have no 'country' designation. They look 'like' Vox knobs but may not be the same and Vox knobs go for a lot of $. If you have a local used guitar shop - looking through their parts bin is worth it. It's a treasure hunt so if you are patient and look a little every now and then you can get lucky. Good luck!
     
  16. JimmyM

    JimmyM Supporting Member

    Apr 11, 2005
    Apopka, FL
    Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
    I know nothing about them, but what a cool bass!!!
     
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  17. I agree with JimmyM. Not too long ago I got to play a 60s Silvertone bass and this reminds me of that somewhat. According to the shop owner the Silvertone bass was made by Danelectro and badged for Sears with the Silvertone logo. The body shape was in the same ballpark as this, the bridge cover was very similar, and it had a steel rod in the neck but no adjustable truss rod. It was super cool looking, very playable, and sounded awesome through an Ampeg rig.

    Would be interesting to hear sound clips of the Corina.
     
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  18. JIO

    JIO Be seeing you. Gold Supporting Member Commercial User

    Jun 30, 2010
    The Mission SF/CA
    musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
    I hear you - I have a '68 Coral Deluxe Bass (34"scale) made by Danelectro and it's the coolest bass in many ways - some gems came out of the guitar boom of the 60's. :bassist:
     
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