Mystery bass?

[Ephminus]

Those are fret marking lines, not actual frets.

You can see them better here:

View attachment 2832983

Hmm.
This just might be my next bass.
Is $500 a good deal on one of these?

 

[JACink]

Hmm.
This just might be my next bass.
Is $500 a good deal on one of these?

If you like how it looks, like how it plays and like how it sounds, then it is a good deal.

If you don't, then I would say no.

 

[40Hz]

Hmm.
This just might be my next bass.
Is $500 a good deal on one of these?

It's a $500 gamble since you'd be buying blind and untried. It's also a rare bird with a good pedigree, but that doesn't automatically make it valuable or collectible.

Really your call. Gonna have to go with your gut on this one.

 

[Ewo]

To buy, or not to buy--that is the question...

 

[tgriley62]

Those are fret marking lines, not actual frets.

You can see them better here:

View attachment 2832983

That's actually a cool looking neck

 

[Queue]

Yep. Black Widow, Hohner, Bartell...

I asked the same question (on another forum) a couple months ago, asking for help id'ing a bass being played by T. Michael Coleman, and someone posted this link: Invalid Link Removed

That one looks like it would be (not) fun to tune, the way it is set up.

 

[Axstar]

$500 is a good deal. If you don't bond with it you could almost certainly make more scratch if you stuck it on Reverb and took better photos.

The interplay between Acoustic and Hohner/Bartell Black Widows is something I would like to know more about. Anecdotally, David Schwab built a pickup for one of these basses and said that the originals were potted with 'Bondo and newspaper'.

 

[Ghastly]

Those are fret marking lines, not actual frets.

You can see them better here:

View attachment 2832983

Wow that is different. Never seen that before.