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mystery Goodwill bass

#5
weird_hermiston said:
Nice! I thought a Teisco from the headstock shape so I must be learning! Usually Teiscos end up around $3-400 (I think) but this still has several days to go. Is this a particularly rare model?
Click to expand...

Not in the mid-60's. Not particularly outstanding but available and affordable in its day. Appears to be missing the headstock badge which, in this case, detracts from the value. This would be more of a nostalgia purchase and buyers want and will pay premium bucks for gear that's 100% original.

Riis
 
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#7
charlie monroe said:
@JIO can tell you everything you need to know about that.
Click to expand...

Yep - other than the older pu design (probably '65) it is exactly like mine. And yes, it was referred to as "the Johnny Paycheck bass" as he popularized it with his hit country song "A-11" in 1965. (his was light blue-grey with a black metal pg and pu's like the one for auction) Del Reys are out there, not common but not rare. It may have had a hs decal like mine does as I see no badge attachment holes. RI Del Rey badges can be found on eBay.

It's 30.5" short scale but as long as a Jazz bass with a huge hs. (the bridge is almost central on the body) I think that's why JP liked it because he was short/small and a ss bass was probably more comfortable for him to play. It also looks like a full scale bass. It's all mahogany w/rw fb and cool fb edge position markers. It's mid-weight and well balanced and sounds seriously good. Mine has flats of unknown origin or date and I can get it to sound very Motown. Not a toy or nostalgia purchase - it is a real instrument.

upload_2021-5-22_7-44-6.jpeg

The one for auction has the multi-lam (5) neck like mine. (very '80s for a mid '60s neck) I have an NB-1 (1 pu version) that was painted over - most were painted.
upload_2021-5-22_8-3-13.jpeg

A rare in-tact Del Rey hs decal
upload_2021-5-22_7-45-51.jpeg

5-ply laminate. These more pronounced laminate examples were probably saved for not being painted. (nitro clear-coat only)
upload_2021-5-22_7-58-30.jpeg

Del Rey hs nearly as large as my '64 T-bird II - one of the largest hs's ever made. Both are set-back design. Nut width is 1-5/8".
upload_2021-5-22_9-8-7.jpeg

Bridge is crude but is actually 'close enough' to be in-tuned. Having the original bridge cover is a +. Those white knobs (they also came in black) sell for stupid money on eBay.
upload_2021-5-22_7-59-11.jpeg

Under the anodized metal control plate - again, crude but silent operation and strong output. Tone pot like most all Teisco guitars and basses then is reverse. Full on is bass, not treble. Make sense to me.(more bass? - turn up)
upload_2021-5-22_8-5-39.jpeg

NR-1 in amber'd LPB w/pressed tin/enameled hs badge and stripy aluminum pg/hs plate. Someone modded it with a very nice ebony lined fb and thumb rest. Many Teisco guitars and basses had the stripy aluminum.
upload_2021-5-22_8-57-9.jpeg
upload_2021-5-22_9-1-40.jpeg

This one still had its original foam-mute glued to the bridge cover.
upload_2021-5-22_9-39-16.jpeg

Pu's like the ones on mine were Teisco's most famous model seen on many brand basses then. Note cool 6-sided pu screw.
upload_2021-5-22_9-5-1.jpeg

I stripped the finish off the mahogany neck - laminates aren't as pronounced as my EB-200 which may be why it was painted.
upload_2021-5-22_9-19-30.jpeg

This Del Rey 6-string baritone helps explain the oversized hs - super cool guitar. This is the (amber'd) blue-grey finish which was very common.
upload_2021-5-22_9-28-47.jpeg
 
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#11
@JIO great summary. A truly unusual bass, huge headstock, cool striped metal PG, seemingly advanced laminated neck. Nice to find out that with all that strangeness it sounds like a bass should. Cool old instrument from my youth I've never actually seen except in pics. Thanks for the schooling.
 
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#13
JIO said:
Yep - other than the older pu design (probably '65) it is exactly like mine. And yes, it was referred to as "the Johnny Paycheck bass" as he popularized it with his hit country song "A-11" in 1965. (his was light blue-grey with a black metal pg and pu's like the one for auction) Del Reys are out there, not common but not rare. It may have had a hs decal like mine does as I see no badge attachment holes. RI Del Rey badges can be found on eBay.

It's 30.5" short scale but as long as a Jazz bass with a huge hs. (the bridge is almost central on the body) I think that's why JP liked it because he was short/small and a ss bass was probably more comfortable for him to play. It also looks like a full scale bass. It's all mahogany w/rw fb and cool fb edge position markers. It's mid-weight and well balanced and sounds seriously good. Mine has flats of unknown origin or date and I can get it to sound very Motown. Not a toy or nostalgia purchase - it is a real instrument.

View attachment 4277166
The one for auction has the multi-lam (5) neck like mine. (very '80s for a mid '60s neck) I have an NB-1 (1 pu version) that was painted over - most were painted.
View attachment 4277179
A rare in-tact Del Rey hs decal
View attachment 4277168
5-ply laminate. These more pronounced laminate examples were probably saved for not being painted. (nitro clear-coat only)
View attachment 4277177
Del Rey hs nearly as large as my '64 T-bird II - one of the largest hs's ever made. Both are set-back design. Nut width is 1-5/8".
View attachment 4277229
Bridge is crude but is actually 'close enough' to be in-tuned. Having the original bridge cover is a +. Those white knobs (they also came in black) sell for stupid money on eBay.
View attachment 4277178
Under the anodized metal control plate - again, crude but silent operation and strong output. Tone pot like most all Teisco guitars and basses then is reverse. Full on is bass, not treble. Make sense to me.(more bass? - turn up)
View attachment 4277181
NR-1 in amber'd LPB w/pressed tin/enameled hs badge and stripy aluminum pg/hs plate. Someone modded it with a very nice ebony lined fb and thumb rest. Many Teisco guitars and basses had the stripy aluminum.
View attachment 4277218 View attachment 4277224
This one still had its original foam-mute glued to the bridge cover.
View attachment 4277257
Pu's like the ones on mine were Teisco's most famous model seen on many brand basses then. Note cool 6-sided pu screw.
View attachment 4277228
I stripped the finish off the mahogany neck - laminates aren't as pronounced as my EB-200 which may be why it was painted.
View attachment 4277232
This Del Rey 6-string baritone helps explain the oversized hs - super cool guitar. This is the (amber'd) blue-grey finish which was very common.
View attachment 4277249
Click to expand...
They probably went the laminated neck way because that “mahogany” looks more like Philippine luan wood, which is likely much less stiff than real mahogany.
 
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#17
Fender_Bender said:
They probably went the laminated neck way because that “mahogany” looks more like Philippine luan wood, which is likely much less stiff than real mahogany.
Click to expand...

That is correct - I used the term 'mahogany' as a generalization. Many '60s MIJ guitars/basses (and there were a lot made then) were made of Luan mahogany. Many had laminated bodies also, but these had solid bodies. I know because I re-purposed one (mid '60s Teisco Del Rey) into a 34" scale bass. It's one of the basses I play in my band and have recorded - love it.

upload_2021-5-22_15-2-22.jpeg


upload_2021-5-22_15-2-42.jpeg

And the result was the Teiscobird -
upload_2021-5-22_15-11-28.jpeg

Liked it so much I made a red clone to see if I could... and I did! Sounds/plays great! (and it's for sale)
upload_2021-5-22_15-13-21.jpeg
 
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#18
bolophonic said:
My buddy has one of these, but it is branded “Zimgar.”
Click to expand...

Yep, also branded St George (Anthony George imported them for his music stores in NY and CA) which was very common. One maker/factory sold under many different brand names. Similar to Danelectro selling their guitars and basses through Sears as Silvertone.

Zimgar was under the Kawai umbrella. Since 1963 they were one of the largest Japanese guitar makers in the '60s, already having well established distribution and export connections from piano sales. They had 50 different brand names that their guitars/basses were branded.
 
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#20
Williethump said:
@JIO great summary. A truly unusual bass, huge headstock, cool striped metal PG, seemingly advanced laminated neck. Nice to find out that with all that strangeness it sounds like a bass should. Cool old instrument from my youth I've never actually seen except in pics. Thanks for the schooling.
Click to expand...

Another point about this particular model was the Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar-like body design, which was very fresh from the late '50s/early'60s. The JM/Jag body was the most copied and for good reason. (it's good design!) Aside from that, the Japanese created so many different guitar/bass designs/models in those 10 years ('60s) it makes your head spin. None were direct copies of Fender/Gibson etc until the '70s ("lawsuit" clones). They also made 127 different pu designs! Leo made how many? ;)
 
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