NBD: Grand Prix Fretless - Kramer plate, wood neck, Bartolini,

1) I picked up this bass yesterday and am still trying to find ANY info about it. Nothing from deep google dives, searches and reading on kramerforumz and vintagekramer.com, image searches, reading through archived Kramer catalogs. From what I can tell, Kramer didn't make a lot of basses, didn't use Bartolini pickups, and didn't regularly make use of this particular headstock. The neck plate says has the Kramer logo and 28674, but not country of origin. Can the collective braintrust of TB help me learn more so I can rebuild this bass to it's original beauty?

[update: Kramer forum users suggest that although it has a Kramer neck plate, it is unlikely a Kramer bass. In which case, Grand Prix is the brand, not the model. Grand Prix were made in Japan]





2) I bought the bass because I saw a strange craigslist ad for a practice amp, cord and stand for $50, with a free bass thrown in. That piqued my interest. However there was only one grainy photo of the bass. Supposedly there is a crack on the bass but the seller didn't know where. It was parent selling it for their college kid who had gotten it from their friend and it doesn't seem like anyone played bass. The seller was only a couple miles away and the price was low enough to take the gamble.

Wow, what a find! The bass is in great shape. Beautiful playing wood neck, with perfect condition electronics and Bartolini pickup. Solid construction all around. Good balance. Great tone. The only known issues are a few nicks and a cracked nut (but it still plays ok as is)




3) This is my first post in a long time. Back in the mid-2000s I was a member and have since lost the login info plus the email address attached to this account. Regardless, I was very grateful for the TB community at the time for turning me on to Schroeder cabs. The overall atmosphere here is warm, knowledgable and helpful - that can't be said of a lot of other forums. So it may be a little belated, but thank you all for the many many wonderful posts throughout the years!

 

Yes, I do! I plan to check out the innards after I replace the nut, before I restring it. I was very pleased that the electronics were fully functional.

 

I know this is going back a ways, but do you remember if you bought your Grand Prix new, in a store? The rarity of this brand in the US makes me think they were never distributed here. Also, of the few accounts of people finding a Grand Prix bass in the US - they were all P basses. Those seemed to be more of an entry level instrument. So you're probably right that someone modded this with the Bartiloni pickup (and maybe therefore the pickguard too) and the Kramer neckplate. The neck is in great condition.

 

I took off the pickguard today to reveal the original pickup cavities and the obvious DIY installation of the Bartolini. During this process, I noticed that the volume pot is push/pull, making the Bartolini a single/humbucker. Pretty cool!

 

Did you buy your Grand Prix at a store, or was it used? I wonder if these were ever distributed in the US. I took off the pickguard and it was originally a P-bass.

 

9.1 lbs. Finally got around to weighing it.

 

Thanks! I had originally planned on flipping this bass, but throughout the year I have played it more and more and really have enjoyed it. It is a keeper! I'ver never played a fretless before. So far, I've installed a new nut, adjusted the action, and made small knife marks for each 'fret' location on the side of the fretboard, as an aid for learning. I picked up a 90's Fender split-coil pup and may install it as well, giving me essentially a MM, J and P fretless.