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NBD: IDK! (What is this bass?)

B

boots_cats

Guest
May 23, 2014
12
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41
#1
Help! I just picked up this amazing fretless in a trade, and damned if anyone knows what it is! It's awesome for sure, but curious if anyone has an idea who made it or where it came from? No branding, no serial number other than a date (13-8-89).

Ebony board, side wings either walnut or wenge (I'm not good with fancy woods) and the neck isn't maple. Bartolini passive pickups, all Gotoh hardware, brass nut. As you see the headstock actually curves backwards at the top, like a paintbrush - it's really cool!

I got it in Berlin, so possibly made in Germany but by no means certain. 2 owners ago thought it was a Schack prototype, but I'm skeptical.

Any thoughts/ideas?

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#3
India_Sierra said:
I certainly don't think it's a Schack. Schack were in full swing by 1989 and this looks a little more 'homemade' than their basses. That brass nut, for instance, looks to have been machined by hand.
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Yeah, I'm not so familiar with Schack but just from googling them, I tend to agree with you.

The nut looks shabbier in that picture than it really is - it's quite tarnished. Homemade is still the leading contender, as far as I can tell.
 
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#9
LouBass said:
There's a lot of oak Chapman Sticks out there. I've never personally understood the aversion to oak in the bass market. Anyway, the bass looks amazing. I think you did well in the trade.
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Hahaha, well, you don't know what I traded for it... ;)

But I think so too, I actually swapped a G&L Tribute 5-string for it. Also a very good bass, but I didn't need 2 active 5-strings.

It's at the luthier's shop now, hopefully he doesn't discover some kind of crazy problem...
 
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#15
I think the only disadvantage of Oak is for the luthier who is cutting the wood - they don't like the way it splinters. Also it is heavy. But it is supposed to be excellent in terms of stiffness and stability so I think it'd make a great neck if you don't mind the weight.
 
#20
It's an easy job to polish the nut to look amazing & add a little bees wax to protect it.
While your at it polish your strings & pickups, the improvement to your sound will be astonishing.
 

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