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Odd Ball bass roundup

#262
Bump for Naam Anomalies...

Any 2015 WTFudgsicles?


CanadaNeal said:
Definitely Doing Decidedly Decent, Detachable Doubles. Dig?

The Crimson Guitars detachable twin neck guitar. Here's a Yootube video showing how easy it is to combine the separate guitar and bass sides of this unique custom guitar;

[EDIT]- Added a demo Yootube video of the instrument being played: Invalid Link Removed.

View attachment 527587 View attachment 527586 View attachment 527585 View attachment 527593 View attachment 527596

The Sylvester Bikini is a double-neck bass and six-string that can also become two separate guitars. The body is light mahogany with optional swamp ash wings. The bass uses a bolt-on Warmoth maple/ebony neck. The bridge pickup is a Rio Grande Jazz, the neck pickup is vintage Musicmaster. The six-string has a maple/ maple neck and Sylvester Custom pickups;
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The oft cited Mike Rutherford Shergold;
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Daresay ... Delightful!

Congrats on the MiniTaur!

I'd like to note that that Ant Bass can't move a rubber-tree plant, but it was custom-made for Jermaine Jackson, IIRC.
 
#263
I looked into it, and you are correct Feral Feline. Invalid Link Removed talks about Jermaine's ant bass. It includes more pictures, like these:

Glowing-not-Glowing-1024x821.jpg
 
#266
Sooo... this thread is problematic. I was recently offered a used Gretsch Billy Bo Jupiter Thunderjet -- my favorite oddball -- at a sane price. Before stumbling onto this thread, I'd managed to convince myself that the Billy Bo's shape was a bit too goofy and that I should pass on the offer. Now, after sifting, open-mouthed, through 14 pages of awesomely tweaked basses, I'm weakening. The Billy Bo seems almost tame, and a sane purchase.

Thanks TB. Thanks a lot. I had 2 basses for 20+ years -- a fretted and a fretless, and I was perfectly happy. Hell, I went 10 years without an amplifier, just playing electric basses unplugged. Now, after a few months spent eye-humping all the amazing things on TB, I'm on my way to having a lot more than 2 basses. If I end up getting the Billy Bo (who am I kidding?) I'll happily contribute a picture to this thread.
 
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#267
MrAtomic said:
Sooo... this thread is problematic. I was recently offered a used Gretsch Billy Bo Jupiter Thunderjet -- my favorite oddball -- at a sane price. Before stumbling onto this thread, I'd managed to convince myself that the Billy Bo's shape was a bit too goofy and that I should pass on the offer. Now, after sifting, open-mouthed, through 14 pages of awesomely tweaked basses, I'm weakening. The Billy Bo seems almost tame, and a sane purchase.

Thanks TB. Thanks a lot. I had 2 basses for 20+ years -- a fretted and a fretless, and I was perfectly happy. Hell, I went 10 years without an amplifier, just playing electric basses unplugged. Now, after a few months spent eye-humping all the amazing things on TB, I'm on my way to having a lot more than 2 basses. If I end up getting the Billy Bo (who am I kidding?) I'll happily contribute a picture to this thread.
Click to expand...

I think Eek! the Cat put it best…

"It never hurts to help!" :D
front_eek_ani2.gif
 
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#268
MrAtomic said:
Sooo... this thread is problematic. I was recently offered a used Gretsch Billy Bo Jupiter Thunderjet -- my favorite oddball -- at a sane price. Before stumbling onto this thread, I'd managed to convince myself that the Billy Bo's shape was a bit too goofy and that I should pass on the offer. Now, after sifting, open-mouthed, through 14 pages of awesomely tweaked basses, I'm weakening. The Billy Bo seems almost tame, and a sane purchase.

Thanks TB. Thanks a lot. I had 2 basses for 20+ years -- a fretted and a fretless, and I was perfectly happy. Hell, I went 10 years without an amplifier, just playing electric basses unplugged. Now, after a few months spent eye-humping all the amazing things on TB, I'm on my way to having a lot more than 2 basses. If I end up getting the Billy Bo (who am I kidding?) I'll happily contribute a picture to this thread.
Click to expand...

There's one on ebay for $1900. How much is the one being offered to you?

And for those who (like me) are curious as to what this looks like...

2410516815_frt_wmd_001.png


I think that is very sharp looking bass!
 
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#271
+1 to BlindRabbit's drooldrooldrooldrooldrooldrooldrooldrool
It will always be a Jupiter Thunderbird to me, props to Bo Diddley!
Props to Billy Gibbons for getting Gretsch to reboot the JT.

Props to the Duchess (Lady Bo's replacement) for being such a badass mothermother.

From whence the Jupiter ThunderBass came...


Pity Gretsch didn't make a Jupiter Thunderbass for this bass player back in the day!

Here's another clip of Bo with the Duchess, his iconic rectangle guitar and her futuristic G707 (which had a bass stable-mate, as I'm sure you know). [EDIT: Forgot to point out the Kubicki bass in the vid below]

Drop-Shadow-Guitar-00.jpg
I need this in fretless.
 
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#272
Hues said:
I've wanted this EKO Kadett for a while.....Mainly because the first guitar I bought with my own money, when I was seventeen, was an EKO acoustic. So I'd like to have an EKO bass.

But I can't find it in the U.S.

eko21_zps56c08bb9.jpg


The body has a Kubicki vibe to it, which I seriously like.
Click to expand...

Not the same model, but I have used an EKO BX-7, albeit very much non-stock, as my main bass for over 20 years...
Back-Small.jpg
BX7-01.jpg
BX7-03.jpg
Headstock_Back_Small.jpg
 
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#276
wintremute said:
And for those who (like me) are curious as to what this looks like...

2410516815_frt_wmd_001.png


I think that is very sharp looking bass!
Click to expand...

Thank you. It's a blast to play, and surprisingly ergonomic, too. It balances on a strap and is very comfy to play while sitting down. Plus, the bass weighs 7 pounds, which only adds to the comfort factor. The pickups are interesting -- they're the first TV Jones Thundertrons I've spent time with, and you can pull a surprisingly large number of tones out of them. The neck pickup is very warm and wooly, while the bridge is a lot brighter. By moving between the 3 pickup positions you can play a clean country style, do a good P-bass imitation, and get some Thunderbird-ish sounds, too. The only thing missing is a J-bass setting, which is OK with me because I love how a J-bass feels, but don't really dig on the sound. All in all, the Billy Bo is really the most fun bass I've ever owned.
 
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#277
I don't know how oddball this 1968 Gretsch 6070 Bass is, but I thought that cushion on the back was very interesting.

It's for sale at a local store here in Vegas, Invalid Link Removed I'm going there today, so if it's still in stock I'm going to check it out.

I like how they label it a 1968/6070, but the link says 1967/6071. Something is off somewhere.

Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed
 
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#278
wintremute said:
I don't know how oddball this 1968 Gretsch 6070 Bass is, but I thought that cushion on the back was very interesting.

It's for sale at a local store here in Vegas, Invalid Link Removed I'm going there today, so if it's still in stock I'm going to check it out.

I like how they label it a 1968/6070, but the link says 1967/6071. Something is off somewhere.

Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I have a couple of 70s European no-names with that interesting feature - makes sense, but odd.
 
#279
Yeah, I looked at that one a while ago. It's a Model 6071 (the short scale "Tennessean"); the 6070 ("Country Gentleman") is a long scale double cutaway. It's not a lefty, and not a good conversion candidate, either, soo.. I wouldn't say they were really an Odd Ball; in those days, electric basses were not real popular in Gretsch-Land. So not a lot of them were ever made, and they get scarcer every year. Gretsch still puts that pad on several of their guitars and basses (White Falcons have 'em); they protect the finish from buckle rash, and also cover up the big hole that let's you poke around inside. I really wish my '94 Broadkaster had one; fishing all the crummy electronics out a pickup hole and replacing it the same way, is going to be a real bear.
 
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#280
GIBrat51 said:
Yeah, I looked at that one a while ago. It's a Model 6071 (the short scale "Tennessean"); the 6070 ("Country Gentleman") is a long scale double cutaway. It's not a lefty, and not a good conversion candidate, either, soo.. I wouldn't say they were really an Odd Ball; in those days, electric basses were not real popular in Gretsch-Land. So not a lot of them were ever made, and they get scarcer every year. Gretsch still puts that pad on several of their guitars and basses (White Falcons have 'em); they protect the finish from buckle rash, and also cover up the big hole that let's you poke around inside. I really wish my '94 Broadkaster had one; fishing all the crummy electronics out a pickup hole and replacing it the same way, is going to be a real bear.
Click to expand...
I'm debating cutting an access panel in the back of my Jack Casady project for the same reason, though the new pickup openings will give me some additional access anyway. Not adding the pad, though. :)
 

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