Penco Jazz Bass

[lostrings]

I always had a interest in the lawsuit basses that came out of Japan in the early to late 70's. Some I have seen were not of good quality and were poor copy's at best and then there are the very good copy's that I believe can be very collectable and have a rising value over the years. Greco's and Ames come to mind and I am sure there are others that could be added here also. I ran across this Penco Jazz Bass...that after much research I found out it was made around 1972 in the Ibanez factory during the lawsuit years. Penco was branded for USA distribution thru Philadelphia music company. Although this is not an exact copy, it is of very high quality. It sounds and plays fantastic and I was hoping to find other people interested in this type of bass....

 

[Doctor Rehab]

I have always loved Japanese workmanship and recently bought a Penco EB3 copy on Ebay....dirty and nicked up but what a bass....I would put this up against any Epi or even Gibson for flat out fun to play and sounds great.....also have mid 80"s Squier Jazz and P-bass that are just drop dead georgeous guitars and with retro 62 pups sound fantastic....so will continue to look for the MIJ lawsuit bass at every flea market and garage sale I can work into my schedule......
doctor rehab

 

[old mark]

PENCO was a Philly music company that imported various electric and acoustic guitars
and basses from Japan in the 1970's. They were not expensive, but the quality is very high and the few I have owned were great sounding instruments. I still have an acoustic 12 string that has severe damage and sounds clear as a bell...It's one of my someday projects to restore it. Not worth much to collectors, but they are hard to beat as players guitars...I think there were made by Aria...

 

[Eric Swanson]

I have an early sunburst Penco Jazz Bass that is just as nicely made as and kind of a ringer for the '63 sunburst Fender Jazz I used to play. Here's the Penco:

What ever you think of my playing (or lack thereof), I have always thought that the bass sounds good, too:

 

[JIO]

Great to hear all this background info on Penco Jazz basses! A friend has one and after a proper set-up and new (flat-wound) strings - it revealed itself as a really awesome 70's style Jazz bass! It plays and sounds great, and as you can see from these pic - looked great too!

 

[Eric Swanson]

Wow...that is lovely!

Mine sunburst is pretty well worn and actually took a dive off a stage, once; yours is in much nicer shape.

I put Seymour Duncan pups, Schaller tuners, and a Badass bridge on mine. While those all sweetened the instrument, it doesn't have the pure beauty of your clear-finished bass!

 

[JIO]

Wow...that is lovely!

Mine is a sunburst and is pretty well worn; yours is in much nicer shape.

I put Seymour Duncan pups, Schaller tuners, and a Badass bridge on mine. While those all sweetened the instrument, it doesn't have the pure beauty of your clear-finished bass!

It is a surprizingly nice bass (all stock) - the fb reminds me of a Ric because it's thickly clear-coated and the frets are just above the clear coat. Low action and no buzzing once I adjusted the tr.

 

[Eric Swanson]

You inspired me; just dropped the Penco off at Wolf Ginandes (Boston, MISC; Musical Instrument Service Center) for a long-overdue deep rework.

Everyone says that he's the guy for the job. Met him yesterday for the first time and I was well-impressed; I'm sure the bass is in good hands.

He'll rip out the frets, dress the fingerboard, put in a new nut, new frets, and generally fettle the thing into even greater glory.

I've been thinking about having him do it for years. Now is the time!

As he said, it really makes no sense in terms of the Penco's dollar value, but it really is a great-sounding bass and has lots of voodoo, already. As he said, aptly, "It'll still be a Penco, but it'll be a HAPPENING Penco..."

I'll report back on how it plays in several weeks, when I get it back...

 

[mongo2]

Penco...there a brand name I haven't seen in decades. Back in the mid-late '70s I gigged with a Penco jumbo sized acoustic guitar having beautiful flame maple neck, sides and back. It was an excellent instrument.

It looked a lot like this one on Reverb.

Penco j-200 Guitar, Early 70's, Made In Japan, Solid Cedar Top, Sounds Great, Beautiful

 

[JIO]

You inspired me; just dropped the Penco off at Wolf Ginandes (Boston, MISC; Musical Instrument Service Center) for a long-overdue deep rework.

Everyone says that he's the guy for the job. Met him yesterday for the first time and I was well-impressed; I'm sure the bass is in good hands.

He'll rip out the frets, dress the fingerboard, put in a new nut, new frets, and generally fettle the thing into even greater glory.

I've been thinking about having him do it for years. Now is the time!

As he said, it really makes no sense in terms of the Penco's dollar value, but it really is a great-sounding bass and has lots of voodoo, already. As he said, aptly, "It'll still be a Penco, but it'll be a HAPPENING Penco..."

I'll report back on how it plays in several weeks, when I get it back...

Excellent! To me, the fact that you love it/have bonded with it is the best reason in the world to do what you are doing. Did it need a full fret job? Many very played basses are worn in the 'cash register' (most played frets) and good in the upper register. My very played '66 P had a partial re-fret before I bought it and it was done so well you can't see a difference in the originals to new. Regardless, it's money well spent and you will have a like-new fb that will cement your bond with the bass. FTR, another 'money-well-spent' bass improvement if the frets are still in ok shape is a Plek. (laser fret leveling) - when I have a neck made for my custom basses, I always have them Plek'd.

Will look forward to your update once it's back!

 

[Eric Swanson]

The Penco is back. It is really happening, now.

Wolf Ginandes pulled the frets, planed/scraped the fingerboard, replaced the nut, put in the smallest frets he could find in, and nicely rounded the fret ends. The relief is perfect, the action is effortless, and the bass is just a gas to play.

The bass still, and always, has just had a great, warm, clear sound. I'm so happy!

 

[JIO]

The Penco is back. It is really happening, now.

Wolf Ginandes pulled the frets, planed/scraped the fingerboard, put the smallest frets he could find in, and nicely rounded the fret ends. The relief is perfect, the action is effortless, and the bass is just a gas to play.

The bass still, and always, has just had a great, warm, clear sound. I'm so happy!

 

[Eric Swanson]

Ridden hard, put away wet, but with a fresh fingerboard setup and sounding really nice...

Wolf Ginandes put D'Addario Chromes Light flatwounds on the Penco. This is my first time trying them; very nice!

Here's the Penco laid out next to a similar Lakland (my brother owns the lovely and pristine Lakland). The Penco is the one with the gravel rash...

Also, a detail shot of the heel of the fingerboard, where Wolf did his magic. Note the small frets and nicely polished/filed fret ends...

I'm so happy with this funky old bass!

 

[JIO]

Ridden hard, put away wet, but with a fresh fingerboard setup and sounding really nice...

Wolf Ginandes put D'Addario Chromes Light flatwounds on the Penco. This is my first time trying them; very nice!

Here's the Penco laid out next to a similar Lakland (my brother owns the lovely and pristine Lakland). The Penco is the one with the gravel rash...

Also, a detail shot of the heel of the fingerboard, where Wolf did his magic. Note the small frets and nicely polished/filed fret ends...

I'm so happy with this funky old bass!

Pics are insufficient to display that detail - but we'll believe you!

 

[Eric Swanson]

Better, maybe?

 

[rodv66]

I had a penco ripper, very good bass