Cool looking Bass - like the Mahogany - like the shape of the Body too!
From the ebay description - just adding it to the thread for posterity in the event someone searches for this in the future the may find this info. Not official but seems like pretty good info on this Model - is this is in anyway in violation of anything please delete it
***ULTRA RARE*** Vintage 1980 Guild B-402 Electric Bass - 'Rosewood' ***ULTRA RARE***
INTRO
Here's an all original 1980 Guild B-402 bass guitar. This particular instrument is one of the rarest Guild production basses ever made! The bass has active electronics which include a pick-up selector switch, an active tone engage/defeat switch and another switch that seems to be a coil tap or other type of tone modifying switch. There are two volume controls, one for each pick-up, and two tone controls, which seem to be bass and treble boost and cut. The body is made of ash, and the neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. The neck is very straight, the action is super low and extremely playable. The bass is currently set-up and intonated with D'Addario extra light gauge strings (.40-.95)
CONDITION
The overall condition of the bass is great. There is checking in the finish, especially near the base of the neck and in several spots on the body which are clearly visible in the pictures. I have owned the bass for about 6 years and there has never been any additional checking. The finish is very glossy and smooth to the touch. The bass also has several small dings, the largest of which is near the neck pick-up. I have taken a close up of this ding. There is also another small ding/chip near the control cavity on the back of the bass. There is some minor 'worming' on the back of the bass but it's only noticeable in a certain angle of the light, nothing major and also visible in the pictures.
One nice feature about the 401-402 series basses was the move away from a top pickguard (like the 301-302's) for the input jack and electronics cavity. The input jack is through body and access to the electronics and battery cavity are on the rear of the bass. It's quite common to see the 301/302 basses with their pickguard cracked and or broken at the input jack, and while there is some checking near the input, it's solid. The truss rod functions correctly as well.
HISTORY
I bought this bass from a dealer on the internet about 6 years ago, and I have owned eight other Guild B-302's and a guild B-301 fretless and always liked them, so I was basically intrigued when I found out about the 401/402 Series. I do not pretend to be the world's biggest Guild expert, and anybody who has any relevant or additional information is welcome to e-mail me regarding this instrument. Apparently this series wasn't their most popular, as they only made around 140 of the 401's and 140 or so of the 402's. Of that production run, approximately only 12 were made with the "Rosewood" top and back, which is actually a stain to make the instrument appear as though it's laminated.
A gentlemen who owned the bass in 1990 sent a letter and some pictures of this bass to the Guild Corporation asking for more information. The customer service representative forwarded it the old factory in order to shed some light on the bass. The original letter was returned along with another letter from the Guild customer service rep. Then manager and head luthier at the Guild Factory, Willi Fritscher, replied on the back side of the original letter in a hand written note. He states the obvious about the bass, ash body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 34" scale, then goes on to explain that only about 12 pieces were produced with the "Rosewood" top. He also includes the year and the original list price of $599.
I have included photos of the original letters, and they will be included with the bass in the case pocket. In the last 10 years or so of watching Guild basses pass through E-Bay, I have seen several 402's come through. Of those, I have seen only 2 other basses like this one with the 'Rosewood' top and back, and both were heavily modified, one being outright butchered. This bass is all original and definitely a nice example.
