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Show Your SOVIET Basses - also, some GAS advice needed

Soviet Basses, Good Idea?

  • Total voters
    70
#62
SirMjac28 said:
At one time I collected guitars from Russia they were quirky, inexpensive and looked cool hanging on a wall since then I've noticed some of the prices have been creeping up which is funny because they really are an acquired taste I only have one guitar left from that collection because it was the least terrible. :)
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Care to post a pic of the one you kept? Also, if you don't mind me asking, which models did you own? How did you acquire them?

Thanks!
 
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#63
My parents had an East-German Trabant 601s Kombi , and my grandfather had a Lada 1200s Combi (the "s" in both cases indicates export, the numbers indicate the displacement in cubic cm, and Combi means station wagon). While I grew up in both of them and had great fun in the Lada when I inherited it, I was glad to move on :)

Speaking about Jolana basses, this is the one you should be gassing about:
http://www.meatexz.com/cheesyguitars/jolana_rubin_bass.html
http://www.meatexz.com/cheesyguitars/jolana_rubin_bass.html
 
#65
Noot said:
My parents had an East-German Trabant 601s Kombi , and my grandfather had a Lada 1200s Combi (the "s" in both cases indicates export, the numbers indicate the displacement in cubic cm, and Combi means station wagon). While I grew up in both of them and had great fun in the Lada when I inherited it, I was glad to move on :)

Speaking about Jolana basses, this is the one you should be gassing about:
http://www.meatexz.com/cheesyguitars/jolana_rubin_bass.html
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Cool story. I would actually like to have a Trebant, but not for any practical purposes, purely for the grin factor. I find them hilarious. Two moderately strong people can pick one up and move it... Hilarity ensues.

Yeah man, those hollow body Jolanas are indeed sweet. I feel as though stumbling on this whole world of communist bloc musical instruments the other day is totally fascinating but potentially hazardous financially.
 
#66
anton72 said:
No. I played music and lived in USSR. If we go further to specify the sort of music than I can say if you played rock music you could be pressed by propaganda and soviet mass media which most commonly resulted in public offences but nothing serious. But if you sang songs with anti-sovietic content you could put yourself in jail for sure.
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Hey Anton, if you have a minute would you mind telling us your story? Did you play music that could have gotten you jailed? What was it like in the USSR days being in a band? I'm really interested in what it was like to play rock and roll (your music taste is just an assumption on my part here) in a place where it was actually dangerous to do so. I consider that to be a true act of rebellion, and in a weird way, these instruments sort of represent that idea. I think rock and roll began as a rebellious statement here in the west, then it became the norm and was to large extent tamed and taken for granted. Basically, usurped into the status quo. And then as a reaction, bands like the Stooges, MC5, Ramones, Suicide, the NY Dolls (et al), and a little later across the pond, the Sex Pistols, Clash (et al) gave rock and roll it's danger back. In the case of the USSR, that danger, as far as I can assume, was always present. That danger went beyond just pissing off your parents, too, it had actual consequences. It's also interesting to think that those very real consequences still exist in the former USSR, we only need to look at what happened with Pussy Riot in the last 2 years.

I try to imagine living in that situation and wanting to rebel and spending a whole bunch of Rubles on the worlds crappiest, ugliest bass, but not caring because I was going to rock the F*** out of it. That's kind of why I'm drawn to them. To me, they represent that spirit. Or maybe they're just anachronistic junk, I don't know.

Anyway, that said, what are your thoughts?
 
#69
Matt O said:
Cool man! Now I just have to find one... Before you beat me to it! I'm really digging the black on black Jolana, but they come in some pretty nice tobacco bursts too though.
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rydl03.jpg


I'm not a burst guy... nor a ric guy. HOWEVER this is pretty sweet, I could rock this big time. Notice how it says Rickenbacker, yet the Jolana Website calls the "Jolana D-Bass"
 
#71
Matt O said:
That is absolutely gorgeous. Well done, Anton.
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Guys, that's not mine, it's someone else. Anton is very common name in Russia :) I'll tell my story a bit later cause it may turn into a novel. For now this is our band Love Rocket on local radio station in Moscow a month ago. Sorry for Russian text in the song, the song is called Radio Machine.
This is not the only band I play with because I prefer something funkier than this.
 
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#72
Matt O said:
Care to post a pic of the one you kept? Also, if you don't mind me asking, which models did you own? How did you acquire them?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Matt I had some Jolana's a few URAL 510's and a couple of AELITA's here is a picture of my 81 Jolana Galaxis. (sorry about the quality)

CIMG0002.jpg




And here is a video of one like mine they really don't sound too bad but they are very heavy even heavier than most of my basses. I would stick with the Jolana's they seem to be the best quality in my opinion.


 
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#73
SirMjac28 said:
Matt I had some Jolana's a few URAL 510's and a couple of AELITA's here is a picture of my 81 Jolana Galaxis. (sorry about the quality)

View attachment 492700



And here is a video of one like mine they really don't sound too bad but they are very heavy even heavier than most of my basses. I would stick with the Jolana's they seem to be the best quality in my opinion.


Click to expand...


Thanks for the Info!!!
 
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#76
I guess basses from the Soviet Union are now viewed by young Americans as quaint, and therefore "cool". But from a playing perspective they're generally even less worthy than the worst Japanese products of the 1960's. Random woods, quirky electrics, questionable fretting... you wouldn't want one, unless you desire to be among the tragically hip. They're selling for way too much, perhaps mainly because of the "The Conchords".

Don't bunch them in with Jolana, a capable company of the former Czechoslovakia, which was an OEM of much European musical gear. Even George Harrison had one as his first electric guitar.
 
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#77
Indeed, czech Jolana Rubin is great bass - once you put some work into it of course - tuners change is a must.
Ok I owe this guitar - it's not a bass but hey, it fits the thread. It's called Stella, from 1979,made by Rostov na Donu. and it's like brand new (a gift from a friend) with original fake leather gigbag.
4 pickups? 9 switches? 5 pots? 5-pin input? Stereo out? Tremolo bar? String damper? Square brass frets? Untunable tuners? Awesome neck-shape? Cool body-shape? Yep, all that.
God knows what kinda finish - it's fully bullet-proof - I used a chisel and hammer, trying to chip it. Result? A smaller ding...
They used electronic from radio and TV. Endless combination of sounds.
It cost 210 rubels in 1979...in 2014, 210 rubles is 5$ and in 1979, it was like what? 0.2$? lol
Some of pics for your pleasure:

stellaout.jpg stella (0).jpg stella (8).jpg stella (9).jpg stella_2 (13).JPG

But basses - the ones I've tried, they all suck. Crazy looks, but bad necks, hardware, electronics. Better choice would be either Czech 70's stuff or Slovenian (not Slovakian!) stuff from late 60's thru early 80's, called Melodija Menges - good woods and workmanship, all Schaller hardware and pickups, even on late 60's guitars.
 
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#79
cdef said:
I guess basses from the Soviet Union are now viewed by young Americans as quaint, and therefore "cool". But from a playing perspective they're generally even less worthy than the worst Japanese products of the 1960's. Random woods, quirky electrics, questionable fretting... you wouldn't want one, unless you desire to be among the tragically hip. They're selling for way too much, perhaps mainly because of the "The Conchords".

Don't bunch them in with Jolana, a capable company of the former Czechoslovakia, which was an OEM of much European musical gear. Even George Harrison had one as his first electric guitar.
Click to expand...

I totally hear what you are saying here. I would like to have a couple of the more wildly shaped ones as more or less wall art than anything. If they turn out to be playable, I don't think they would be a thing that I would depend on for a performance that's for sure, maybe just interesting objects from a historical era that I can noodle on. I have also collected Soviet and DDR cameras, I have a pile of them, but I would never consider using them on a shoot that mattered. Same deal with the basses. Now, a Jolana D Bass I would certainly rock on stage, no problem.

And as far as Jolana, I agree, they seem to be so well crafted that they don't deserve to spoken about in the same breath as Tonika. However, just as most of the cameras from that region and time are pretty much junk, there are some really well crafted gems in the form of some pretty great optics - Zeiss, etc - Picasso was known to shoot pictures with a Russian FED rangefinder and a DDR Zeiss lens. Kind of like Harrison and his Jolana, I guess. I'll try to keep more respect for the difference, thanks for pointing it out.
 
#80
anton72 said:
Guys, that's not mine, it's someone else. Anton is very common name in Russia :) I'll tell my story a bit later cause it may turn into a novel. For now this is our band Love Rocket on local radio station in Moscow a month ago. Sorry for Russian text in the song, the song is called Radio Machine.
This is not the only band I play with because I prefer something funkier than this.
Click to expand...


Wait, You mean to tell me there more than one bass player named Anton in Russia? Preposterous.

Awesome vid, dude. I hear total post-punk influence amiright?
 

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