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Soviet Tonika Bass - Exploded (Pic Heavy)

#102
This bass has a cool factor of 100. It may look ugly, play like crap and sound worse, for all I know, but it is way funky cool and well worth having and restoring.

I have one of the Russian Oktava microphones and they call it the '57 Chevy of microphones. This bass sort of has that kind of appeal. Funky, old and very cool.
 
#104
Bobby B said:
The Tonika isn't going to become playable without a LOT of work, especially because of the crack at the neck where attaches to the body and is only held by 2 bolts. I'm considering getting a body built that will be a new home for the pickguard, and maybe putting something else in the pup covers, etc. but haven't moved forward with that yet.

Meanwhile, received this yesterday:

:hyper::hyper::hyper:

5811030083_b2c5390182_o.jpg



It's a Soviet BAS-1 and has a straight neck. Needs a new nut and this one is active, but the battery gets really hot when plugged in, so I have a wiring issue to track down. Looked under the pickguard, and um... wow. Quite an engineering project under there. Pics to follow... This one is going to be playable for sure!
Click to expand...
Man! You are an endless supply of fun stuff!
 
#109
I guess this has already been mentioned but : " In Soviet Russia Bass Plays you!"

and it looks cool , kinda dig the tuners , and the body shape reminds me of Ukraine ...dunno why
 
#114
Bobby B said:
I played around on it a bit, which was not an easy thing to do, and then exploded it, and by that I mean took it apart and checked it out.

Starting at the top, here is a closeup of the back of the tuning pegs. Note that the threads are VERY uneven. Some are thick and others are thin. They rattle and are loose in the base. (the screws that are missing were there, I just forgot to put them back in before I took this pic.)

It does have a truss rod, but fat lot of good it does. The truss is basically a long screw, and tightening it doesn't really adjust the neck. Plus, it has scary green Communist Mold in there...

The plastic nut does not sit flat on the neck.
Click to expand...

+1 for scary green communist mold
 
#115
#116
You know, I'm finding something out about these cheap old basses that we thought were crap. If you let them be themselves, many are really pretty good. Back in the day we kept trying to make them sound and play like Fenders and they're just not meant to do that. But if you accept their flaws and work within the parameters they demand, many of them sing like a bird. The recordings on Youtube of that Tonika bass are quite sweet. And I'm not finding much I can't do on my newly acquired and restored Radio Shack bass, either. Not the easiest bass to play I've ever had but I adjust my playing style to suit it and I can do everything on a gig that I need to do.
 

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