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Teisco bass guitars

#21
Crystalman85 said:
Has anyone ever own these basses or tried them out?...my brother send me an email saying that I should buy a teisco del ray bass guitar mainly . . .
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That's pretty expensive! As someone else said, it more or less has to be the bass you had in high school when you were in your first band and your first girlfriend and you did uh ... you know, the first time ....

I have a '69 Silvertone (Teisco) that was given to me by my brother just before he died. So, I fixed it up. The only thing I have to compare it to is a SX PJ, but I'll tell you about it anyway: short scale, 2 really fine single coil pickups, VVT and two rocker switches to cut out one or both pickups.

The truss rod does not work but I have the neck and setup pretty good after some shimming and maybe a little fret work. I love the tone on it - it's a little microphonic and, if I don't end up potting the pickups, I'll do some sound insulation. I think it's fine and should cost about US$100-$150 used - given that it's a goofy MIJ instrument.

Greg
69-Silvertone%20SS%20Bass.jpg
 
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#22
I had a few Teisco guitars and a bass under the name Prestige.

It sucked. The neck was warped. It did get a mildly cool midrangey tone, but nothing I couldn't get from a P-bass.

I wouldn't pay more than $100 for one because it's not much more than a novelty, but last time I was in NYC I saw one priced at $1,000. Go figure?
 
#23
As they obviously get more and more rare, the prices are beginning to go up. But they're definitely not all equal. The year and model can make a big difference. Also, opinions on Teiscos are very mixed now. Most people seem to consider all of them junk, but collectors from time to time can actually be interested in some of them.
 
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#24
My first bass was a Teisco Del Ray violin shaped hollow body. Not a quality instrument by any stretch of the imagination. Switching to an entry level Yamaha was a real awakening. The Teisco would be more of a collectors piece than a real player, IMHO.
 
#25
Thanks for the input, guys. sorry to hear about your brother, Greg.D. honestly I'm not really that interested in purchasing the teisco bass that my brother suggested. like I said before, I'm more of a schecter and an ibanez guy. I mean sure it's vintage-looking and all, but I just don't think this would be the kind of bass I would go for. I appreciate the suggestion my brother gave me, but I really don't think it's the right bass guitar for me. I've tried out many different bass guitars in the past and I can honestly say that the right bass guitars for me is ibanez and schecter. once again, thanks for the input on teisco bass guitars.
 
#29
These are my 3 Teiscos. I like them because they are vintage and you can get them fairly cheap but they won't always be that way. Like the $60.00 Univox Hiflier I had in high school cost me $250 on ebay to match (wish I kept my orig.). The blue DelRay is really George Jetson-ish and plays nice except the E and A strings have a "thud" while the D and G strings resonate. Any suggestions to fix? The others are a "kimberly" violin with horridly high action and no tone and a "Teisco Tulip" that I put flatwounds on and it plays and sounds real nice. I still play my Gibson 95% of the time but I'd like to start using the blue one more if I can get some resonance out of the E and A...

teiscos.jpg
 
#30
Thank you everybody for the input on teisco bass guitars. If I was gonna go for a vintage-styled bass, I would go with either a p-bass, a jazz bass, or a musicman-styled bass. speaking of that, I've been thinking about purchasing a musicman clone from arbor. I've been curious about arbor basses for quite some time and their musicman clone got my attention. so I've been thinking about buying that bass.
 
#31
Teisco basses. They was sold at kmarts back in the 1970's. Not to far from the aisles that had the fringy moccassin boots. Sometimes they even had blue light special cart in the area. About on par with todays walmart guitars. Well actually you can get better action setup with the walmart guitars Id believe. Only peeps who pay $500 for a teisco are collectors who never play their purchases.

No offense to teisco fans meant. Tesco was a big joke back in the 70's to me and most at my school. They kinda looked kewl. But nowhere near qaulity of playability etc of brands carried in the nicer music gear stores. But oddly they did become big collectors items for some reason.
 
#33
darkstorm said:
Teisco basses. They was sold at kmarts back in the 1970's. Not to far from the aisles that had the fringy moccassin boots. Sometimes they even had blue light special cart in the area. About on par with todays walmart guitars. Well actually you can get better action setup with the walmart guitars Id believe. Only peeps who pay $500 for a teisco are collectors who never play their purchases.

No offense to teisco fans meant. Tesco was a big joke back in the 70's to me and most at my school. They kinda looked kewl. But nowhere near qaulity of playability etc of brands carried in the nicer music gear stores. But oddly they did become big collectors items for some reason.
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Really they were sold at kmart?...i never knew that. I use use to work for kmart and I've never seen any musical instrument over there. maybe except keyboards but that's it. I know best buy has musical instruments there.
 
#34
Thank you guys on more info on tiesco bass guitars. I would like to mention that the reason why my brother wanted me to purchase a teisco del ray bass is because he use to have a teisco del ray guitar and he found one at chicago music exchange and since he found a bass version of that guitar he though it might be interesting to have a matching set-up. he didn't purchase the guitar and I didn't purchase the bass because the prices on those instruments were a little too high. I can easily understand that they are more of a collector's piece rather than a real player. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I wanted a vintage-styled bass guitar, I would go with either a p-bass, a jazz bass, or a musicman-styled bass.
 
#36
"Really they were sold at kmart?...i never knew that. I use use to work for kmart and I've never seen any musical instrument over there. maybe except keyboards but that's it. I know best buy has musical instruments there.
"

sorry,pal ... but it sounds like you're about 3 decades(30 yrs)
too young for this thread.

FWIW, Teisco made the worst sounding guitars,basses,drums,
et ...imagineable - sold in sears , monty wards, etc...
Otasco , Western Auto...pawn shops... appliance stores...

teisco was plywood junk. 1965-1975.
 
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#37
I've got one of the '70-ish Hofner style Teisco Del Reys, it's kind of neat, but really it just looks cool hanging on the wall. It's not the first one I reach for, unless you want it 'just because' and have the extra cash to spare, buy something better.
 
#38
Madmachinist, I am aware that teisco basses were made around the 1960s and the 1970s. this thread is more focus on everyone's experience with those basses. how they play, how they sound, and if it's worth owning. so far from everyone's point of view, it not really that great and I'd be better off with something else. also, for the record, I don't plan on purchasing a teisco bass.

Jimbilly, I don't plan on purchasing a teisco bass. my brother suggested that because he was interested in purchasing a teisco guitar and thought that it might be interesting to have a matching set-up(instrument-wise). secondly, I do plan on purchasing something better. I'm planning on purchasing an arbor ab410 4-string bass. it's a musicman clone. i've been curious about arbor basses for quite some time and the ab410 got my attention. so I'm thinking about buying that bass.
 
#39
a teisco could be "interesting" as a goof or gimmick "instrument" ......but not as a main axe.

Arbor has made some decent budget guitars , likely from the
same factory as other "name brand" instruments w/ a different
badge.
 
#40
madmachinist said:
a teisco could be "interesting" as a goof or gimmick "instrument" ......but not as a main axe.

Arbor has made some decent budget guitars , likely from the
same factory as other "name brand" instruments w/ a different
badge.
Click to expand...

I know teisco is not really good for a main axe(unless you've done some nifty modifications with it like installing new pick-ups). I mainly play Ibanez soundgear basses. I am in a market for a back-up bass and I'm leaning towards the arbor musicman clone. I would of figured that arbor makes decent instruments. I've check out some youtube clips of arbor bass guitars(even though there isn't that much). those clips are plenty enough to convince me that arbor makes decent bass guitars. the arbor musicman clone is what I plan on buying. my second choice for a back-up bass if for any reason i'm unable to purchase an arbor musicman clone would most likely to be an sx ursa 1 4-string bass(which is a p-bass clone). I've always been informed that sx makes pretty good fender clones at such a low price. I also saw some youtube clips of those basses and the sounded pretty good. sx would be my second choice for a back-up bass. but other than that, I'm definitely going for an arbor musicman clone.
 

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