what brand is this bass

[60's Bluesman]

ok i had another topic that drifted into this so i desided to just make a thread for it. this bass looks like a 1964-66 eko viola bass but no where on it does it have eko or any brand name for that matter. what i do know is its likely from the late 50s to late 60s because it has a thumb rest below the g string, its made in japan, the serial number is hand written more like burned into the headstock and the head stock its self has a anvil looking thing on the end of it. sorry for the crappy pics i took em with my phone:scowl:

 

[60's Bluesman]

i assume shelly is just a name given to the bass by a owner in the past

 

[60's Bluesman]

up

 

[smcd]

It's an Eko violin bass.

 

[bongomania]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7279877&postcount=24

 

[hankazoid]

I believe that's an Eko bass. But the tuners don't look original to me... they look like the same kind of tuners that Teisco put on their instruments. But here's a pic of an Eko...

Invalid Link Removed

 

[cdef]

Not an Eko, IMO. Take a look at the "Phantom" here.

Various other brands like Electra, Crown and Royal had very similar or identical models, perhaps all made at the same factory.

 

[DeanT]

Actually, it looks more like a Crown Violin bass. The tuners are correct for a crown, as are the pickups. Not to mention the pickup switch placement.

Check it out here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. Scroll down to the second bass on the page.

 

[cdef]

And here's an Electra, another very close match:

ED: Come to think of it, it's not impossible that it actually _is_ a "Shelly" violin bass, not that I've ever heard of such a brand. But these music store imports of the '60s were sometimes ephemeral, and a brand might perhaps only be applied to one particular unbranded consignment from Japan, then abandoned in favor of another for the next batch (if there was one). Who knows.

 

[GM60466]

Electra +1

 

[bongomania]

Not an Eko, IMO. ...Various other brands like Electra, Crown and Royal had very similar or identical models, perhaps all made at the same factory.

Well that's exactly it, though. All of these brand names are just labels that were stuck onto products from one or two factories, with minor variations per client. Eko, Electra, all of them were names owned by distributors, and were never the name of the manufacturer. The actual manufacturer (like Matsumoku) would have some base models available to order, and one distributor would order x number of them with tort guards and cream-colored knobs, while another distributor would order xx number of them with black guards and chrome knobs, etc.

 

[P. Aaron]

A cool bass nonetheless. Is it playable? How's the tone?

 

[60's Bluesman]

A cool bass nonetheless. Is it playable? How's the tone?

its very playable, very comfortable. its got flatwounds on it and it a hollow body of course so it got a upright sound to it kind of a heavy fat sound to it. by far the best bass ive ever owned or played. i think i should invest in a guitar stand imho

 

[smcd]

Well that's exactly it, though. All of these brand names are just labels that were stuck onto products from one or two factories, with minor variations per client. Eko, Electra, all of them were names owned by distributors, and were never the name of the manufacturer. The actual manufacturer (like Matsumoku) would have some base models available to order, and one distributor would order x number of them with tort guards and cream-colored knobs, while another distributor would order xx number of them with black guards and chrome knobs, etc.

Sounds right. The similarities between some of these basses is too great to think that they came from separate factories.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Bongo is right... as usual.

 

[GlennW]

Definately MIJ, and not Eko. I had a Teisco with the same pickups, and that's a Matsumoku tailpiece.

Eko is Italian, but I read something recently about either Eko or Vox having stuff partially MIJ.

 

[Xynche]

I hate to bring up such an old thread but I didn't think it was necessary to start a new one.

I have this bass all original, it's a Crown for sure. How much do you think it's worth? I'm not selling it, it was my uncles first bass. Just want to know what I have here, I want to put some mods but don't want to ruin it if it's worth something.

 

[Recoil Rob]

Lazarus Thread!

This was my first bass, a Phantom. My friends were starting a garage band in 1974, they had the bass but no bass player so they talked me into it. The sound on mine was not good so I went to used EBO which was not much better.

I still have the Phantom, albeit with all the guts missing and the chrome is pitted. It's been through the wars and abused but the neck still very playable. Sounds better acoustically than I remember it amped.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Lazarus Thread!

This was my first bass, a Phantom. My friends were starting a garage band in 1974, they had the bass but no bass player so they talked me into it. The sound on mine was not good so I went to used EBO which was not much better.

I still have the Phantom, albeit with all the guts missing and the chrome is pitted. It's been through the wars and abused but the neck still very playable. Sounds better acoustically than I remember it amped.
View attachment 3008091

Sorry, that is NOT a Phantom. THIS is a a 1965 Vox Phantom...as you can see by the pickguard and headstock...and phantom body shape.

Looks like what you have is a generic 'violin' bass.

Vox moved production from the UK to the Crucinelli factory in Italy, otherwise known as EKO in Italy. They also made the violin bass with the bizarre headstock, later copied by Japanese factories.

 

[Recoil Rob]

Sorry, YOURS is not a Phantom, it's a Vox brand, Phantom model.

Mine is a Phantom brand....god knows what the model is.