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Who's Got the Oldest?

#62
von buck said:
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always glad to show this

andy
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Someone's a George Romero fan :smug:

Great bass as well...it's a tough warrior.
 
#63
I was messing around with a camera and ended up with this pic of my 5 original 1951 pbasses, it isn't really good but you get the idea. I just love staring at them!!!!!!!!!!
 

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#64
This wasn't mine,so I guess it doesn't officially count,but I had to show it. This showed up when I worked at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville a few years back. Two good old boys from some small town in Tn. showed up with it and a audiovox lapsteel from the same era. This was made back in 1937-38 by Paul Tutmarcfrom Seattle ,Wa. The only other one I have ever seen is a white one in the Seattle Music Experience Project Museum. I was fortunate enough to get to take it apart and verify it's authenticity. I contacted Bass Player for them to do an article about it,but it was gone the very next day. One cool bass!
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One last photo. Had more hair back then!
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#66
That is a very cool bass!!!! I've seen the one in Seattle and it is different from that one. supposedly they made as many as 50 or 60.. I sure would love to have one... for now I'll have to settle for my Fenders. Do you think you could find it????
 
#69
I never found out who it went to, Gruhn's is very big on confidentiality. As for how it played and the sound: I didn't get the chance to set it up properly and the strings were ancient, it didn't play all that great the way it was. As for the sound, It actually had somewhat of a deep tone (played through a Hartke kickback 12), though very dead sounding due to the strings. I would of loved to actually had the chance to set it up correctly and put a decent set of strings on it. It would be my guess that it is probably in the same condition today as it was when it left Gruhn's. It was purchased as a collectible investment and not to be played(once again, just a guess). One very cool bass, I was just in the right place at the right time to get my hands on it.
Moonshine (www.moonshineguitars.com) :bassist:
 
#71
The cable is hardwired. Quite a few early instruments were built this way. I find it interesting that it comes out at the bass upper bout. Mr.Tutmarc also built a lot of lapsteels, It is my guess that was the location that he was used to having the output cable come out at.

The pickup is under the pickguard. That's the steel blade of the p/u sticking out. I actually found a picture I took of the bass with the electronics exposed. Here it is. A pretty cool design for it's time.


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Moonshine :bassist:
 
#73
its almost unfortunate that spector got their hands on that wood...and then put emg's in the bass? if i am mis-informed about emg's please feel free to enlighten me, but i was always under the impression that the nature of the wood when combined with emgs didn't have that much of an overall effect on the tone...the tone is EMG, which is fine, just why use that wood with that bass?
 
#74
fullcircle said:
Huh. That looks like a big ol' horseshoe magnet under the pickguard. In any case, that's old pickup technology there!

What are the body and fingerboard made of?
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The body and the neck were mahogany. I believe that the fingerboard was ebony, but I could be mistaken.
Moonshine :bassist:
 

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