Double Bass Zorko Bass

[BAJO]

Zorko baby basses kick butt!! I have serial# 111 which ended up being Ampeg's 1st or 3rd baby bass!! Jess Oliver told me he hand wrote his numbers behind the plate and the one I have has it Good luck!!! Any questions, please ask!!

 

[Hardybar]

In 1960 or 61 (my memory of the time is foggy) I played a Zorko on stage with an all-star jazz ensemble in Kansas City, featuring Clark Terry as guest trumpet artist. The Zorko had a big amplified sound with gut strings, and was easy to play, but we were all pretty much stoned so I did not enjoy playing with Clark as much as I should have. I remember he said once during a bass solo "Pick it! If you keep pickin' it, it will never get well!" I was playing the Zorko at the request of a friend from a music store who was trying to drum up business for the instrument. I'm afraid I was never a natural salesman, and I didn't help his cause at all, giving the Zorko a dismissive review, and I regret that to this day. It was a nice instrument, and I wish I had kept it. A fond memory.

 

[Tlemish526]

Hello all . im currently building acoustic guitars as a hobby and came across an old ad for a zorko upright bass ... i was contemplating trying to build one in my shop from scratch can anyone here give me an idea of the dimensions ? e.g. body length , width , depth and perhaps the length and depth of the cutouts on the sides to give me sort of a set of reference dimensions to work from ? thanks for your time

 

[richrod]

Hi:

I just picked up a Zorko baby bass. It's serial number is 064.
I've searched the internet and found little other than Ampeg
bought the rights to reproduce it and made modifications in the early 1960's.

Does anyone know its value? I can't find any information about one being sold. It is mint except for some paint that is chipping off the front. Also the volume switch is not original. Does anyone know what it looked like? I am also looking for a stand.

Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken

Hi Ken, you are most likely looking at $2000-$3000 depending on what condition the Zorko is in... When the economy was doing well I've seen Ampeg BB4s go for as much as $3500 in excellent condition. The basses retailed for about $350 back when they were making them in the 60's so its amazing to see that they've grown so much in value, even with some dings, scratches and splits in the seam of the body...

Regards,

Rich

 

[mellotrondon]

Hi:

I just picked up a Zorko baby bass. It's serial number is 064.
I've searched the internet and found little other than Ampeg
bought the rights to reproduce it and made modifications in the early 1960's.

Does anyone know its value? I can't find any information about one being sold. It is mint except for some paint that is chipping off the front. Also the volume switch is not original. Does anyone know what it looked like? I am also looking for a stand.

Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken

There is a good You-Tube video of an actual old Zorko (not a newer stink-foam filled melt-down model Ampeg) being played by Nana Mouskouri's bassist wih "The Athenians" before he took to using a Fender Jazz Bass guitar. The video title is "Nana Mouskouri Odos Oniron et C'est Jolie le mer". I know it's very early Nana (about 1959?,) so the bass has to be a real Zorko.

I got to check out an Ampeg BB4 in a second hand store a year or so back. I hadn't seen one in a good 30 years. I noticed that the headstock "scroll" was actually just a pair of little stamped out molded plastic appliques that were supposed to be glued into recessed flats on each side of the headstock. What I saw however is that these flats appeared to have been machined into PARTICLE BOARD! Really? Particle board headstock on a bass? LMAO. Please tell me the original Zorkos were built to a bit higher quality.