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Zemaitis bass....


BassBod
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9uafFaHEm_0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Not one you see very often...sounds great in the video. No doubt it will cost a fair bit, but I'm too scared to even look!

Edit - techno failure..lookup Vintage and Rare's UTube channel. Or someone clever will probably fix the link....

Edited by BassBod
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I liked the sound..can appreciate the aesthetic but I remain puzzled by the reverence collectors seem to have for these guitars. It seems odd to me that most other UK luthiers' work is very under valued (other than Wal?). V&R have an 80's Manson going for £800 - I know it's a collectors market, not a players...but still...

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[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1425152108' post='2704587']
I remain puzzled by the reverence collectors seem to have for these guitars. It seems odd to me that most other UK luthiers' work is very under valued (other than Wal?). [/quote]

It's probably because Tony Zemaitis died in 2002, all his guitars were unique one-offs and he only made a few hundred over his career. His high-profile customers in the 70s would have established the name & reputation.

I mentioned his "student" range - in 1982 my 17 year-old guitarist mate saved up £200 and had Tony build him this:

[url="http://www.zemaitis.de/index_gallery12.html"]http://www.zemaitis...._gallery12.html[/url]

As you can see, even his cheapos were beautifully made & finished. It played very nicely & sounded lovely, but if I remember rightly the intonation was a bit suspect...

Anyway, my mate was very badly strapped for cash in the 90s and was forced to sell this, can't remember how much for but a fraction of what it would be worth today. It went to a guy in the States, who apparently paid half what he'd agreed, then vanished. The guitar has appeared for sale on a couple of US vintage dealer sites over the intervening years, priced around $15000 to $18000.

J.

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If he only made 10 a year or so (one man, little production line working) that makes a lot of sense, and the superstar clients must have spread his name in the pre-interweb world. Sort of where Carl Thompson's work would be if it wasn't for the web (and Claypool).

Your comment about intonation doesn't surprise me - its an area where modern production instruments have probably improved a lot. I've got some hand-built instruments where you have accept a compromise...and it never seems to be quite right. Luckily its always in the higher dusty end, so it doesn't bother me.

I'll have to have a look at that web page later, and go bass spotting!

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