karnophile

Apologies for slow response! Haven't looked for ages! Now I do have a useful update for anyone interested in Egypt basses. Jimmy Egypt has a dedicated Egypt Guitars Facebook page and there you will see a gallery of some of Egypt Guitars production. Furthermore he says he is going to be making the basses again! Worth a look to see what Egypt were about in the mid 1980s! Regards Karnophile

Very Interesting medpb. If it was a see-thru red then it was very likely Rosetta Red. which was a cherry red transluscent and in my opinion one of Egypts very best colours. It could well have had a pair of Armstrong "Egypt Cleartones" pick-up. They usually have no mounting rings and are adjusted for height at the back via a pair of allan screws for each pick-up. Chorr from the Glaswegian band "Battle for Second Place" plays one although his has conventional pickups. Do you remember where you got it or part-ex'ed it? I dont suppose you have a photo of the bass or remember its serial number because I could probably tell you much more about model designation etc. Without seeing it it sounds like a "Karnak Nefertiti 2" in Rosetta Red if so then it was likely an 1986 model. These were made of Mahogany with a four-piece quater sawn neck, it was a serious piece of kit indeed and as you say a killer shape! Where else are you going to see one! The sound is pretty individual too, my fretless has a strong acoustic responce even before you plug it in. A much woodier natural tone than, by comparison, my Warwick although the Warwick plugged in is the more versatile. Tis a pity you still dont have your Egypt as they are so rare nowadays, I hardly ever see one. Real collectors oddball, and I have to say I like the oddballs! Best Wishes Karnophile

Is anyone playing, or indeed interested in the wacky yet wonderful bass guitars made by the Egypt factory between 1985 and 1987? Egypts were the brainchild of famous Glaswegian luthier James Cannell better known as Jimmy Egypt "the Pharaoh of Luthiering"! He and his business partner, Maurice Bellando, built guitars and basses in Glasgow's West End. These were very high spec and most unusual and original designs featuring not just exotic woods and construction but some pretty exotic (for the time) electrics too. Jimmy Egypt is still very much in business and if you checkout CC Music's website you'll see one of Jimmy's top of the line guitars, but sadly not one of the basses. Jimmy has been promising a dedicated Egypt page on his website and as he says "watch this space". Now someone else has recently posted up on a website called "guitar-list" one of the Egypt Guitars original flyers and there you can see three of the basses. I seem to recall seeing plenty of the basses in Glasgow's CC Music, Inverness' EMS, and Aberdeen's R&B at the time but the guitars were not so common. In England Dixies Music were the official distributor and also Route 66. I have an Egypt fretless bass and I love it. If anyone has got one too (Bass or even guitar) please send me a picture and the serial number and I'll see what information I can relate about it for you. Best Wishes Karnophile