Hi to all,
This is the story behind this bass!!
I found it in a cash converters,it looks unusual,so I thought I'd take a punt on it,it's was £180,took it home,found the truss rod nut had split,not the best of starts!!,got a new M6 truss nut form eBay,it fit love jw a glove,done a bit of searching about and found these bass are hand made in South Africa,I emailed lewitt and got this reply
Hi Mark,
We have looked through our archived records and found the following specs:
34" scale American Hard Maple neck.
Rhodesian Teak fretboard.
'Tiger Stripe' American Walnut body (not very common).
2 x twin bobbin Humbuckers.
Std Metric 6 truss-rod nut. There is a possibility that you will have to put a sleeve or washer down the front before installing a new nut.
We have also realised that this is one of two original proto-types we developed in 2006.
(The other is a fretless version).They were called the 'Illusion' model back then.
The intention was to see what type of reception we would receive with the concept of having pick-ups hidden in the rear of the instrument because, as far as we were aware, this had not been done before.
We focused more on the pick-up system rather than on the construction itself, since it was a proto-type, although the wood grain turned out spectacularly once it was finished.
I air-freighted them to a friend of mine in 2007, who then worked for Active Music in London,to see what response we would get internationally. He subsequently disappeared and we have not heard from him since.
It would be great to know what happened to the fretless.
After much 'trial and error' and decision-making, we started producing the improved version (as per our website) in 2011.
I suggest you keep this mail, as you now have proof that you are in possesion of the first original Lewitt bass.
If you have problems with the truss rod, contact us and we will advise the best we can.
Photos would be great, if you can include a close-up of the truss-rod nut.
Is the pre-amp still operational? We have improved and compacted it since. Repacement battery is in the control cavity under back cover.
We're hoping that you will get much pleasure out of this instrument.
Best regards,
Allen Lewitt.