Newfoundfreedom

I've just watched the guitar episode and the bass episode. Very entertaining. Although having watched the bass episode I'm kind of worried. I quote "bass players are no longer just the fat bloke standing at the back" That's me buggered then! That's my whole act.

I'm not sure. In the description it was listed as "upgraded with SD's" so that would suggest a retro fit, but as I understand it some of the later ones actually came as stock with the SD's. Either way it's got them so happy days.

What channel were these on?

Guitars? Seems like a pretty obscure premise for a whole TV episode. I mean. How many people actually play one? I had to Google it to even find out what they were. Apparently they're kind of like a mini six sting bass with a built in octaver. That'll never catch on. (Damn! Just seen @Bilbo beat me to it. You snooze you lose)

Thanks @BigRedX Good to hear from someone who's actually owned one (albeit a different model) There's nothing there that sound too perturbing. As it's neither a five string or the flame inlay/bridge version then I have neither of those things to worry about. The pots, along with all the electrics have already been replaced with Seymour Duncans, and hopefully with it being around for a few years someone will have already dealt with any fret issues. If not then I'm not averse to having the frets redressed. If that's the biggest problem on a bass that looks this good then I still reckon I'm on to a winner. 😁

I'm hoping the Seymour Duncan electronics will give it some life.

Nobody? Just me then. Excellent! I always wanted a unique bass. 😁

Just looking at them makes my brain itch. It's like one of those optical illusion puzzles. The neck always looks bent. I don't even understand the point of them.

I've said it before but I'll say it again. The Gretsch Junior Jet II is superb and not a lot of money.

The pickguard IS the bridge. It's all one enormous lump of chrome plated brass. That's the whole point of Trabens. They have massive oversized bridges to (supposedly) increase tone and sustain. That's their party piece.

I did a search and looked through all the threads but everything Traben related was several years old. Probably not surprising as, from what I can gather from the limited information around, the company ceased to exist a good few years ago. Anyhow. I just picked one up from the bay of fleas and it looks absolutely stupendous. Natural finish, Seymour Duncan pups and preamp, Grover tuners with hipshot drop D. Brass nut and supersized brass bridge (a rather tame and dare I say lovely looking, Music Man style oval, as opposed to the more common and garish flame design). 24 full and reachable frets. String through body. From the limited amount of information I can find about them they seem pretty well regarded, extremely diverse sound wise, and very playable. Yet they are ridiculously cheap considering the amount of instrument you get for your money. OK I get that the looks aren't for everyone, especially purists who prefer a Fender shape (one of which I'm definitely not. Bland with a side order of bland) I'd even draw the line myself at the flame bridged models. But this one's an utter thing of beauty. What am I missing? I can't wait for this thing to arrive.

Yup. I concur. Although the logo and Scorpion we're definitely inlays. I scratched then with my thumb nail to see if they were stickers. I've kind of got past the point of caring now anyway. I agree it's most likely one of the cheapo eBay basses having listened to what everyone else has said. Although I still maintain the neck was a thing of beauty regardless. I briefly considered buying it just for novelty value, but it seems it's not quite as unique as I had previously thought. Oh well, it's only a matter of seconds before my GAS takes me in another direction. In fact I have my eye on something on eBay as we speak. 😂

I reckon someone got a bargain there at £250.

Yeah but she's a proper slapper.

Right. Now it's starting to make sense. I think we've probably cracked it. I wasn't playing or even looking at basses 10 years ago so these totally passed me by. I've genuinely never seen anything like it. I agree the luthier connection is most likely coincidental. All the gear, this bass included, came from a music shop closure. The guy who owns it all he's lived here in Bulgaria for 7 years and his shop was in the UK prior to that. So the timeline would fit. It's basically brand new but has been sitting in storage since the shop closed so now he's selling everything off cheap to get rid of as much of the gear as he can. I must admit I'm tempted to buy it on the feel of the neck alone, maybe strip the body back to bare wood, replace the electronics and bridge, and create something truly unique. If I told you I could get the bass for around £100 would you say it was worth a punt?

I can't really comment on this thread. I'm such a bad player, my bass slaps me.

There's a Mazeti guitar on there at the minute. Totally different style though. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253041915631

Come to think of it he did say something along the lines of there are 2 Wolf brands and this is not the crap ones they sell in America. The plot thickens.

Yup. That's kind of where I'm at.

Yup. That makes 2 of us. Either way it's a quirky looking thing. As I said earlier the payability of the neck is great. The only thing that puts me off slightly is the rest of the components look quite generic and low end to me.

Very impressive. But I still can't see anything that links the two (other than the obvious shape and style) They could be sourcing the necks from the same place or copying the same design maybe?

Wow! Superb bit of recall there. I'm impressed. It definitely looks like the same design. Whether or not it's the same builder I don't know.

Yeah that headstock though! Maybe I could learn to love it? 😂 To be honest, what the bloke was asking for it I'm guessing he doesn't know what he's got there either.

Hmmm. That's got me thinking now. It might definitely be worth a punt. That would also explain why the neck felt extremely good quality and very playable.

Ah, maybe I've totally got the wrong brand then. So do you reckon this one could actually be a custom / luthier build?