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Alden TV Cruiser


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Hi all,

Thought I'd see if there was any interest in this again as finances are looking bleak and I'm struggling to find a job. Had some interest in it not too long ago but they never got back to me, so thought I'd put it out there and see if anyone else fancied it.

I got this a couple of years back but it's only been out of the case a handful of times. It's a butterscotch Telecaster style body (basswood if I remember correctly), with EB-3 style Entwistle pickups and a neck that's closer to precision than jazz.

The inherent problem with it is that the Fender-style high mass bridge has the strings spaced at 19mm or 20mm, whereas the pickups are made to a Gibson spec which uses a narrower spacing. As a result, the A and D alignment is fine, but the E and G (much more at the bridge than the neck) are not directly over the pole pieces resulting in them sounding slightly quieter. To fix this it's a case of either swapping for a Gibson-spec bridge or swapping the pickups. A bridge with adjustable saddles would probably sort the problem - looking at ebay there are also a lot more bridge options with different spacings than when I last checked, making me think perhaps there's a cheap solution there. However, I have neither the desire nor the money to invest in this any more than I have done.

I do, however, have a '51 Fender precision pickup that I purchased from the Bass Doc on here and a bridge jazz pickup (untested - came from an 80s luthier-built bass AFAIK) that I was going to sort the problem out with, but tbh I'd rather have it out of my way. I'd be willing to put those with it for a bit extra if anyone wanted to take the surgery on as a project.

Needs a set of strings now (or a flatwound G) as the one that was on it snapped a couple of weeks ago when I was swapping it onto another bass to test it with a flatwound. I'm annoyed enough at the fact that those strings cost 25 quid and didn't even get played.

I've attached one pic, as I couldn't find the others and don't feel upto taking any more at the moment. Will do more if anyone requests them.

Tweed style hardcase, which has never left the room, is included. Looking for about [b]£160 + postage[/b] but I'm aware the likelihood of this selling is beyond slim. Would be willing to trade - want a black jazz or the parts to build one, plus offers of whatever you might have going will be considered - drop me a PM.

Cheers

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I'm thinking that too, though it's been so long since I looked into the subject I can't remember the specifics of the Gibson spacing - I think it's 55mm at the bridge? There were some quite cheap high mass options on ebay that had narrower spacings that might fit the bill.

Yes that's right, Alan Entwistle designed - although I seem to remember hearing these were made in Korea. They don't seem to be available anymore either. It looks to me like they come from the same factory as 'Hutchins' instruments, I seem to remember them doing some strikingly similar models a while ago.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

It's been a while but I'm bumping this back to the top. Just bought something new and the proceeds from a sale would make a nice contribution to the cost!

Price still stands at 150 for the sake of the forum rules but I'll consider any offers if someone is willing to get this out of my way, since it's really getting under my feet and the collection is big enough now.

So - info since the last time - it's still missing that G string and it needs a new nut now since a chunk broke off when I took the E string off to test a flatwound on another bass. This bass really does seem to hate me, so I just want to get shut of it! I ended up going through a period of wanting to keep this and mod it - using firebird style mini humbuckers with rails to solve the spacing issue - but that didn't happen. I bought and fitted a chunky bridge which has corrected the spacing problem to some extent but has raised the action a bit.

Due to the design of the bridge, the new holes were drilled underneath so it'd be possible to put the original back on without being able to tell. A Schaller roller bridge with adjustable saddles would sort this one right out, I'm confident. One came up on here a while back and I should have got it but back then I just didn't have the funds!

As before - hardly been out of the case, no damage or marks (apart from a slight crack in the lacquer where the neck and body join that has always been there, not really visible as it's at the back) and looks practically new. Neck is like glass and the profile is quite chunky, more Precision than Jazz. Still has the inspection sticker on the headstock! Case is included and an old 80s jazz bridge pickup that I've never used, may or may not work, never tested it.

If anyone wants more info etc, drop me a line :)

Lee

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