John Birch basses?

[cocco]

Are they still being made? Anyone for any experience of them?

[lettsguitars]

http://www.johnbirchguitars.com/John_Birch_Guitars/About_Us.html

[BigRedX]

The new one I tried about 10 years ago was IMO a pale imitation of the classic 70s John Birch guitars.

[lettsguitars]

I would have to agree. Although I've never tried one. The original idea of modernizing the vintage guitars with improved tronics was obviously a good one 40 years ago but all the designs seem to be rehashed gibson, prs and the like. They should have moved on by now I would have thought. They just use the name now.

[BigRedX]

There was an excellent article/interview with John Birch in International Musician some time in the 70s, where he put forward his theories on guitar design and pickups and why most of the major US-made guitars were rubbish. I should still have it somewhere, it would make interesting reading in the present day.

[cocco]

I see no mention of basses on the site. I'd love to get my hands on one, the SG shape particularly. Anyone got one they're bored of?

[Schnozzalee]

I've owned a 4001 type from '75 I think it was. If your a fingerstyle player like me, I would not recommend them as the pickups are so high output, and crackle to the touch.I should also mention, Birch's builds vary massively - some have neck so thin they bow from slight string tension and other's are like a baseball bat - try before you buy!!

There's an SG bass in Electric Ladyland, Bristol - it's in black finish but the owner wants close to 2 grand for it and you have to go see him in person - no online shop. He has a double neck guitar/bass 4001 too but it has a repaired neck & headstock. I personally wouldn't pay more than a grand for one, but it's cool that they are vintage, custom shop basses and you can get that Geezer Butler tone straight from the plug in. The truss rod requires a 16 Box Spanner - I had to keep taking mine back to Overwater because it had so little play in over the years.

If you find a decent one for sub £1k i'd keep it, my guitar tutor taught me on an SG doubleneck guitar and a green 4001 bass; in my first band, the guitarist had a J1 too, so they're a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. Hope this helps!! Feel free to ask more questions! There's a couple of nice guys on here that own Birch's, hopefully they'll see this thread

[Schnozzalee]

Big_Stu!! That's the BC'ers name, I knew it'd come to me, I think he owns Jim Lea of Slade's SG. 12stringbassist owns a Green 4001 on here too I think (i'm not too sure about the name, )

Edited February 18, 2013 by Schnozzalee

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1361217341' post='1983048']
Big_Stu!! That's the BC'ers name, I knew it'd come to me, I think he owns Jim Lea of Slade's SG. 12stringbassist owns a Green 4001 on here too I think (i'm not too sure about the name, )
[/quote]

It was supposed to be a copy of Jimmy Lea's, but it's wrong in a few ways. Scale length & no two octave neck being two. By the time I found out that John Birch had very little to do with Jim's bass he was dead. But in a way it's typical Birch, he sailed rather close to the wind in his business dealings shall we say?
Good luck will be needed at finding any John Birch SG be it guitar or bass, there's a US collector who has a thing about them & IIRC he has around 30+ of them. His search brings him over once a year, he's due round about now.
If you want an authentic John Birch SG bass speak to JayDee, he built many of them. Last I heard you're talking around £1400 & an 18 month waiting list. But that also gets you hand made copies of the original soapbar Birch pickups - and an option on on-board effects.



This bass is the last one that John Birch personally had any involvement in building. He phoned me one Sunday afternoon to tell me it was nearly finished & was found dead in his kitchen two days later. JayDee finished it for me.

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1361216932' post='1983035']I would not recommend them as the pickups are so high output, and crackle to the touch.[/quote]
Sounds like a bad earth connection. God knows why but a sign of a JB is the all over scratchplate on the back of the body. If it's not earthed properly static builds up very quickly while playing so it has to be earthed. I had the exact same problem & it was an easy fix.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Big_Stu

[BetaFunk]

The Little Guitar Shop in Birmingham used to have some guitars (not basses)


http://www.thelittleguitarshop.com/JohnBirch.html

[cocco]

I've messaged Jaydee in the hope of a response that's a great story Big Stu. What are the electronics like? Is it a good bass to live with?

[Big_Stu]

The electrics are perfect, he took out the ones that JB had started to install - and put in WD ones IIRC. He also put in a flip-lid battery compartment instead of the screw on one that JB had, sooner or later the screw holes would have worn out.
Since JayDee worked for JB I thought it was as close as it could get after JB died.

It wasn't until after JB died that I found out that JD built Jimmy Lea's bass - but while he worked for John Birch.
I'd spoken with JD about the build, so I asked him why he didn't tell me up front that he was the man I should have gone to. (JD gave me the bridge that he'd had lying around for years).
His reply was that by that point I'd become JB's customer so it would have been unethical. That gave me the respect for JayDee that I have to this day.

The bass is awesome, only had to be set up once it's so stable. The neck was made for my hands, big but with a palm that's longer than my fingers, so it's a flat D in profile.