SHERGOLD basses

[marcus bell]

suddenly grown fond of these anyone got any pictures?

[marcus bell]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1376419261' post='2173731']
Hundreds on Google images
[/quote]
well yeah, but like any better pictures...

[BetaFunk]

Here's a (not very good) pic of my 1979 Marathon bass & 1976 Masquerader guitar.

[ShergoldSnickers]

Not your standard off the shelf Marathon, so it will have lost some value. J type Wizard 84 pick-up added - originally a DiMarzio was placed in that slot in the early 80s. The control scratch plate and three way selector switch were added at the same time, together with a Badass bridge shortly after. The old plastic bridge cover is knocking about somewhere.

Lovely guitars there BetaFunk.

Edited August 23, 2013 by ShergoldSnickers

[marcus bell]

Nice stuff, I need a modulator

[ash]

This is my Shergold fretless 6 String Marathon apparently one of only four ever made two of which are now fretted!

Edited August 25, 2013 by ash

[Rumple]

Here a pic of the one I owned and played for years until I got that Jazz back in the late 80's and moved the Shergold on as I couldn't afford to keep both, it's the only bass I regret selling and I've sold a lot!


[attachment=142234:Dave_069lr.jpg]

[MisterFingers]

I used to have a Masquerader guitar - fine instrument (particularly given the fact someone gave it to me gratis), but I have never played a Shergold bass. How do they sound/play - I'm guessing a P/MM cross?

[marcus bell]

Listen to genesis live in 1980 Lyceum, London great Shergold sounds on there

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='ash' timestamp='1377339254' post='2186375']
This is my Shergold fretless 6 String Marathon one of only four ever made two of which are now fretted!
[/quote]
I can't believe there were only 4 made. I had one and Andy Pask from Landscape reviewed one in Musicians Only Mag (I think..) back in the day. I converted mine to long scale and added a Gotoh soapbar humbucker at the bridge. Sold it to guy who came up from Bristol. Quite a sweet sounding bass.

[ash]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1377386859' post='2187066']

I can't believe there were only 4 made. I had one and Andy Pask from Landscape reviewed one in Musicians Only Mag (I think..) back in the day. I converted mine to long scale and added a Gotoh soapbar humbucker at the bridge. Sold it to guy who came up from Bristol. Quite a sweet sounding bass.
[/quote]

The information came from the original owner who had it from new and the Shergold forum. There was a thread about the numbers of production model Shergold Marathon 6 strings made and co founder Norman Houlder reckoned around 100. The fretless version was made as a very small run and few have survived in their original fretless form. I can see why they were converted to fretted instruments as intonation is very difficult on a shortscale fretless instrument when playing chords! There are quite a few post production basses made up from 'new old' factory stock in existence. In all honesty I was going to have mine converted to a fretted but was dissuaded as it is such a rare thing.
There is a scan of the Andy Pask review on the Shergold site here -
http://www.shergold.co.uk/archive.html#2d25ff7705f2ae29a3018064a9f6e4ca

Edited August 25, 2013 by ash

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1377262021' post='2185481']
Lovely guitars there BetaFunk.
[/quote]
Thanks ShergoldSnickers.

The Marathon is really nice and even has it's original bridge cover.

I'm going to sell the Masquerader as i don't play guitar. It's had a fair bit of use but is slightly unusual to many as most with that shape headstock have string trees and mine doesn't.

[ash]

Here's my Custom Masquerader with string trees as a comparison, mine's pretty beaten up but still plays and sounds well.....for a guitar that is!

Edited August 25, 2013 by ash

[ShergoldSnickers]

Dug out a sound clip of my Marathon using the nonstandard bridge pickup. If I get time, I'll dig out a sound clip of a standard fretted Marathon I had before this one.

[url="http://www.ianhalstead.com/bc/Fretless-Marathon.mp3"]Sound clip - fretless, on bridge pickup[/url]

[AndyTravis]

Zombie thread…

 

A mate got a Marathon recently and I was instantly besotted.

 

he wouldn’t sell it to me.

 

So I went snooping and found a 1980 sunburst

 

So that’s his one with my ripper - it’s a late 70’s one.

 

 

this arrives next week

 

[Maude]

(Un😉)surprisingly @AndyTravis didn't hang on to the Marathon long so it now resides with me, keeping it's younger nephew, the Eastwood, company. 

These Marathons really are fantastic basses. I've put 55-110 D'Addario NYXLs on and it is sooooo punchy. It really cuts through. 😎

 

Most of the pictures in this thread have been lost so it would be great to see any members Shergolds, or Haymans again.