The best bass in the world - allegedly

[Annoying Twit]

It looks as if the seller of this bass owns a [url=http://www.theonion.com/articles/amazing-new-hyperbolic-chamber-greatest-invention,1321/]hyperbolic chamber[/url].

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COLUMBUS-BASS-GUITAR-IN-VINTAGE-SUNBURST-/390826286537?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item5aff0fddc9

[HowieBass]

It's not being sold by ex Co-op bank chief Paul Flowers is it?

[RhysP]

Since when has a sunburst Jazz bass enabled you to "stand out from the crowd"? - it has to be one of the commonest basses out there!

[Cameronj279]

"[b]ITS SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT AND WILL ENABLE ITS NEW OWNER TO REALLY STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!"[/b]

[font="Helvetica neue, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#333333"]Yeah. I've never saw a sunburst jazz bass before...[/color][/size][/font]

[BigRedX]

I hope there're not going to send it in that box.

[Ktmman]

Thats the sort of description worthy of my Stingray .... Apart from the colour -))))



So sought after the starting bid is £33 ... Thats what you would pay in a shop up town for a set of decent strings !!

[Ktmman]

Awwwwww he has just fed the fret board with lemon oil .....
Thats substitutes a pro set up / restoration i suppose -))))

[Ktmman]

, THESE ARE AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE NEW SO GRABA BARGAIN!!




On what planet ?

[jazzyvee]

In the early 80's I was in a soul, blues & funk band and the bass player had a fender Jazz bass and a Columbus jazz bass which he used to play for different songs. However whenever we were in the studio, the engineer always preferred the sound of the columbus bass to the Fender.

Cheap does not always mean nasty.

Jazzyvee

[Annoying Twit]

I don't think anyone here is saying that it's nasty. However, it isn't the most sought after bass there is, nor does a sunburst Jazz make the owner stand out from the crowd.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Ktmman' timestamp='1398410484' post='2433752']
, THESE ARE AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE NEW SO GRABA BARGAIN!!




On what planet ?
[/quote]

On Planet 1977, when £86 was a lot of money. A [i][b]lot[/b][/i].

Jon.

[karlfer]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1398456795' post='2434438']
On Planet 1977, when £86 was a lot of money. A [i][b]lot[/b][/i].

Jon.
[/quote]

Yup, in 1980 I spent £100 on a second hand bass. An immaculate, 1973, Sonic Blue Fender Telecaster.
I sold it 15 years later for £400.
Wish I'd kept it

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1398465926' post='2434538']
I never understand those Lawsuit basses that copy the bass and neck perfectly from the original designs but substitute the original headstock design with a gimpy alternative with terrible tuners. Why do that? Throw your heart and soul into 90% of the instrument, cheap out on the bit that holds it all in tune.
[/quote]

Well, to be pedantic, they're not "lawsuit" basses - there never was a lawsuit - probably because John Hall wasn't in the instrument business back then. However, there was a threat of legal action, made by Gibson's then parent company Norlin, against the US distributors of Ibanez, Elger, taking issue over the "open book" headstock proifile used on Ibanez Gibson copies up until 1976. No legal action was taken because the threat came a year after Ibanez headstock shapes had been changed to a non-infringing design.

However, the upshot of that was that other US & UK importers & distributors followed suit with their subsequent orders, so as not to be on the receiving end of actual litigation. Hence the gimpy headstock shapes.

Regarding the tuners - properly tightened & lubricated, the closed-back Gotohs with the cast buttons (as seen on this Columbus) are actually not bad - they also turn up on British basses of the same era, like Shergold Marathons. Usually on the MIJ copies they are on the more budget-oriented examples, such as Columbus, but higher-end copies from most major Japanese factories used good-quality open-back tuners.

J.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1398891766' post='2438827']
Norlin were probably worried that those guys were making Les Pauls better than they were at that point in time....
[/quote]
Well - Tokai certainly were!

J.