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Mystery Commodore Bass


Maynn123
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Hey,

I spotted, what looks like a very nice bass guitar. Since I dont know much about bass guitars I though Ill ask here.

My question is, how good of a bass is this for ska/punk rock. I know it wont be great but I am wondering if any of you have any experience regarding this. Also, how much does that single pickup position affect the sound, will it normally be between a treble and bass sound. And how good of a bass is it overall. The price is 60 pounds with a hard case - seems like a good offer.

Cheers!

Edited by Maynn123
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I wouldn't bother to be honest, weak pick ups / poor output and tone will have your cranking up your amp and being generally disappointed, give it a wide birth and buy a second hand Squire Precision bass. that wont let you down and someone will most likely buy it off you her if you want to move it on

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£60 with a hard case would be a serious bargain for those who know what this is.

[url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/commodore-bass-guitar/1092714272"]http://www.gumtree.c...itar/1092714272[/url]

Late 60s/early 70s, Matsumoku-built, looks in original condition, even seems to have the original bridge cover still fitted. Probably not an agressive-sounding bass, so not my choice for Punk (I'd say Precision with new strings) but a bit of a score for a vintage MIJ collector.

Jon.

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Commodore's just an importer's (possibly Rosetti) rebrand, as were most old MIJ brands, & as a name is pretty much meaningless.

The headstock shape on this bass seems to have been used by the Matsumoku factory prior to adopting the Gibson "open book" shape - I don't remember seeing a Commodore with this headstock before. However this headstock does appear on early Conrad, Greco & Aria Diamond instruments - none of which were imported to the UK.

Matsumoku's regarded as one of the best Japanese factories of the "lawsuit" era, and their heyday was definitely the mid 70s-mid 80s period. This is a somewhat earlier bass than that - I'd say 60s judging from the headstock shape - and it's not going to be fantastic quality tbh, it's over 40 years old and may well have deteriorated structurally. A lot of early Japanese manufacture used unseasoned timber, and warped necks can be common, as can body distortion (particularly in hollowbodies like this) under years of string tension.

Don't buy this if you want a gigging bass that youre going to beat the hell out of, it's really more of a collector's curiosity.

J.

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