Anyone Heard of a make called CAIRNES?

[mooner-moonspice]

I was given this bass to me a couple of years ago by my step father, after he had given her to me he told me that it was worth alot more than he orginally thought. he said this was because only 150 of these types of basses were ever made and that i had the only fretless version. so if anybody has any clue at all on how much it is actually worth then i would be greatful if you could let me know because my finacial situation is not very good at the moment and i am looking to sell her, so here she is.
[url="http://img373.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic000po1.jpg"]http://img373.imageshack.us/my.php?image=m...rspic000po1.jpg[/url]
[url="http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic001mo9.jpg"]http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=m...rspic001mo9.jpg[/url]
[url="http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic002dg7.jpg"]http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic002dg7.jpg[/url]
[url="http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic003iv3.jpg"]http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=m...rspic003iv3.jpg[/url]
[url="http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic004cx2.jpg"]http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=m...rspic004cx2.jpg[/url]
If you cant see the serial code it is: FBF.80.2
[url="http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moonerspic004cx2.jpg"]http://img143.imageshack.us/my.php?image=m...rspic004cx2.jpg[/url]

[Hamster]

Jim Cairnes is a luthier who hails from Redcar, Middlesborough. It's probably one of his. No idea of the value mind, I'm sure you'll get a few more replies soon.

Hamster

[Bassassin]

There was a lovely Jim Cairnes Jazzman - a Jaguar-ish shaped thing - came up for sale on the old BW board a couple of times, I kicked myself for not going for it.

And again, even harder, when it turned up on Ebay & sold for a pittance (Ebay brand-zombies having no idea what it was) at a point when I had literally no money.

Fourth time lucky? Nah.

Jon.

[Prosebass]

From a quick bit of browsing It is thought that Jim now works for Burns so you may be able to contact him there for some info on the bass before you sell it.

[thedontcarebear]

There was a musicman copy by him sold on here once or twice wasn't there?

[cd_david]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='278570' date='Sep 6 2008, 01:37 PM']There was a musicman copy by him sold on here once or twice wasn't there?[/quote]



It is only the neck on the bass that is made by Cairnes. Beatiful piece of birdseye maple though.

Dave

[BigRedX]

That's a nice looking bass - and the Burns in the background of the first pic looks good too!

[warwickhunt]

With regard to what it is worth, I wouldn't expect to be getting the mortgage paid off with the funds

An old guy that lives down from me knows I play bass etc and brought by this guitar which he'd been told by someone in a guitar shop was worth (and I quote) "a small fortune". The poor old sod genuinely expected to realise 4 or possibly even 5 figure sums; unfortunately it was a tatty unloved example (neck was twisted, fingerboard lifting and it had no pup or electrics) of an obscure Italian make that research revealed might be worth £300-£600 if it was in mint condition. He left me muttering about going to see an expert in London, tried to explain that the guitar sale wouldn't cover the cost of a sandwich on the train never mind his train fare.

I'm not trying to urinate on your bonfire but 'sometimes' people get very excited by rare and unusual finds and expect the kind of figures that get bandied about in the press for *star's* guitars. Saying that, I'd certainly expect you to get a couple hundred quid for it but then again... I'm no expert

[lineboss58]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='278692' date='Sep 6 2008, 04:32 PM']With regard to what it is worth, I wouldn't expect to be getting the mortgage paid off with the funds

An old guy that lives down from me knows I play bass etc and brought by this guitar which he'd been told by someone in a guitar shop was worth (and I quote) "a small fortune". The poor old sod genuinely expected to realise 4 or possibly even 5 figure sums; unfortunately it was a tatty unloved example (neck was twisted, fingerboard lifting and it had no pup or electrics) of an obscure Italian make that research revealed might be worth £300-£600 if it was in mint condition. He left me muttering about going to see an expert in London, tried to explain that the guitar sale wouldn't cover the cost of a sandwich on the train never mind his train fare.

I'm not trying to urinate on your bonfire but 'sometimes' people get very excited by rare and unusual finds and expect the kind of figures that get bandied about in the press for *star's* guitars. Saying that, I'd certainly expect you to get a couple hundred quid for it but then again... I'm no expert [/quote]

So right it looks like mid seventys example i remember that style of his when it came out, i used to hang around the shop a lot as a kid so got to see a few of the guitars he made. Jim has never been a high output kind of guitar builder and some of the runs of models he has made are only in the tens rather than hundreds. I think it would be fair to say that there is a big gulf between the instruments he built at the begining of his career and the stuff he produces now. I have an instrument he made for me in 76 and one he built for me three months ago and they are like chalk and cheese, he is a great guy to talk to and now is concentrating on building acoustic guitars.

[mathewsanchez]

Here's a couple of his from the for sale thread (the first is the stingray):

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=16198&hl=cairnes"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...&hl=cairnes[/url]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=17994&hl=cairnes"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...&hl=cairnes[/url]

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Prosebass' post='278551' date='Sep 6 2008, 01:08 PM']From a quick bit of browsing It is thought that Jim now works for Burns so you may be able to contact him there for some info on the bass before you sell it.[/quote]

He supplies pickups for the top end Burns. Jim is primarily a pickup winder (I still think that his single coils are the best in the industry, bar none) and as a luthier, his output is relatively low. He is "famed" for being the guitar tech for Chris Rea. I've written quite a bit about him on this forum. The search is your friend ([url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=Search&CODE=show&searchid=6a4ca151f6c0b8037b96a9a6daf8ff15&search_in=posts&result_type=topics&highlite=%2Bcairnes"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=Search...ite=%2Bcairnes)[/url]. Give him a call if you need any information... it's best straight from the horse's mouth so to speak.

Edited September 8, 2008 by EBS_freak

[Bassassin]

Does anyone else remember - or even have any pics of - that Cairnes Jazzman I mentioned?

J.

[mooner-moonspice]

hey hey people thanks, hav been a great help

it not in mint condition but pretty close to it, there is a small amount of damage on the volume pot cap.
the articulation is absolutely beautiful, it feels almost like your not playing it at all. There is nothing i can fault with this bass
Does anybody know how i can get hold of jim cairnes? for three things a valueation on the bass, also see if i can a replacement dial and to get documents to prove what it is in order to sell.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='mooner-moonspice' post='281123' date='Sep 10 2008, 02:43 PM']hey hey people thanks, hav been a great help

it not in mint condition but pretty close to it, there is a small amount of damage on the volume pot cap.
the articulation is absolutely beautiful, it feels almost like your not playing it at all. There is nothing i can fault with this bass
Does anybody know how i can get hold of jim cairnes? for three things a valueation on the bass, also see if i can a replacement dial and to get documents to prove what it is in order to sell.[/quote]

PMed.

[mooner-moonspice]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='281156' date='Sep 10 2008, 03:20 PM']PMed.[/quote]
cheers is much appiciated

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='mooner-moonspice' post='281213' date='Sep 10 2008, 04:04 PM']cheers is much appiciated [/quote]

That work for you?

[mooner-moonspice]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='281216' date='Sep 10 2008, 04:08 PM']That work for you?[/quote]

Yea, Thank you very much. he is a nice guy n was much abblidged to help. now it is just a matter of finding someone to buy it.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='mooner-moonspice' post='283925' date='Sep 14 2008, 09:55 PM']Yea, Thank you very much. he is a nice guy n was much abblidged to help. now it is just a matter of finding someone to buy it. [/quote]

Glad to be of service!

[crez5150]

...... he also made some of the pickups for early Zoot basses..... very good they were too!