Unusual (affordable) headless bass

[TheGreek]

Haven't seen one of these before - possible a Chinese model but looks interesting.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-TRB5-Fretless-Bass-Guitar-Japan-2002/273613686777?hash=item3fb4a587f9:g:sssAAOSw6n9cFoQj

[dyerseve]

did you post the right link? it is neither headless, unsual nor Chinese... 🤨

[TheGreek]

Thanks D

Must remember to proof read posts before hitting the "submit reply" button..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Headless-BASS-Custom-Steinberger-System/192762771790?hash=item2ce18e794e:g:TBEAAOSwEp5cGXuB

[AndyTravis]

Stinks of being a peavey dynabass with bits dawn off.

[anzoid]

Modified Hohner Jack II B by the looks of the upper horn. I only think this because I've recently bought a Jack II B - it's a bolt-on neck rather than the usual neck-through. You can also see that behind the neck pickup there is a hole - that's because the Jack II B (normally) has a PJ set (on edit: presuming it was even a Jack at one point...). The knobs are definitely Hohner standard, though have been moved around and it looks as though it's active. The lower horn (which, for me at least visually balances the Jack, has been hacked off and, overall, it's a bit of a monstrosity. Also been re-finished as I'm pretty certain the Jack II B only came in white or black.

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by anzoid

[anzoid]

Though on second look - the bottom of the body by the bridge is all wrong - it's "cut in" on a Jack to give the tuners some room. And the end of the neck is angled whereas on my Jack II B it's straight across. But that upper horn is very Jack-like. Photos I can find of Peavey Dynabasses have (it seems) chunkier upper horns - and also, why the hell would you mod a Dynabass with Hohner hardware??? Completely nuts.

[anzoid]

Now I'm not even sure the knobs are Hohner originals as looking at a close-up they look like they're missing the double grooves that go all the way round.

What is this thing...

 

[anzoid]

I'll shut up now!

[AndyTravis]

Look at the pickups. Has a shortened horn etc.

[AndyTravis]

[Paul S]

And there rests the case for the prosecution, M'lud...

[anzoid]

33 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Look at the pickups. Has a shortened horn etc.

What vintage is that then? Never seen a Peavey like that - gorgeous And still wonder why someone would do that to a Peavey 😮
What do you make of the (apparent?) gap behind the neck pickup, did the Dynabass ever come in some type of PJ config? (Which is possibly a dumb question given the obvious match between the pickups...)

Edited December 20, 2018 by anzoid

[BreadBin]

I have a very similar Peavey here - horn, heel, pickups and the end of the fingerboard look identical. 

[anzoid]

6 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I have a very similar Peavey here - horn, heel, pickups and the end of the fingerboard look identical.

You've got a project on your hands then - can you turn it headless, but do a better job?!?

Now wondering why I thought it was based on a Hohner Jack (which is conclusively disproved) - I've even seen and played BreadBin's Peavey... - and very nice it is too

[BreadBin]

7 minutes ago, anzoid said:

You've got a project on your hands then - can you turn it headless, but do a better job?!?

Now wondering why I thought it was based on a Hohner Jack (which is conclusively disproved) - I've even seen and played BreadBin's Peavey... - and very nice it is too

Har, challenge most definitely not accepted. Another project is the last thing I need!

You, however, have all the Hohner parts already - all you need is a cosmetically challenged Peavey to go with it. If only there was one around... 

[anzoid]

1 minute ago, BreadBin said:

Har, challenge most definitely not accepted. Another project is the last thing I need!

You, however, have all the Hohner parts already - all you need is a cosmetically challenged Peavey to go with it. If only there was one around... 

Not quite ready to sacrifice my Hohner Jack just yet And your Peavey is too nice to take a saw (or axe?) to either the headstock or the lower horn (cosmetic challenges or not)!

[Bassassin]

Definitely a hack-job Pervy. Would've been better looking if they'd left the lower horn intact.

Someone's made a half-decent job of it, in fairness - biggest first-glance giveaway is the remnants of the departed headstock's scarf joint. Which might provide a clue as to why it became a candidate for the decap treatment...

 

[TheGreek]

Hopefully this will make it easier to do the comparisons.

 

[TheGreek]

There's a 5er for sale on Gumtree for £89

[tauzero]

Cheap headless 4-string bridge/tuners are easy to come by, not so 5-strings.

[BreadBin]

http://www.hohner-cshop.de/en/Guitar/Headless-Bass-Series/Basses-Bass-Headless-BB/Hohner-B2AV-Headless/

Not cheap, but parts are available here.

[lemmywinks]

On 23/12/2018 at 00:08, tauzero said:

Cheap headless 4-string bridge/tuners are easy to come by, not so 5-strings.

 

Yup, I've been waiting patiently for the day those Chinese factories start churning out 5 string headless hardware and it floods AliExpress at bargain prices. Gonna happen one day!

[tauzero]

You can get single-string tuners, but they're not cheap either - £40 apiece from ABM.