BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) I recently found some negatives my dad took of my first band in 1985. I played drums back then and our bass player Alex Hermann had an unbranded short scale bass. It was pretty basic if I recall, but he got a fairly passable Mick Karn-esque tone from it (he’d pulled the frets out himself). The only unobscured photo I could find is this one. Is anyone able to recognise or identify what it is? Edited September 20, 2019 by BrunoBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Looks like a Kay EB-100 tulip bass. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 And that's why Basschat is awesome. Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 That was my first bass too! Yep, a Kay Tulip... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 27 minutes ago, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 That's a crazy price for a cheapo Taiwanese bass. The pickups on these cheap Kay's are microphonic, nasty thing's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 Woolies Special. Cost about £20 back in the 70s and was overpriced at that. People only bought these because they couldn't afford anything better. Edited September 20, 2019 by BigRedX 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 44 minutes ago, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 That one looks slightly different to my friend’s example, the upper horn is flared away from the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 You're all right, but, paradoxically, wrong at the same time. But can we find a way throught this apparent cognitive dissonance? Oh god, if we must, you say. The bass in the pic is a Teisco Del Rey EB110 Tulip, related to, but not identical to the Kay EB100. If you look at the body shape of the Kay, it's not the same & not a "Tulip". This is what the guy in the pic's playing: https://reverb.com/uk/item/196751-teisco-del-rey-eb-110-tulip-31-inch-scale-bass-original-case-1960-s-sunburst The original Teiscos are quite collectable these days (hipsters, I expect) and a lot less common than the Kays, which were sold in every Woolies and your Ma's Kay (obvs) catalogue, somewhere in the pages beyond the ladies underwear section. They are, despite being Taiwanese & not Japanese, sort-of Teiscos, having been made in a factory established by and initially owned by Kawai/Teisco, which made a lot of identical & similar models. There - today you learned something you genuinely never gave a sh!t about. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Just now, BigRedX said: Woolies Special. Cost about £20 back in the 70s and was overpriced at that. My dad bought the guitar equivalent and still has it. It is utterly beyond horrible to play now and was apparently horrible to play then. However the chance to finally get the matching bass is tempting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 1 hour ago, thodrik said: My dad bought the guitar equivalent and still has it. It is utterly beyond horrible to play now and was apparently horrible to play then. However the chance to finally get the matching bass is tempting... Don't do it, especially for £135. Dreadful things, and that's coming from someone who loves a Danelectro….😆 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 28 minutes ago, casapete said: Don't do it, especially for £135. Dreadful things, and that's coming from someone who loves a Danelectro….😆 But if the guitar is that bad, I am almost intrigued as to just how bad the bass will be! I mean, I would love to pimp one out with a retrofitted Sadowsky pre-amp, new Hipshot and tuners tuners. Maybe even get some PLEK treatment. It would still be an unplayable turd, but it would be a really pimped out, heavily upgraded, unplayable turd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Lurk around your local car boot for long enough and one will turn up, it'll be £20 and you'll still feel ripped off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 4 hours ago, thodrik said: But if the guitar is that bad, I am almost intrigued as to just how bad the bass will be! I mean, I would love to pimp one out with a retrofitted Sadowsky pre-amp, new Hipshot and tuners tuners. Maybe even get some PLEK treatment. It would still be an unplayable turd, but it would be a really pimped out, heavily upgraded, unplayable turd. Not quite getting your drift now - spending a load of dosh on a pile of cr*p and it's still useless? Would maybe understand if it wasn't so fugly….😧 3 hours ago, Bassassin said: Lurk around your local car boot for long enough and one will turn up, it'll be £20 and you'll still feel ripped off. This^^^^, in a nutshell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 13 minutes ago, casapete said: Not quite getting your drift now - spending a load of dosh on a pile of cr*p and it's still useless? Would maybe understand if it wasn't so fugly….😧 This^^^^, in a nutshell. Just for the utter pointlessness of the whole endeavour. Basically as a take one of those Anderson’s ‘sound like’ videos: ’Polishing a turd BY BUSTING THE BANK!’ I was also not being entirely serious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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