BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 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
hooky_lowdown Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 Looks like a Kay EB-100 tulip bass. 3 1 Quote
BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 Author Posted September 20, 2019 And that's why Basschat is awesome. Thank you. 1 Quote
Hobbayne Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 1 Quote
cetera Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 That was my first bass too! Yep, a Kay Tulip... Quote
hooky_lowdown Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 10:45, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 Expand That's a crazy price for a cheapo Taiwanese bass. The pickups on these cheap Kay's are microphonic, nasty thing's. 1 Quote
BigRedX Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) On 20/09/2019 at 10:45, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 Expand 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
BrunoBass Posted September 20, 2019 Author Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 10:45, Hobbayne said: Theres one on eBay if you're interested. 😁 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/223663108683 Expand That one looks slightly different to my friend’s example, the upper horn is flared away from the neck. Quote
Bassassin Posted September 20, 2019 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
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 11:23, BigRedX said: Woolies Special. Cost about £20 back in the 70s and was overpriced at that. Expand 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
casapete Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 11:36, 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... Expand Don't do it, especially for £135. Dreadful things, and that's coming from someone who loves a Danelectro….😆 1 Quote
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 13:05, casapete said: Don't do it, especially for £135. Dreadful things, and that's coming from someone who loves a Danelectro….😆 Expand 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
Bassassin Posted September 20, 2019 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
casapete Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 13:42, 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. Expand 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….😧 On 20/09/2019 at 14:13, 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. Expand This^^^^, in a nutshell. Quote
thodrik Posted September 20, 2019 Posted September 20, 2019 On 20/09/2019 at 18:14, 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. Expand 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
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