Shergold Marathon (black/maple) *SOLD* £700 London

[oldslapper]

On 21/11/2020 at 23:38, alembic1989 said:

 

Rose tinted specs.?

Plus cash? 😊

 

I remember seeing these basses on tv in the 70’s played by Flintlock(?). Such an iconic design. 

[ash]

3 hours ago, oldslapper said:

Plus cash? 😊

 

I remember seeing these basses on tv in the 70’s played by Flintlock(?). Such an iconic design. 

Sorry for being pedantic but the bassist from Flintlock used a Hayman 40/40 admittedly a forerunner to the Shergold Marathon. 😉

[Clarky]

Here is Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp playing a white one in  Dec 1980 on To Cut a Long Story Short (which I bought at the time!)

[WalMan]

A Marathon was my first proper bass 🥰 ended up with two, fretted and fret less - fretted converted to 8 string.

My first proper amp was a Selmer T&B and I used to use the stereo out to split between the two channels. Just used an ordinary lead for mono when the T&B went. So much vintage gear I let go (when it wasn’t vintage 🙂)

[Clarky]

For full disclosure, there is a bit of fret buzz around the very top end (c.19th fret and above) of the G string (not the E/A/D), although I do like quite low action so maybe this is exacerbating a slight unevenness of the board or frets at the dusty end on this particular string. On the other hand, how often do you play that far up the G string, lol?!

Edited November 28, 2020 by Clarky

[itsmedunc]

On 26/11/2020 at 07:56, WalMan said:

A Marathon was my first proper bass 🥰 ended up with two, fretted and fret less - fretted converted to 8 string.

My first proper amp was a Selmer T&B and I used to use the stereo out to split between the two channels. Just used an ordinary lead for mono when the T&B went. So much vintage gear I let go (when it wasn’t vintage 🙂)

And here's me with a Marathon and a Selmer T&B 50 and haven't even thought of that! Oh the fun begins! 😁

[Clarky]

PS, currently wearing DR Sunbeam nickel rounds but can be swapped with La Bella Deep Talkin flats (light gauge) or D'Addario black nylon tapewounds

[Clarky]

Try as I might, the neck is too unwieldy for my short scale loving left hand. So feel free to make a (nearish) offer and I will include 48 hour courier and all 3 sets of strings mentioned in the post above.

[EssentialTension]

On 29/11/2020 at 10:10, Clarky said:

Try as I might, the neck is too unwieldy for my short scale loving left hand. So feel free to make a (nearish) offer and I will include 48 hour courier and all 3 sets of strings mentioned in the post above.

Hayman 4040 was the second bass I owned and first longscale, from 1974 to 1976.

Now I am back on the short scales too.

[Clarky]

On 29/11/2020 at 10:10, Clarky said:

Try as I might, the neck is too unwieldy for my short scale loving left hand. So feel free to make a (nearish) offer and I will include 48 hour courier and all 3 sets of strings mentioned in the post above.

Nearish offers as above?

[Clarky]

Price cut to £650 including the various string sets. Post extra

[Clarky]

Now on eBay (£1 selling fee offer) but I would much rather sell here, so try with me near offer

[TheGreek]

[lowregisterhead]

18 hours ago, TheGreek said:

In 1980, having just discovered Brand X and Percy Jones and not being able to afford a Wal, I ordered a fretless Shergold exactly the same as the one in the ad above. It arrived a few days later, so I picked it up from the music shop and rather unwisely took it straight to a gig. I had a quick noodle in the dressing room and remember thinking "it's got dots on the edge of the fingerboard, how hard can it be??". Once the band launched into the first number, I realised the enormity of the task, and staggered off the stage at the end of the set drenched in the sweat of sheer terror. Great basses though! GLWTS.

[Low End Bee]

That's lovely. Same as my first proper bass in '79. I loved it but peer pressure made me p/x it for a '68 P Bass that wasn't half as good.

If I had the funds I'd be in there. 

[Clarky]

Any interest folks? Can be a bit flexible on price.

PS, 16 bids on eBay but way off my Reserve price, so I can still cancel the auction if necessary (I think)

Edited December 10, 2020 by Clarky

[Clarky]

Didn't sell on eBay so now a bargainous £600 plus post to you lovely peeps

[Clarky]

Would MUCH prefer a straight sale as trying to reduce number of basses but so far I have had no real interest on that front (which genuinely surprises me). I suppose I could consider a trade for a skinny-necked, lightweight (no more than 9lb) US or CIJ/MIJ Fender Jazz in old school 3TS/rosewood livery (which could be useful for recording). Can add cash from my end but must be US or Japanese Fender only.

No other types of trade offers thanks as I already have 3 short scale basses, 2 amp rigs plus plenty of pedals. And of course zero gigs!

Would consider a very near offer too, in the interest of getting this into someone's hands who would fully appreciate playing it

Edited December 13, 2020 by Clarky

[Clarky]

Hi assembled wisdom of BassChat especially @Beedsterand @ash. On request from a potentially interested party to test the stero functionality, I plugged two cables simultaneously into the bass with one plugged into my amp in the expectation only 2 strings would sound per cable. However, each socket plays all 4 strings even with a second cable present in the other socket. Either that isn't how to test it for stereo or perhaps it means the bass has been rewired for mono on both sockets? Any thoughts gents? Thank you in advance

[Britsie]

Is there any neck dive on these bass?

[Clarky]

9 hours ago, Britsie said:

Is there any neck dive on these bass?

Hi there, no neck dive. I will post a picture of the bass hanging from strap tomorrow

Edited December 14, 2020 by Clarky

[Clarky]

On 14/12/2020 at 13:46, Britsie said:

Is there any neck dive on these bass?

Pic as promised, hanging from my dust-covered running machine! It basically hangs level

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Clarky

[Clarky]

On 14/12/2020 at 12:56, Clarky said:

Hi assembled wisdom of BassChat especially @Beedsterand @ash. On request from a potentially interested party to test the stero functionality, I plugged two cables simultaneously into the bass with one plugged into my amp in the expectation only 2 strings would sound per cable. However, each socket plays all 4 strings even with a second cable present in the other socket. Either that isn't how to test it for stereo or perhaps it means the bass has been rewired for mono on both sockets? Any thoughts gents? Thank you in advance

In the absence of any scholarly advice, I will have to assume this bass is mono only (from each jack socket). Didn't bother me as I wouldn't have the foggiest how to use stereo output. However, I understand it reduces the attraction to those who are interested in the stereo functionality.

Think of it as a P bass alike sound-wise ... through both jack sockets!

Edited December 16, 2020 by Clarky

[Clarky]

Update on electronics: I plugged two cables into the bass and ran these to two separate amps. This does not produce the stereo effect, as I had hoped. The lower jack produces mono output with all 4 strings sounding whereas the upper jack goes silent when both are plugged into two amps. If you remove one amp, both jack sockets produce mono output.

So, unless there is some kind of special cable to achieve the stereo effect, this bass has been rewired for mono ... and its effectively a P bass alike, albeit a cool old British one!

[Clarky]

Sale pending