Staggering on Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I have had a blonde Engelhardt ES9 ("Marilyn") for three years and much as I liked the lovely look of the bass that thin Kay/Engelhardt neck was starting to bother me and I was finding the full size neck on my Yamaha SLB 200 to be much easier to play. So...last weekend I made a one day 779km trip to Stand Up Guy Bass in Toronto to try out a blonde '70's Czech laminate bass. After some discussion we worked out a deal and he took my bass in part trade and put new Obligatos on the Czech bass and set it up the way I wanted it and "Peaches" came home with me. I have a silly thing about blonde basses and it seems most people know me not as "that old guy who plays bass" but as "that guy with the blonde bass" so I wanted to find a blonde. I need a ply bass due to the weather here and because it gets hauled around a lot and I hope this will be just what I need. So far I'm loving the sound and feel and it works well with the KNA DB1 pickup, no preamp, direct to the amp and since I always need an amp in my bands I'm happy. I had Zyex strings on my other bass and have them on the EUB so this is my first time with Obligatos and I'm liking the feel and response, I play pizz in my bands and only use the bow at home. The bass has aged to a butterscotch colour like most blonde basses and has a few marks but that's OK, it's 50 years old. I've included a photo of the endpin, it is a prototype made by John Hay, a luthier in Michigan and uses more modern technology than most endpins. Some of you will recognize a quality bicycle post clamp that holds the carbon fibre pin. It is adjustable and clamps all around the pin rather than at one spot and is very easy to operate and has worked well so far. He sent these to some of his luthier friends to try out and Paul at Stand Up Guy Bass had several and I got one on my new bass, I believe he plans to produce them in larger quantities in the future. It's not a beautiful bass and it's a long way from high end quality but I think "Peaches" will be the working bass I need. 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 The thing sticking out from the tailpiece is the sending unit for my Boss wireless system, I have used it a lot at home and at gigs and I love it, great sound and easy to charge. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Nice! Those 60/70s eastern European laminates are great workhorses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I don't quite agree that it's not a beautiful bass! Looks very nice to me. Have fun playing it and keep us posted! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I'm fascinated by that end-pin. Have you got links you can share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Happy Jack said: I'm fascinated by that end-pin. Have you got links you can share? I'm working on it, I will get it from Paul at Stand up Guy Bass tomorrow(I hope), I can't find anything when I search. I was told it was a prototype(he made a few of them) and he wanted to see what kind of response he got before he produces more, it gets a definite thumbs up from me. I'll get back to you ASAP. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 21, 2021 Author Share Posted August 21, 2021 On 16/08/2021 at 17:34, Happy Jack said: I'm fascinated by that end-pin. Have you got links you can share? I finally got the link, the luthier is John Hay in Lansing, Michigan and I bought the bass and endpin from Paul O'Connell in Toronto. Paul said you can reach John at [email protected] Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 On 21/08/2021 at 19:56, Staggering on said: I finally got the link, the luthier is John Hay in Lansing, Michigan and I bought the bass and endpin from Paul O'Connell in Toronto. Paul said you can reach John at [email protected] Good luck! Sad to say, that email address no longer works. I've found him easily enough on Facebook but it is a seriously inactive page! I've sent him a Friend request anyway, just in case. If he responds, then I can maybe get a conversation going on Messenger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 If you can't reach him you might check with Paul at Stand Up Guy Bass in Toronto, his website has his contact info. Good luck, if you want me to call Paul just let me know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 I received an email from John Hay and called him for more info about the endpin. It is available for $200 US and the email address that I posted earlier from another source is incorrect, you can reach him at [email protected]. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Your message wasn't delivered to [email protected] because the address couldn't be found or is unable to receive email. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 Duh, my fault this time.🙄 It should be [email protected] Sorry about that, this one should work...finally.😊 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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