Fenton Weill Basses - any love out there?

[Gasman]

After unexpectedly having the chance to try out a Fender Mustang last week I got enthusiastic about buying one for myself, or at least something similar like the Squier Rascal, as a complete change from my conventional J and MM big boys - fast fingering, low weight, what's not to like?

 

Sanity prevailed when I remembered my rapidly diminishing bank account (two privately rebuilt teeth recently = £2k) and the fact that I still had that old Fenton Weill bass up in the loft that I was given in 1974 - vintage even then! - surely that was a shorty and worth another try before splashing more cash? 

 

When I was first given it the poor old thing had a very tatty dark maroon finish, a cracked scratch plate and two non-functioning tuners. Nowadays that might  have added value by making it 'road-worn' but back then I had no qualms about restoring it. The paint was stripped back to natural wood, the whole thing polyurethane lacquered, the tuners were all replaced, new pot-knobs fitted and I had a new scratch-plate made by Taffy, a very clever tech in Yeovil where I was living at the time. It was my only bass until '79, when I splashed out on a new Jazz, at which point it went into storage.

 

So I recovered it from the loft last week 44 years later, fitted a new set of Tru-Bass strings and plugged it into my Cube 100w combo for a trip down nostalgia lane. Wow! The very punchy sound from those twin PUPs was still there, the 30" neck and floating bridge were a pleasure to play on and it still looks (to me) amazing for a 60-year-old bass.

 

Downsides? Well, it weighs in at 10lb (4.5 kilos)so it's no lightweight and the neck is pretty narrow (40mm at the nut) - not for the sausage-fingered, I think, although fine for my cute little mitts! It's going on-stage this weekend, should be fun.

 

Does anyone else play one of these or anything similar? Here are some pix of the beast...

 

[itu]

That"s one of the coolest instruments I've seen in a long time! 

[Burns-bass]

I love these. Only ever seen one of them in the flesh.

 

 

[Mykesbass]

Very cool. Sad that the lovely wood grain is on the back.

[Cestrian]

 

I’ve got one. All original as far as I’m aware. Don’t play it as often as I’d like because I tend to use my Mustang. Really fond of it though. Affectionately known as Martian Cricket Bats in some quarters. 

[Gasman]

Lovely original condition! Interesting - same body and PUPs as mine, different tuner arrangement on the headstock, plus double-layer scratch-plate and some switches! I wonder what year ours are?

 

Yes, the Martian Cricket Bat soubriquet is very appropriate given the neck profile, although maybe it's more like a baseball bat...

Edited July 5, 2023 by Gasman
more info added

[BlueMoon]

I didn’t know that they made instruments. That’s a new learning for me!

 

Back in the day I had a Fenton Weill amp/combo though.

[TheGreek]

There was a hollow body violin style weird thing on ebay recently. 

You can see the 60s influence designs there.

[bloke_zero]

4 hours ago, Cestrian said:

 

I’ve got one. All original as far as I’m aware. Don’t play it as often as I’d like because I tend to use my Mustang. Really fond of it though. Affectionately known as Martian Cricket Bats in some quarters. 

Cool! What do the knobs and switches do?

[Cestrian]

13 minutes ago, bloke_zero said:

Cool! What do the knobs and switches do?

I wish I knew. Some of them don’t make any discernible difference. Quick look on the internet suggests mine is from 1962. 

[Gasman]

Yes, looking on the ‘Black Guitar’ vintage guitar website, mine looks like a ‘61 Contrabass. New price £58 for the guitar and £25 for the rather basic (mmm!) case, total £83 in 1961, equivalent of £1910 today!

Edited July 6, 2023 by Gasman
Added £ value today