Andreas Zeller 4/4 ... DB to the max - *SOLD* £850 Harrow

[Happy Jack]

 

I don't normally operate 'one in, one out' but when it comes to DBs something has to give.

 

 

The arrival of @Burns-bass's lovely Alcoa (on the right) means that something has to give, and logically it has to be the least-played of my uprights, the big Zeller.

 

 

And what a handsome beast it is.

 

 

Bigger than a 3/4, of course, but not massively so. Stance and technique are a direct transfer, almost without adjustment at all.

 

 

Comes with one of them piezo pickup thingies.

 

 

And a bridge. A lovely bridge. A BLOODY EXPENSIVE  bridge.

 

 

Unlike 3/4 Zellers, which AFAIK always have a swell back, this has a 2-plane sort-of-flatback.

 

 

The camera does not lie ... that burst on the side really is that lush.

 

 

The scroll is very bit as scrolly as you'd want.

 

 

In a peg-head sort of way.

 

 

And it looks the same on each side. Who knew?

 

 

The bass comes with this Hercules stand.

 

 

And this Gewa gigbag.

 

 

Which has an inside.

 

 

And a back. What will they think of next?

 

Those of you with excellent memories will recall that I bought this bass rather more than two years ago from @Joebass for a measly £350, the reason it was so cheap being that it urgently needed a new bridge, a BLOODY EXPENSIVE bridge. That cost me £500 through Thwaites of Bushey, hence the £850 price tag here.

 

I can't find a Jiffy bag that will take this, so I'm afraid it's

a) collection from Harrow HA1, or

b) meet at a motorway service station / convenient coffee shop / music pub / whatever not a million miles from Harrow HA1, or

c) for a flat rate additional £1000 fee I will personally deliver this bass anywhere in the mainland UK, no questions asked. Please note that this would have to be on a weekday - I'm gigging every weekend for the rest of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15 by Happy Jack

[Happy Jack]

The only significant change I've made is to add a Steve Whitehouse mag pickup for £200 ... it's optimised for feedback-resistant slap and it's essentially a strap-on/bolt-on Precision-style humbucker for DB.

 

 

It's currently held on using Steve's completely removable system of shims and a couple of super-heavy cable ties, but he also offers a permanent attachment service from his workshop in the West Country.

 

 

This pickup is NOT included in the £850 asking price. I am happy to keep this pickup as an emergency spare against the failure of one my Schaller 411s, but equally so to let it go with this bass if the buyer wants it. In that case, we can discuss a suitable price at that time.

 

I've left it on the bass for the present, until I see which way it goes.

 

[oldslapper]

That’s nice. 🙂 

My favourite DB I owned was an old 4/4. 

Edited August 16 by oldslapper

[Happy Jack]

A few more details ... first up, it sounds exactly like a Zeller. I have owned and played several 3/4 Zellers and they all sound (to my ears) exactly the same. This 4/4 Zeller sounds just the same as the 3/4 only more so. 

 

Overall length (with end-pin retracted) = 80"

Overall width (at widest point, lower bout) = 27"

Overall depth (including bridge) = 17"

Body depth (excluding bridge) = 8"

Speaking length = 43"

Weight (without pickup) = < 24lbs

 

[Happy Jack]

[Burns-bass]

56 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Ere mate, what’s your best cash on collection price for all three?

 

All joking aside, these Zeller basses are fantastic value for money.

[Clarky]

I started on DB with a 3/4 Zeller in the mid/late 1990s. Ended up selling it to Jack as I "just had to have that vintage German flatback". Reel forward a decade or so and I bought it back from Jack. Lovely bass and the vintage thing is fully out of my system, the Zeller actually sounds just as good at a fraction of the price.

 

So, to cut a long story short (I lost my mind), these are bazzing instruments and someone should buy this from Jack asap and enjoy it bigly.

[3below]

And a few more details please:

 

Solid top, laminate sides/back?

Fingerboard - ebony or dyed hardwood?
Lastly, length bottom of bass to nut - I am vertically challenged (or in old money short!)  Had a 3/4 bass before which was fine. 

 

Thanks.

[Happy Jack]

10 hours ago, 3below said:

Solid top, laminate sides/back? = I'm really not good at this stuff - it's wood! @Clarky tends to know this sort of thing.

 

Fingerboard - ebony or dyed hardwood? = Bit of both - looks like dyed ebony to me.

Lastly, length bottom of bass to nut? = 63" nut to end of bass, 65" nut to end of retracted endpin.

 

Hope that helps.

[Clarky]

36 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Hope that helps.

My 3/4 Zeller is fully laminate. I assume Jack's 4/4 is the same (pictures suggest so too, albeit it's got prettier coloration/staining than mine)

[chyc]

I've got a Zeller 3/4 from new, definitely solid spruce top. Photos attached if that helps people decide whether the bass being sold is solid or laminate