Manson Kestrel

[Soliloquy]

It was a review of some Manson basses in a guitar magazine some time in 1983/4 that first got me interested in 5 and 6 string basses. I think they were a bit ahead of their time.

[Kiwi]

I remember seeing someone playing a Kestrel on a late night music show in a Richard Niles led band.

[jjay69]

My god i used to own one just like this but with a single pickup in the P position, played lovely and had ridicolous controls with masses of top i seem to recall, but the thing weighed the same as a small car, at least on my skinny 17 y/o neck.
Am desperately trying to upload a pic, but it's just not happening.

[jjay69]

Manson - check, Thunderbird Red - check, bad news 80's atire - check

[url="http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a506/jjay69/MansonBass_zpsb5862651.jpg"]http://i1281.photobu...zpsb5862651.jpg[/url]

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a506/jjay69/MansonBass1_zps69ec4d7e.jpg

Edited January 15, 2013 by jjay69

[scojack]

[sub]Grand Days [/sub]

[gelfin]

[quote name='starman' timestamp='1243951698' post='503866']
Does anyone know anything about a Manson Kestrel bass?
[/quote]

The bass above is a Merlin.

Here's a pic of me with a Merlin fretless taken some 30 years go.
The green one bottom left is a Kestrel.

[IMG]http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae181/gelfin5959/Merlin.jpg[/IMG]

[BassBod]

Curlycabletastic......that must have been at the workshop?

[Wombat]

Wow, looking at the dates bandied around my Kestrel could have been a ‘prototype’ for the model produced under that name? I know it was one of the 1st 100 instruments he made (dated 1981).

Sports the single Kent Armstrong & still sounds amazing! Has this ‘oink’ I’ve not heard on another bass. With the through neck I can’t get the action as low as I’d like but I’m not usually up the dusty end!