Shergold Marathon

[bythesea]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120437603319"]Shergold Marathon[/url] - starting bid £1 and BIN of £399. Seems high to me but what do I know

[Clarky]

Mmmm, me like. I've wanted one of these since the 70s (when first Genesis and later A Certain Ratio played Shergolds). Relatively speaking, its in great nick too. Would look great in a punk band but not for me as I've spent all my bass guitar spondoolies

[BarnacleBob]

He implys its been refinished (that good ol crackly finish not to everyones taste)
The controls dont tie in with the serial number - thats a mark 1 control plate with the coil tap(?) switch but its an 80s serial number
It is a high BIN but not as bad as Musicgrounds £1000 for an 8 string

BB

[bythesea]

Interesting about the refinishing and alterations, didn't read it fully when I posted the link. I have fond memories of these. My first "proper" bass was a Marathon - sunburst finish.

Edited June 21, 2009 by bythesea

[Bassassin]

Do like. Despite the mods it's sort of cool to see that it still has the original little JapCrap tuners.

Actually re-reading it he's not saying it's been refinished - he says that if a Shergold [i]doesn't[/i] have finish cracking, then it's a refin - and this one does.

I would like to get one of these someday. Unfortunately, not today!

Jon.

[BottomEndian]

Looks naked to me without the bridge cover.

[BarnacleBob]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='520292' date='Jun 21 2009, 09:38 PM']Looks naked to me without the bridge cover.[/quote]


Yep. Repro ashtrays are readily available and make all the difference - have put my black f/less up in the For Sale section

BB

[skankdelvar]

Is it my eyes or a Shergold characteristic? The e string looks a bit too close to the edge of the fingerboard?

[BarnacleBob]

Apologies but I am full of sh*t!
My mouth should stop writing cheques my brain can't cash.

6317 is the serial number for an early Modulator bass (78) according to the Shergold website also the logo is the nailed on badge style which does tie in with earlier models - so it is probably a nice early original one.
It says Marathon Serial numbers can be sketchy which may explain why it comes up as a Modulator on the database or its a swapped out neck but age still in keeping with the body.
My apologies again to everyone

BB

Yes the E string does seem a bit close to the edge (so don't push it!)

[MoonBassAlpha]

I had the Marathon 6 string fretless which I sold about 5 years ago and there was absolutely no cracking in the finish, so that statement is bolleaux.
A lot may have cracking or checking, but not all!

[jdbennet]

Ive got a shergold marathon 4 string bass (its the mk.1 model, as it has the stereo/mono selector switch). has bad peeling but plays very well. One thing to look out for is that the electronics on the old ones sometimes die (the pots on the dials, and the 1/4" jack are the main points of failure)

"Yes the E string does seem a bit close to the edge (so don't push it!)"

The nut broke on mine so the G string now hags off below the fretboard....

My serial is 6523 by the way. The serial numbers for marathons are mostly wrong, dont trust what the site says (i emailed the bloke and he said the exercise book where they wrote down the serial/batch details in the factory got thrown out?)

Edited September 17, 2009 by jdbennet