Does anyone know which brand bass body this is?

[WyBass]

hello guys,

a week ago i had an awesome party, where i saved a body of a bass from combustion in the campfire (yes those people where drunk). the morning after, i got a good look at it, and i'm not really sure which brand it is. it really looks like a gibson EB bass or something in that direction. the weird thing is that is has really weird cutouts in it, something i've never seen. i'd like to restore it to working order, but i want some background info on it.

Does anyone know which brand this is?

 

[Rib 13]

Probably a Teisco Tacoma/Silvertone

 

[RobTheRiot]

** Edit - looks like while I was typing the following diatribe, @SpazzTheBassist quickly & accurately answered your question.... feel free to skip this... ha!)


To my non-expert eye, it looks like it’s probably an old Japanese bass, 70’s/60’s I’d guess, that had single coil pickups in large metal casings. That explains the bathtub sized p/u routes.

The shape is reminiscent of a Burns style bass, with the rather hooked, pointed horns, which I’ve seen copied by Japanese companies at that time.

I can’t pin a brand, because many Basses coming out of Japanese factories at that time had any number of different brand names stuck on the same model Bass.

Because of the paint job & the somewhat ridiculous routing I’d guess it was probably a budget model, or possibly a step or 2 up, but I don’t think it looks like anything top of the line.

Doesn’t it mean you can’t make a kicka@@ bass out of it with a little effort and care. If you do fix it up, please share the results with us!

Good luck!

 

[WyBass]

Probably a Teisco Tacoma/Silvertone

View attachment 3193703

Thank you! do you know a (web)shop where i can get some parts for it? or i have to make some stuff myself (pickguard etc.)

 

[Rib 13]

Doesn’t it mean you can’t make a kicka@@ bass out of it with a little effort and care. If you do fix it up, please share the results with us!

+1 ^This

 

[Rib 13]

Thank you! do you know a (web)shop where i can get some parts for it? or i have to make some stuff myself (pickguard etc.)

no clue but, hopefully, others should be around this thread that may know

 

[two fingers]

Thank you! do you know a (web)shop where i can get some parts for it? or i have to make some stuff myself (pickguard etc.)

Keep in mind that you can buy a whole one for under $500. They aren't exactly incredible players (to me).

If it were me, I might do a "tribute" to the old ones but use a modern neck from Warmoth or similar. Maybe some modern pickups in a similar funky guard... and a modern bridge for sure.

Spending hundreds to get original parts will lead you down a path to a mediocre bass not worth what you have in it.

Short version: Use the body as a jumping off point for a parts bass of your own creation.

 

[two fingers]

Here ya go. If you really want an original using that body, buy this one and swap everything over.

But you'll wind up with one very "meh" bass in my view.

Silvertone 1491 1968 Sunburst | Albert’s

 

[bolophonic]

Personally, I would build a cool bass out of whatever rando parts I could find. eBay has a lot of weird parts, but a modern neck and electronics would be easier to find than originals. A complete Tiesco bass would probably be cheaper to buy than the parts to restore that.

 

[WyBass]

Keep in mind that you can buy a whole one for under $500. They aren't exactly incredible players (to me).

If it were me, I might do a "tribute" to the old ones but use a modern neck from Warmoth or similar. Maybe some modern pickups in a similar funky guard... and a modern bridge for sure.

Spending hundreds to get original parts will lead you down a path to a mediocre bass not worth what you have in it.

Short version: Use the body as a jumping off point for a parts bass of your own creation.

yeah i can agree with that. maybe some kind of fender musicman/jazzbass mashup? i have some white pickguard material laying around and some jazz pickups. i think it would make it very unique. i think im going to keep the pickguard design of the teisco so i dont have to drill new holes.

 

[two fingers]

yeah i can agree with that. maybe some kind of fender musicman/jazzbass mashup? i have some white pickguard material laying around and some jazz pickups. i think it would make it very unique. i think im going to keep the pickguard design of the teisco so i dont have to drill new holes.

Yeah I think a Jazz with that body would be a more usable bass.

 

[Sixgunn]

Yep. Firewood.

 

[WyBass]

Probably a Teisco Tacoma/Silvertone

View attachment 3193703

Little question (again): what kind of neck should I put on the body, is it a shorty or is it possible to just screw a regular neck on it?

 

[bolophonic]

Little question (again): what kind of neck should I put on the body, is it a shorty or is it possible to just screw a regular neck on it?

I don’t have the answer to that, but owing to my relentless searching for “bass neck,” this popped up as a recommendation for me just now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cahuenga-Short-Scale-Bass-Made-in-Japan-Project/223181622359?_trkparms=aid=777001&algo=DISCO.FEED&ao=1&asc=20170615105047&meid=cf4b1e246ba44f21a69a81794ae9ea35&pid=100656&rk=1&rkt=1&&itm=223181622359&_trksid=p2481888.c100656.m5063&_trkparms=pageci:a6b46656-d9f7-11e8-9051-74dbd18024ef|parentrq:b6014f511660a9c4221776e2fffe43c7|iid:1

 

[Rumbledore]

Yep. Firewood.

yea. same here.

...those typically, originally, had goofy 89-ply necks btw everyone

 

[gln1955]

I want to hear more about this party where people are burning musical instruments.

 

[hbarcat]

That's a Japanese company called Teisco. They made cheap, beginner instruments under various brand names and sold many of them through Sears.

Teisco - Wikipedia

I had a bass with that EXACT, SAME BODY that someone gave me when I was in my 20's. It was total junk. Virtually unplayable because it was impossible to intonate properly and the neck was without doubt the slowest, most resistive neck I've ever experienced. The pickups sounded like poo. They were also somehow microphonic and would amplify sounds made when handling the bass and even room sounds. I eventually took it apart to see what was going on with it and I still have it sitting in a box somewhere right now.

I doubt if you could even find original parts for it, and if you did, you'd end up with low quality pile of junk with zero monetary value that you would never play. If you really are dead set on making something of this, I could try to find the box with the pickups, neck, pickguard, hardware and etc... and send it to you. But, I think it's not worth it.

 

[BAG]

I took would like to know what kind of party had old musical instruments on the fire?

 

[PDGood]

There's always some excitement with the idea of bringing an old instrument back to life. Sadly, the body is the least expensive part. If you bought correct parts and a correct neck and then set it up and probably upgraded the keys and pickups so that it's useful, you'd have a lot of money invested. In this case, it wouldn't be worth the trouble for most of us. But if you just want the experience, we'll be glad to supply encouragement. And if you take pictures we'll all enjoy the process of watching it be rebuilt.

 

[MCF]

Keep in mind that you can buy a whole one for under $500. They aren't exactly incredible players (to me).

If it were me, I might do a "tribute" to the old ones but use a modern neck from Warmoth or similar. Maybe some modern pickups in a similar funky guard... and a modern bridge for sure.

Spending hundreds to get original parts will lead you down a path to a mediocre bass not worth what you have in it.

Short version: Use the body as a jumping off point for a parts bass of your own creation.

I have one. It was my first bass so I’ve kept it for sentimental reasons. It was an inexpensive Silvertone 1490 sold by Sears with some minor variations over the years in the pickup selector switches from about ‘68 to ‘72. It’s a 30” short scale. Mine works, but needs a new pick guard, bridge and neck shim. Ive looked into restoring it, but then I’d still never play it. It’s a plywood, pre-lawsuit era bass that never was all that great. It is nowhere near as nice as a new Squier Jaguar SS for example. Inexpensive basses today are far superior to those of that era.