Vintage Teisco worth a look

[GretschWretch]

Teisco Bass Guitar Starburst pattern with Road Runner Case | eBay

At first glance this is a bit pricey, but it comes with a case and the condition is pristine. I've seen only one other in such a fine state of preservation, and that was years ago. These basses do have a history. In their original iteration they can claim to be from the 1950s, although this version did not hit the States until 1964-65. There are photos of both Jack Bruce and Bob Dylan with basses in the same family as this one, and another is featured on the album sleeve of The Devil's Anvil LP. Carvin listed them in their catalog for a couple of years. This particular instrument is both complete and original.

The only insurmountable knock on these basses is the weight, due to the excess metal used in construction; with these, 9.5 pounds counts as light. In some respects I actually prefer these to Fenders, and were it not for the weight I would take player-grade and already-modded basses and mod the heck out of them. They would be my signature bass.

 

[Doctor J]

Not even if he was paying me. Plywood body, cheap parts, sky-high action which might not be possible to fix... not for me, thanks, not when you could get some genuinely good quality 80’s MIJ action for the same money. They’re cute, but no.

 

[GretschWretch]

Not even if he was paying me. Plywood body, cheap parts, sky-high action which might not be possible to fix... not for me, thanks, not when you could get some genuinely good quality 80’s MIJ action for the same money. They’re cute, but no.

I concede these would be an acquired taste, like Danos, but it is possible to get a good instrument from a plywood body. Adjusting set-up is an unknown until it is tried, as with any used bass. Cheap parts? Probably most are; but in their day if you wanted a Fender and could not afford a Fender, these basses are as close as you were going to get.

And if by "quality 80's MIJ action" you mean the period from circa 1978 through 1985, I'm with you all the way. That is what I consider to be the golden era of Japanese bass making. Almost anything that came out of their factories was better than almost everything that came out of anybody else's. But those basses are part of a different conversation.