Pics will follow, as the new baby is undergoing exploratory surgery at the moment, but this is more or less what she looked like in better days....
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=180677122491
She's an El Degas copy of a '51 Precision Bass. The previous owner abused her -- all the finish is gone, the body is rough, the frets have been filed off of what seems to be a pretty nice maple neck, and the bridge is ripped out of the top as if someone tried to tune the poor thing to A-440. BUT: The body is semi-hollow & feather-light and seems pretty resonant when you thump it. El Degas had a strong partnership with Dimarzio, so I have high hopes for the pickup. I have been looking for a fretless "project bass" for years, and here she is.
Twenty bux at a Goodwill in Aurora, CO. 8)
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Whoo hoo, this caught my eye - I thought you were having some serious medical or health problems with a child? :shock: :roll:
Well, who wouldn't want to own a nice copy of a '51 P Bass?, good for you! :lol:
For sure, good luck with the fretless project, it should turn out really nice.
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Thanks Blue Jay! No crises here, just busy with other stuff.
I already have three guitars opened up for repair, and now this bass comes along... but that semi-hollow/chambered body made my imagination run wild. Couldn't leave it behind. I'm speculating about piezos under the top & a nice preamp inside, mixing with the magnetic pup. Gotta see if everything works first, of course.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Cool. I thought I was the only other person here with an El Degas anything.
Near as I can figure out, the name only existed for a few years in the mid-'70s and were retailed in Canada.
There has been some on-line speculation that they were made in an Ibanez factory, but that's about all I have been able to learn.
I've seen 1 acoustic and 1 strat-like El Degas in pawn shops, in addition to my Les Paul style.
Yours is the first El Degas Bass I've heard of.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
Kent, that's a nice-looking LP. (Same color as my bass used to be!) How's it sound? Are those Dimarzios?
For more on the brand, you might check out this site.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Yeah, I did see that site some time ago. It looks like there's some new info in the forums, though.
Thanks.
Mine's fairly solid, even if it's plywood under the finish. (Maybe because of that :roll: )
The pickups aren't anything special. Just un-potted PAF style, with no real information written on the back of them. They're not as hot as my Son's Peavey/strat, but they are fairly warm to my ear.
The neck pickup is a bit microphonic.
It plays pretty well, though. And it's every bit as heavy as a real Les Paul.
Definitely worth the $50 (1980's$$) that I paid the pawn shop for it.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
