Engelhardt Bass Part 2

Here's a bonus for fans of the Engelhardt upright - a cool slap bass workout by Josh McCoy, who's selling the bass here on consignment.

1973 Engelhardt EC-1

Yesterday we had somebody come in wanting us to sell his old Engelhardt EC-1 upright bass.  An Englehardt of this era is known affectionately as an "EngelKay" due to the company's close association with the Kay Music Instrument Company, and the super-desirable uprights they made in the 30s-50s.  More on that later.  First soak in that beautifully constructed and finished top.  There's something downright intimidating about an upright - this is one of the 3/4 scale models, and it still stands about 6 foot tall at the tip of the headstock! 

The Engelhardt story really begins with the merger of Kay and Valco, a move which ultimately failed to save either company from their financial doldrums.  When the Kay/Valco company was dissolved in the early 70s, former Valco president Robert Engelhardt and VP Al Link started a new company called Engelhardt-Link that bought up the assets and inventory from Kay's bass and cello division.  They also retained some of the same builder/luthiers, so that the first Engelhardts that the company produced were essentially the same classic Kay uprights with a new brand name. 

Needless to say, this is an example of great old-school American craftmanship.  No cheap composites here, just a whole lot of nicely aged maple!  

Of course, with an upright, the set-up is just as important, and this thing is good to go cat, go -  it's been professionally set-up for very fast and loud rockabilly-style slapping.  Very playable, even to a pampered putz like me who's never really held an upright before.  Throw a transducer in there and it's ready for the stage!



Univox Hi-Flier Bass Phase Three

Here's a cool find that might seem kind of familiar.  Yes, we like our Mosrite copies, and none are quite as cool as the Japanese-made Univox Hi-Fliers of the 60s and 70s.  We've had one of the Phase One basses before, but this one is a later (mid-70s) Phase Three.  You can tell right away because the Phase Threes were the first Hi-Fliers to be available in a natural finish.

The Phase Three was also the where they switched to using the clear plastic-covered humbucker pickups instead of the older P-90-style single coils.  Those funky-looking pickups have the bruisingly loud output that has helped make the Hi-Flier guitars and basses the weapon of choice for many a rock-and-roll noise merchant.

The Pac-Man-esque Univox logo is the cherry on top.  No wait, I take it back - one of their purple-and- teal-tolex'd bass amps from the same era would be even sweeter, but we haven't got one...yet!  As you can tell, we're pretty big fans of the old Univox stuff here, but check out this fan page for a nearly exhaustive look at pretty everything they ever made.

Ralston Electric Bass

This one came to us courtesy of a customer who found it while cleaning out the back room of an old church.  When we first plugged it in, we were greeted only by the sound of the input jack howling in protest.  But one fresh jack and tone cap later, and this thing was ready to kick out the jams.

The headstock says "Ralston," but the back neck plate says "Japan," and that tells you a bit more - cosmetically and tone-wise it fits right alongside most 70s-era stuff that Teisco, Kawaii, etc, pumped out.  This is no short-scale featherweight, however - it has a long-scale neck about as fat as Louisville slugger, which surely contributes to the meaty tone of that one single coil pickup.

I love the overall look, with the not-quite-a-jazz-bass body and a nice roughed-up finish.  The grubby metal pickguard is a nice touch, and helps shield the electronics, to boot.  Even though this bass was found in a church somewhere, I have a hard time imagining it being played for gospel music - it justs seems too wonderfully hip and grimy to not be a disciple of rock-and-roll.  I dunno, maybe somebody got saved and had to leave it at the door - "Gee, I think Bob will be a lot less likely to stray if we can keep this durn thing away from him!"



Peavey T-40 Bass

Here's a Peavey T-40 bass from the late 70s, an almost criminally underrated instrument.  Maybe it's due to the fact that there haven't been many iconic players associated with Peavey when compared to Fender or Gibson, because these early Peavey instruments are very cool and deserve a bigger following.  This bass is American made, after all, and  though it's hefty size and weight aren't for every player, they let you know that this thing means business.  If you can haul it around on your shoulder, you can wield some serious thump stuff.

      

"Whosoever proves worthy..."

 The distinctive "Toaster Top" pickups pack a nice wallop, similar to many of the humbucker-equipped Gibson basses.  The other toggle switch flips the phase, just like the T-40's guitar cousin, the T-60.  The funky, out-of-phase tones available are admittedly more useful on a guitar, though more iconoclastic sound freaks might find the them hip for upper-register soloing or chilly post-punk chord riffs.

The amp back there is a Spectra, a bass amp apparently designed by the people at Dean Markley.  It's solid-state, but it has a very musical EQ and limiter built in.  Again, a lot of the non-tube stuff from the 70s may not be as sexy as a blackface Fender or an Ampeg SVT, but if you dig around a bit you can find some real gems for relatively cheap.  Swing by and see if we've got any cool pieces that are right for you!   

Danelectro Basses

Here we have a dynamic duo of reissued Danelectro basses.  The black Longhorn is one of the earlier Korean-made reissues from the late 90s/early 2000s, and the other bass is one the Silvertone amp-in-case-inspired '63 models that Danelectro started putting out a few years ago.  Now, these are not every bassists' cup of tea, to be sure.  The lipstick tube pickups are about as far from active electronics as you can get!  But if you can appreciate what they have to offer, they do have a unique twangy sound that works great for surf rock and roots music.
 

The Longhorn, in particular, is a very cool bass.  The original Danelectro bass was one of the first electric basses on the market (after Fender), available in 4-string and 6-string models.  Back in the 50s they became part of the Nashville sound as the "tic-tac bass" - producing a bright, clicky tone that doubled and added more attack to the sound of an acoustic upright.   Nowadays, a good modern amp can give you a lot more thump from these basses, and the longhorn has become a "period correct" choice for retro roots players who don't play (or don't want to lug around) an upright.  The '63 is a "shoulda been," I think.  I don't think there ever was a bass version of the double-horn amp-in-case guitars back in the 60s, but I've been wrong before.  Unlike the Longhorn, the '63 is a full-scale bass, but it still has plenty of the unique Dano charm.

Kay Electric Bass

New arrival!  It's a Kay electric bass; not sure of the model but it looks to be one of the later Japanese Kays from the 70s.  Obviously patterned after a Gibson SG, but if you look closely you'll find that it's full of little oddball touches.  There's a little foam piece underneath the bridge cover that's slightly muting the strings, while the "K" on the headstock seems to have flipped upside-down.

 The pickguard is raised slightly, which has a neat overlapping, two-level effect with the control plate, and  the dual pickups have a nice "gator-esque" tolex covering.  A very cool, playable old bass with lots of character.

'71 Competition Mustang Bass

Here's another Mustang - a bass this time. Beloved of punk kids and rock icons alike, and the last bass designed by Leo Fender before he jumped ship. This one is part of the later "Competition" series, with the cool/cheesey racing stripe along the side. Short-scale playability and classy Fender looks have made the Mustang Bass a perennial favorite.

Univox Hi-Flyer Bass

A quick one today. Here's a late 60s, Univox Hi-Flyer Phase One bass. Classic Mosrite homage/rip-off for your discerning punk rawk surfer dude. My boss has a special affinity for these beasts (Univox's, that is), so maybe someday we'll have a few of this guy's six-string cousins pass through here.