rodney72a

Best years for EBMM basses. Very nice!

How about this one? Will be interesting to see what it will go for...

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6465807?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intObjectID=6465807&from=salessummary&lid=1

Some lovely instruments on Andy Baxter's page at the moment.

Comparing prices to some of the reputable dealers in the States, this one for example:

https://www.garysguitars.com/vintage-bass-guitars

Their 1961 stacker is priced at $36K, as is a 1963 Fiesta Red Precision.

On 07/11/2023 at 17:08, Misdee said:

Maybe EBMM have missed a trick not reissuing an early EBMM-era bass. They were superb, I seem to remember.

39 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

That’s exactly what the Stingray Classic was, hence the highly figured necks (which most 90s Stingrays also had). The only difference was the bridge having strings through, a feature dropped on Stingrays originally around 1980/81, and the truss Rod wheel finished in chrome (these features were not on the Sabre Classic). 

Don't forget that the early EBMMs were contoured, whereas the Classics had a slab body. Also, unlike the Classics, the early EBMMs (up to 1990) had the truss adjuster at the headstock.

And yes, they were superb.

6 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Black is my least favourite Jazz colour but Sherwood Green would've made his asking price not that unreasonable, possibly a bit of a bargain. 

If this was original Sherwood Green on a 1961 Jazz, you could add a zero to his asking price.

OK that may be a slight exaggeration but it would be beyond rare.

6 hours ago, Owen said:

Absolutely hardcore. I salute you!

Well, there was a time when I was pretty active with saving pics and data from instruments I was interested in (or found interesting and/or educational). Not so much these days but some of them do still pop up on occasions when they change hands again. 

Also have a couple on file (from when they were at various dealers) that later ended up in Geddy's book. I made some enquiries about the 1962 Fiesta Precision which was sold by a UK dealer in 2015. Some regrets about that one, I must admit!

6 hours ago, ped said:

We’ll colour me surprised 🙄

It doesn't necessarily mean though that it was Andy Baxter who bought the bass at auction - it could have been a third party, now commissioning it with AB hoping for a profit. Nothing wrong with either scenario, of course.

On a side note, looking through my archives, this bass was in the Classifieds on here in 2014, so we all had our chance!

On 14/09/2023 at 13:55, Velarian said:

I’d looked at this auction beforehand and whilst I didn’t see anything I would bid on, this 57 P Bass caught my eye. I went back just now to check what happened and the hammer price was £8.5k. With buyers premium and VAT that’s just shy of £10,750. Not too bad on face of it and part of me now regret not having a pop at it. 
 

https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sale/198/21/1957-Fender-Precision-Bass-guitar-made-in-USA

 

Now at Andy Baxter's for £21,500.

https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/bass-guitars/products/1957-fender-precision-bass-2-tone-sunburst-4

15 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Hi guys, what are you thinking on this , in need of cleaning and maybe some restoration as it’s been in storage for apparently 54 years 😧, what’s it worth and what would be the value once restored 

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/david-duggleby-scarborough/catalogue-id-srda10703/lot-0e92cae3-582c-4775-9521-b06600ee80cd

Does the bridge intonation screw for the E-string look shorter than the other three or is that an optical illusion due to the saddle being set lower?

5 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

 

No-one has got to the bottom of that one. 'Exhibition Special' is mentioned a fair bit.

That and also 'Entered Special'. Not very plausible though, as there are so many instruments having this stamp.

On 20/04/2023 at 22:03, Clarky said:

Cripes. All original '61 Precision in Fiesta red. A cool £20k but nevertheless ... wow!

 

https://www.andybaxterbass.com/products/1961-fender-precision-bass-fiesta-red

What I find intriguing is this bit of the description:

"Chris says his mum and dad would repeatedly tell the story of how Colin ordered this bass directly from the USA and collected it at the airport on arrival."

What would the logistics of any such order in those days have been like?

4 hours ago, GuyR said:

All have original finishes.

Great stuff. The '62 is a Blond? (Looks like it has a veneer board, so later '62; I suppose if it was Olympic White by then it would have a matching headstock.)

14 hours ago, GuyR said:

Left to right 65,66,62,64

Lovely. Original finish on the '62?

Nice! Apart from the 1966 CAR, what years are they?

43 minutes ago, GuyR said:

Thanks very much. It’s a good one, too. Lighter than any of my others. I haven’t weighed it but it’s certainly below 9 pounds. Original frets, which is nice with the bound neck. Clean original case and ashtrays. Minor checking, but exactly the right type for CAR, close, straight parallel lines, which is reassuring, along with previous ownership from before they were worth faking to a forensic standard. Only minor issues, an extra screw hole under the scratchplate and the changed scratchplate itself.  No point in worrying about that as there is less than zero chance of getting an authentic replacement. A visit to Martin Petersen resulted in a straight neck, excellent playability and a happy customer.

To play, it has a full-ish neck for a JB, but still very comfortable, a full, bright vintage tone with exceptional harmonics.

 

I’m always on the lookout for another, of course. The same as everyone else here😀

42 minutes ago, GuyR said:

Thanks very much. It’s a good one, too. Lighter than any of my others. I haven’t weighed it but it’s certainly below 9 pounds. Original frets, which is nice with the bound neck. Clean original case and ashtrays. Minor checking, but exactly the right type for CAR, close, straight parallel lines, which is reassuring, along with previous ownership from before they were worth faking to a forensic standard. Only minor issues, an extra screw hole under the scratchplate and the changed scratchplate itself.  No point in worrying about that as there is less than zero chance of getting an authentic replacement. A visit to Martin Petersen resulted in a straight neck, excellent playability and a happy customer.

To play, it has a full-ish neck for a JB, but still very comfortable, a full, bright vintage tone with exceptional harmonics.

 

I’m always on the lookout for another, of course. The same as everyone else here😀

42 minutes ago, GuyR said:

Thanks very much. It’s a good one, too. Lighter than any of my others. I haven’t weighed it but it’s certainly below 9 pounds. Original frets, which is nice with the bound neck. Clean original case and ashtrays. Minor checking, but exactly the right type for CAR, close, straight parallel lines, which is reassuring, along with previous ownership from before they were worth faking to a forensic standard. Only minor issues, an extra screw hole under the scratchplate and the changed scratchplate itself.  No point in worrying about that as there is less than zero chance of getting an authentic replacement. A visit to Martin Petersen resulted in a straight neck, excellent playability and a happy customer.

To play, it has a full-ish neck for a JB, but still very comfortable, a full, bright vintage tone with exceptional harmonics.

 

I’m always on the lookout for another, of course. The same as everyone else here😀

1 hour ago, OliverBlackman said:

I think you’ve been wise to differentiate prices and value

How do you define value?

Tony Levin, Gail Ann Dorsey, Graham Maby.

As for Sunburst vs. Vintage Sunburst from the era:

1989 Sunburst, 1990 Vintage Sunburst

On 21/01/2023 at 23:56, drTStingray said:

I think Butterscotch Ash replaced Peach as an ‘additional charge’ colour - I didn’t know EBMM didn’t offer 3TS until 1990 - it was always a standard colour pre EB. 

Going by the catalogues from the era, I think the 'Special "Feature" colors' weren't necessarily the ones that commanded an upcharge. Take the 1990 catalogue, for example: 3 Tone Vintage Sunburst, Translucent White and Butterscotch Ash are listed as available at an additional charge, whereas the Special Feature Colors - like Peach - generally weren't named. It's not clear whether they cost extra. (1990 is a bit late for Peach though, 1989 might have been the last year that colour was available.)

This is a page from the 1990 catalogue:

3 hours ago, drTStingray said:

It’s sunburst - they changed the name to honeyburst around 2000 and started producing a three tone sunburst as a standard colour - previously 3TS had been a custom colour at extra cost and is thus extremely rare from the late 80s/90s.

 

3 Tone Vintage Sunburst as a colour option first appeared in the 1990 EBMM catalogue - "at an additional charge", along with Translucent White and Butterscotch Ash.

On 13/06/2022 at 18:45, WinterMute said:

I have a 20th Anni SR5 and it's a monster bass, certainly the nicest SR5 I've played, I like it's voicing a lot.

 

I like the 30th as it doesn't have the pickguard, but it seems to be a bit of a rehash of the 20th, the 25th was a very different beast.

The 30th Anniversary SR5 came with a (tort) pickguard.

8 hours ago, pineweasel said:

Regarding the SR5, they look so much better without a pickguard, don't they?

No.

1964 Sunburst