Tripehound Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]This is a US-made S.D. Curlee bass with through neck construction and is not to be confused with the Hondo models produced after the company was sold. It was sometimes described as the 'poor man's Alembic' and is, in this country at least, quite rare - I've only seen one other in the flesh. [/color][color=#000000]Twin Di Marzio pickups with coil switching option. Independent volumes and tone control. Badass II bridge and Grover machine heads complete the hardware. I would guess it's worth over £100 in components alone.[/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]The electrics seem OK but cosmetically it has seen much better days. Bumps and scratches are liberally spread over the whole instrument (it wasn't me that let it get like that ) and it would be disingenuous to describe it as roadworn or 'heavy relic'. Battered is what it is. But it still plays well and sounds awesome. I'm a bit OCD with my gear these days, probably because I'm keenly aware of how long I had to work to get the money to pay for them, so I like them nice and shiny but I know that a lot of people like that lived-in-mojo thing so this may just turn you on.[/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]It's sat at the back of the spare room for a long while whilst I agonised about whether to have it restored or to finally part company with it. Whilst still quite playable, the action is high for my tastes and I don't know how much travel, if any, is available on the truss rod. I favour hollow-bodied basses these days and I have to accept that even if I had it done up, it probably wouldn't get played a great deal. I'm having to take a wild guess at potential value because I think these are pretty rare. My brief research showed up a couple of people who asked for 650 and 800 Euros for in-very-good-nick examples but I don't know whether they were successful with their sales.[/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]In the absence of a valuation, and I'm not sure one could be given, I'm open to any trade suggestions. [/font][/size] Edited May 21, 2014 by Tripehound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Pmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Does that bass have a fretboard, or has the neck just been carved and frets installed?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripehound Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Hi Kev I believe that it's the latter but I'll have to check at the weekend as I'm away on holiday at the moment. If it's not the case, then I'll post a retraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckman Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 [quote name='Tripehound' timestamp='1398082610' post='2430185'] Hi Kev I believe that it's the latter but I'll have to check at the weekend as I'm away on holiday at the moment. If it's not the case, then I'll post a retraction. [/quote] Nope, that's an all maple neck. The model is SD Curlee's 'Curbeck' line ( and this has a latter day German carve finish) This was the flagship of the Curlee factory in the late seventies early eighties Good luck with the sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
only4 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Pmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 PM'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzBassfreak Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 It really annoys me when vintage, rare basses like this come up and idiots on other websites such as tumblr decide to steal the pictures and post them for themselves to get popularity. Just seen it on my dash. Anyway GLWS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripehound Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 [quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1398198067' post='2431622'] It really annoys me when vintage, rare basses like this come up and idiots on other websites such as tumblr decide to steal the pictures and post them for themselves to get popularity. Just seen it on my dash. Anyway GLWS. [/quote] Blimey - do people do that? Sounds like a job for my lawyer - if I had a lawyer. I've had a lot of interest in the old Curlee - many thanks folks - but I feel I should get a professional opinion on the situation regarding neck relief before going further. I don't like having to be vague about something so important so I'll update on this next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrythe8 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Yes, this is a late SD Curlee Curbeck II Standard model. ([i]"Standard" with body of Walnut and 2 Maple stringers, neck of Maple with 2 [u]Walnut[/u] stringers, some with the German carve edge, as you have here. )[/i] As seen in this ad : [url="http://www.sdcurlee.com/oldad8.jpg"]http://www.sdcurlee.com/oldad8.jpg[/url] I have a 1978 one in near mint condition, bought for 600€. Worth every Penny. Yours, with the BadAss2 and the aluminium plates, and the SD Curlee logo, is probably à 79/80 model. You can check this by opening the cavity and look at the date on the pot : Pickups are DiMarzios . They just kick some serious ass. The construction is sturdy, and the neck is "Bolt Through" : it goes throughout the body up to the bridge and is bolted. Sound wise, with the Neck position, it is just like a P-Bass but with balls. The Bridge positions allows for some hard Mediums and fingesrtyle Funk, with a lot of harmonics. The combination of the two gives a surprisingly modern tone. Yes, there is no fretboard. Issues to be adressed here : Neck Bow : those Curlees have a bad reputation of fragiles necks. This one with the Walnut Inlays should stand a better chance. However, the Truss Rod might be deficient. It is however replaceable if the neck is OK. The thing is, with the Neck P'up, the truss rod is not easy to reach. The neck is ShortScale (32") but the strings spacing is pretty large, so it is very comfy to play and is a real pleasure to slap on (given you find a way to pop your finger between the neck and P'up), and really easy for tapping. If the neck is straight, I confess I'd be interested, just to give this beast a proper overhaul, and change the electronics to give each P'up a separate output (stéréo Rick o Sound like), and put some Overdrive on the bridge P'Up. This bass is an absolute Killer, it it were a car, it would be a Plymouth Hemi 'cuda. Edited May 12, 2014 by Henrythe8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrythe8 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Oh, and.. PM'd. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripehound Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Fantastic feedback from Henry - many thanks. It's a happy end to the story - the Curlee went to the luthier and got sorted out functionally if not cosmetically. Shopping list included neck adjustment (the truss rod was fine), fret polish, intonation (the bridge needed freeing up but was OK), electrics cleaned, new flatwounds on and a general clean and polish. I'm now considering whether I should keep this and sell all the others - it sounds fantastic! So no longer available although might consider trade for an immaculate Wal Mk II plus cash my way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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