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I like a nice pair


chriswareham
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A few months ago I bought a Hondo Precision copy to experiment with new strings. It's the HD830B model (D for DiMarzio pickup, B for bass), which is a very faithful copy of the real thing and from the era when the owners of the Hondo brand had people from the Japanese manufacturers improving the quality at their Korean supplier. Shortly after this model, Hondo switched to the more pointy "Fame" era headstocks and some production switched to Japan. So apart from being on the rather heavy side, these are actually great basses - so much so that I snapped up another one as a backup. That one looks like it's never been played - complete with DiMarzio sticker, pickup handrest and bridge cover.

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[quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1478890457' post='3172558']
Good lord, is that a tubon?
[/quote]

Yup! I own two of them that I acquired from a former member of a folk band.

The one in the picture is completely original and in immaculate condition - but doesn't work. I plan on getting it repaired at some point, plus the 4 pin DIN audio socket converted to audio on two of the pins and power on the other two (the second pair of pins were originally meant to be shorted out to turn the battery power on). The other one I own is working, and has been modified with a conventional 1/4" jack socket. It also has had vibrator depth and speed controls added at some point.

Now I'm intrigued to know how you recognised it :-D

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Surely everyone recognises the mighty tubon!
Actually, I used to be a big Kraftwerk fan, and Ralf Hütter played one on their first record (the closest thing to a synth on that album), and I also have a bit of a penchant for analog synths and old and arcane musical equipment in general. I had thought, for some reason, that the tubon also had some type of connection with Harald Bode, but it appears I was wrong on that one.

Edited by ZilchWoolham
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[quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1478986816' post='3173211']
Surely everyone recognises the mighty tubon!
Actually, I used to be a big Kraftwerk fan, and Ralf Hütter played one on their first record (the closest thing to a synth on that album), and I also have a bit of a penchant for analog synths and old and arcane musical equipment in general. I had thought, for some reason, that the tubon also had some type of connection with Harald Bode, but it appears I was wrong on that one.
[/quote]

I never knew about the Kraftwerk connection! They were popular with Swedish folk and pop bands, and there is a backstage picture of Paul McCartney mucking about with one that belonged to a Swedish band that were supporting The Beatles. Some people claim The Beatles actually used one, but I'm not sure that's certain - it's probably a myth that grew out of that picture of McCartney with someone else's Tubon.

They're basically a monophonic organ, and sound very haunting when put through effects such as an analogue delay. The guy that sold me mine claims that the broken one has "bassy" tones, whereas the working one has high pitched "fluty" tones. My working one certainly doesn't sound like the ones I've heard on YouTube, but perhaps it's a consequence of some further modifications that may have been done to it's circuitry.

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It does seem your working tubon must have been quite significantly modified, then. It was certainly made to be a bass instrument. From my recollection it sounds quite reedy, more like a bass clarinet than a tuba, in fact. You should definitely get the other one working! I think you're correct about the Beatles thing, as well.

EDIT: [url="https://youtu.be/A9R6bqcBPfc?t=16s"]Here's a video[/url] of a dashing Ralf Hütter in a leather jacket bewildering/boring/exciting an audience with a tubon in 1970. I really think it has a sort of band pass quality to it.

Edited by ZilchWoolham
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