FlatEric Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 This has been done before and there are current threads discussing the subject but following a chat with Jon (Bassassin) - we decided it was a good idea to start another, as the last one was started in 2016 and with the changes to the forum, what has been tranfered doesn't look good, so - here we go again! This bass is the reason I joined up to Basschat, almost ten years ago - I had been a "lurker" but I finally came out, when I saw a post about the Atilla Bologh Odyssey Bass. I featured the bass, as one of my very first posts on my blog: Odyssey Bass For those not familiar with me (I have not been on here much since things changed - getting old and used to familiarity) I have run a blog for the last 10 years: Flat Eric's Bass and Guitar Collection and started a long running thread about the Peavey T-40 and was a regular contributor, back in the day. Jon and I have always had banter about these basses, as when he found out I had two of the same model, he couldn't understand why he couldn't have one!! There is a small vid here (up to around 35 seconds, the rest is just mush) which shows the same model, as two of mine. I will be putting up more info on here but for now, Jon and I are very interested in any knowlege, ownership, experience of Atilla Balogh's work. Back real soon. Cheers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) As I've been "fingered" as @FlatEric's co-conspirator in this thread - and I encouraged him to start it - I probably should chime in! I don't own an Odyssey (and don't seriously expect or want Eric to give/sell/trade me one of his!) but find these stunning instruments. I've told the story a number of times about spotting one on my local Gumtree (only a guitar, don't worry!) for £30, while I was away from home, and it inevitably having just sold when I got back. It was priced like that because it was a bit neglected, and the seller assumed it was "some cheap old Japanese thing". Anyway, I kept the pics, just to sob over: I only hope whoever picked this up knew what it was & restored it, as I would have. And maybe gave the fella an extra tenner... Anyway - what's interesting (to some) and runs the risk of dragging Eric's thread off-topic before it even properly begins, is that, MIJ nerd that I am, it has come to my attention that back in t'day, when it were all just trees - there were in fact Japanese copies of the Odyssey basses & guitars. These were made by the Moridaira company and sold under their prestigious HS Anderson brand, just like Prince's MadCat Tele copy wasn't: That's probably enough MIJ picspam, particularly considering this is meant to be a thread about Canadian basses. These are based on the Mk II Odysseys, which have a revised bodyshape from the original. I'm sure Eric will post a pic or two of his other Odyssey for comparison. Have I mentioned before that I've wondered if the reason I have GAS for one is because "Atilla Balogh Odyssey" sounds like it should be a prog concept album? Probably... Edited March 9, 2019 by Bassassin Unwanted guitar piccage 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Cheers, guys. Mine was the one with the two Bart buckers and herringbone binding. IIRC, Jimmy Grant had the full range of these basses, inc a B100 fretless with an unlined ebony board and a B100 with what looked like an MXR 6 or 7-band graphic inside it. Dunno if my one's still in the Lothians. As mentioned in the Grants are Pants thread, I'd like her back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 11 hours ago, NikNik said: Mine was the one with the two Bart buckers and herringbone binding. IIRC, Jimmy Grant had the full range of these basses, inc a B100 fretless with an unlined ebony board and a B100 with what looked like an MXR 6 or 7-band graphic inside it. Dunno if my one's still in the Lothians. As mentioned in the Grants are Pants thread, I'd like her back! In which case yours is the one I have played! I think I maybe also re-strung it as well. I used to work with Jimmy in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 EMG456 - " In which case yours is the one I have played! I think I maybe also re-strung it as well. I used to work with Jimmy in Edinburgh and Glasgow. " You may be able to help - I have never really known how the ones in the UK got here - the only leads I have ever seen, point to Scotland. Can you remember how many were on display - one, a few, several - Guitars as well? Could he have been the only importer/dealer? Grateful for any info. Cheers. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 (edited) 17 minutes ago, FlatEric said: EMG456 - " In which case yours is the one I have played! I think I maybe also re-strung it as well. I used to work with Jimmy in Edinburgh and Glasgow. " You may be able to help - I have never really known how the ones in the UK got here - the only leads I have ever seen, point to Scotland. Can you remember how many were on display - one, a few, several - Guitars as well? Could he have been the only importer/dealer? Grateful for any info. Cheers. : ) AFAICR, most them were basses in Jimmy's. There were three B100s: A fretted, a fretless, and another fretted with the 6 or 7-band EQ. There were also a few of the heavily figured models that had the white DiMarzio P-bass pups and a couple of the satin finished one-pup basses. There were also guitars from each range, so I reckon there were easily a dozen instruments in JGs. Edited March 12, 2019 by NikNik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Interesting headstock on this one...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 2 hours ago, FlatEric said: EMG456 - " In which case yours is the one I have played! I think I maybe also re-strung it as well. I used to work with Jimmy in Edinburgh and Glasgow. " You may be able to help - I have never really known how the ones in the UK got here - the only leads I have ever seen, point to Scotland. Can you remember how many were on display - one, a few, several - Guitars as well? Could he have been the only importer/dealer? Grateful for any info. Cheers. : ) Grants Music was clearly a distributor as well as a retailer - how do I know this? I bought my Grant-branded nasty shortscale starter bass brand-new, from Unisound Music in Chatham, Kent. Unisound, along with other local music shops stocked a range of Grant-branded guitars & basses, so it's evident Grants had a dealer network to which they could have distributed other brands they dealt with. I think it's reasonable to think they might have been sole UK importer for Odyssey Guitars, and if other evidence points to Scotland that would support that idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 17 hours ago, NikNik said: Interesting headstock on this one...... Very similar to the model I have except different tuners and TRC. Interstingly the nut seems to be of bone and not brass. Another one I had not seen before - that vill go on ze lizt. . . Pike! 17 hours ago, Bassassin said: Grants Music was clearly a distributor as well as a retailer - how do I know this? I bought my Grant-branded nasty shortscale starter bass brand-new, from Unisound Music in Chatham, Kent. Unisound, along with other local music shops stocked a range of Grant-branded guitars & basses, so it's evident Grants had a dealer network to which they could have distributed other brands they dealt with. I think it's reasonable to think they might have been sole UK importer for Odyssey Guitars, and if other evidence points to Scotland that would support that idea. Forward thinking on Atilla's part - start from the north, as opposed to London? Just thought it was ironic that the renewed intrest in this was started on the "Grants are pants" thread! You couldn't make it up!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Let's keep it going..... I also have a feeling that my B100 had lost its brass headstock inlay, but I can't be sure. I do remember it had an inch long scratch on the upper horn! Find it for me, bass sleuths!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 I was offered one of these in trade recently. Look interesting, but a bit of an unknown quantity and hard to get the money back on based on the trade value the other guy put on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 It's a long time ago now... When I joined Jimmy, most of the Odysseys had been sold - there were two basses - one with the binding and one without and I think, one guitar. this would have been about 1982/3 ish?? Can't honestly remember. Jimmy would visit the Musical Instrument trade fairs- NAMM, Frankfurt etc.- and buy directly from the manufacturers. This was mainly to sell in the shops but he also had a network of contacts in the MI business who would often trade so yes, there was a bit of distribution going too. I would guess that most of the stock of Odysseys were sold in Edinburgh but there may have been a couple of stragglers traded on to other dealers in the UK. It's unlikely that Jimmy would have bought more than one batch of instruments from Atilla- he liked to have high quality stuff in the shops but it's always more difficult to sell than the mass market so once the original buzz had gone and the interest had waned, it becomes all about the profit, as in most businesses. I remember the two Odyssey basses and two graphite necked Alembic Series basses hung about for ages with no interest from the buying public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 30 minutes ago, Bigwan said: I was offered one of these in trade recently. Look interesting, but a bit of an unknown quantity and hard to get the money back on based on the trade value the other guy put on it. Got a photo of the bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 2 minutes ago, EMG456 said: It's a long time ago now... When I joined Jimmy, most of the Odysseys had been sold - there were two basses - one with the binding and one without and I think, one guitar. this would have been about 1982/3 ish?? Can't honestly remember. Jimmy would visit the Musical Instrument trade fairs- NAMM, Frankfurt etc.- and buy directly from the manufacturers. This was mainly to sell in the shops but he also had a network of contacts in the MI business who would often trade so yes, there was a bit of distribution going too. I would guess that most of the stock of Odysseys were sold in Edinburgh but there may have been a couple of stragglers traded on to other dealers in the UK. It's unlikely that Jimmy would have bought more than one batch of instruments from Atilla- he liked to have high quality stuff in the shops but it's always more difficult to sell than the mass market so once the original buzz had gone and the interest had waned, it becomes all about the profit, as in most businesses. I remember the two Odyssey basses and two graphite necked Alembic Series basses hung about for ages with no interest from the buying public. I bought mine early 1980, IIRC. He also sold Riverhead basses/guitars and had some of the then new Guild B301 and 302 basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 9 minutes ago, NikNik said: Got a photo of the bass? Somewhere. Possibly on my old phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 14 minutes ago, Bigwan said: Somewhere. Possibly on my old phone. Would be cool to see it if poss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JojoB Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Just thought I'd add this vid to the thread for historical documentation purposes... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Thanks for that - not seen that one. : ) Knowing that this one is fretless, would account for some of it, as well as settings on the amp but I have one the same as this, in a red burst and the tone is sort of piano-like. bright, defined and percussive. You can, of course, roll that off but in general terms, a punchy, powerful sound. Cheers. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bali Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 I have found this exact bass in great condition at a local pawn shop. Immediately it caught my eye. I have put it on lay away as a sort out the financing. I played it for a couple of minutes, long enough to test the electronics and feel of the neck. They are selling it for 2000 CAN and since I laid eyes on it I am kind of obsessed about it. I dont know if that is expensive for what it is. Or even what the specs are. Can anyone tell me more about this unusual instrument? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Probably your best bet would be to drop a PM to @FlatEric, who owns several of these and has done a lot of research on them. There's also a FaceBook group: https://www.facebook.com/odysseyguitars I remember there was a website with a bit of historical info about the manufacturer & some model specs, but I can't find the link - Eric might be able to help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wootang Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Can someone chime in with some info on this bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 It's got wavy Grovers. Sell them to me, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wootang Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 41 minutes ago, NikNik said: It's got wavy Grovers. Sell them to me, please. If you had to give it a rough value (CAD$$)? For the complete bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 18 hours ago, NikNik said: It's got wavy Grovers. Sell them to me, please. It would be sacrelige to take them off this & stick them on a poxy Rickenbacker. I say that as a big fan of the early 70s Ricks that often had these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Bassassin said: It would be sacrelige to take them off this & stick them on a poxy Rickenbacker. I say that as a big fan of the early 70s Ricks that often had these. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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