Author Topic: Nina Simone bass?  (Read 4263 times)

Stjofön Big

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Nina Simone bass?
« on: August 30, 2017, 02:07:42 AM »
So, I got my eyes on this here video. Nina Simone singing Four women. Thing is, this bass player's got a bass I don't recognise. Any one know what the piece is? You'll see it quite clear from 2.52.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dAQuf2sMYQ

Dave W

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2017, 08:04:29 AM »
I can't recall seeing one like that before.

uwe

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2017, 11:22:23 AM »
Fender Jaguar shapish or a Jazz Bass with too large a pg ... It sure looks like something a luthier migh have made for him, not pawn shoppish or self-experimental.
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66Atlas

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2017, 06:04:19 PM »
Reminds me of some Italian or Soviet instruments Ive seen. Whatever it is it's kinda cool.

gearHed289

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2017, 07:26:24 AM »
I was thinking Soviet as well.

uwe

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2017, 10:45:09 AM »
The bass from the Cold - shudder the thought!


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Pilgrim

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2017, 11:02:18 AM »
I was thinking Italian, like Mondial.

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Dave W

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2017, 09:32:22 PM »
I was thinking Italian, like Mondial.


Or Italian like a '60s Eko. They had a few off-the-wall designs.

uwe

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2017, 04:35:22 AM »
True.

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ilan

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2017, 12:43:52 PM »
Teisco Del Rey EB-200 with a custom pickguard. The giant neck side markers are the dead giveaway, and then there's the body shape, pickups etc. down to that button on the bridge cover.

EDIT: wait - at 4:35 you can see a 4 inline headstock. The Teisco was 2+2. Damn, I thought I nailed it.

Maybe someone moved two tuners? The Teisco 2+2 headstock is fender-shaped and can accommodate 4 inline.

« Last Edit: September 02, 2017, 12:56:05 PM by ilan »
The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

ilan

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2017, 01:04:15 PM »
Another bass with those large side position markers. Teisco Audition-branded.

Maybe the Nina Simone bass is a Teisco EB-200 with a Teisco Audition neck? I'm pretty sure the body in the video is EB200.

The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

Stjofön Big

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2017, 02:45:38 PM »
As far as I've found out, it might be Clint Houston who's playing the bass. The jazz bassist played with Nina Simone in -69. He passed away at the age of almost 54 in -00. What can one say? Smart bass lines! But his bass.... well, maybe it's the Teisco Del Rey EB-200. Sure looks the part. Anyone here tried one out?

Dave W

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2017, 10:26:08 PM »
No, I don't think it's a Teisco.

Alanko

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2017, 01:59:42 PM »
I've screenshotted the bass for posterity:



It is an odd bass, with that large pickguard that doesn't cover a whole lot of the treble side of the body. If anything it reminds me of a Framus design:



Whereas the small boxy chrome bridge cover, chrome pickups and side-inlays on the neck match this Kay 5922:




The bass in the video doesn't seem to have a lower cutaway at all, simply a rounding away of the wood. The clownburst finish says 'Japan' to me.



Alanko

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Re: Nina Simone bass?
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2017, 12:33:53 PM »
I think the bass might be a Lafayette bass, like this one:



The one I've posted here is missing a knob and the bridge cover.

This is a more complete example: