5/143 Atlantik-Bass With Fender headstock
I had been playing the bass for less than a year when we moved to Wiesbaden Germany. At the time I had a couple of years on the violin, then bass. Being an elementary school orchestra I was playing a concert bass.
It was my opinion at the time, and still is, that the bass was the most powerful, elegant and magical of all instruments. If played right it fused all the other instruments into a cohesive force, the actual foundation of music. Although in those early years I couldn’t have explained it.
After a failure at building my own bass, I was 11 years old. Dad told me I’d be getting a bass for Christmas, a few months away. I guess after all the work I put into this failure and my attempt to start another he figured I’d stick with it.
I had two choices at the Post Exchange, the Hofner or the Framus. The Hofner wasn’t designed to hang by a guitar strap, it took a good portion of energy just to hold up the headstock and it didn’t feel that well designed, plus the Motown cool dude, who played at the teen dances, had the Framus. It felt better, it’s what I wanted. I got it for Christmas 1965, by New Year’s Eve I was in a band with the base commanders son, and a drummer. Our good friend who was hanging out with us started singing Wilson Pickett’s Midnight Hour at a rehearsal and he sounded great, we had a singer.
That was my only bass until 1981 when I purchased the Fender Precision Special. About 5 or 6 years ago, and having built a few instruments, I decided to put the old Framus on the bench, clean it, tweak it and set it up. All those years I had been playing it with the bridge 3/4 of an inch too far back. I had to bend the strings for correct intonation. I slapped myself in the head for being such a dunderbrain. If it wasn’t for that 3/4” I may of never purchased another bass.
Naw it would of happened anyways “o)
