The Last Bass Outpost

Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: gweimer on March 15, 2011, 08:23:13 PM

Title: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: gweimer on March 15, 2011, 08:23:13 PM: I came across this. Not only do I not quite recognize the brand of the double-neck, but the bass work is really pretty cool.

Anyone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqrsGXjRLds

Another video - maybe Guild?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbDKN0dk54M

Oh, and the bass player is Tom Dawes.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Dave W on March 15, 2011, 09:03:41 PM: That's a Gretsch Bikini doubleneck.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: hollowbody on March 15, 2011, 10:18:24 PM: That's a Bikini alright. I was lucky enough to try one out last fall. Very strange feeling instrument.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Chris P. on March 16, 2011, 01:48:29 AM: Yep, A Gretsch Bikini. If I'm right you can exchange necks in an easy way?
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: gweimer on March 16, 2011, 04:50:58 AM: Cool! Thanks!
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: rahock on March 16, 2011, 05:25:26 AM: You guys blow me away ;D, I've never seen or even heard of one of these and you came up with that in no time at all.
Rick
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Dave W on March 16, 2011, 07:27:46 AM: When these came out in 1961 I was taking guitar lessons at a Gretsch dealer. Otherwise I might have missed them, AFAIK they were a failure in the market, there weren't that many made.

Chris is right, the neck shafts could slide in and out of the body, and the body wings were hinged so they could fold up.

1961 Gretsch catalog page (http://gretschpages.com/media/img/memorabilia/cat_1961gretsch_page101.jpg)
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: uwe on March 17, 2011, 01:05:13 PM: Hey, those guys made nasty lyrics! Is this true sixties stuff or just made to sound and look like it?
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: rahock on March 17, 2011, 02:51:15 PM: Quote from: Dave W on March 16, 2011, 07:27:46 AM
Chris is right, the neck shafts could slide in and out of the body, and the body wings were hinged so they could fold up.

1961 Gretsch catalog page (http://gretschpages.com/media/img/memorabilia/cat_1961gretsch_page101.jpg)

WTF, did they play these things on aircraft carriers? ;D
Rick
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Rob on March 17, 2011, 05:07:42 PM: Quote from: uwe on March 17, 2011, 01:05:13 PM
Hey, those guys made nasty lyrics! Is this true sixties stuff or just made to sound and look like it?

Real
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Dave W on March 17, 2011, 05:10:42 PM: Quote from: uwe on March 17, 2011, 01:05:13 PM
Hey, those guys made nasty lyrics! Is this true sixties stuff or just made to sound and look like it?

Nasty?

You never heard of The Cyrkle? They were too poppy for the times but it helped to be discovered and managed by Brian Epstein. They opened for The Beatles. Their career pretty much died with Epstein.

These were their two big hits. They didn't write either of them.

Quote from: rahock on March 17, 2011, 02:51:15 PM
WTF, did they play these things on aircraft carriers? ;D
Rick

You got me there. Who knows what their designers were thinking. With the failure of the Gibson modernistic series, you would think they would have known better than to do something different and modern.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: uwe on March 18, 2011, 03:57:57 AM: Red Rubber Ball sounds outright cynical to me and very sneaky in its sunny arrangement.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: dadagoboi on March 18, 2011, 04:47:48 AM: Quote from: uwe on March 18, 2011, 03:57:57 AM
Red Rubber Ball sounds outright cynical to me and very sneaky in its sunny arrangement.

Written by Paul Simon, pretty much what would you expect lyrically.
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: rahock on March 18, 2011, 05:41:48 AM: The Cyrkle did a lot of ads for Shure mics. For a year or two their vocals were ranked up there with the best .
Rick
Title: Re: Need a bass ID'd
Post by: Dave W on March 18, 2011, 07:36:51 AM: Quote from: dadagoboi on March 18, 2011, 04:47:48 AM
Written by Paul Simon, pretty much what would you expect lyrically.

And co-written by one of The Seekers (Bruce Woodley), who later recorded it as an album cut. IIRC Woodley and Simon wrote several together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy0ja70jz8E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLnWtTbNLDE