Reissue basses

[jumbodbassman]

I have had a very good but expensive last 10 days. First I get my Red Th-1 Bachbird.  Then on monday I picked up an aqua Dano 63 Longscale and finally my Bruce Johnson AEB-2 arrived.  All three are nice instruments for what they represent.  Last night as i was taking some pictures and ogling my catch I started to think what is the best "reissue" i have and what else is out there.....
I have several of the epi reiisues and all are nicely built but other than the J Casady all the elctronics are disappointing.  The gibson reiisues i have found uninspiring....The bach is sweet but maybe a little short on the pickup versus the gibson tbirds.   The AEB is clearly not a traditional reiisue because it costs about $4000 and has clearly IMHO corrected many of the ampeg flaws but is not really made by ampeg.  The Dano is actually right on target but the target was pretty low to start as i can tell from my one vintage dano.  I have not played a road worn bass yet but in general the other fender reiisues i have are pretty much on the money.  i love the lull bird but again is it as good as a old bird and also not made by gibson so it falls into the Bruce Johnson,  Sadowsky etc sort of reissues to me. 

So my long winded guestion is what do you think is the best reiisue bass in your arsenal.  (stock only)

mandatory pics






notice the 4 1/2 neck radius.  very different....



couple of my fender RI




and a hofner which is not really a reiisue but a cheaper model contemp

[gweimer]

Well, I've got 2 of the basses you have, and I used to have a Dano Longhorn.  I'd be hard pressed to call the AEB-1 a "reissue" bass, though.  It's probably got as much, if not more, hands on craftsmanship than the original Ampeg series.  Bruce only went to his brand when Ampeg considered actually reissuing the bass under their name.  Before that, he was making them as Ampeg, with the company's support.  You probably even got the bass shipped in a St. Louis Music box.  All that said, I think the AEB-1 bass is an extension of the original.  Bruce has made mods along the way, so there are even variations in the 4 series he's been producing.

My TH-1 is probably the second best actual reissue I've had.  It was just great out of the box, and the few mods I've made were more subtle than drastic in the end.

The Dano bass has to be the best, although it really shouldn't be too hard to RI a bass that was originally pretty flimsy.  If you have the pickups down from the originals, just about anything you mount them in that looks like the originals will bring you right back to the '60s.  Fun little basses; great sound, but never the sturdiest bunch of the pack.

[chromium]

Congrats on getting your AEB-2!

My favorite reissue bass is without question the BaCHbird, although its largely due to the customizations - nitro refin, pickups, tuners, etc...  Feels like a comfy old bird to me now.


I guess you could call this one a reissue:






It is apparently one of a few prototypes for a AEB-1 reissue that St. Louis Music had attempted in the 80s (Mr. Johnson had informed me that he has a black-finished one that he acquired during a visit to their HQ years back).  The neck profile is very slender and feels a lot like a jazz bass.  It came equipped with a guitar-sized humbucker and pre-amp installed in it.  I didn't bond well at all with that setup, so I gutted it and installed a nice passive setup with a Rio Grande Pitbull pickup and push/pull coil-tap and push-pull passive diode fuzz (just for the hell of it - been meaning to experiment w/different diodes as the effect is very subtle).  That bass has some serious grunt now!

Despite the electronics (they were probably more a sign of the times - had that scooped-mids 80s slapper sound), they did a really nice job with the woodworking and finish.  The body looks to be constructed a lot like the old ones (3-piece top w/rear laminate)... except its made entirely out of maple, and no plywood back like the originals.

[uwe]

That Bruce Johnson with the internally red F holes is a beauty, how does it sound? I've never heard an Ampeg except when the guy with Bad Co played his.

[Aussie Mark]

Reissues?

It doesn't sound like an EB-3, but the Gibson SG RIs are very nice reissues - well made (surprisingly so for Gibson) and the TB-Plus pup at the neck gives them plenty of oomth.



I also like my Korean Epi Rivoli reissue, although this one has had a Dimarzio Model I pickup upgrade ....



The Jap Fender '51-'54 single coil P bass reissues are also fun, quality, good sounding basses.  I've owned a couple of those.

[jumbodbassman]

That Bruce Johnson with the internally red F holes is a beauty, how does it sound? I've never heard an Ampeg except when the guy with Bad Co played his.

sounds very interesting.  the hidden pickup is an extreme thump that takes all the overtones and thud of an upright.  youthen blend that into the "regular magnetic pickups"  to get as much upright thud you want.  absolutely ingenious.  that being said it has limitations on hat you can use it for.  One of my bands is a blues band and It's first gig will be this saturday.  I am expecting good things but it is outside and i may loose much of the percussive stuff

not sure of this will work but here is alink the builder sent me months ago.  this is a fretless one but sounds pretty close to mine.

[Pilgrim]

I'll have to contribute once I get the Dano '63 re-issue in hand.

It will take a MIGHTY fine bass to outdo the gold top Casady I have.  Fantastic bass.

[Droombolus]

I love RIs because I can't afford originals .......... 

DeArmond Starfire modded with DSs and Kluson Titans




Epiphone Rivoli modded with RI pre-68 cover, Hipshot bridge and DiMarzio Willpower PUP




Squier Vista Musicmaster




Fender CS "40th Anniversary" 51-Precision modded with a High Mass Vintage Bridge and Seymour Duncan Quarterpunder




Squier VM Precision TB aka Telecaster Bass Model II modded with a Fender DeLuxe bridge and a second PUP ( aka the Kenny Gradney mod  )




Is this the way to introduce myself or what ? 

[Basvarken]

Hi Martin,
welcome to the Outpost.
Nice to see you here too 

That is a nice family of reissues you have!


groetjes,
Rob

[Pekka]

Squier VM Precision TB aka Telecaster Bass Model II modded with a Fender DeLuxe bridge and a second PUP ( aka the Kenny Gradney mod  )

Hey, that's neat and glad to see I'm not the only one who spotted the modded Tele Kenny played with the Feat circa '75-'77. How does it sound, especially the bridge pickup which seems to be in a Stingray position if I'm not terribly wrong.


My only re-issue bass is the Longhorn (the 2nd reissue with the vol, tone and a pickup switch, a finished neck and an adjustable bridge) and I like it very much. Of course, if the JV series Squier Jazz counts as a re-issue I'll pick it then. Or the '76 T-Bird...

[Pilgrim]

This newly arrived Danelectro '63 RI is shown in another thread...but I thought I'd post it in this RI thread as welll...

[Denis]

Nice collection! In case you haven't seen this, here's a nifty website with lots of Silvertone and Dano pics with model  numbers.

http://www.silvertoneworld.com/

[jumbodbassman]

I love RIs because I can't afford originals ..........  



Fender CS "40th Anniversary" 51-Precision modded with a High Mass Vintage Bridge and Seymour Duncan Quarterpunder




Squier VM Precision TB aka Telecaster Bass Model II modded with a Fender DeLuxe bridge and a second PUP ( aka the Kenny Gradney mod   )




Is this the way to introduce myself or what ?  

Welcome !!

I am in the process of starting up a lotto bass build.  very similar to this mod except the bridge pickup is slightly further back.   I was actually thinking the lotto spot may be too far back.  how does your bridge pickup sound solo and both together.  I will probably go with a larger guard so i may just route a huge hole and slide it around to find the sweetest spot.

here is the stock lotto picture

[Droombolus]

Peter Boer ( PeterB ) has already built a "Lotto" and we compared the 2 monsters on a dutch bassforum meet earlier this year. There wasn't much difference in the overall sound, mainly because of the idiotic output of those humbuckers I think. The basswood body of my Tele made it sound a little more "woody". So I don't think the placing of the bridge PUP is of much consequence ........ 

The bridge PUP does sounds lighter than the neck PUP of course but I only use it for blending. The neck PUP has the unique quality of sounding absolutely useless when played solo and coming alive in a band setting. I've never owned a bass that comes through the band-mix on low volume that easily and still causing tremors in the earth-crust ............. I mix in the neck PUP to prevent earthquakes ...

[Bert]

This was my best reissue. Sounded very good. But I do not like necks wider than 4 cm so it is not mine anymore.