Peerless Jack Casady Signature

Basvarken · March 07, 2013, 01:08:05 AM

Just stumbled upon this:

I had heard of Peerless. And the semi acoustic smoked bass is a well built and stunning beauty.

mc2NY · March 07, 2013, 01:55:40 AM

Wow. A copy of a copy.

Les Paul Sig > Casady Epi > Peerless

Does it say wnich country it is made in? (Found that...Started as OEM in Korea 40 years ago. Now builds in China. Website/brand address in UK and touted as "European." So, perhaps these ARE just Epi's with the Peerless name slapped on them and Gibson is just getting a $cut$ for the design?)

Rather humorous how Gibson only made around 670 of these basses because no one wanted them back in the 70s and there are now probably more copies than originals. Sort of like Thunderbirds...or maybe all Gibson Basses? Why is it that most everyone can build and sell more Gibson Basses (copies) than Gibson? It would seem the designs are OK, since the copies sell. So, I guess that leaves marketing and price as the problems?

I happen to love the original Gibby version and am lucky to have a pair of them.

Delta's "Peerless" Faucet brand is also made in China.

How can a country of billions of people claim anything is peerless? Odds are against that, no?

Chris P. · March 07, 2013, 02:20:31 AM

They have it for some years already. I saw this JSC copy at the NAMM the last couple of years. I inspected it quite well and I think it just is a JSC. Never really tried to find out, but I guess it's the same factory?

The Smoked Bass is great. A Gretsch with Gibson pickups. I emailad the company in England several times to review one, but no answer.

BTW: Fernandes has a Flyig V bass now!

neepheid · March 07, 2013, 02:23:00 AM

Didn't Peerless make these for Epiphone anyway? They have certainly made Epiphones in the past - serial numbers beginning with P or R. If so then it shouldn't really come as much of a surprise, and in that sense is it truly a copy if they made the Epiphones too?

neepheid · March 07, 2013, 02:44:01 AM

Took a minute, but I found one:

R06090655 = Peerless Plant, Korea
September 2006
Production Number: 0655

So they've got the plans and the tooling. Wee headstock change and Robert's your mother's brother.

Basvarken · March 07, 2013, 03:32:01 AM

The pickup is a cream colored humbucker without the embossed lettering of the Electar that the Epi uses.
Wonder if it's still the same pickup.

The headstock design is different and the tuners are different too. I wouldn't be suprised if this Peerless has less neckdive than the Epi

uwe · March 07, 2013, 05:10:18 AM

It is no wonder that the LP Sig flopped in the mid seventies when it came out - it looked hopelessly outdated at the time, designed by an old man (as Lester already was back then). No one in his right mind wanted to play a hollowbody back then, be it this, a Fender Coronado, a Ric 4005 or any of the Gretsches. Hollowbodies were identified with feedback, muffled highs, boomy bass etc and while the LP Sig didn't sound like that at all it got binned because it looked the part.

Hollowbody basses - to this day a niche - did not really reach cult factor before the later nineties. Even the early nineties EB-650 and EB-750 came too early for that craze and had consequently poor sales.

Andrew · March 07, 2013, 08:09:50 AM

I wonder if the Peerless can be gotten left handed?

eb2 · March 07, 2013, 09:40:32 AM

QuoteWonder if it's still the same pickup.

It is made in China, right?

I think the LP Sig didn't set the world on fire for all of the reasons noted by Uwe, but I think the major dog on it was the asymetrical (i.e. f-d up looking) treble horn cutaway. The ES/EB sold as well as it did in the first place as it was a nice balanced design, and comfortably thin. If it is a LP, JC, or whatever, the damn thing looks like an accident. One half of the body does not match the other.

Pilgrim · March 07, 2013, 09:50:27 AM

Quote from: Basvarken on March 07, 2013, 03:32:01 AM
The pickup is a cream colored humbucker without the embossed lettering of the Electar that the Epi uses.
Wonder if it's still the same pickup.

The headstock design is different and the tuners are different too. I wouldn't be suprised if this Peerless has less neckdive than the Epi

That headstock might indeed make a difference. Seems like this is probably a fairly standard Casady with a different headstock and a different pickup cover with no lettering.

neepheid · March 07, 2013, 10:08:00 AM

Quote from: eb2 on March 07, 2013, 09:40:32 AM
It is made in China, right?

I think the LP Sig didn't set the world on fire for all of the reasons noted by Uwe, but I think the major dog on it was the asymetrical (i.e. f-d up looking) treble horn cutaway. The ES/EB sold as well as it did in the first place as it was a nice balanced design, and comfortably thin. If it is a LP, JC, or whatever, the damn thing looks like an accident. One half of the body does not match the other.

Nope, Peerless is in Korea.

For what it's worth, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the body shape of the LP Sig/Epi JC. I think it looks just right. I find the symmetrical shape of the EB-2 rather old fashioned and it doesn't float my boat at all.

Dave W · March 07, 2013, 10:10:35 AM

Quote from: eb2 on March 07, 2013, 09:40:32 AM
It is made in China, right?

I think the LP Sig didn't set the world on fire for all of the reasons noted by Uwe, but I think the major dog on it was the asymetrical (i.e. f-d up looking) treble horn cutaway. The ES/EB sold as well as it did in the first place as it was a nice balanced design, and comfortably thin. If it is a LP, JC, or whatever, the damn thing looks like an accident. One half of the body does not match the other.

Didn't Gene Simmons say that asymmetrical horns were the sign of the devil? Or something to that effect?

Chris P. · March 07, 2013, 10:11:20 AM

I think it's the same pickup. When I played it, all three settings sounded exactly as how I remembered the JCS. Didn't have a strap, so no opinion about neck dive.

Psycho Bass Guy · March 07, 2013, 11:04:57 AM

Quote from: Dave W on March 07, 2013, 10:10:35 AM
Didn't Gene Simmons say that asymmetrical horns were the sign of the devil? Or something to that effect?

He said something to the effect of, 'You don't see one horn larger than the other in nature.' Gene Simmons, the naturalist, is almost as well-informed as Ted Nugent, the conservationist.

Dave W · March 07, 2013, 11:32:02 AM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on March 07, 2013, 11:04:57 AM
He said something to the effect of, 'You don't see one horn larger than the other in nature.' Gene Simmons, the naturalist, is almost as well-informed as Ted Nugent, the conservationist.

Right. Now I remember thinking that Gene hadn't been out in the woods very much.

Maybe it was lefties that he thought were evil.