Mystery Bass

[fealach]

More/bigger here:

http://www.use.com/5d6d9b405a6726d8b0ab#photo=1

I've had this one a number of years.  Nobody on Talkbass had any idea, for all I know it's the product of a local luthier but I thought I'd try here. 
At least it's an excuse to post some horrible pics.  Made me think of an Overwater C Bass/Gibson hybrid when I saw it, so I had to buy it.  I'm guessing late 80's/early 90's
from the styling and condition.  Besides dings and scratches, it has a fair amount of finish cracks.  Neck is angled slightly back like a Les Paul.  34" scale, so it's not a very exact C bass copy, but the body resembles one.  I tried to string it with a set of .105 D'addario nickel rounds but the E was too big for the nut.

Bought it here in the US, North Dartmouth Massachusetts to be exact.  The store had taken it in trade and knew nothing about it.  Schaller pickups,bridge, and tuners.  Passive, I believe 2 volumes, 2 tones and 2 coil switches.  Sounded good but had too much feedback to be usable, so I changed the pickups and electronics.  Original knobs were all chrome, not the mess I've got on there now - that's what I had that would fit the pots I had.  Original pots were 2 300kOhm, 2 500kOhm, marked "Japan."  Set neck, wider and thicker than the Jazz type I like but comfortable.  I modified a beat up old Explorer bass case to fit it.

Thanks for looking, I don't expect anyone will recognize it but you never know.

[Nocturnal]

Doesn't Kenny have one like this in his shed?? Been a while since he posted a picture of it so I might be mistaken.

[uwe]

Looking at the components it is certainly Gibson/Epiphone-influenced. Bit BC Rich in there too. Not a bad shape for those of us who believe that Fender P and J were not the be- and end-all of all bass shapes.

[drbassman]

Nice looking bass, beautiful wood!

[Dave W]

Doesn't Kenny have one like this in his shed?? Been a while since he posted a picture of it so I might be mistaken.

Good eye! I think you just hit the jackpot!

Ken's Andreas Demetriou bass is here: http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=4504.0. fealach, now you know what the AD logo stands for.

Ken is on holiday for a few more days, not sure he knows any more about the origin, he just bought it as a project off ebay UK.

Edit: more pics of Ken's bass here, from the thread where he first found it on ebay: http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=4476.msg70802#msg70802

[Dave W]

Further info thanks to Google: Greek born UK luthier Andreas Demetriou made Uli Jon Roth's original Sky Guitar in the 80s.

from http://iheartguitarblog.com/2009/12/namm-2010-dean-uli-jon-roth-sky-guitar.html

Uli originally designed the Sky Guitar in 1982 and the development phase went through 5 proto-types...

...the extremely high standard of the handful of originals, which had been hand crafted by the brilliant British master luthier Andreas Demetriou back in the Eighties.

[Hörnisse]

Very nice!  I'm sure Kenny will be glad to see a complete example.  I've got a chrome Schaller bridge that would go perfect with Kenny's bass.

[Dave W]

Very nice!  I'm sure Kenny will be glad to see a complete example.  I've got a chrome Schaller bridge that would go perfect with Kenny's bass.

Believe it or not, I already sold him a Schaller bridge.  He didn't know what the original bridge had been and was looking for one that had to be low profile. I had a Schaller 2000 bridge that fit the bill. It's as low profile as the original Schaller roller bridge. But now that we know a roller bridge was original equipment, he might want one.

All we have to do now is get him out to the shed.

[fealach]

Awesome! you guys rule.  The Schaller bridge has the spacer plate mounted under it, the only one of my old Schaller-equipped basses to use it.  The saddles are currently almost completely down, with a pro setup and possibly fret job it might be able to go lower, but not much without hitting the pickups.  I liked that the stock pickups and rings had 3 screw holes, would make adjusting pickup angle very easy.  One ring was broken and had to be replaced even before I changed the pickups.  Wish I could afford to get it refinished.  Nobody else cares or even notices, but old war wounds on a bass bother me.

I set up an old Bartolini XTCT for a full spectrum boost and it sounds great.  Somehow, at least with my amp at home, when I solo the neck pickup there's a slight distortion not present with solo bridge or both pickups.  That bothered me, until the guys I play with heard it and now think I'm a genius for my built in distortion effect.

[Dave W]

I don't belong to LinkedIn, but I see there's a profile for Andreas Demetriou as Luthier for AD Guitars -- but in Cyprus, and only since 2000. http://cy.linkedin.com/pub/andreas-demetriou/29/a5a/b68 Same guy, or possibly his son?

Anyway, we now know that two of his basses are still in existence, and that's cool.

[drbassman]

Amazing.  I had no idea! 

[Highlander]

Howdy all... back from the break and on a detox mission, excluding the merlot in the glass to my left...

Mines slowly becoming fretless and minimalistic (indeed a good spot, Andy) and as you can see from the links rather dark (gone commando as per Carlo's comment ).

Yes indeed, Dave... the carnage that is the shed...

I believe he (AD) was based in Brighton or south coast England at the time this was built...

Fealach... your one certainly travelled... what are the markings on the back of the head...? "AD(?)" might answer one of my questions...

Robert... as Dave noted, that bridge (that presently lurks on my fretless Jazz) is destined to go back on the AD, and curiously enough it is a EMG Select that I was planning to fit in the neck slot... thanks for bearing me in mind... ps not one of those instruments have appeared on sale since we last discussed them...?

[fealach]

Back of headstock is marked "ADQ."

After a little tweaking I have the action fairly low, and think I could remove the bridge spacer plate and raise the saddles accordingly.  Can't get it any lower without too much buzz though, so my compulsion for lowest possible action is satisfied for now, can't afford to have it worked on.  I was considering making it fretless some time ago since I have several 4 string fretted basses, but ran into one problem.  I can't afford to have it worked on!  Not that I'm not confident in my own skills.  I am completely confident I'd destroy it in the attempt.  Interesting pics in the other thread, cool to see the work progress.  I like EMG selects, have put them in many a bass over the years.

Very happy to have found out more about the bass.  Thanks again all!

[Highlander]

That confirms my thoughts - the lettering is his way of numbering his instruments - mine is ADN...

ADA being (presumably) the first, ADN being his 14th and ADQ his 17th...