Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 14 May 2019 4:22 am |
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I bought this about a year ago when I was still the bassist in the band. Now that things have changed and I'm back to guitar and steel, I can't reasonably justify keeping a fretless.
It's not an original from the '60s, nor is it one of Bruce Johnson's recreations, nor one of the Ampeg-branded reissues he built under contract, nor is it an Italia or an Eastwood. It's one of a small number of reissues commissioned from Fujigen by St. Louis Music, who owned Ampeg in the '80s and '90s. There's very little information out there, but it appears that only around 100 were built in total. Most likely they were all built in 1991, though some sources say the late '80s or 1985, so I'm not really sure of the date. They were built in both fretted and unfretted versions and distributed exclusively in Japan, so very few have made it to the US. I was told that this particular one was owned by an employee of St. Louis Music, and that it's actually the prototype for the fretless model.
In terms of configuration, it actually borrows from both the AUB-1 and AMUB-1 models of the '60s. It has the extended tailpiece from the earlier AUB-1, but a magnetic pickup à la the AMUB-1. However, the pickup and electronics are different from the original magnetic one; there's a big humbucker fed into an onboard preamp. It has a lot of top end available, but rolling back the tone knob gives a growly mid-range and a deep, vintage-y low end. Unlike the originals, there is no zero fret; I'm not sure it served much purpose on a fretless anyway.
The originals had huge necks, but this one is like a moderately chunky P-bass. It's not thin, but it's quite easy to play. I always thought these things looked neck-heavy, but this one is perfectly balanced on a strap. The bullet-style truss rod nut makes adjustments easy. The bass comes with a recent Access Stage Five gig bag (really more of a very nice soft case). It's still in very clean condition; the only sign of wear is one small ding on the back of the body.
I'm asking $SOLD including Paypal and shipping within the US. I'm not looking for anything specific in trade, but it never hurts to ask.
     
Last edited by Noah Miller on 14 May 2019 1:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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