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Old School

Old School: 1986 Westone “The Rail” Bass

Old School: 1986 Westone “The Rail” Bass

Dave Swift shared his Westone “Rails” basses on Facebook, and we were intrigued. We reached out to him for more for this edition of “Old School”.

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Old School: 1965 L Series Fender Jazz Bass with 60’s Precision Neck

Old School: 1965 L Series Fender Jazz Bass with 60’s Precision Neck

This time around, we’re checking out a unique hybrid of a bass, thanks to Gary Shea, who shares the story of his 1965 L Series Fender Jazz Bass with a 60’s Precision Neck. Gary has been happily playing it for nearly 50 years.

Old School: 1972 Peavey VTA-800

Old School: 1972 Peavey VTA-800

Derrick Cook emailed us with a story about an astonishing piece of gear: “I have a one of a kind Peavey VTA-800 that was handmade by Hartley Peavey as a prototype only in 1972 – 400-watt tube head 8×6550. It’s the only one ever made,” he shared. We asked him for more on this rarest of rare pieces of equipment....

Old School: 1964 Egmond Princess Bass

Old School: 1964 Egmond Princess Bass

Steve Leggett reached out to me with the story of a special bass: his 1964 Egmond Princess. Steve shares the history of this bass, including some great details on the company behind it. Make/Model/Year? It’s an Egmond Princess bass from 1964. How long have you owned it? Just over nine years now. How did you come across it? I was...

Old School: 1959 Gibson EB-2 Bass

Old School: 1959 Gibson EB-2 Bass

When our Instagram friend Eric Fortaleza posted a picture of his beautiful 1959 Gibson EB-2 Bass, we had to ask him to share his story with us. In this edition of Old School, we get the scoop. Here’s the story… How long have you owned it? Since Christmas 2013. I decided to buy myself a Christmas present. How did you...

Old School: 1969 Gibson Les Paul Bass

Old School: 1969 Gibson Les Paul Bass

Emre Kayaalp reached out to me with one beauty of a bass – his recently acquired 1969 Gibson Les Paul. According to the Wikipedia artcile on the instrument, the Gibson Les Paul bass “is a bass guitar first manufactured by Gibson in 1969, just after the relaunch of the Les Paul guitar in 1968.” That bass didn’t sell well, and...

Old School: John Worster / Arvell Shaw Bohemian Double Bass (Circa 1820)

Old School: John Worster / Arvell Shaw Bohemian Double Bass (Circa 1820)

A couple of weeks ago, Damian Erskine sent me an email filled with excitement. Here’s an excerpt: You know about my trip to pick up my dad’s bass in St Louis, right? Well, Jim Widner (who cared for it for the past 25 years) pointed out a name carved in the front. Faint but clear: “Shaw”. Apparently this was Arvell...

Old School: 1972 Fender Jazz Bass

Old School: 1972 Fender Jazz Bass

For many readers, the gold standard of basses is the Fender Jazz. For No Treble reader Ken Burgner, the Jazz is his dream bass. Ken started out with a 1972 Jazz with a Lake Placid blue re-finish. But when he saw a ’72 with a sunburst finish listed for sale on TalkBass, he knew it was the bass he had...

Old School: 1960’s Burns of London Baldwin Jazz Bass

Old School: 1960’s Burns of London Baldwin Jazz Bass

You’re in for a special treat in this edition of Old School. Bassist Daniel Bayer shares the story behind his 1960’s Baldwin/Burns Jazz bass – a rare beauty, which Daniel believes was made in 1965 or 1966. According to the Burns Guitars website, James Burns (1925-1998) was often described as the “British Leo Fender”, and this background on the man...

Old School: 1962 Fender Precision Bass

Old School: 1962 Fender Precision Bass

After featuring a beautiful 1969 Fender Precision Bass in our Old School series, Tim Wolfe, Jr. sent us a note about his 1962 Precision. Not only is this one great looking bass, the story is equally terrific. Tim’s grandfather gave him the bass after playing it for years. Here’s the story… How long have you owned it? Around a decade...

Old School: 1968 Fender Precision Bass

Old School: 1968 Fender Precision Bass

There’s really nothing quite like the Fender Precision Bass. Introduced by Leo Fender in 1951, the P-Bass has had an immense impact on music ever since. Sebastian Casís, a bassist living in Santa Fe, Argentina, shares his 1968 Precision, causing all of us here to feel pretty jealous. How long have you owned it? Since 1990. How did you come...

Old School: 1963 Fender Precision Bass

Old School: 1963 Fender Precision Bass

The 1963 Fender Precision Bass marked some changes to the long-running standard in electric basses. Earlier this year, Fender reintroduced the ’63 Precision Bass as part of their American Vintage line. At that time, the company shared some of this instrument’s unique history: “The year 1963 marks an important moment in Precision Bass history, because that’s when a comfortable new...