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Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 11:54 pm
by MrNovember
I bought it SUPER cheap the other day. It needs a new bridge and finger rest. Also, has scratchy pots, but they feel pretty good so I may just try to clean them
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:02 am
by Chankgeez
Kingston? Kawai?
Something of that ilk.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:10 am
by MrNovember
That's kind of what I was thinking. It actually sounds surprisingly great considering it only has one working string
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:17 am
by Chankgeez
Yeah, I love instruments like that.

You totally scored.

I think those pickups sound great.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 6:06 am
by actual
Man that is hot. Headstock looks like a Klira.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 5:33 pm
by Chankgeez
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:02 am
by MrNovember
Chank, that one looks pretty close. I was looking through pictures of Kingstons and Kawais and it could definitely be one of them.
I'm excited to get this thing going again. Anyone have suggestions for a cheap but solid bass bridge? I have zero qualms about leaving holes in this thing. It's a beater
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:03 pm
by Chankgeez
I'm pretty certain it was made by Kawai. Whether it was branded as a Kingston or not is anybody's guess.
That bridge doesn't look too bad considering. If it's functional, I might leave it as is. If not, I'd look around on eBay for something that might fit. I wouldn't go with anything too heavy though.
Here's one that may or may not fit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1960s-T ... xy63FSyb7H
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:13 pm
by MrNovember
I guess that's a good point, the bridge isn't a total write off. It's missing one of the height adjusting screws and the other three are pretty rusted. Not sure if they'll even turn. If I could find a set of those and I can get the old ones out, it'd probably be enough.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:19 pm
by Chankgeez
I'd try cleaning up that bridge first and seeing if you can find a replacement screw that fits.
At least that bridge is adjustable. A lot of 'em came with non-adjustable bridges (like the one I posted above).
These types of instruments tend to be really playable. Obviously things that usually need to be worked on/replaced are the bridge, tuners and electronics. I like having as little work done as possible.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 1:31 pm
by MrNovember
Yeah I'll definitely give that a try first and I'm pretty sure that's the majority of the work I'll have to do too.
I'm going to try to clean the pots; like I said, they're a bit scratchy, but they feel pretty good still. The jack is still solid and doesn't cut out at all. The tuners aren't too smooth, but they seem to hold tension. The finger rest is broken exposing some sharp screws, but I can just take that off. So hopefully just a bit of bridge work and cleaning the pots will be enough.
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 3:16 pm
by kosta
Shout out to that pizza tort. Intense!
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:44 pm
by repoman
Setup to play Morphine
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:04 am
by waltdogg
looks like a teisco del rey
Re: Can anyone identify this Bass?
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 3:39 am
by coldbrightsunlight
All I can say is that I'm jealous because it looks great.
If you want a cheap replacement bridge and aren't too bothered about keeping the look of the original I'd go with a cheap fender style because you can get a decent very adjustable bridge for $20 or less. Hole placement will be different but it's easy to set one in the right place if you know what you're doing.
That said the bridge on yours looks basically OK to me.