The Val-Pro 85 "Map Bass" Vintage Bass Guitar

They say good things come in small packages and the Valco/National Val-Pro 85 vintage bass guitar surely fits the bill.

Its large white body shaped like a map of the United States (frankly, I don't see it) is rather deceptive. It gives the impression that it is a much larger bass than it actually is but its scale length was only 25 inches, the same as an electric guitar.

The body was also made from a unique polyester/fiberglass compound which was a huge departure from the woods that were typically used during the early 1960s. This made it a lot cheaper to mass-produce and they could create molds to make any design they wanted.

Personally I think this is a great looking bass. Considering its short scale and that it was made from synthetic materials it was surprising that it sounded as good as it did.

For images and the full story visit: Vintage Bass Guitar

Win an Ansir Custom Built Bass

Ansir Music is sponsoring a custom bass giveaway (valued at $2,000) to help all kick off spring 2011.

Ansir Music is custom bass builder that is based in Ohio and consists of the founder Jody Michael and designer and artist-level woodworker Deric Smith.

 

The lucky winner gets a custom-built Ansir bass, designed in collaboration with the Ansir team. Once the bass is finished, videos of the building process will be posted so everyone can view how the lucky winner’s dream bass came into being.

The first stop is Ansir’s patented playing angle technology. The Ansir team will personally work with the winner to figure out their perfect playing angle so that the bass is ergonomically designed specifically for them. The winner will also choose from the wide variety of state-of-the-art features Ansir offers in every custom bass build including choosing the wood, hardware, tone inlays, finish, etc.
 

So what are you waiting for? Enter Ansir’s contest right now and keep your fingers crossed!

The contest ends April 25th, 2011. Enter at: Ansir Contest

Info by: Vintage Bass Guitar

Paul McCartney Playing Bill Black's Bass

A fun short video with Paul McCartney doing an Elvis impersonation while playing the original upright bass Bill Black used in backing up The King. It's a clip from his 2006 movie "Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road."

Just thought you might enjoy it: Vintage Bass Guitar

Steinberger "Headless" Vintage Bass Guitar

So what do you do when you want to try something different than build cabinets or design ergonomic furniture? Well, what about designing bass guitars? That may not seem like the next logical step on your career path but that's what Ned Steinberger did and he gave us the L2 or "Headless" vintage bass guitar.

Now, if you're a purist you probably prefer the look of a traditional beautifully carved wood bass with sweeping curves. If that's the case you would probably think that a headless bass made out of graphite is a monstrosity, many did. But Steinberger didn't design this bass for aesthetic reasons he based it on ergonomics as he did with his furniture. He felt the typical bass was unbalanced because the heavy tuners are located at the end of the long neck, so he decided to move the tuners to the butt end of the bass. This led to an interesting design, to say the least, and one which was not readily accepted.

Read more about this bass at: Vintage Bass Guitar

2011 Primus U.S. Tour Dates

Les Claypool and Primus will be touring the U.S. this spring to help promote their first studio album release in 11 years.The album is due out during the tail end of spring or early summer.

The tour will take them primarily through the South with a few dates in the Mid-West. 

Tickets are now available for presale, but you will need to use the password “salmonman”.

Check out the tour dates and purchase tickets at: Primus Tour

Info by Vintage Bass Guitar

Learn to Play Bass With Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton

Here is an opportunity to learn bass from one of the world's most accomplished musicians!

Bassist Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith is teaming up with CharityBuzz.com to auction off an exclusive bass lesson with Mr. Sweet Emotion himself. All proceeds go to benefit the “Music and Youth Initiative.”

Aerosmith, of course, is the best-selling U.S. hard rock band ever. Tom co-authored some of their hits like “Sweet Emotion”, “Jamie’s Got a Gun”, “Jaded”, “Sick as a Dog” and “Uncle Salty.”

Check out the details on how you can win a Tom Hamilton bass lesson.

 

Info by Vintage Bass Guitar.

Victor Wooten/Steve Bailey Concerts

The two world-renown musicians and teachers are masters of their craft, Wooten having thrice been named Bass Player magazine's Bassist of the Year, and Bailey twice a runner up for the honor. Each have a who's who of performance and recording credits under their collective belts. Within their 20-year friendship the two have toured together, recorded together, and taught together.

Even though they are playing essentially the same instrument, their styles are dramatically different. You can find videos of them on YouTube playing anything from "Chick from Corea" to the "Benny Hill Theme."

Tonight, March 3, they will perform at 6pm and again at 8pm at the intimate, 150-seat Edwards Recital Hall at CCU's College of Humanities and Fine Arts in Myrtle Beach, SC

Saturday they will be at the SCBDA Jazz Festival at Newberry College, SC. The show begins at 9am with Wooten and Bailey scheduled to take the stage at 1pm.

Sunday may be you best bet to see them together when they appear at Beckwith Recital Hall, Cultural Arts building, Randall Drive at UNCW in Wilmington, NC. The show starts at 4pm.

You can get further info here: Steve Bailey

Info by Vintage Bass Guitar

Dan Armstrong Lucite Vintage Bass Guitar

On the one hand you had Ampeg which was a renowned maker of amplifiers and had recently started offering their own bass and guitar line.

On the other hand there was Dan Armstrong who was a studio musician and owner of his own guitar repair shop. Besides repairs, he also improved the look and sound of instruments with his modifications.

In the late 60s the two would combine to create the Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass, an eye-catching jaw-dropping instrument if there ever was one.

Check out the full story here: Vintage Bass Guitar