These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. They got it right first time around.īy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). Many of the basses designed at Fender have changed very little in the following years, a testament to the strengths of the original concepts. This lead to the introduction of some low-priced models, the Fender Telecaster bass in 1968 and the Fender Musicmaster bass in 1970. Companies were closing down, or moving production overseas. Combined with a generally poor economic climate in the US, guitar sales were going down. Although it had just one pickup and simple controls, it was a great bass, and sold well.Īs the Sixties turned into the Seventies, the American guitar manufacturers started receiving real competition from Japan. Unfortunately they were poorly received, and another commercial flop.īut another bass introduced in 1966 did fare better, the short scale Fender Mustang. Hollow-body guitars were all the rage in the mid 1960s, and inspired by the likes of the Gibson EB2 and Epiphone Rivoli, Fender hired designer Roger Rossmeisl to create the Coronado bass in 1966. Neither sold in particularly large numbers. The next basses were less successful Fender tried a six string version, the Bass VI in 1961, followed by a 5 string bass the Bass V in 1965.
The Jazz bass was another very big sauces, appearing right at the beginning of the decade, and like the Precision, is still in production today. Other vintage Fender bassesīut Fender did produce other bass models the 1960s saw a massive boom in guitar-buying, and Fender experimented with different ideas.
The Precisions portability is demonstrated here, by showing it inside an upright acoustic bass case. 1958 advertisement for the Fender Precision bass.
0 kommentar(er)
