Saw this thread on TalkBass this morning:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/refinish-my-doug-irwin-bass.1295295/

Not that I'm surprised he made basses, but this is the first one I've seen.

The only other Irwin basses I have seen are Phil Lesh's and the one that was stolen from Pete Sears on tour in Germany in 1978 that he was recently reunited with. Pete's bass was made from the same wood as Garcia's Tiger guitar.

Did the Kawai Alembic copy 'borrow' that headstock logo or what?

Ha, I saw that in it too! 

Have never seen one of these. Interesting bass as well as replies as to whether he should refinish it.  Given the condition of the neck which would personally bother me, I guess it depends on whether he wants to keep it as a collectors item (don't refinish) or enjoy playing it (refinish). 

These are so few and far between that I don't believe the finish/refin issue has any significant effect on the value.

Bill, tgo

Bill,


I completely agree with you here. But, in order to retain a possible connection to the instrument's roots when it comes to the refinish work, I would suggest the seller contact Tom Lieber. He may have been involved in the construction of this bass. He and Doug Irwin collaboarated on a few instruments and I know he did the restoration work on Pete Sears' bass. It's like when I had one of my vintage BC Rich Bich's restored a number of years ago, I had Neal Moser do the work. Seems more fitting that way. Keeping it in the family, so to speak.


BTW...there have been a couple of beautiful Irwin basses posted over on the RU Kind Forum.

This is all very interesting I may have some input on this topic later .

Here are some photos of an Irwin Bass that a fellow that I knew owned during his lifetime . May he rest in peace .

Spectacular!!
(I'm also impressed by that way cool paneling in the background)

Quite a bass there, Wolf... thanks for posting this one. The body pattern is similar to "Tiger". I like the inlay on the back... that would be a cool custom feature to consider bringing back.