Hello Mica and team,

Rescued 79 1444 from an Canberra pawn shop in Australia. It's a series 2 long scale fretless with red side leds and what looks like a vermillion top and back. Keen to get any history you may have. Kind regards, Garth

Nice score Garth!  She is beautiful.

Thanks Paul

My good friend and local luthier extraordinaire Tom Konig thinks the top and back are likely to be Sapele.

Bass back plates polished 👍

From a pawn shop!!!wowww and what about price???

A-Ha! At last, the magic of Series II electronics is revealed... there is a tiny little upright bass inside them!   

That is a beautiful instrument Garth. Congratulations & Compliments to you sir. 

Thanks Ed and German,

Despite coming from cash converters (pawn shop) it was not too cheap...but I still think it was a nice deal 😁

I believe the top and back are from the same tree as this one:

http://club.alembicguitars.net/index.php?topic=14993.msg153809#msg153809

Thus likely that the build card will say top and back mahogany. Sapele is a type of mahogany, or a close relation as far as I understand so it all makes sense

Still interested in any history on this bass. The original anvil case has a "Jazz FM 88/KLON" sticker on it. No other clues so far... anyone seen this bass in the past?

Hi Garth,

You're absolutely right - this IS a Mahogany top and back.

top: Mahogany
back: Mahogany
body: Mahogany
neck: Maple and Purpleheart
scale: 34" long
fingerboard: Ebony
peghead veneers: Mahogany
originally made for: Studio 42
birthday: October 10, 1979

We had this bass in the shop in 1980 and refinished it for the original owner in Pennsylvania. It got a new owner in Pennsylvania in 1998 and that's the last we heard from it until you stumbled across it. The bass is really quite stunning!

Thanks Mica, it's getting a lot of playing now. What a great fretless! Another one that the mothership should be very proud of.

kool ass Bass!!!.