OK, after braving the Nashville Boat Show crowd and the Sound + Speed NASCAR event crowd, I got into a very crowded George Gruhn's . . . thought I'd have to park in Memphis!
This is what I found:
The Birdseye Series One:
s/n 85-3741
REALLY CLEAN, virtually like new.
Maple / '2-stripe' mahogany neck, laminations under peghead faces to match, chrome Schallers, brass nut shiny, good frets, nice action, MOP ovals, really skinny truss rod cover in brass. I'm guessing this is a long scale.
Birdseye / mahogany /birdseye wings, no accent laminations (kind of reminds me of the 20th Anniversary basses but with mahogny instead of purpleheart), '2-door' back with trim pots in the big cavity next to the pots (not like current ones with the trims on the other side of the body, round battery plate, both in brass that's scuffed up, yet the body in clear gloss is VERY clean, Series One electronics with the 'old-school' p/u rotary selector in the lower horn. Did not see it, but comes with case, cable, and power supply. Both pickups have 'ALEMBIC' molded into the lower right corners, but not gold embossed. Weight not extreme either way, didn't strike me you'd need an orthopedic strap to live with this one. Only cosmetics I saw were occasional dips in the clear, as if in spots there are tiny sinks into the birdseyes. No breaks in the finish, and only visible if you really look for them.
If the electronics play as good as this looks, somebody is going to STEAL this for $3250.
The 75 is just rough all over.
s/n 77-858, stamped in the end of the headstock as the old ones were.
Finish checked from head to point. In fact the point is bare wood showing in spots. The back of the head is dull exactly in the outline of the face lamination on the back. Could not figure that out. Brass hardware needs a lot of TLC. Neck OK, frets/action OK. Weight did not strike me as extreme either way, felt about average. I'm guessing this is long scale as well, so the reach to first position is a stretch, like it always is on these.
Maple / mahogany (I'm guessing, but it's brown, not purple) neck, ebony, MOP ovals, chrome Schallers. I'm guessing walnut for the peghead faces, back of head maybe stripped to a dull finish, only part that's not checking. Can not figure that out.
Walnut (guess) / mahogany / walnut wings. Heavily checking, clear remaining faded to yellowed, rough brass '2-door' back, Series One electronics with p/u rotary on lower cutaway as above.
Felt fine, weight OK, action good. I would suppose this may be the usual condition for a well-played 75. Did not see the case/PS/5-pin cord, but they are included.
This is DEFINITELY a historical piece, as it's showing every bit of its 31 year age. But for someone on the lookout for a Series from this time period, it may be just the thing BECAUSE of its condition.
As Gruhn's is a zoo on Saturday with tourists, not to mention the huge crowd downtown today, I couldn't play them plugged in. But they both felt fine, action was fine unplugged. At least now you have the serial numbers to further research them. I did my best guesses on the identities of the dark woods involved, and the scale lengths, but neither are short scale for sure.
IF I could go back to a four-string, I'd have bought that birdseye S1 on the spot. Just my luck . . .
Anyway, Gruhn's is top shelf to deal with. One of the handful of vintage dealers with absolutely NO BS. My buddy at Gruhn's, Keith Gregory, tells me these are consignments from a former employee, so he'd know their history.
Keith Gregory,
keith@gruhn.com, or you can call him at 615/256.2033. I can recommend him highly.
Certainly beats rolling the dice on EBay.
J o e y
