Ok well since I'm getting skewered, I might as well just fling myself on the ol BBQ grill and let ya'll rip off a little more meat lol
I'm the person who listed the "doomed" series 1 on Reverb and so as I enter ye abode with both humility and with shaking of nerves... I'll admit that I'm brand new to selling stuff on Reverb and this bass was only my 1st or 2nd listing so please take a little pity on my ignorance of the process. Please?!? Ha ha
I bought this bass probably close to 25years ago from Bill Asher when he worked for Rick at the shop he had next door to his home in Topanga and Rick was standing right there with the bass when I handed over my fist full of filthy lucre to a young and hungry Bill.
Rick told me the story of the zebra log and Entwistles basses and others he built around this same time period - Gibson stories, Wall of Sound Dead stories, and stories of strange long since forgotten ancient instruments were probably tossed in as well. Anyone who has ever met the man knows he's "been there, done that" and will take as much time (and more...) as needed to explain IN DETAIL about any and all things related....or not.
I write this to address the comment above regarding the headstock crack- Rick himself said don't mess with it if it's holding. He built the bass with his own 10 hands so I followed his advice and can assure anyone that's thinking about playing this bass, that the headstock isn't going anywhere. It's solid. It's ugly and...it could be yours for $4500 + shipping(!)
This price may not seem fair to some, but how much would a repair cost if the new owner wanted a repair? I don't even know the current market for these but let's say it's $6000? Then, take the bass to a shop, and for probably $500 you can have someone slice and dice and restore it to a level you're happy with. And more than likely still be under. Or even better, send it back to the factory and let them wave their magic wand and you may still come out less than what the market is selling for. I Dunno. I'm just writing on the internet with one hand while driving along PCH with the top down thinking about this stuff...
The case- it got stolen. I was storing some instruments in my neighbors apt and he just up and vanished in the middle of the night. Not kidding. The case had my handmade 6-string InnerWood from Japan inside. $5500 gone!
Power supply- never had it. One day I Walked over to Dan ( the man) Horne house a few years ago asking to see the inside of his power supply and we both agreed that it looked pretty simple so I called Mica and she said the plans are up online.
I never got around to building the box so I've just been killing endangered albino dwarf manta rays ever since...
To address how I'm going to get this to its new destination, I've made buddies with a local shipping and packaging shop that sends "priceless art work" ( alembics qualify...) around the world on a weekly basis. The first day I went in to have them box up an item I sold, I asked the manager if they were experienced with shipping high value items, he directed my attention to a picture that was worth $8,000 that was about to get "The Treatment".
I wrote in the listing that I'd be willing and able to get an actual case if the buyer wanted.
The bridge- I think it's weird too. The only thing I can think is that someone got inspired to "turn it into an 8-stringer" and then chickened out.
This bass definitely has some stories to tell. Anytime I've hoisted it on stage, it...steals the show. This one is special and I'm not entirely sure why but whoevers hands it ends up in, they will look down at that crack and never look back...
[edited to remove unintentional formatting]
