Found on Ebay - confusing

[roballanson]

See what you make of this... found it on UK's ebay site....very odd. (ps not sure if the link works as am not great at this inter web thingy)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Music...7417439836QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Colin]

Gav?

 

[Hutton]

Have a look at the thread 'Mystery Sabre Question'. The sabre there looks the same as this one so it's perhaps not as odd as it may seem.

 

[roballanson]

Not the same bass Hutty...the one on ebay is red and has a Stingray neck!!! very strange, but perhaps they are from the same era.........and this one just has a replacement neck?
I have asked the seller for the serial number...

 

[Paul_C]

Maybe the Sabre logo was lost when the headstock was patched up ?

Perhaps the guy that did it could only get hold of a Stingray decal, so he used that ?

P.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

If the bridge is the one originally fitted to the Bass then it's an Ernie Ball body and not a Pre-EB.

Pre-EB Sabres had horse shoe style bridges. Some very early EB Sabres had them aswell but, in the main, the EB Sabre switched to Sting Ray style bridges (as depicted).

If the headstock logo is original then it's a 1985 Sting Ray neck. The give-away is the location of the string retainer on the A and D strings (Pre-EB was on the D and G). Very early EB Sting Ray logos made no mention of "Ernie Ball" on the design.

I don't think Ernie Ball would have fitted a Sting Ray neck to a Sabre but anything's possible. In any event, IMO, that's not a Pre-EB neck.

As to the electronics, I believe toggle switches were a Pre-EB design and were subsequently superceded with a slide switch by Pre-EB (circa 1983) to co-incide with soap-bar pickups (as opposed to pickups with the exposed pole pieces). Due to the number of controls on the plate, it appears to be a three band EQ (introduced by EB in circa 1987). I've never seen a 3EQ Sabre with toggle switches.

I'd be very interested to see what's under the control plate. I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of modification.

I don't believe that Bass is in it's original state.

 

[bassmonkeee]

Would a lined fretless have had the fretboard dots? They don't now, so it's probably been defretted, too.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

>>>>Would a lined fretless have had the fretboard dots?

I don't believe so.

Just checked my files. That Bass was previously advertised on Ebay in April 2005.

"....The G tuner paddle has a small bend in it, but works well...."

 

[Hutton]

Thanks rob for pointing out my glaring mistake re these basses. I'll really have to look at all the photos in future. And Paul C - very cunningly surmised re the headstock. That could be the answer.

As for you Gav - you take the accolade for being the doyen of all things EBMM. I take off my hat to you.

Gav, I've said it once and I'll say it again. You need to be compiling some sort of illustrated book on EBMM guitars and basses with all those details in them. Maybe two separate volumes so that the wee strings and the big strings can be kept separate. I'll definitely buy the book and all the revised editions which will follow.
C'mon Gav what do you say? C'mon. C'mon. C'mon.