Teisco (?) bass ID

[theehman]

My friend just acquired this bass and would like to know exactly who made it and when. The pics aren't that great since I took them with my phone cameras but hopefully they're clear enough to help ID. Appreciate any help you can give.

[Big Beat]

Kawai, early 60's.

[VintAxe]

Hi Ron,

I think Big Beat is essentially correct on this ID.

Here is a picture of a very similar bass from a 1961 Teisco catalog;

[theehman]

So, Kawai or Teisco?

[VintAxe]

Hi Ron,

The short answer is that I don't know for sure.

There are certainly enough similarities between your guitar and the Teisco catalog guitar to say it is a Teisco. However, the differences are pretty significant in my mind.

To start, notice the Teisco bass has the side bar inlays while your bass has dot inlays. Here is an image of the same bass in a 1964 Teisco catalog and it still has the side bar inlays:


(I just realized the link won't take you directly to the literature page. Just click Literature in the left side menu)

So, this suggests the Teisco Bass didn't change much from 1961-64. I'm pretty sure this style of bass was discontinued in 1965 when Teisco introduced their "New Style" line up. At the very least, it appears this old EB style was no longer being imported into the US by 1965.

In my mind this leaves us with 2 "most plausible" options. Either your bass is a Teisco built prior to 61 before they changed to the side bar inlays or another company (like Kawai) copied the Teisco style and used dot inlays. I don't have the literature I need to choose between these 2 options.

Another interesting feature of your bass is that the tuning keys more accurately mimic a Fender key than the keys on the Teisco. I'm not sure what this means, but it is another significant difference between the 2 basses.

I guess the final aspect of your bass that interests me is it's similarity to a Telecaster Bass. The headstock is obviously Telecaster style and the body shape is ambigious enough that you could claim the Japanese were mimicing either a Precision or Telecaster body shape. The part that I find unusual is that I don't think Fender introduced the Telecaster bass until about 1967. So, this Teisco "Telecaster" bass predates the introduction of Fender's Telecaster Bass. Hmmm. Who is copying who here?

Thanks for the post, it is definately a brain teaser. Hopefully, Big Beat will stop by and let us know why he thinks it is Kawai. He could very well be correct, but I don't know enough at this point to choose between the two options.

Any other visitors with opinions on the origin of this bass please weigh in.

[theehman]

Just another piece of info here. The bass has a 5-bolt neckplate. Does that help narrow it down? I have the bass in my possession now so I can post some better pics if anybody needs them.

[Big Beat]

The 5-bolt is a dead giveaway of Kawai parentage. As for the catalog, you must understand how the Japanese trading companies worked. A lot of the guitars were unbranded and featured in many different distributer's catalogs. The same catalog picture would appear everywhere, even when the actual guitars had different logos slapped on and various minor variations. It's also quite possible that Teisco bought a shipment of bass bodies and pickups from Kawai and slapped their own similar necks on them to fill an order during some peak production rush. Or just as likely, Kawai bought the parts from Teisco and used their own different fretboards, neckplates and tuners to assemble them. It was a very small world, especially considering the close relationship between Teisco and Kawai (Kawai bought Teisco in '67).

Besides the different neck inlays, the Teisco in the catalog also has different tuners, as well as totally different pickguard and controls. Even allowing for the difference between 1 and 2 pickups. It's also just as likely that despite superficial similarity, they are really totally different models with nothing in common other than some of the same parts bought from the same third party supplier.

If you think this bass is confusing, try keeping the Teisco SD series ("Hound Dog Taylor" type) straight. Between Teisco and Kawai, there were a zillion variations of that basic model.

As for this model pre-dating the Telecaster bass, the Tele bass was itself a reissue of the original early 50's Precision. So they both had the same inspiration

[VintAxe]

Well said Big Beat, thanks for your input.

[theehman]

Thanks, Big Beat and Steve for your ID help. I've posted the bass on ebay here: .
I have some better pics shown in the auction in case anybody needs them for their records.

I didn't come here looking for answers to make myself money. My sister's husband lost his job and the money from this bass (after I recover my investment and fees) is going to her to help out.