LeftyBassist.com

.....and here's the "second generation" Artisans from 2001 catalog, which introduced the less derivative body style, Bartolini Mk1 electronics and the "Fortress bridge" (which was another Cort variation on the "Poor man's Warwick" theme)... I prefer these to the "third generation" (see pic at bottom) with the bigger square bridge and the maple stripes in the Wenge neck.

I've always wanted to get a "second generation" A4 (thru neck)- a right handed buddy of mine has one and it's a thing of beauty. But did they ever offer the A series in a lefty?

Me too... I guess with the Antigua you either love it or hate it, but you're gonna have a reaction, one way or the other....

That headstock reminds me of this,

It's a Hawaiian Parrot Fish

Don't mind me, I got up too early, and the coffee is wearing off!

I know one store here in the Netherlands that stocks a lot of Corts. I just checked the pricing on their website. They charge €514 for a righthanded Artisan B4 and €532 for a lefty.



They do now, but not that second generation model you're after. It's the current version in their 'open pore' satin finish, with the one-piece bridge. I haven't seen any here in the Netherlands, but I do come across them once in a while on French websites. Like this lefty-specialized store in Paris:
http://www.californiamusic.fr/gauchers/ ... 46_fr.html
http://www.californiamusic.fr/gauchers/ ... 75_fr.html

Thanks Basshappi!

Just ike you I started getting Carvin's catalogs in the mail back in the late 70's and they were probably the first company that I knew actually promoted that they built left handed basses. Back then I used to dream of ordering a custom LB50 made especially for me but there was no way I could afford it.

You know, it seems like we don't really talk about Carvins around here that much, but your story makes me curious as to just how many lefty Carvin owners there are on the board? I just assumed that practically EVERY lefty bassist who's been at it since the 70s or 80s has probably owned at least one Carvin in their lifetime. But maybe that's a false assumption on my part?

Compared to just about everyone on here, I'm relatively new to playing bass (I started getting into it a few years ago). After goofing around with my cheap Squire for a bit, I didn't have much desire to play it and thought getting a nice bass would help me stick with the instrument. Having limited knowledge of the bass market (especially for lefties), I decided to order a custom bass from Carvin. I ended up getting an IC5WP and have been loving it more each time I play it. Great feeling neck and excellent action, it's my best playing bass in my collection. Other than my Ric, I haven't had a chance to play many other high quality basses so I really can't compare it to what's out there. But I'm happy with it and now I'm GASing for a B40 from Carvin.

I'll tell you what, that was a smart move IMO. I think it's really pretty hard to go wrong ordering a new Carvin, they have it down cold and I've never had an issue. And it's one hell of alot of fun to be able to buy an instrument that good- and custom ordered personalized to your taste- at that price. I'm still seriously GASing for an SB4000 but the Bunny brunel is just so good I knew I wouldn't be disappointed in it, so the SB will have to wait til next time...

The other thing is, because the resale on Carvins is comparatively low I think a used Carvin in excellent condtion is the ultimate starter or back up bass- you can get yourself into an excellent used Carvin for just a few bucks more than some new Squier or korean bass that won't even come close.

+1000 absolutely!

Wow Carmine, nice collection! Especially love the Gibsons! I thought they didnt make the EB3 in a lefty version. I've been looking at their products... the Epiphone EB-0 and EB-3 and called this afternoon to get some details and they told me flat out that they didnt make them in lefty. Just curious but were they custom or "off the shelf"

thx,

bassmasta

FWIW, there was, and may still be, a guy here who did that mod A LOT, there is much use of the Dano 4 and 6-string basses 'round here.

If you ever decide to sell the Guild B302, let me know.

And rightly so! They'll be forever remembered thanks to this man:



That's no Dano though, that's one of his custom made Longhorns by Dutch shop Vox Humana. He also had them build a longscale 5-string version and both long and shortscale 4-strings, with handmachined bridges to replicate the old ones but with full adjustability, and graphite-reinforced necks:

FYI, Jerry Jones is making lefties again. Not sure about the 6 string, but definitely the 4.

http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/

Hey Jeroen, pardon my ignorance but who is that?

Oh Dude, that's Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring- a man responsible in no small part for my love of things Dano-ed, Longhorned and Doublenecked. Is there any more iconic bassline on this planet than "Radar Love"? ...... he's the orignal and has played them for decades!

From the rinus site: http://www.rinus.golden-earring.nl/gear-basses.htm

As Rinus states in interviews, he is very proud of his basses. Of the doubleneck's conception, he explains, "I've always missed the hard fat attack of a real Fender bass. I've always played my Danelectro because I liked the sound of it a lot. Due to the fact that my Danelectro was a short-scale, I had to play with a pick and that's why I play guitar-bass and not bass-guitar! "I came to the idea of combining both a Fender and a Danelectro in one guitar... The result of it is my double-neck. During that time I had made many drawings on paper and my dad was a very handy man!

The main thing and beginning of making the doubleneck is the fretboard: I needed a strong fat-sounding neck, and I came to a Fender '62 Precision bass. The neck of these guitars are very very strong, and the strings are very straight for a fat attack. I used the neck for my doubleneck. The next thing I needed was, of course, a good sound and some good pickups. One of the pickups I used were Danelectros - these pickups are very good in the high tones, but not so good in the low tones. For the low ones I picked an older Framus Nashville bass and used the pickup of it - Bill Lawrence." As shown in the photo, Rinus used the Bill Lawrence pickups both on the Fender and the Danelectro side. The Danelectro pickups (the small ones) are also on both sides.

"Making the body was the most complicated thing - a good body is very important for a good sound! Of course I am not a guitarbuilder, but with some close friends who are guitarbuilders and a very handy dad I had no problems making this guitar complete! From my friends I heard that I needed a hard but easy-to-manipulate fine-graining woodpiece. That was not an easy task, because I needed a huge piece, but I...found it. The shape I used was the same as the Danelectro's, but combining two guitars was a problem with balancing. As you may know the Danelectro basses are hollow; exactly the same thing I did with my doubleneck: the top bass" (Fender) "is completely solid but the second bass" (Danelectro) "is hollow. That's why I actually have an Electric and a Semi-Acoustic bass in one. The balance problem was gone, but I felt a certain wobbliness during the playing so I had pasted a heavy piece of wood underneath the second bass and it did the trick!"

Rinus plays the Doubleneck at electric concerts, as well as his fretless Darwin bass. The doubleneck is full of secret gadgets. In songs like Long Blond Animal / Radar Love / Sleepwalking he plays the second bass, and switches to the normal bass on top- a struggle, but Rinus built a switch in the body for an easy shift between the top and bottom basses. When playing the lower bass he uses Moog Taurus pedals to complete the bass sound, as sometimes the sound drops out in the switching. Another trick: he uses stereo cables with a splitter at the end, splitting the bass sound into two channels, the low and the high tones (Danelectro pickups and Bill Lawrence pickups.) Rinus never spent more then 500 EURO on his guitars.

Cool info Carmine - I enjoyed reading about his unique doubleneck bass. I saw them years ago at Winterland in San Francisco, when Radar Love was a big hit on radio.

Thanks Carmine. Just goes to show you don't need to spend mega-bucks to get a great sound.

Thought you guys might get a kick out of seeing these! As you know, over the years I have bought right handed stuff on occasion- sometimes to play, sometimes for collectables. I mentioned blaming Rinus for my love of things Dano-ed, Longhorned and Doublenecked- so I hold him directly responsible for my purchases of these 2 behemoths! Both are early 80's Japan-built Hondo Longhorns. These are extremely well crafted and great sounding, but what I did not know until I did my homework was that Rinus' custom doubleneck has some hollowing of the body; that's not the case on these guys- they are solidbodies and weigh a ton, so unless you're a bodybuilder they're virtually unplayable standing up for more than a song or 2. But boy they do turn heads wherever they go! I love the 8 string! I'd love to build something like this in a lefty hollowbody someday!

My first Longhorn bass was one of those cream-colored Hondos, bought new in the early 80s.

Ive got an Ibanez Roadstar (like your black one), and it is one of the best basses i have ever picked up.
Over the years i have steered away from it, just because of the Ibanez brand on the headstock.

I know , brand slut.

I also has a Atk series and my old Roadstar beat it hands down for tone.
One great bass and i will never sell it.
And yes, i will start playing it again