LeftyBassist.com

Oh boy, what a mess! The good news is you could probably get this one relatively cheap:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KRAMER-BASS-RAR ... 45ff56c0c4

I saw that this morning on my daily rounds of ebay surfing...it's on my watch list just to see how much it fetches at the end.

Hahahahaha. Oh jesus.

Damn! What a wreck. I have this exact bass - but in waaaaaaay better condition - it's one of my main rock basses. I'm tempted to bid just to have some parts. I could also imagine an 8-string project bass coming out of this beast. Hmmm....

Not to mention a roll's worth of free duct tape!

Actually, isn't this one (and yours jayceofbass) technically a DMZ4000? The DMZ4000 had that diamond shaped PUP surround while the DMZ4001 doesn't. Other than that, I don't know if there are any other differences. I've got a DMZ4001, no PUP surround.

Jailhouse rock? Like the shoe-string guitar strap... definitely a budget make-over.... or a shoe-string budget job!

I'd buy it just to shoot it and put it out of it's misery. another waste of a fine bass.

I actually think this could be a fun project if bought cheaply. It's simultaneously hilarious though.

Stupid thing is up to almost $300... I would have bid if it was under $200.
Whoever buys it has to put a good amount of money and time into it...

p

After all is said and done here's the bottom line:

Sold for $484.95 (37 bids)
Shipping $45.00
Total: $529.95

I'm floored by how much this went for. I already own one of these but I was mildly interested in this one for parts or project. I was thinking it would go for $100-200. I paid $700 for mine and it was fully functional and in GREAT shape with all the original parts including the Kramer OHSC which was also in great condition.

I guess it really is true. One man's garbage is another man's...

...duct tape fetish?

I don't think it was garbage at all. That tape appears to have been on it for a long time, it's quite possible the finish underneath is n good shape.

This bass was definitely rode hard, and taped up wet! But, I've always thought these basses were very cool, like a vintage airplane with the use of aluminum and wood. If the new owner is willing to put in a lot of sweat equity, and spend some bucks, it's conceivable it could be restored for a total of around the $700 jayceofbass paid for his. It's a piece of history for sure, and the selling price isn't too high to own it, and restore it, in my opinion. But, it is certainly a project for someone who knows about restoring basses, and having the skills, knowledge, resources, and contacts to bring it back to it's original state.

I hope the new owner is a member of this site, or becomes one, and shows us the rebuild pics, and story.... in fact, I'll see if I can't leave a message for him to become a member, if he isn't already.

OK, the only thing I could do was leave a message with the seller, asking him to pass on my message to the new owner to look at, or join our forum here, and keep us up on the rebuild. I'll let you know if I get a response, or maybe better yet, the new owner will join and weigh in...

Hey fivebass52 -

I'm the seller of this odd but interesting bass. (greencape007 on ebay)

I will definitely pass your invitation to join the forum and request to post some snaps of the restoration process on to the buyer. I'd like to see how it turns out myself! But I'll leave all of that to his discretion. He seems like a great guy and indicated he's restored a number of guitars, so it sounds like he's up for the job.

LIke danomite suggested, I'm hoping the duct tape comes off pretty easily using a solvent or naptha or something -- and that the finish is nice and clean underneath. But I really don't know. I peeled off one corner, and what I saw looked very good. But the rest is the big mystery. The tape is ancient and dried up, and the adhesive flies off like heavy dust when you peel the tape. So it probably has been there a while.

A little rewiring and soldering of the control electronics, and scrounging up or making some kind of plate to cover the control cavity -- and the new owner might have a really nice rare bass.

I was really surprised too by the interest it attracted -- I think like 36 bids -- plus I had emails from Australia and Norway from guys who were interested but were scared off by heavy shipping and customs charges. Some nice fellow in Norway estimated it might cost $300 to ship from L.A. and decided against bidding. I guess those old Kramer aluminum necks still draw some interest. For example, I saw a righty aluminum neck -- just the neck -- go for $263 recently on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130615229405?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_510wt_1128

And I'm hoping the buyer can restore this lefty Kramer back to glory -- maybe not as clean as this righty, but maybe kinda sorta close:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/220917179180?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_500wt_1377

Anyways, I'll pass the links along to the buyer. I hope he gets as big a kick out of this thread as I did -- especially in a few weeks when he realizes he scored a semi-vintage, dang rare, kick-A, somewhat iconic bass for 5 bills and some weekend elbow grease. That's what I'm hoping anyway. And if the bass turns out to really be a sorry POS, I'm sure he and I will work something out.

BTW. I'm a righty guitar player, though I double on bass (Carvin LB70). Cool forum you got going. Rock on.

-Flat

I kinda feel like I'm trespassing a bit as I play righty but anyway...

Yeah, I was the guy who actually ended up winning the auction. I think half of the bids posted were mine . So, if I'm a righty, what do I want with a beat to heck, old lefty Kramer? It's a shorter story but it was a long search.

My wife is a southpaw and has been playing a bass for a few years now. I play guitar, bass and drums myself. She is signifigantly smaller than me and has trouble stretching to play a full scale bass so I picked up a cheap mustang bass and flipped it around for her. She loves it and spent the past few years playing pretty much just that bass. About 2 years ago, she decided she wanted a better bass, an "instrument" if you will, so I started searching for short scale, left handed basses. You know there aren't many. I've been searching eBay daily for vintage lefty Mustangs with the only one I saw slipping through my fingers (a rather nice cream one with a tort pickguard). I was also let down foer the first time by Fender Japan who normaly caters very well to lefty's but not the Mustang Bass, dunno why, my wife loves the Competition Orange Mustang Bass they offer. I contacted several small custom builders and they were all interested until they heard it was short scale and/or lefty.

So last week, my wife saw the Kramer on eBay and asked me to look at it. I had played the righty equivalent that belonged to a friend and was impressed by the aluminum neck Kramer basses and knew it was a good grade of instrument for her so she left me to bid on it.

A few years ago I was pretty sick and couldn't leave the house for 6 months. I had plenty of free time to practice but I couldn't afford any halfway decent equipment so I bought wrecked gear and learned how to fix it, later working at a guitar store doing repairs. I build pedals amps and guitars for myself and some of my friends and restored a 1993 PRS EG II that had been "Pete Townshend-ed" and had the neck joint destroyed and had been left for dead (best "free" guitar I ever got, just needed $400 in parts to live again!).

Anyway, after it lands next week I'm going to completely disassemble it, rip out the electronics, clean the dang body (well, all of it really), test the pickups, replace the Alembic guts that don't look to be working with a GGG Orange Squeezer, put it all together again and cut a new back plate for it. Cleaning it will probably take the longest but I'll try to post a R&R (rebuild and revive) thread here for those interested.

Hey Hulakatt - thanks for joining and giving us the story behind the purchase! I had gotten an email from the seller letting me know he had forwarded this forum on to you... I'm glad you're here!

You sound like just the guy that this bass needs to bring it back to life. Please, if you will, take a copious amount of photographs for us to see the "R&R" process as you begin the rebuild journey. Don't worry about posting too many - we won't mind!

Guys, what would be the best area for him to post his rebuild thread in?

Wow, this thread has really taken on a life of it's own.

Interesting back story, Hulakatt, good luck with your restoration. I can commiserate with your Mustang dilemma, as I've been in search of a lefty for a long time myself. There are a few people on this board who do own lefty Mustangs and Musicmasters, (which are a little easier to find), so perhaps a Musicmaster's another option for your wife as well. You mention your wife being smaller. Note that these aluminum Kramers are pretty heavy. Mine is about 10-11lbs. The later Vaccaro brand models are much lighter, and I believe Carmine still has his for sale. You can check under the "Carmine's Lefty Bass Sell Off" thread under the For Sale section.

I only mention this in the event your wife finds the Kramer too heavy or unwieldy. At the very least, a restoration will improve it's value should you decide to sell it later. Undoubtedly some people here would be interested.

Good luck

I would think that the rebuild thread could be posted under "Blueprinting and Bondo", "Sights and Sounds", or the Photo Gallery.

The Kramer I played before was no heavier than my P-bass and she can handle that without too much of a problem, it's more of the size and scale than weight.

I have never even seen a lefty Musicmaster and between me and my wife, we've been fairly thorough canvasing eBay.