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The Short-Scale Bass is a versatile and wonderful instrument. It packs enough punch to be used as a part of a bassist's
gigging set-up. Its shorter scale (anywhere from the super duper short 25 7/8" of the Valco/National/Supro/Airline
pocket basses, to the 30" of the classic Fender Mustangs and Musicmasters) makes it comfortable to play for beginners,
small-handed adults and guitar players more familiar with guitar scale. Plus, a lot of very cool ones have been made
over the years.
Enter exhibit A:
A late 60's KENT short scale variation on the very popular (then and now) "Beatle" violin shaped bass.
As you can see from the photos, this isn't your average violin bass. While many, from the classic Hofner that Paul
McCartney turned a few kids on to, to the Teisco and Black Jack Japanese models, didn't stray far from the violin shape,
this Kent takes a few attractive and stylish liberties with the standard template.
While clearly inspired by the violin basses, notice the cool horn flares and the distinct cut aways. Also of note on this
model is a stunning triple (TRIPLE!) bound side and a highly figured and eye-catching sunburst on the back (!?) side.
This, like many (most?) Kents has a history that's a little difficult to trace. This one is from 1967 or 1968 and was
probably made at the Kawai factory. Some sources also credit the earlier slab bodied models to Guyatone and/or Teisco.
A tangled web they weaved, these Kents.
Also of note about Kents is that both the amps and guitars vary wildly from model to model - perhaps more so than any
other brand from the era. They made some truly crappy guitars (the slab body models mentioned above among them. Most I've
seen, actually, are low-grade crude one pickup models with very little to recommend them as players or collectables).
Yet, they made beauties like this and many other higher-end semi-hollowbodies. And while most of the Kent amps I've ever
seen are the basic three and four tube crapboxes without Power Transformers (i.e., ones you don't want to play barefoot
on a cement floor with a moisture problem), there are a couple of models that are very sweet. These include a 2 EL84
output model with tremolo and a single 12" speaker in a primitive basket-weave faux-tweed (or, paper, if you want to be
exact-ha), and a REALLY cool piggyback model (with single 12" cab). They may not be collectable, but their cool factor is
very high and no one wants them, so they can be had on the cheap (which, for the frugal tone gourmet, only increases the
cool factor).
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Back to the bass at hand, though. This model has a zero fret and plays really well up the neck. With a good setup,
these are truly sweet playing basses. If you were going to use it as your main bass, you'd probably want to get
some higher-grade machine heads and also probably replace the pickups (which are pretty aenemic and flat sounding).
However, the pickup covers are so radically cool, you'd probably want to find something that fit so you could put
this beauty back to stock. No permanent mods on something this nice looking. For just looking and the odd recording
bass and quieter(er) jams, leave it as-is.
One thing to look out for (especially if buying via on line auction and/or through the mail): I've seen a few of these
over the years and nearly half had a warped neck. The truss rods are not the most reliable, so ask questions and don't
pay too much if you have any hunch there might be something hinky about it.
Other nifty features: Dig the 60's Japanese top-hat Tone and Volume knobs (with the stylish "T" and "V"), the funky
script on the headstock and chunky block mother of toilet seat inlays on the neck.
What does one of these cost? These are pretty rare and, as a result, they don"t show up on eBay or in music stores a
whole lot. As a result, there seems to be more variation on the price- I've seen them go as low as $150 (not including
shipping...which of course we never do include when discussing what we paid for a neat vintage guitar, right?) and as
high as $450. There is a corresponding guitar model, so be the hep cat on your block and, like they used to say about
Hot Wheels, "collect 'em all." Happy hunting, yee vintage freaks.
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