El Degas P-bass

[gitarcarl]

Just got a 1980s or 1990s precision bass copy from a Toronto pawnshop operating an ebay store, for $62 US.

I hope these photos will give you experts some ideas of who makes these nice instruments. No names on any of the hardware. The flat-black screws on the truss rod cover, control cover and strap pegs might be distinctive.

4mm allen-keyed truss rod has been abused but tension is adequate for the strings that are on there.

I removed all the grub screws from the bridge saddles because they can sit right down on the bass plate and the action is still low and buzz-free.

Controls needed cleaning but now work great. Pickup is about 13.3k but I have not checked to see if it is original or what.

Neck has very nice feel. Pretty thin with 1 5/8" nut width. Nut is not original. I had to reglue the nut but now I see its not set properly. (DOH!) However, intonation is just fine.

Any insights as to vintage and place of manufacture much appreciated!

http://s492.photobucket.com/albums/rr28 ... %20P-bass/


This has nowhere near the craftsmanship and looks of the 1970's copies but it is a really nice playing instrument.

[charles]

MIK (Made in Korea) - perhaps the Samick plant in Korea but I have no way of verifying that.
Most likely early to mid 1980's.

Congrats on the new bass!

[Barry]

Speaking as a guitar kinda guy who can't play bass worth beans, I gotta say...really nice!
Thanks for the pictures!

[gitarcarl]

Thanks guys! I thought the scarfed headstock and truss rod cover were mainly on Chinese-made instruments.

[charles]

El Degas went the way of the dodo before the big move into Chinese production for musical instruments.

[Igor]

This has nowhere near the craftsmanship and looks of the 1970's copies but it is a really nice playing instrument.

I have the identical bass, except that mine's in black:

black-el-degas-bass.jpg

I bought it off the bass player in my old band about 12 years ago for, if I remember correctly, $200 Canadian. In retrospect, I'd say I paid too much for it, but at the time I was living in a small town that had no musical instrument stores and I didn't have a car, so my options were limited.

I like the way it plays and sounds, but it's got a bunch of problems.

The nut needs to be glued in, and I'm honestly not sure how it's staying in place at the moment; maybe the downward pressure from the strings is keeping it there. When I first bought the bass, the guy had hot-glued the nut in place, but that didn't hold for long. I might try carpenter's glue or crazy glue the next time I change strings.

The action is too high, but I haven't tried adjusting it yet because, 1) I'm not sure where the truss rod is located, and 2) I don't want to do this until the nut is firmly in place.

One of the pots is scratchy and the jack is intermittent. I suppose that's nothing that couldn't be fixed with a soldering iron and a few dollars worth of parts.

I'd like to retire this instrument and buy something new, but I've tried all kinds of basses in stores these past few weeks and I haven't found anything that I like a whole lot better, not even in basses costing over $1000. So I'm probably going to end up forgetting that idea and fixing this thing up as best I can, since I don't see any point in dropping a lot of money on something that isn't significantly better.

[charles]

It's hard to let go of an instrument once you have history with it. If it still plays well and just needs some TLC you might be best to hang on to her.

The truss rod access is behind the small plastic cover on the headstock. Be sure to make very minor adjustments, allow the neck to resettle, and then check the action again before adjusting further.

[Barry]

Igor, all the things you mention are very minor problems and easily fixed. You can glue the nut back in (I'm assuming it is plastic or composite) with simple carpenters glue. Just make sure that you clean both the nut and the area it contacts, and lightly sand the surfaces.
Do not use crazy glue! If you need to replace the nut in the future you'll have a hell of a time getting it out, but you can run a blade between the nut and fretboard to easily break the carpenters glue bond.

The truss rod is there to true up the neck and make it straight, not for action adjustment! You adjust the action by varying the bridge saddle height.
The input jack is likely just loose; tighten up the nut on the outside.

If the pots are scratchy your best friend is a liberal dosing of contact/electronic cleaner (do not use WD40!).

[Igor]

Thanks for the advice, fellas! I'll let you know how I make out.