1965 Bartell (Hohner) Fretless Bass Guitar, Semi-Hollow, Pad, Case, Rare Sunburst, Woody Tone!

1965 BARTELL (HOHNER) FRETLESS BASS GUITAR, SEMI-HOLLOW, PAD, CASE, RARE SUNBURST

The Bartell company was formed by former Rickenbacker, Magnatone, and National employee Paul Barth (engineer) and Ted Peckels (owner and company president, shown in the pic below) in the mid 1960s after Barth returned from Magnatone's facilities on the East Coast. Bartells were produced from 1964 to 1969, and Peckels estimated that around 2,000 instruments were produced. The Bartell company also rebranded their products for Hohner, St. George, and Lancer.

This bass was one of the rebranded Hohner fretless models in the very rare sunburst finish. Supposedly around 100 of these were made and it is the rarest of the Bartell/Hohner finishes. Probably a good 90% of the Hohner-branded basses have been black but a few natural finish and the rare sunburst ones do pop up. All, including this one, feature a plain black vinyl pad on the back. The pickups are original as far as we can tell and they have a cool, thumpy, woody tone to them. Tuners are original Schallers from West Germany. Nice neck. Has been strung with nylon wrapped bass strings. Please note we have removed these red ones and put LaBella Black Nylon Tape Wound strings on it. Sounds great. Serial number is 1436 which puts it in the 1965 range.

This Bartell (Hohner) Fretless Bass Guitar is a used item in close to excellent condition, especially for its age. There are no dings, marks, or issues with this bass with the exception of some of light finish and pick marks from normal use. This bass has had 2 owner with the second one having it since the early 70’s. Though used, it has been well cared for. No deep dings or scratches. Neck is in good shape with med/low action and smooth, easy playability. Pickups are strong and woody. Electronics are working as they should with no issues. You will receive this item well-packed in what appears to be its original (or period correct) hard case, but without the original paperwork and packaging. Please contact this seller for additional information. Returns are limited so please ask all questions before bidding as your satisfaction is important to me before you purchase. Customer 100% satisfaction is our one and only goal. The only way to show that to our customers is via our feedback. If for some reason you are not 100% satisfied, please do not leave negative or neutral feedback. Give us a chance to fix or resolve any problem you may have with your transaction. We want to earn every single positive feedback because we don't plan to work with you only once, we want you to come back. PayPal preferred and all payments need to clear before shipping. Insurance included with shipping. Buyer is responsible for any and all local taxes or custom duties with this purchase. Most importantly, thank you for looking!

SPECIFICATIONS FOR THIS GUITAR:

BODY STYLE: Double cut away acoustic with 2 “F” holes.

BODY WOOD: Alder.

NECK: Glued in neck of Maple. 7.5 Radius. Narrow/slim.

FRETBOARD: Fretless made of plastic material.

PICKUPS: Two (2) Bartell Single Coil.

CONTROLS: Separate set of Tone and Volume knobs for each pickup with 3-way toggle pickup selector switch.

TUNERS: Schaller Bass. Silver.

COLOR: Sunburst. (nitro)

BRIDGE: Fixed adjustable.