1970s Mosrite Firstman Vintage Electric Bass Guitar Black Mark I Japan Avenger

Up for sale, a 1970s Mosrite/Firstman two pickup bass in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. This bass follows the Mark I styling of the Ventures Model Mosrite basses of the 1960s, but was produced in Japan in the early '70s as a result of an agreement between Semie Moseley and the Firstman company. Made alongside the Mosrite Avenger guitars, the basses are far rarer, and this model has the unique distinction of a bridge pickup which is placed significantly closer to the neck pickup, and as a result, the range of tones is wholly unique to this Mosrite model. Thick, growly midrange and full low end thump come easily to this bass, with a richness and punch that comes from the original single coil pickups, each wound to 12.6k ohms! Weighing it at an even 9lbs, there's just enough weight to give the bass solid sustain and acoustic presence, while still being fairly light (for a Mosrite bass) and balancing well on a strap. This bass has been professionally setup and dialed in here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, and is currently strung with 45-100 roundwound strings.

The neck has a very round and chunky C shaped profile, with a 30" scale length and slender 1 9/16" nut width that fills the palm comfortably and feels substantial without being unwieldy. This is the perfect bass for folks that love the Mosrite sound, but aren't in love with the slim necks and tiny frets that are associated with these instruments! The frets are in fantastic shape, with their full original height, and are slightly wider and taller than standard Mosrite fare, while still being in the realm of vintage 60s fretwire. There's faint and uniform wear on the tops of the fret crowns from frets 1-12, no buzzing or dead spots, and decades of life left on the frets. The rosewood fretboard also boasts the tiny dot inlays seen on USA Mosrites, as well as a zero fret and metal nut. The headstock has the classic Mosrite "M" carve at the top, with a clean, original logo and Japanese tuning machines seen on many basses of the era.

All of the electronics work as they should with original pots and untouched solder joints, and pickups that have strong, balanced output with "Mosrite" stamped plastic covers. The bridge, rosewood tailpiece and chrome bridge cover appear identical to the USA made Mosrites and its conceivable that they are the same parts, given the contract between Mosrite and Firstman, and the extremely limited quantities in which these basses were produced. The original knobs follow the classic Mosrite style as well.

Cosmetically, this is a very clean and original instrument, with a jet black finish over the body, which has a deep German carve, just like the early Ventures models. There is prominent finish checking, especially on the back of the instrument, and a previous owner has carved some personal identification info into the edges of the chrome neck plate. Otherwise, aside from a few tiny dings and finish scuffs, this is an exceptionally well cared for bass, retaining all of its original parts and a classic Mosrite tone!