1960s Dutch Egmond Bass
This bass is in great shape structurally, and it plays great – straight neck, low action. The finish has checking throughout. It also has dings and scratches from years of being played. Everything works. Everything is original except the nut. It’s a new nut made by a professional luthier in Rock Hill, SC. There’s a sticker on the back that’s in English and even says “Made in the USA” in small type (talking about the sticker, not the bass). The sticker has been on the bass for so long that it is checked with the finish. It’s a permanent part of the bass (and has been for decades).
The bass is easy to play and has a great Beatles thunkiness to it. The output volume is low compared to contemporary basses, so you have to turn the amp up more to achieve the same volumes. It’s a cool vintage bass guitar for sure.
This bass made in Holland in the early 60s. Egmond didn’t have the best system of cataloguing their guitars, so I dated this guitar primarily from these two websites: http://jedistar.com/egmond/ & http://www.egmondguitars.nl/dating.html
The information I’m relying on primarily are these statements:
Is the name egmond “written”t here, she’s 60’s.
A lot of guitars have a tin name on them. They differ too. 50’s
The name is printed ( stamped ) IN the head. She’s 40’s , early 50’s.
All Wilsons, Millers, Caledonies ( those real nice jazz guitars ) are 50’s.
As for this one, it’s the name on the headstock (which is barely viewable these days) that gives it away.
Egmond was the biggest instrument maker in Europe in the 60s, making mid to low range guitars. George Harrison’s first guitar was an Egmond. Brian May’s first guitar was an Egmond. Paul McCartney’s first bass was an Egmond guitar that he put piano strings on to make it a bass. If a working class kid in the 1960s had a guitar in England and Europe, it was probably an Egmond.
