Uncovered gem.

[zeronyne]

This is a Cort short scale Slammer (not to be confused with the Hamer of the same name).

 

I bought it 38 years ago for 99.00. I was a poor college kid and that was my weed budget for a month. It was sobering in other ways as well. It was light as hell but also very neck heavy for obvious reasons. The G tuner slipped around freely, and about a month later, I gave up and went back to keyboards.

 

right when I joined the Lowdown, I dyed the fretboard and set it way back in a storage room and forgot about it completely. Since then, I’ve raised two daughters to adulthood, and we are in the process of moving out of this relative gigantic house, and I found it.

 

What do you think? Badass bridge, Hipshot Ultralites, and a Nordy P pickup?

[KuruPrionz]

First step is to measure the string slots (or the holes in the bridge that catch the ball ends) so you know the span from the G to the low E. 

A Badass bridge might be too wide. You do want a bridge with 4 intonation adjustments, one for each string. I'd look for a replacement for a Squier Mustang bass bridge or something similar. 

I'd probably just poke around online and see about getting the one missing tuner. It doesn't have to be an exact match, those look like copies of the smaller Schaller bass tuners. They probably work fine. 

Lots of options for P-Bass pickup clones. I'd look for something used and affordable. You can always EQ out the trebles if they are too prominent. 

In other words, I wouldn't invest too much into it. Better to flip out of it and get a different bass. Modern manufacturing technology is orders of magnitude better than when that bass was made. Keep an eye out and there are some pretty nice basses used for under $100. 

 

And I'd almost certainly use flatwounds on a short scale bass. I've settled on the D'Addario Chromes, they are brighter than most flat wounds but still bring the thump. 

I'm playing long scale basses so I'm not sure what's out there for short scale. Get it playing and intonated and then at least you could sell it for a few bucks if you decide to get something a little nicer (and with a longer upper horn that balances better!!!). 

 

Could turn out to be a fun bass!

[lug]

Schaller Roller Bridge has adjustable side o side witness points and is probably cheaper than tryiing to find a BadAss bridge. An Omega bridge is an almost perfect copy of the original BadAss, much cheaper, and lets you cut in your own witness points. 

[Paul K]

Make sure you buy appropriate short scale strings.  Too long and it's impossible to get the E string around the post without snapping, unraveling, etc.

On 4/4/2023 at 8:15 AM, lug said:

  witness points. 

What is a witness point?

[lug]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:19 AM, Paul K said:

Make sure you buy appropriate short scale strings.  Too long and it's impossible to get the E string around the post without snapping, unraveling, etc.

What is a witness point?

That's the point where the string goes over the bridge saddle. On the original BaddAss, you filed your own "divot" where you wanted the string to sit. 

[rumpelstiltskin.]

i’ve looked at rehabbing a bass of that vintage, and if it were mine i’d move on.  you’re spending on the novelty and the story, not on a usable bass.

[KuruPrionz]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:50 AM, rumpelstiltskin. said:

i’ve looked at rehabbing a bass of that vintage, and if it were mine i’d move on.  you’re spending on the novelty and the story, not on a usable bass.

True, a couple years ago I bought a "Handcrafted in the USA" Peavey Fury, one of the second run with a small Fury logo on the headstock.

Since I had a set of the large Schaller bass tuners and an EMG P pickup laying around I put them in but it was a fully function and great sounding bass when I got it. Just needed to be cleaned, adjusted and new strings. $175 with a gig bag. Pretty much a P-Bass body with a slim J-Bass neck, my favorite bass now.