Here’s a very rare 1950s Premier scroll bass that has been restored/modified by Guitar-Yard.
It came to us a few years ago as a body and neck with only the original tailpiece and string
tree remaining… I was told it had been scavenged for parts.
As is common with these old Premiers, some of the binding was missing or crumbling as
happens with a lot of old Gretsch guitars. This has been rectified, keeping and re-gluing the
original binding where possible.
The gold Grovers it would have originally had have been replaced with a new set.
There are extra screw holes near one of the tuners so probably it was fitted with a different
one at some time.
After a couple of years searching two original Premier knobs and an original pickup selector
switch were found and acquired at much expense.
Two TV Jones Thundertron pickups, a custom made pick-guard and a vintage wooden bridge
brought it back to life. The Thundertons are Humbuckers so it has been wired series/parallel
with push/pull pots and sounds amazing.
Multivox Premier was a guitar and amplfier brand of New York based retailer/wholesaler, Peter
Sorkin Music Company and its manufacturing subsidiary Multivox founded in the mid-1940s.
The scrolls were carved by workers from the Homenick mandolin factory.
Honduran Mahogany body. The ‘Ruby Red’ finish has mostly faded but can be seen under the
pick-guard. A previous owner has scratched ‘Jesus lives’ and ‘CJC’ on the back. The finish is
heavily worn with several extra screw holes on the top (see pics)
Solid Brazilian Rosewood neck.
Non-original 1960s? case…. £2250