I found a rare bass guitar from the 60s in the trash. Can it be saved?

[@XATERIX-f2r]

imagine a video thats 3 second short and its just a guy saying it can't with this thumbnail.

[@Abigart69]

Bro the amount of times I’ve thought about that. Every video like this has to end positively. But i just yearn for one where its all hyperactive KZbin mr beast intro question and then just a deadpan shot of them staring at the camera and saying “no, it was stupid”

[@andydunn8260]

"It feels like the universe is assigning me a project ... and quite frankly I couldn't stop myself from working on it, even if I wanted to." I love this channel.

[@marco-ls9fm]

Its a life quote to live by

[@ryan.noakes]

My sentiments exactly.

[@behelit1997]

I read it at the same time i heard it

[@Notsram77]

I want to live in whatever universe David exists in. What do you mean you just walk into thrift stores and they have vintage audio equipment? A place where people just throw historic musical instruments in the trash? XD It's madness and I want it!

[@jamesfetherston1190]

Historical?

[@ebarteldes]

That is true. I walked into a thrift store in Oyster Bay, NY and found a child-size Gibson Flying V. I paid $ 35 for it. Heck, just the pickup on that beauty is worth more than that!

[@JoBot__]

I want this but with computers and technology rather than instruments and audio equipment. :D

[@rickwilliams967]

It was ALLEGEDLY in the trash if you believe the title 😂

[@ebarteldes]

Ever seen that Polish guy who creates instruments from obsolete computer equipment? @@JoBot__

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

How do I find some much cool stuff? I've been thinking about this, and I think it's a bunch of factors: 1. Being on foot helps. I look for stuff whenever I'm out walking and I walk a lot. 2. I go to thrift stores about once every few weeks. I'm not obsessive about it, and the truth is I only find something really good about twice a year. Still, you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket, and over time it adds up: I have a long list of cool things I've bought at thrift stores over the years. 3. Part of it is cultural: I now live in a city where it's customary to put things you no longer need on the curb. Often, folks (self included) will intentionally put the good stuff out a few days before trash day with a sign that says FREE so that people have a chance to grab it. In my experience, not every city is like this. I lived in San Antonio and _never_ found anything on the street there. Chicago was hard, too, because the trash was all in back alleyways. I also lived in NYC and Providence, and while I sometimes got lucky with street finds in both places, I did better with junk shops in both cities. 4. The real reason: I live in a very high turnover city with a lot of artists and musicians. I imagine you can get similarly lucky in some neighborhoods of Austin, Portland, or Asheville, NC. People rent for short stints and then move. Almost everything I've ever found has been put out on the last weekend of the month. In other words, someone's lease was up, they were leaving and just didn't feel like moving something they never use or plan on fixing. When my wife and I left Providence, we did the same thing. We watched with glee as some college age kids scored a busted guitar, an old drum set, and a beautiful air organ. For all I know, they made an awesome art project out of them. Anyway, that's all the comes off the top of my head.

[@stoodsea3221]

Damn, i guess I gotta move to somewhere like that

[@StixDevs]

im not jealous youre jealous XD

[@A-Name-101]

One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure! Great restoration!

[@mikecunningham4682]

"I think the inside of this kinda looks the hold of a pirate ship" David, you have the purest soul and i love you

[@BaddaBigBoom]

I thought it looked like a nightclub!

[@quadrillage3838]

@@BaddaBigBoom i thought it looked like the inside of a fiddle bass

[@jericnepomuceno3843]

Hey Dave, I just wanted to tell you that your video on the bassitar sent me down a rabbit hole of wanting to play a bass guitar. I've always wanted to play instruments but bounced off things such as the piano and ukulele. Seeing your video gave me so much inspiration to not let my past experiences with instruments dissuade me from picking up the bass. 6 months later, I now have a bass and can play 2 songs! Love seeing your videos everytime Dave, thanks for the inspiration. Long live the bass!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

that’s really cool!

[@christiancyfus7651]

Hello David, thank you for the great inspiration and a really good song. Sounds very British 😍 have a great day. Chris

[@goblinnnn]

good instrument pick

[@cats137gd]

i never comment, but seeing as a fellow learning bassist is here, might as well. heres my picks for some show off basslines as a very inexperienced player: seven nation army come together under pressure money another one bites the dust i (kenderick lamar)

[@App.ollo_]

Welcome to the low end brother, hope you have fun in your journey

[@scillyautomatic]

Just can't tell you how much I like these videos. Always a relaxing break for the work of the day.

[@ryanbailey6900]

You might want to see if there’s a neck plate that can fit the bass. This is usually used to add stability to the screws that hold the neck in place. Also it looked like the top wasn’t glued down all the way in one spot. But cool instrument , I’m glad you saved it.

[@noonesfang131]

The body was likely made in the Matsumoku factory in japan. A ton of brands used that factory during the "lawsuit era" including Epiphone, Aria, Univox, and a lot of others. I have a Lyle full hollow ES-335 shaped 30" scale bass. The pickups are similar to the way the Hofner ones are with screws and rectangular slugs. Sounds great and i use it more than my other bass. I have the exact same bridge and tailpiece you bought as mine was also missing both. When i was trying to drill the headstock for tuners that actually fit (they were a non standard size hole originally) i ended up splitting the headstock, so i threw some Titebond in there and it is solid as ever.

[@bowds7]

I’ve rebuilt a number of violin basses over the years, one thing you might like to do is make up a metal plate that fits on the back of the body. That holds the neck on. All of the Japanese violin basses have it from what I have seen, it will give greater strength for the neck under tension.

[@robertnilsson8213]

Beautiful bass David. That's a real Jem right there. How anyone can just throw it away is just beyond me. Hope you can find the missing part to attache the last string as well. Good luck!

[@hydroponicgard]

Your videos have been a major inspiration for me to finally sit down and try making music. I applaud your amazing talent, David, keep the great work up :D

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

That’s so great to hear

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic You might wanna get some new Sperzel Bass Trimlok 2L/2R tuners so you can have 4 strings on the Bass again.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic I hope your new machine head tuners are ready to put on the Bass so it'll have 4 strings again

[@NewGoldStandard]

That thumbnail!!! It was like the Universe was assigning me a video to watch. And now that I've watched it? After playing guitar my entire life, it was just in the last year or two that I've gotten confident in doing my own setups. Now it's clear I need to take that to the next level. Thank you for this wonderful content and for being the conduit through which the Universe assigns me projects!

[@serious_about_men]

respectfully, the universe has gotta start assigning some of your projects to me

[@thecutmusic1]

Being a Patreon of yours gives me the drive to write and record some of my own tracks with the instruments you sample. Every month when you release a new sample. I fall in love and explore the sounds and endless possibilities. Thank You!

[@Jezzinator85]

Thank you so much for the hard work you put into your videos! Your videos are always an instant click from me.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

So glad you like them!

[@deannye1543]

David, I can totally relate to what you just did with this Coral. Just a few weeks ago, I found a Conrad violin bass- with no hardware, not even a nut- at a thrift store for $17. Like you, I felt like I had to rescue it, so that's what I'm currently doing. So far, I've got tuners on it. Next stop- the same Hofner style bridge and tailpiece. I had planned on installing some single coil Vox bass pickups, but after watching this video, I might go with the lipsticks instead. Your bass sounds great, and so does your song! Thanks for the inspiration to keep going on my own violin bass!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

that’s really cool! I still haven’t found the 4th tuner for mine. some day… :)

[@bhaswardutta4890]

Yay!! A Dave Hilowitz video!!

[@itsJustJayMusic]

David, thank you, for making music, videos, and for being you.

[@garydiamondguitarist]

I love that every instrument of David's has a story, either the one of him owning it throughout the years and what he used it for, or the one he makes when he rescues something, restores it as best he can and then adds it to his collection. Bonus points for doing a version of Rick-O-Sound with the two pickups having separate outputs - the difference being Rickenbackers use a stereo Y splitter to two mono jacks, so if anything David's method is better because you can use standard guitar 1/4" jack cables. Sounds great, almost like a good acoustic bass with flatwounds on it.

[@alextinu8841]

I don't know what's most relaxing, the video or the way you tell the story of your work! Great stuff! 🎸❤️👀🎸

[@smittenthekitteninmittens2679]

Hey David! greetings from North Wales..the song reminds me of the dismemberment plan.....you are so lucky finding instruments to repair!! I'm left handed guitarist and i used to play upside down....had a house fire and lost all my musical equipment and record collection...so I only have a Glary Tele copy!!!

[@SHADOWBEAR82763]

I've been fixing busted and burnt guitars and basses since the 80s, and you did a nice job on this one. Just one thing... your strings wind the other way on the tuners. Cheers!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

thanks. it's still a work in progress. and you're definitely right about the strings. :)

[@Tehrawrzorz]

Homie back at it again with a BANGER

[@jeffreykursonis6554]

As soon as I'd seen a few videos of yours I knew you lived in NYC, where crazy amazing stuff can be found on the street regularly...I lived in Manhattan for 13 years and street archeology was one of my favorite things. How that happens is a combo of people don't have time to sell their old stuff and no room for old and new, so off to the curb it goes, or people die and the family or landlord puts stuff on the street. I myself was proud to put some very cool stuff on the street to add to the eco-system...it was all gone within hours. One time I found old baseball stuff from a guy who had worked for a while for a MLB team, there was a cool jersey from a known player (forgot who by now). Another time an old saved bottle of Soviet Vodka with Russian letters, drank it. Most of my furniture. I love this little bass that you resurrected story and so happy you're enjoying using it. I very much love the song, thank you so much.

[@CandyPossum]

Awesome video, awesome song! Thank you for all the work you do

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@ninjaowl9881]

All of your videos bring me such peace and joy. Thank you for your videos!

[@crichtonmusic]

David, your videos are always so well constructed and FUN!

[@bryseboynton9512]

7:33 I've actually done this! I have a 1967 Baldwin 706-B that I bowed to score a play about a puppet possessed by the Devil. It's a really fun technique.

[@danielmontiel7191]

Ever since I watched the blue guitar video I've been thinking about the song. Glad it finally got released, I love it. Love the fact the instruments you restore get to be used in your music. Keep making videos like these, they inspire me to keep playing and try to restore stuff of my own

[@kylehunter2012]

Actually super glad I stumbled on this channel, it’s actually inspired me to save my first guitar, an old epiphone special that’s been in a closet for years as it stands barely functioning. love the channel dude, can’t wait to see what your next project will be

[@haisemitsu]

Hey man great video once again! I made some progress on working on my own plugin since last video it’s been a blast. :D please continue to bless us with your amazing work.

[@DonutShoes]

Love those vocals! Big CAKE vibes 😎 excellent build David!

[@LenLynch]

Tasting notes of: Cake and ziggy-era Bowie. Well done!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

@@LenLynch bowie is definitely a direct influence

[@LenLynch]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic Me too... Thanks for engaging when *The Universe* taps you on the shoulder! May it be blessed.

[@pixelfrenzy]

I love these 'found in the trash' videos, and the excellent music is the cherry on top. Thank you!

[@likwid-official]

Was having a bad day, but David Hilowitz released a new video. No longer a bad day. Keep making videos man, love these :)

[@JewettMusic]

Another great video, inspires me to work on some of the projects I've got sitting around! Black tape wounds are great for bowing btw! Also, I don't know that the bass sounds tinny because it's short scale. From what I've heard, the shorter the scale on an electric instrument, the less overtones it can produce, which is why the Beatles tone is so warm and fuzzy, not a lot of top end on a hofner (I only have a cheap hofner bass, but it is far bassier than my P bass). You don't have your volume pot in yet though, and the voltage divider allows higher pitch/energy frequencies the possibility to drop off through the ground, that's probably where you're getting the top end from. If those pickups are tuned for guitar, they could output less bass, but I think you'd notice a bigger difference by trying out different resistance pots.

[@samuelzetterman]

I would love to see more videos of this instrument if you decide to continue working on it. I have a hobby of building unique instruments out of factory defect husks from china and I recently bought a violin bass husk. This was a fun bit of inspiration as all your videos often are.

[@avi4767]

Just about the greatest content our on this platform. More guitars!

[@alcaphonesound]

I love these ugly ducklings, I've adopted a lot of them too. But my eyes are bleeding from the way you wound the strings on the tuners from the wrong side :-) Anyway, it's admirable how you can use the instrument in a meaningful way before you even finish the basic setup!

[@are-bass]

These videos are so calming,interesting and really inspiring!

[@gregdolecki8530]

Life Changing

[@GrumpyTy34er]

Thank God you found out that it was a Danelectro company because I knew that longhorn base looked familiar but I could not remember the company that made it. You saved me at least 5 minutes of frantic googling.

[@krivlyashka]

These are my favorite type of videos!

[@gordonholland3406]

Nice work! You might consider petting a shim in the neck to lower the string height and then perhaps use the bridge you got (both parts). That bass is worth adding volume and tone controls as well as a fourth tuner. I love fixing up orphan guitars and basses. Nice work!

[@zedxxx9]

The bass sounds and looks great! Looking forward to the sampled instrument with round robins! ;-)

[@Brendan-Black]

You've got a Shinsy J. Mercer thing going on, love it. I haven't checked out your music before but I'm off to check out your Bandcamp to hear more. Great stuff! 🎶

[@henry7831]

Return Paul McCartney's bass guitar to him!!!

[@andreasfasterding2309]

@@henry7831 isn't it

[@AbsoluteAbsurd]

ha

[@CrashPK77]

He literally pointed out the differences between McCartney's Hofner and this instrument.

[@connordylan5280]

Recently bought a similar project guitar. Cant tell you how helpful it is to see your process. Thank you!

[@ismaelEsc]

Your song rocks, man! I love it!

[@chizurisu2086]

Yours is one of my favorite channels on KZbin

[@MilquetoastJJ]

your videos are always so inspiring

[@LeoGarrote]

Nothing makes me happier than watching Dave use an instrument with less strings than intended

[@aryabanerjee1179]

This literally has all the good things about music in one video, what a beautiful attitude towards music!🎉

[@adrimathlener8008]

A very fruitful environment you're living in. Suprised how many stuff you find in the neighbourhood 🙂

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

me too!

[@Nigelrathbone1]

Nice to see you breathe life back into an instrument someone thought was junk.

[@DinoSoldo]

Seems you’re really lucky finding things around your home. I love spending time watching your vids

[@henrybrandt_42]

its always such a good day when we get a new video from David

[@HotStrange]

Something about your videos just hits the spot. Always so interesting and inspiring. And Decent Sampler has made its way onto so many of my projects. Thanks for what you’re doing!

[@rockeroller]

Believe it or not, people throwing old guitars in the dumpster is some kinda " thing", that occasionally happens.

[@Flat_Lloyd_Wright]

Great Video and song! That bass tone is really nice!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

It's been an amazing video to watch this video from a car wreck into a gorgeous song and the bass sounds amazing.

[@MottoTone]

I love your work! Every video inspires me to create. Thank you David.

[@App.ollo_]

This bass looks so damn cool, I'm glad it found you

[@Guaxipunk]

What a stunning video! Very inspirational as always, thank you so much, David!

[@BasementEraAudio]

You never fail to inspire! Thanks for another great video

[@Hochmann2]

As usual, top quality video with a great story. And a cool song to boot! Good job and cheers from Mexico City, David!

[@UmasPapa]

Hey, fantastic tune! It's interesting how a particular instrument can inspire songs of a certain ilk.

[@BataraKado]

hey david i love your videos, i recently got a dean ml and the truss rod was inserted kinda off center, its a factory second and no one wanted to love this guitar, thanks to your videos i decided to put the love into this dean ml factory second, it will live another day thanks to people like you...

[@kerfwya]

Your song gives me “Cake” vibes. Love it!

[@benjadock_]

Love the song and the build, excellent work! I love the historical rabbit holes you go down finding musical "trash". I knew straight away that the pickups were going to be lipsticks when I saw the holes, and got excited because I love lipstick pickups. I have a harley benton hollowbody bass, the humbucker pickups that came with it were terrible and microphonic, I threw in some alnico lipsticks and it's a surprisingly great and versatile bass now.

[@Venom_Snek]

People really don't think to look up what they have before they throw something away. Even in that condition that thing is worth a fair bit to the right people and would genuinely suck to see it wind up in a landfill. Song is still fire btw, I'm late but I still watched this video after the first one so I'm glad you decided to finish it.

[@thebreakfastmenu]

At this point, I feel like people are conspiring to plant broken musical instruments places for David to find and make videos about.

[@IDFK7477]

that bowed sound is overwhelmingly beautiful to me omg. it reminds me of like shadow of the colossus. you can just hear how it sounds like it was built from parts and shouldn’t even really exist anymore. and then by bowing it you’re making it do something it never was meant to do.

[@didle6]

These kind of videos always make me a little emotional, giving new life to an instrument that may have been scrap otherwise 🥲

[@chriswareham]

Fantastic resurrection of the Coral bass. The Albanian cifteli on your wall brought a smile to my face as well, as that's how I discovered your channel. Love the completed song too, lots of Pixies vibes!

[@markiacomini3711]

Nice save! I too, have saved a couple acoustics from a bonfire, a loose neck on one and a crack from neck to pin on the back wide enough for 2 quarters to drop through in the middle. As a cello, this baby could really shine in a gritty cajun band, gut filling kinda warmth to it.

[@akinats5625]

why does it sound like that one gorillaz song

[@trioxidetheidiot86]

feel good inc?

[@THE67BAND]

@@trioxidetheidiot86 fr

[@Navigatortrue]

A very nice piece of work very New York sounding like Television feeling think the bass is one of those finds that are inexplicable gifts.

[@kasBRG]

Good video, really nice song! The way you put on the strings is a bit of a thorne in the eye though. Especially considering the beauty of it!

[@collisw8302]

I had an old 12 string that needed a lot of love out on the road a few months ago, saw a guy snag it literally 5 minutes later. Would love to see it end up somewhere like this!

[@pibstarr]

Cool song and cool bass keep up the great work!

[@fajarsuryantoro7025]

always enjoying your videos

[@samwalker2344]

Your videos have been so inspirational to me lately, thank you! I’m absolutely loving Decent Sampler!

[@CSKL-h7c]

its always a good day when dave uploads lol

[@sknsoup]

I've had that song stuck in my head ever since I watched that blue guitar video, so nice to finally hear it finished.

[@schneedledingus]

David, your song is absolutely genius and I could see it being a hit in the 90s by the pixies or something. Its really catchy!

[@charlestompkins8568]

I've been admiring this channel for years, and we would love more content like this. Is that a soundpost inside the soundbox? It's quite meaty! Hopefully it hasn't slid too far from it's original position. Perhaps if you moved it slightly behind the treble bridge foot, along the horizontal axis and slightly inside the outer edge of the width of the foot, parallel to the body length, the replaced soundpost might give you a slightly warmer top end. Just a guess. Then there's the question: is that soundpost integral? Glued in place? A skilled luthier could cut, fit and adjust an aged spruce post for not too much. That might well make the top and back plates vibrate a little more sympathetically and pump more sound out of those soundholes!

[@LukeHennisch]

Best channel on the platform

[@thenameless3271]

Coral are most well known for their Electric Sitar, really more of a weird electric guitar with a funny bridge that makes the strings buzz. They weren't incredibly popular when they first released in the 60s, but groups like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers used them, among others. Great video, always such a vibe. I'm jealous of all the cool old gear you find laying around!

[@ShortP1089]

Can i tell you, I reaaaally dig your vocal sound. Apart from yet another genius video, you should think about starting a band with that kind of sound in mind.

[@maladamedialabs4214]

I found a Hagstum hollow body bass at a garage sale. It was a full scale base. Someone had hacked a hole in it to put in a 'humbucker' style pickup - that was dead as a doornail. I rebuilt the electronics, patched the hole and took it to a guitar builder because the neck needed a serious shim. It's got a nice mellow sound to it. I'd love to find a short scale bass to play like the one you found. Nice video!

[@hughschick6847]

Brave of you to take this on when you have little experience with this type of rebuild. I believe that all Dano Coral instruments had an oilite nut: brass impregnated with oil. Also: it’s worth mentioning that while Danelectros were sold through catalogues (by Sears, etc.), the Coral sub-brand was intended to be sold by / at actual brick and mortar music stores.

[@TheHairlipDog]

It's giving Cake. Love the song. Love the vid. Great job

[@mdsuen]

Well David, your statement "It feels like the universe is assigning me a project ... and quite frankly I couldn't stop myself from working on it, even if I wanted to." Is sticking with me, I have had this unfinished project of a winebox bass guitar... The acoustic sound i got from it was really quite boxy, but your video has inspired my to try again and finish it. Ill try adding pickups too!. Thanks!

[@capnskustomworks]

Excellent rescue!!! And the track is awesome!

[@battuh]

5:00 The way the strings are wrapped around the posts. You had one job...

[@lurkinguy]

The song was worth finishing! Good stuff!

[@bmint]

I honestly could watch this without the video.. the voice is so perfect and he is so descriptive.. this is top notch entertainment, and excellent information! Bravo 🙌

[@Lordbaccus]

Thats Impressive for something found in the Trash!! Well Done

[@GameyRaccoon]

Got so excited when I saw this in my feed