Japanese-made Apollo violin bass with scroll headstock

guitarz.blogspot.com:

When it comes to violin-styled basses (and guitars come to that matter) I am usually quite ambivalent in my enthusiasm for them, but I think that this Apollo violin bass is just glorious. Something about the shape and the execution of the build is just right. I also really love the traditional scroll-style headstock.

The eBay seller gives some interesting background information:

The best information on these basses that we could find is this "Apollo was an import line of St. Louis Music from 1967 to 1972. Apollos were made in Japan by Kawai, which had taken control of Teisco in 1967 and adopted some of Teisco's designs. Matsumoko also supplied guitars to St. Louis Music, but those were under the Electra trade name. There were EKO violin basses, but I assume they are all copies of the original Hofner bass.

I think he's wrong about this being a "copy" of the Eko violin basses. They were hollow-bodied and quite a different shape from this Apollo; nowhere near as elegant. As for them all being "copies of the original Hofner bass", that's not quite correct as - of course - the Hofner violin bass was inspired by Gibson's original bass guitar, the EB-1.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $550. (I'm trying to resist temptation... I need to sell a few guitars, not acquire more!)

G L Wilson

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1960s vintage Japanese Apollo four-pickup solidbody electric

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Love 'em or loathe 'em, here's another 1960s Japanese wonder. This guitar carries the Apollo brandname and is festooned with four pickups, a whole bunch of volume and tone controls, pickup selectors, etc. The very cheap looking vibrato unit is, remarkably, still intact, whilst the multiple pickguards/control plates put me in mind of Burns guitars. As to what it sounds like or how playable it actually is, unfortunately I am unable to comment.

Currently listed on eBay with an astonishingly optimistic Buy It Now price of US$1,950.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.