In search of: The Katrina Bass

walker · Post by **walker** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:49 pm

Remember last year when the white 4001/3 bass that was dredged up from the waters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit came up on eBay? I remember there was a bit of discussion about it here, and pics were posted. Apparently I didn't save any of those pictures. Did anyone else snag those pics? On that note, did a forum member end up snagging the bass? It'd be interesting to know what happened to it.

gray · Post by **gray** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:22 am

I remember that thing, but I have no idea what happened to it.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:10 am

Uh-oh...The cat's out of the bag (sort of...).

The Fender Custom Shop is about to announce its FOURTH level of Relic.

These will be called the "Hurricane Survivors".

With an appearance and level of realistic weathering similar to the Katrina bass (apparently the guys at Fender Marketing read the RRF, too), they will set new standards in collectibility and will tug at our heartstrings with nostalgia for that time now some two years past, when everything in the Lower Ninth Ward smelled like a sewer, and an oily coating covered all, from floating spare tires to the burgers at Micky D's. (Oh--wait a minute--they are always covered with an oily slick...)

The Fender Custom Shop will up the ante by certifying the guitars TWICE--once that they are the real thing; built and subsequently destroyed by the CS, using their usual methods of ~~fakery~~ expert aging, combined with the utilization on genuine New Orleans Katrina-era sludge and water, flown into Corona in specially-equipped tanker aircraft. The SECOND certification is that they are absolutely unplayable. Fender's Marketing Research has determined that nobody plays these things anyway, so they've done away with the whole issue of setting up, fret leveling, and even with wiring (who sees it?).

And they WON'T be passing on the savings to you! In fact, they're marking these " survivors" up, to even higher levels!

See them soon at your local Guitar Center! Be the first ~~sucker~~ on your block to ~~celebrate~~ remember Katrina in this most unusual and appropriate way!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:12 am

Secret spy photo of the PROTOTYPE...Remember--you saw it here FIRST!!!

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:30 am

My, Google Earth certainly has amazing resolution!

walker · Post by **walker** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:38 am

HA! Nice, Paul. When I worked at GC, we had a few of those Relic Strats on the wall. And yes, they were priced to move. (My bowels, that is.)

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:21 am

All this is very nice until you play one of those CS Relics. I did, and fell in love. It's the best of both worlds: a worn-in guitar that immediately feels like home, without someone else's gunk on it.

I wouldn't call it "fakery", just different levels of artificial aging. Let's not forget that sunburst finishes started as an attempt to imitate the look of antique violins that are darker near the edges. Ambered Fireglo goes one step further, with the cream binding and artificially aged inlays. Is that "fakery"?

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:33 am

Well "no" because it's from Rickenbacker, who can do no wrong, and Fender is the enemy of man.

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:33 am

Double post shananigans!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:37 am

Nope. In most cases sunbursts are "base finishes with no premium charge added. On Fenders in the old days, "custom colors" cost more.

AFG doesn't cost any more that any other finish, either, Ilan. Relics cost LOTS more. Relics that replicate celebrity guitars cost obscenely more. (Ref: SRV Strat and EVH "Frankenstein".)

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:01 am

Here's a picture of the Katrina bass. Note the similarity to the Fender prototype above. (Well, those of you with especially sharp eyes will notice it's facing in the opposite direction.)

Here are five of my dozen Fenders...I love' em, and not a relic in the bunch.

walker · Post by **walker** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:31 am

Wow... that just cuts to the bone. Truly amazing. I don't know why that grips me the way it does. Thanks for posting the pic, Paul. If you have any higher-res pics of it, could you send it to my off-forum email?

Looks like it was a Tuxedo. Anybody know who owns this bass now?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:05 am

Not a Tuxedo. Just a white early-'80s 4001...the pic was cribbed from the Forum; it's all I have.

Nick LaBate (producer) owned a Tuxedo, and sold it to his friend Ona. Where am I going with this, you wonder? Well, Ona's Tuxedo was in New Orleans and survived Katrina, too, but remains undamaged and playable...

zoomduck · Post by **zoomduck** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:42 am

So...my 64 P is an " Enemy of Man " Thats it ! It's going to craigslist....first $50.00

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 10:15 am

Paul, I forgot you have a Venus XII. Very cool.