Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I came across a Microfrets bass a couple years ago at a garage sale a couple houses down from my daughter and son in laws house and didn't know anything about them at the time. Thought about going back,never did,and the people moved. I came across an ad for next week for a sale and it's the same guy and he still has the bass. Any opinions on these or what a realistic price is? I remember it being kind of a quirky bass but still kind of cool. Worth it or not?
I also posted this on the BGC. I figure I'd pick the brains at both sites

Google is your friend….was to me….I had never heard of them until now, but don't "get out" often enough!

I guess it boils down to price. Cheap enough, you don't have much to loose….

How was the condition when you saw it last?

IIRC they had some kinda compensate nut.

The bass sounded great,had normal scratches for a 40 plus year old bass but nothing too bad...until I turned it over. Someone at some time had cut an access area out of the back to access the jack area I would guess. They nailed the cover they made for the cutout over it. From what I understand you had to take the neck off and there was a way to seperate the two halves of the body for access but its such an obscure bass who would have known. I decided to pass because if I was reselling it to a collector that would have been a deal killer.

Mike Rutherford had a MicroFrets double neck, and a 6 string bass. He used the 6 string bass on the Lame Lies Down album.

DavidSchwab wrote:...Lame Lies Down album.

I saw that tour!

jps wrote:

DavidSchwab wrote:...Lame Lies Down album.

I saw that tour!

How lame.....

woodyng wrote:

jps wrote:

DavidSchwab wrote:...Lame Lies Down album.

I saw that tour!

How lame.....

Well, during the Slipperman section one of his balls didn't inflate, how lame is that!?!?!?!?!?!?

I thought Rutherford's double neck from the Lamb period was a Shergold.

I worked on a customer's MicroFrets six-string one time back in the '70s. It had a roller nut - kind of a weird affair. It was missing one of the rollers, so we had to fabricate something. Neat piece, though.

I remember the Shergold. I can't recall whether Mike used that on Lamb (lots going on during that show) but I do know he used it during the TOTT tour where I saw both nights of it here.

jps wrote:I remember the Shergold. I can't recall whether Mike used that on Lamb (lots going on during that show) but I do know he used it during the TOTT tour where I saw both nights of it here.

One heck of a show that was!
I saw one of the two nights at The Beacon Theater in NYC.
Wonderful show! Phil was on his best behavior and Billy Bruford was a wild man!

See Bill & Phil doing double drum solos duets was a real treat!

Mike did play a Micro-Frets on "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". He had a Baritone model (tuned E-E) which was then coupled with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar for the live work. He also used it on "The Trick Of The Tail" tour and later switched to a Dick Night 12-string/6-string bass doubleneck as seen on "Genesis In Concert" film. After that came the Shergolds with interchangeable guitar and bass parts.

From my fuzzy recollection, Mike did play the Shergolds the two nights I saw the TOTT tour. They were in a fairly small hall and I was up pretty close to the stage. The next time I saw Genesis was the Wind And Wuthering tour which was in a bid shed style venue and I really do not remember much about that particular show so I can't recall what he was playing at that time.

As to the Dick Knight double neck, Mike used that during the Selling England... tour both times that I saw the band come through town during that tour. Those shows were in an even much smaller theatre and I was right up near the stage for those.