Here’s the story of Bud’s bass guitar.
My bass was manufactured in Japan by Conrad in 1973 and I’m the sole owner of this guitar since I bought it in 1973. Conrad called this the “Professional Bison” bass and it is a decent copy of the Gibson EB3 with slotted headstock. It was such a good copy that Gibson gathered up all the other guitar manufacturers of the time and sued all the companies in Japan who were stealing their designs. So 1973 was the last year that Conrad was able to use the Gibson SG style for their guitars and basses as the lawsuit was successful in protecting the American guitar designs.
Being that it is from the “lawsuit era” of knock-off guitars, my bass is a bit of a collectible. I once had a music dealer offer me $2,000 for it. I obviously refused his offer. I sincerely doubt this bass is worth that much today, but I do know it is very rare, especially in the excellent condition I’ve kept this bass. I have the neck straighten every 5 to 10 years and have the electronics checked out. Still plays nice and is a very smooth sounding bass.
And now you know why I chose this particular bass to be Bud’s bass.
Yes, that’s me with my bass taken in 2023 when my bass turned 50 years old.