Eastwood Airline Map bass

[finlover]

I was in the market for a second bass as a back-up for my '65 Jazz, which I was a little nervous about playing out just anywhere with. Being a retro kind of guy, I fell hard for the Eastwood map bass' looks, and having owned a couple of Jerry Joneses in the past, knew that a short scale bass could sound good.

As you probably know, Eastwood's guitars and basses are inspired by the way-out designs of the cheapo guitars from the '60s. This bass is an interpretation of the National "map body" guitars, so called because they resemble a map of the United States. The Nationals had fiberglass bodies (and no truss rod!), while the Eastwood has a chambered mahogany body and a maple neck. The National bass was actually much plainer looking than the Eastwood version (see the last photo of the white bass), which really has more in common with the fancier guitar models (the red and black guitars). Eastwood bought the rights to the Airline name, which was the Montgomery Wards guitar brand.

One thing I missed on the Eastwood was the National shield logo on the pickguard, so I found an emblem off a '63 Cadillac Eldorado and stuck it on there. It looks pretty nice I think. I also installed a set of higher quality Hipshot tuners, which have clover-shaped keys for more of a vintage look than the Gotoh-esque tuners that it came with.

This bass sounds as good as it looks! With both pickups on it has a nice a fat low end with a slightly hollow tone that is very pleasing. It doesn't sound all that different from the Jazz bass if I turn the bass down and the treble up a bit on my amp (an SVT-7pro through an Ampeg Neo 4 X 10). The front p/u has more of a P bass sound, and does a decent upright impression with a little palm muting. Selecting the bridge pickup and playing with a pick produces a baritone guitar type sound, or you could do a tic-tac kind of thing.

Eastwood's upper line models like this one are made in Korea, while the standard models are made in China. The build quality is top notch, with nice fret work and flawless paint. Okay, enough of my rambling--enjoy the pictures!

[finlover]

more photos

[finlover]

still more

[finlover]

the originals

[JohnS]

Very retro and cool.

[Paul in Colorado]

Don't show me that. I'll want one...

[marshman]

Izzat Caddy logo 'original', or did you add that? Pretty cool, no doubt!

[finlover]

Originally Posted by marshman

Izzat Caddy logo 'original', or did you add that? Pretty cool, no doubt!

The logo is from a car like this:

[msfenderarg]

Cool, I love the Caddy emblem!

[Mike Simpson]

I have 3 of the original National Map guitars... I would like to get a matching bass someday...

[finlover]

Nice maps, Mike!!

[Mike Simpson]

Thanks, the other one that I don't have a pic of is a Newport 88

Here is a pic I found on the web of a Newport 88, mine looks just like this one. I think this is the coolest looking but the other two sound better.

[elihu]

Beautiful bass Finlover...I love the color.

[Mike Simpson]

I always liked the way that National / Valpro / Airline ... etc... painted the back of the neck to match the body.

[finlover]

Originally Posted by Big Mike Simpson

Thanks, the other one that I don't have a pic of is a Newport 88

Here is a pic I found on the web of a Newport 88, mine looks just like this one. I think this is the coolest looking but the other two sound better.

What a beauty!! I think this must be the model Eastwood patterned their Map Bass after. I wish my pickup covers had that cool stenciling though--very Art Deco.

[finlover]

Originally Posted by elihu

Beautiful bass Finlover...I love the color.

Thanks a million, elihu! Love it or hate it, that color gets noticed! It would be awesome to see it in a metallic, like Lake Placid Blue or Burgundy Mist.