1960s Norma (Japan) Hollowbody Electric Bass Guitar

My buddy Mike Brown traded this in to me towards work and I immediately (well, a week later) pressed it into service for myself. I've been playing a Rickenbacker 4001 bass copy and, of late, have been feeling its weight in my shoulder after a couple hours at practices and gigs, so this 5 lb gadget will take its place until the "next good thing" comes along.

It handles a lot like a mixup of a Hofner Beatle Bass and a Fender Mustang and, while it played alright when it arrived, it did need a lot of straightening-out to be its best. That work included fitting a 1/2" dowel running from the neckblock to the endblock inside which helped stabilize the whole thing (Japanese hollowbody instruments from the time tend to be temperamental at the neck joint when they're bolt-ons), a level/dress of the frets, side dots added, a whole new wiring harness (both pots and 3-way switch were on their deathbeds), replacement knobs (the originals were a little wonky), and bridge modification to a rubber saddle loadout. I also strung it with D'Addario tapewounds.

Yes, it's awesome. Yes, I will get a video of it done at some point. I think the whole thing has a little bit of a Plymouth Barracuda look to it ('60s, not '70s)... or a shark kind of thing going-on. If anyone knows the manufacturer for sure, please let me know. Its neck reminds me of the very early Fujigen ones found on early-'70s Epiphone basses.