Premier E-741 Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1959)
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$3,450.00 + shipping
Item # 13273
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Premier E-741 Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1959), made in New York City, serial # 2947, Faded Cherry Lacquer finish, mahogany body, rosewood neck, original brown hard shell case.
This 1959 scroll-body Premier bass is one of the coolest and quirkiest 4-strings ever to come out of the east coast, and also one of the earliest long scale, solid-body 4-string designs that was not from Fender. We have only seen a few of these over the last 50 years; as rare as the Premier scroll guitars are, the basses seem even harder to find.
In the 1950s and '60s Sorkin Music was a large jobber in New York City with several house brands, the flagship being Premier. Their best known products are Premier-branded amplifiers that came in a variety of sizes and often eye-catching styles. These were built by Sorkin's in-house satellite company Multivox; the guitars carry this name on the stamped metal plaque on the back of the headstock. 1950s hollowbody Premier guitars were mostly built by United Guitars in Jersey City, both full-body electric archtops and small "Bantam" models. Sorkin fitted them with eye-catching sparkle plastic pickguards and knobs and high quality hardware including pickups sourced from DeArmond and Fransch Electronics in Queens, NY.
The 1958 Sorkin catalog was the first to feature an all-new line of Premier solid-body guitars and basses, quirky and original with a unique look and feel. Premier's trademark glitter trim was retained and most had gold-plated hardware. The solid mahogany body is the most interesting element with Gibson-mandolinesque scroll carved into the upper bout, the cutaway below curing downward in a gentle arc. The top is bound into the scroll area with a celluloid dot in the center. The back is dressed away somewhat like a Precision making the bass more comfortable to play. These basses were offered in two finish options (cherry or "Western" natural) equipped with one or VERY rarely two pickups.
Although the 1959 catalog illustration shows a short scale instrument, production models all appear to have been built with a long 34" scale, the same as the Fender bass. This makes the Premier Model e741 one of the very few long scale competitors to Leo's Precision before the 1960s; Sorkin also offered less expensive long scale beginner's basses under the Strad-O-Lin and Marvel brand names. All are rare, and stand as a rare early New York attempt to compete with Fullerton.
The very long bolt-on neck is carved from SOLID Brazilian rosewood, which for this often penny-pinching company was quite the luxury. The neck has a chunky round-backed profile, substantial but still quite playable; there is no truss rod so the relative thickness was a good idea. The 2-on-a-side headstocks is flat-cut Fender style with a prominent flat-plate string retainer and Grover Rotomatic guitar tuners. The headstock is adorned with an engraved and painted Premier logo and torch emblem.
The pickup is a 4-pole version of the Fransch Electronics (Franz) unit used on the guitars, mounted down by the neck and wired to simple tone and volume controls. These are carried on the fantastic gold glitter pickguard, and fitted with Premier's classic amber Catalin knobs with sparkle caps. The original tailpiece is a mandolin fitting repurposed, while the bridge is a wooden guitar piece cut for four strings.
Although touted in the catalog with "Here at long last, a quality electric bass at low cost" these were not particularly cheap. This Model E741 with gold-plated hardware and the "Ruby Special" Cherry mahogany finish listed originally at $179.50 plus $37.50 for the hardshell case. This one was made in late 1959 or early 1960; the pots have stamped codes dating them to the 43rd week of 1959.
Despite their local origins we rarely see early Premier solidbodies, especially the basses. Production totals seem to have been low and it is not sure exactly where they were actually made. Some claim they were a product of United Guitar in Jersey City, while others remember them being built in the old Strad-O-line workshop around 17th street and 7th avenue in Manhattan, then run by Sorkin. Wherever it was birthed, this is a nice example of an early "scroll bass", pretty much the only one with a still-playable neck we have ever encountered.
Premier scroll instruments were cataloged into the mid-'60s, but later examples were assembled with different necks and imported parts having neither the quality or class of the first models. Mark Sandman of Morphine famously played a battered example of these, while the only known player of an original early model we can spot was Chris Darrow alongside David Lindley in the legendary psychedelic band Kaleidoscope. This unique and striking bass is certainly a special piece; it feels a bit like "A Beacon from Mars" to quote their greatest LP title!
Overall length is 44 in. (111.8 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 9/16 in. (4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This Premier bass is a nicely original example; it has been played over the years and shows a decent amount of surface wear but nothing too distressing. The all-original cherry lacquer finish has faded quite a bit (especially on the face) and shows noticeable checking, scuffing, dings, scratches and dents overall. The back has an area of belt buckle wear down to the wood in the center. The finish on the back of the neck has checking, dings and flaking particularly a larger feelable area flaked to the wood in the 9-12th fret area. All of the binding is unusually fully intact; most of these Premier instruments show heavy Celluloid shrinkage and deterioration.
The pickup, wiring and hardware remain all original including the rather funky-looking wooden bridge, only the tailpiece cover is missing. The gold plating overall shows some wear but is better quality than, say, Gretsch would have used! The Franz pickup has a distinctive character, brighter than many bass units of the era even mounted just below the neck. Combined with the big solid rosewood neck, this produces a rip-roaring growl when cranked not unlike a Rickenbacker 4001.
This bass is a better player than most, in fact it is the ONLY really playable example of this 4-string rarity we have ever encountered. The long solid rosewood neck has stayed way straighter than most and the original frets show only very light wear. It also is still fitted with a superb sounding and playing set of period flat wound strings that look to have been there since it was practically new. This bass is not the cosmetically cleanest we have seen, but the only really decent player complete in the even rarer original brown HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This 1959 scroll-body Premier bass is one of the coolest and quirkiest 4-strings ever to come out of the east coast, and also one of the earliest long scale, solid-body 4-string designs that was not from Fender. We have only seen a few of these over the last 50 years; as rare as the Premier scroll guitars are, the basses seem even harder to find.
In the 1950s and '60s Sorkin Music was a large jobber in New York City with several house brands, the flagship being Premier. Their best known products are Premier-branded amplifiers that came in a variety of sizes and often eye-catching styles. These were built by Sorkin's in-house satellite company Multivox; the guitars carry this name on the stamped metal plaque on the back of the headstock. 1950s hollowbody Premier guitars were mostly built by United Guitars in Jersey City, both full-body electric archtops and small "Bantam" models. Sorkin fitted them with eye-catching sparkle plastic pickguards and knobs and high quality hardware including pickups sourced from DeArmond and Fransch Electronics in Queens, NY.
The 1958 Sorkin catalog was the first to feature an all-new line of Premier solid-body guitars and basses, quirky and original with a unique look and feel. Premier's trademark glitter trim was retained and most had gold-plated hardware. The solid mahogany body is the most interesting element with Gibson-mandolinesque scroll carved into the upper bout, the cutaway below curing downward in a gentle arc. The top is bound into the scroll area with a celluloid dot in the center. The back is dressed away somewhat like a Precision making the bass more comfortable to play. These basses were offered in two finish options (cherry or "Western" natural) equipped with one or VERY rarely two pickups.
Although the 1959 catalog illustration shows a short scale instrument, production models all appear to have been built with a long 34" scale, the same as the Fender bass. This makes the Premier Model e741 one of the very few long scale competitors to Leo's Precision before the 1960s; Sorkin also offered less expensive long scale beginner's basses under the Strad-O-Lin and Marvel brand names. All are rare, and stand as a rare early New York attempt to compete with Fullerton.
The very long bolt-on neck is carved from SOLID Brazilian rosewood, which for this often penny-pinching company was quite the luxury. The neck has a chunky round-backed profile, substantial but still quite playable; there is no truss rod so the relative thickness was a good idea. The 2-on-a-side headstocks is flat-cut Fender style with a prominent flat-plate string retainer and Grover Rotomatic guitar tuners. The headstock is adorned with an engraved and painted Premier logo and torch emblem.
The pickup is a 4-pole version of the Fransch Electronics (Franz) unit used on the guitars, mounted down by the neck and wired to simple tone and volume controls. These are carried on the fantastic gold glitter pickguard, and fitted with Premier's classic amber Catalin knobs with sparkle caps. The original tailpiece is a mandolin fitting repurposed, while the bridge is a wooden guitar piece cut for four strings.
Although touted in the catalog with "Here at long last, a quality electric bass at low cost" these were not particularly cheap. This Model E741 with gold-plated hardware and the "Ruby Special" Cherry mahogany finish listed originally at $179.50 plus $37.50 for the hardshell case. This one was made in late 1959 or early 1960; the pots have stamped codes dating them to the 43rd week of 1959.
Despite their local origins we rarely see early Premier solidbodies, especially the basses. Production totals seem to have been low and it is not sure exactly where they were actually made. Some claim they were a product of United Guitar in Jersey City, while others remember them being built in the old Strad-O-line workshop around 17th street and 7th avenue in Manhattan, then run by Sorkin. Wherever it was birthed, this is a nice example of an early "scroll bass", pretty much the only one with a still-playable neck we have ever encountered.
Premier scroll instruments were cataloged into the mid-'60s, but later examples were assembled with different necks and imported parts having neither the quality or class of the first models. Mark Sandman of Morphine famously played a battered example of these, while the only known player of an original early model we can spot was Chris Darrow alongside David Lindley in the legendary psychedelic band Kaleidoscope. This unique and striking bass is certainly a special piece; it feels a bit like "A Beacon from Mars" to quote their greatest LP title!
Overall length is 44 in. (111.8 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 9/16 in. (4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This Premier bass is a nicely original example; it has been played over the years and shows a decent amount of surface wear but nothing too distressing. The all-original cherry lacquer finish has faded quite a bit (especially on the face) and shows noticeable checking, scuffing, dings, scratches and dents overall. The back has an area of belt buckle wear down to the wood in the center. The finish on the back of the neck has checking, dings and flaking particularly a larger feelable area flaked to the wood in the 9-12th fret area. All of the binding is unusually fully intact; most of these Premier instruments show heavy Celluloid shrinkage and deterioration.
The pickup, wiring and hardware remain all original including the rather funky-looking wooden bridge, only the tailpiece cover is missing. The gold plating overall shows some wear but is better quality than, say, Gretsch would have used! The Franz pickup has a distinctive character, brighter than many bass units of the era even mounted just below the neck. Combined with the big solid rosewood neck, this produces a rip-roaring growl when cranked not unlike a Rickenbacker 4001.
This bass is a better player than most, in fact it is the ONLY really playable example of this 4-string rarity we have ever encountered. The long solid rosewood neck has stayed way straighter than most and the original frets show only very light wear. It also is still fitted with a superb sounding and playing set of period flat wound strings that look to have been there since it was practically new. This bass is not the cosmetically cleanest we have seen, but the only really decent player complete in the even rarer original brown HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.