Viola!

So my Dad benefitted from the first day of the Swee Lee Katong sale. He had always wanted one because it's that bass McCartney played & here it is, Epiphone's Viola bass. The Hofner version used to be available at Davis but it was way beyond his budget. 

The bass in question is in very good condition. There were no visible dings or hardware stains/ oxidation. This outline is definitely less appealing to the current generation of bassists & only die hard Beatles fans would get turned on by one. It is also a neck diver & would easily bother those playing it at home in a sitting down position; even my Dad acknowledged this anomaly. No such issues once it's strapped on. He's thoroughly happy with the simple design  of the instrument & how 'easy' it is for him to manage left hand movements. I had a hard time explaining to him the concept of a shorter scale length because his constant refrain was a shorter neck; neck length & scale length are two different matters but it's futile to be very technical with people who do not read into design concepts/ details. Whatever floats his boat.

This one was a gift to him despite me feeling the crunch at this time of the month. I seldom finance gear purchases with a credit card but this one had to be the exception. My Dad bought me only one piece of gear throughout my exploits with all things guitar; it was an Ibanez PF-100 acoustic which I sold off despite the sentimentality. It was a good entry level player but I always struggled handling a standard size acoustic body. It hinders my playing despite how good the instrument is per se. I have no idea if he harbours regret in forking out hard-earned cash for something which I seemingly wasn't grateful for. This sale event was my opportunity to return that kind gesture & I told him to bear with the bagless endeavour in the mean time. It's darn difficult finding a bag for short-scaled basses & this one didn't come with one & that's very unfortunate. A quick check with the Epiphone catalog showed a hard case especially conceived for this bass but it's beyond me why it's not a complementary item & requires a separate purchase. OK Dad, hope you're happy with this one.