Tempo Bass

I had a tempo given to me to which I sanded it down and gave it some new machine heads with a clear coat. It used to be a red with black edges. Its a beauty. It only has a tone and volume dial. It has 21 frets. a brushed metal pick guard. The only thing it says on it is on a chrome plate on the back "made in Japan". Yes, its a four string and takes a beating very nicely. It only has one pick-up. It also is light and comfortable to play all night.

I play mostly '70s but have no problem making a nice sound with other eras. My amp helps it out some and no one really notices anything odd. Neither do I but I'm just a novice. My amp is a boeringer that I had to hook an equalizer and pre amp to, yes, its... lol... sad. I built my box and found a 15" speacker that I had to glue back together. hey, it sounds good and I haven't had any distortion from it.

I think its all set up fine but what do I know?

this thing is solid in all areas and I don't have a back-up. It will bang all night long

he he, what company? This thing is rare and if it needs any repair, I'll just order from a catalog.

I taught myself, began about a year ago. what I have has been mentioned above. I play at jam sessions around sw iowa and prctive with folks around here. I have learned real quick. I like it better than a fender p bass but only becouse its lighter. I don't know what else I wish it had. I like it. Any one want to buy it?

This early 1970s Fender knockoff from Japan was in really good condition when I found it on e-bay, from someone who found it in a pawnshop. I don't think it was ever played much so the parts maybe even the strings were original. The pickups, tuners, are all vintage, of course, and not identifiable or comparable with 21st Century hardware. For a cheap old guitar, it really stays in tune. It's a great looking 70's dark red to black 'burst pattern, I could totally blend into a Partridge Family rerun. Tempo was one of a few shortlived 70's rock n roll guitar companies in Japan, Vintage Guitar mag did an article on them: http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=150.

This is not the bass for anything but 70's rock. For classic rock, however, it's groovy.

Who knows how well it was originally set up, I needed to get a professional set up. The pick guard has curled a little at the edges but other than that, this guitar is in really good condition. Given the condition of the original case (not so good) I surmise that this is a very durable bass. It feels heavy, sturdy, and since I only paid $200 for it, it's become my "expendable" axe, if you know what I mean. It's almost 40 years old, and nothing is broken on it, so although it was originally a "cheap imitation" I think it was pretty well made. It looks good, its especially appreciated by rockers who were stoners in the 70s.

Who knows where this axe has been for most of its life, but I didn't have to have anything done to it besides the set up, the finish looks great, it's not easy to scratch and I don't think it was lovingly taken care of. The original case was beat to hell. I'm going to use it if I ever have a gig where I'm worried about debris being thrown at the band.

The company is long defunct.

This will never be my primary bass, but I use it for classic 70s rock and early heavy metal. If you ever come across one of these basses in a pawn shop, or on ebay or whatever, examine it as well as you can, if it looks okay, and its got the original pick ups, grab it for under $250. It's not worth more than that, but for the $200 I paid, I'm quite happy. I put hexagonal core strings on it.

I got this old as heck bass from my frend and this is the only info i could find on it
price 25$ from a frend
20 frets 4 strings
has a pick cover
volume and tone and a slecter swich
the pick ups are wood!!! with a pease of metal(like the rickenbacker)
every thing else is new to me ive never see it be four
but it play's like a god!!!
sencerly spike pricky

Done know where it was made or when solid top volume and tone 3 way selector pickups are magnets wrapped in wire and electrical tape i could make ones that look better but they are the shit never the less the bridge is horribly primitive you will cut your hand up very bad if you play slap bass to low keeps tune because the tuners are so old they have problems moving

this bass can play anything from creedence to metallica deep resonating sound works well with funk i can shake city blocks with it and my laney 15inch sounds better than most of the ibanez soundgear series

the setup was very good had to change strings but i doubt they were stock anyways there werent ant flaws in the guitar just lots of nicks and scratches from wear

this guitar will wishstand a 3 year tour with ozzfest i dont see anything stopping this monstrosity of a bass the finish has held up surprising well the gouges on the guitar came mostly from bumps that would kill my strat you could easily beat the crap out of a shitty amp with this bass and finish the set after

i dont know if they still exist

ive never seen a bass that can withstand this much punishment and sound good im amazed at its simplicity and durability if i found another one id buy it in a second im interested if anyone knows where i can contact the tempo company