Cool and classic basses: Framus Star Bass 5/150

In the 1950s when American instruments were almost impossible to get many British groups used Framus basses and the first bass superstar, Jet Harris, used his on many of the early Drifters and Shadows tracks.

The models he used, however, had the sharper edged Florentine cutaway with two volumes and two tone controls set into the scratchplate. The more rounded Venetian cutaway seen here was championed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones.

He also used the smaller bodied 5/149 single pickup version too. Later versions saw the scratchplate dispensed with and the pickups fitted to the body as well as super finishes but as the bass progressed it lost much of its appeal. These days parent company Warwick do a pretty faithful reproduction of this as the Framus Vintage 5/150 Star Bass.

See our full Framus Star Bass profile here.