Kim Gordon Tina Weymouth

Basses played by prominent post-punk women

Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)'s ca.1980 Ovation Magnum I, Model 1261-1, Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads)'s ca.1960s Höfner 500/2 Club Bass - Play It Loud. MET (2019-05-13 19.00.53 by Eden, Janine and Jim)

• Magnum I, Model 1261-1 (ca.1980), Ovation Guitars. Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll. Metropolitan Museum of Art..
  "​Bassist, guitarist, and vocalist Kim Gordon is a founding member of the New York–based experimental rock band Sonic Youth. This Ovation Magnum I was her main bass from 1983 to 1987, used on Sonic Youth’s first three albums, Confusion Is Sex (1983), Bad Moon Rising (1985), and EVOL (1986). Gordon stripped down the bass’s complicated electronics, removing the original pickups and stereo circuitry and replacing them with just the essentials needed for her sound. ",
  "​Technical Description: Mahogany body and neck with graphite center stripe, rosewood fingerboard; 34 in. scale; red-brown sunburst finish; bolt-on neck with pearloid dot inlays; gold Ovation logo decal on headstock; EMG active humbucking pickup at bridge, volume and tone controls; cast aluminum bridge-tailpiece with brass saddles and lever-action mute, nickel-chrome tuners, black and silver plastic knobs, three-ply black and white plastic pickguard; original pickups, mounting frame, selector switch, two controls, and stereo output removed, stickers added ",
  "​Object Details ",
  "​Title:  Magnum I, Model 1261-1 ",
  "​Artist: Ovation Guitars ",
  "​Artist: Kim Gordon (American) ",
  "​Date:   ca. 1980 ",
  "​Medium: Mahogany, rosewood, graphite, plastic, metal ",
  "​Dimensions: Length: ~46 in. (116.8 cm) / Width: ~13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm) / Depth: ~1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm) / Weight: ~9-11 lbs. ",
  "​Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted ",
  "​Credit Line: Collection of Sonic Youth "
• 500/2 Club bass (1960s), Höfner Gmbh & Co.. Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll. Metropolitan Museum of Art..
  "​Though Höfner was mostly known for its 500/1 “violin” body style, this bass guitar features the same short scale length and deep, warm bass tones in a more guitarlike design with a single cutaway, where part of the upper body is sculpted away from the neck to improve access to the upper frets. Tina Weymouth purchased her first Club bass from a fan at a Talking Heads concert in 1979 and bought this example secondhand in 1980 as a backup. She continues to use it today. ",
  "​Technical Description: Hollow body with Venetian cutaway; spruce top, maple back and sides, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 30 in.scale; cherry sunburst with cream binding; set neck with zero fret, dot inlays and ivoroid binding; raised gold plastic Hofner logo on headstock; two mini humbucking pickups, two volume controls, bass & treble pickup on/off and rhythm/solo volume boost switches; ebony adjustable bridge, brass trapeze tailpiece, metal tuners, pearloid control panel with plastic knobs and switches ",
  "​Object Details ",
  "​Title:  500/2 Club bass ",
  "​Artist: Höfner Gmbh & Co. ",
  "​Artist: Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (American, born Coronado, California, 1950) ",
  "​Date:   1960s ",
  "​Medium: Spruce, maple, rosewood, ebony, metal, plastic ",
  "​Dimensions: Length: ~43 in. (109.22 cm) / Width: ~14 in. (35.5 cm) / Depth: ~2 in. (5.1 cm) / Weight: 4-6 lbs. (1.8 - 2.7 kg) ",
  "​Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted ",
  "​Credit Line: Courtesy of Tina Weymouth "