Egmond Tempest 2EBL3

INFO
This beautiful bassguitar is made for the professional musician. It has a very thin neck made out of multiple kinds of wood. It comes with two bass pick-ups and a separate string regulator. Two different circuits for tone and volume. The mechanics on this guitar are made out of high quality materials. Well built tailpiece and extraordinary shiny pickup plate. A solid hand and finger piece. It has a very nice looking finish with its weather checking from all the years that it has been in existence. A great quality bass guitar with a unique vintage look.

HISTORY from EGMOND
As a retired station-master, in 1932 Uilke Egmond (1878-1959) founded a music school and a music shop in Valkenswaard, that was named Musica.In the music school he gave violin lessons and in the shop he sold instruments that was, mainly, imported from the Eastern Europe.
In 1935 the business moved to Eindhoven.Uilke's sons, Gerard (1904-1974), Dick (1920-1992) and Jaap (1921-1993) joined the company during WWII.The import of instruments ended and they decided to make the instruments on their own.
 
In the early 50's there were 20 employees and 50 guitars a week, was made.Production of Banjos and Mandolins was added.In the early 60's there were 80 employees and 2000 guitars a week, was made. And the business moved to Best, a northern suburb of Eindhoven.
In the 60's the Egmond was the largest luthier in Europe and they were more known for quantity than quality. Cheap instruments was made in large numbers and, practically, everyone could afford to buy a guitar. The cheapest models had a price tag that was only 10% of the cost for a comparable model of a Gibson or a Fender.
 
Several guitarists and bass players has started their careers with an Egmond. In 1956 George Harrison begun playing on an acoustic guitar. It was an Egmond 105/0, that also was called Egmond Toledo. In the UK the Egmond guitars were marketed as Rosetti guitars, so the guitar that George Harrison had, was a Rosetti 276.
Also Brian May started with an Egmond Toledo.
Paul McCartney used a Rosetti Solid 7, that he re-stringed with four piano-strings, to make it a bass. It didn't work that well but maybe he was not aware that Egmond (Rosetti) had the Bass 7.
 
But Egmond also made high quality instruments. To only mention a few, there was the Egmond 2 and 3, furthermore there was the Egmond 2V and 3V. They had 2 or 3 pickups, as the number states. 2V and 3V (V=vinyl covered body) had the body shape of a Fender Jaguar or Fender Jazzmaster. Later the Egmond 2 and 3 got the name Egmond Thunder, and the Egmond 2V and 3V got the name Egmond Typhoon. A more advanced and luxury guitar, with the same body shape as the 2V and 3V, was the Egmond Tempest.
Egmond branded their instruments different at other markets in other countries. It was Alberti, Alex, Alfesta, Alpha, Caledonie, Combo, Dixieland, Frima, Hi-Spot, Jester, Lido, Lion, Manhattan, Marizza, Miller, Orpheum, Roderich Paesold, Rosetti, Royal, Royalist, Stadium, Strad-O-Lin, Tonemaster, Vander, Vega and Wilson.
 
During most of the 60's, the American market was tremendous for the Egmond company, shipping one container of guitars every week, to New York. The competition from cheap Korean instruments, made the American Egmond importer to shift from buying guitars from the Egmond company to buy from a Korean manufacturer instead. All the sales to America ended and the Egmond company found themselves in a tricky situation. In 1972, the C.F. Martin & Co made a cooperation agreement with Egmond, to make guitars with the Vega brand, by the drawings from C.F. Martin.
 
In 1979, the C.F. Martin & Co broke the cooperation agreement with Egmond. Then Egmond begun making the guitars, under the ownership of Tolchin Instruments, with the brand name Alpha.
 
In 1983 the Egmond company went bankrupt. The activity, that used to be so comprehensive, was to an end.
AudioOne in Canada is the owner of the Egmond brand. They had plans to re-launch a series of Egmond guitars. They were refreshed versions of the most popular Egmond guitars, slightly different in appearance and made of modern materials and parts. During 2011 the designer passed away and the whole project halted.