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Post subject: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 6:38 am
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Interesting story. Pics posted below.

Years and years ago the bass virtuoso Randy Coven was teaching me to play bass and was a friend, I used to help him set up for shows etc. Anyhow, he was close with Joe Despagni (the dude who built the JEM guitars for Steve Vai and eventually became the Ibanez series). I had ordered a custom P-Bass body (PJ pup route) and Jazz neck from Warmoth, and left it with Joe to set up the neck and route the body for a custom bass whammy trem system.

Long story not as long....somehow Coven convinced him to cut the body into a "Flame"..like some of Steve Vai's guitars. He also somehow got the guitar from Joe and I never really saw it since. I was pissed at Coven of course but he explained that the bass was too delicate to play at live shows, so he gave me a Gibson SG bass, which was vintage to make up for it. I was a teen at the time and tried to set the bass up myself, snapping the truss rod. So I sold that for 500 bucks and figured that was the end of the story and called it a wash.

Years later I see the bass on ebay....but is was just sold. I would have bought it in a heatbeat, it sold for like 500 I think. I emailed Coven and asked why didn't he try to contact me before selling it. He told me that the one on ebay was a fake, but he is full of it..there is only ONE bass like that and I should know because it was MINE. Even in the pic although the expensive bass whammy tremolo system is not there, it looks to me like the route where it once resided is covered with some kind of plate, and a standard bridge installed in it's place..comon now what are the chances??? Regardless, I didn't think about it again much after that,

But recently a friend of mine who is a solo artist from Austria was staying at my place while doing some LA shows. We started talking and one thing lead to another and we were discussing Vai, which lead to Coven, which lead to me telling about that flame bass story.

So for giggles..I google image "Randy Coven flame bass" and I found it again. It is hanging on some dudes wall. I commented on the picture asking him to contact me and told the story. I was hoping there was a chance I could buy it back but the dude never responded and it's been over a year I think. I have a feeling I will have it back one day and even if it is not playable...it is history for me and it should be on my wall.

Here are the pics I could find...

Image

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Last edited by ebaysux on Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:06 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: I want my flame bass back !!!
Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 1:52 pm
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UPDATE:

I got a call from Randy Covens cousin last night and found out Coven passed away reason undisclosed. I posted again on the guys flickr to please sell me the bass back or let me trade him for a custom bass of his choice that I will build for him. Kind of sentimental now to get it back. The guy seems cool and did tell me if he ever decides to sell it he will contact me but it has been years and no contact.

Image

Image

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Last edited by ebaysux on Tue Jul 01, 2014 12:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: I want my flame bass back !!!
Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 9:22 pm
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Another update: (if anyone is even following)....

There is tribute page on "Truth in Shredding" dedicated to Randy Coven and people who knew him and played with him are posting stories and pictures/vids/music etc. Well someone actually had a pic of Randy with that bass back in the 1990s in Joe Despagni's garage where he built it. I am glad that pic is around as Randy did try to tell me that was not the bass because he felt bad that he sold it on ebay before trying to contact me to buy it back. I can understand.

(If you look closely you can see part of the Kahler bass trem..that unit cost me 300 bucks at the time and took over a month to get, I have no idea where that is now but can assume Randy used it on another of his basses and had Joe install a standard replacement before selling it)

Image

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Post subject: Re: I want my flame bass back !!!
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:04 pm
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Yet another update....

I found out according to something the current owner posted that the bass is playable and plays and sounds great. Supposedly it is set up with 2 outputs and one is active. I remember from the days of bass tech-ing for him he did sometimes use a stereo setup which I eventually started doing. Essentially you keep one output clean so when you use effects you don't lose any bottom end. What he typically used was a chorus, envelope filter, MXR distortion, and a Boss octave pedal, all of which I starting using.

I do know what he meant though about the bass being too delicate as it was already repaired a few times from flame tips breaking off. Still I want it back. Nothing yet from the guy. I guess now that Randy passed he feels it is worth even more and might be more reluctant to let it go. Or he is not getting my messages. But I will not give up...every few months I am going to post on his accounts until I hear back from him.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:16 pm
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I figure this is a good place to put this as a small tribute to my departed friend and "kind of" mentor...

It is Randy playing on some music TV show with Phil X back in the 90s...


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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 9:22 pm
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SKcoppertele wrote:
Surprised nobody has chimed in. Quite a story there. Hope you get it back some day.


Thanks. I guess perhaps to other people it can never mean near as much as it does to me being that time of my life totally changed my life and the stories are endless and insane. However it seems at least that a lot of members have viewed it. Perhaps they just don't know what to say? Honestly I really approached this guy in a nice and rational fashion. After the first time I posted to him someone who I can not identify left a more "stern" post telling the guy that he knows me and knows that is supposed to be my bass. That is when the guy got back to me and said he would certainly contact me when he is ready to sell it. That was quite some time ago. I know it mostly hangs on his wall but obviously it means much more to me now then just a wall decoration under the circumstances. Heck the manager of one of my older bands is his cousin. Not to mention I would party with Randy and we would jam out for days..and days. I got good because of him.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 11:34 am
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You mean this one? I think I could be interested in making an 'arrangement' 8) I am not a bass player so, as cool as it is, it doesn't get used and I have no sentimental attachment to it. Randy was a gifted musician and I am a huge fan, but that's all. PM me and we can try to work something out.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:32 am
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Yes that is definitely the one. PM sent !

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 9:48 pm
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So it's just over a year and the guy never came back to post wether or not he got the flame bass back. You just keep me hangin' on. We'll never know what happened.


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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma....
Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:55 am
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Fly Whitlock wrote:
So it's just over a year and the guy never came back to post wether or not he got the flame bass back. You just keep me hangin' on. We'll never know what happened.


No, that last post before mine was the guy. He is going to give me the flame Bass back in exchange for a custom build Strat guitar he wants me to do for him. It's all good. Case closed. And this actually went on for way more then a year. It was not easy to get in contact with the guy until he found this thread on the forum. I think what might have helped is some of the pics here were on google images so if he or anyone he knew clicked the pics it led to the forum.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:16 pm
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Never seen a floyded Firebird with three buckers. :|


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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:52 am
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chromeface wrote:
Image

Never seen a floyded Firebird with three buckers. :|



Well now you can say you have.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:01 pm
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Reunited yet?!

Awesome story!


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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:19 pm
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Thanks. Really close. The current owner is very understanding and I am building him a guitar he wants for a trade. I have not had the time to really focus on it but I am confident that it will all work out in a month or so.

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Post subject: Re: UPDATES: JEM "Flame" bass dilemma" CASE CLOSED
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:05 pm
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Be sure to post pics of the one you are building for him!


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