WELCOME
Greetings...

The mission the past few years had been to rescue, recycle and restore American-made plywood basses.  With the death of my husband, Lonnie G. Hamer, I have had to adjust my mission...however, the passion for music and upright bass has not diminished.  

These fine American made upright basses are truly underrated for their contribution to all types of music.  Whether it's Bluegrass, Big Band, Swing, Jazz, Blues, Dixie Land, Rockabilly or Old Time music…there is great vintage plywood bass holding down the low end beat.  More music has been made with these manufactured plywood basses during the late 1930’s through the early 1960’s than at any other time in our music history.  American Standard, Epiphone, Gibson, Kay, King…doesn't matter I love them all the same.

At the Bass Gallery you can view Photobucket slide shows of the fine collection of vintage basses that I once cared for and enjoyed making music. The slide shows showcased Lonnie’s skill for restoring these fine vintage instruments.  

If you are looking to purchase a bass check out The Showroom for the remaining basses that are being offered for sale.  The Epiphone History page shares my research on Epiphone upright bass history and pre-war Gibson upright basses. You can add your Epiphone bass information to the Epiphone database project by e-mailing the details of your Epiphone upright bass.

I still love vintage American made plywood basses as much, or more then ever before. I hope to continue to share all the knowledge and research I have gathered over the many years of collecting and playing music.  

More music, more freedom and more joy to share it all.

Enjoy,

Wendy Staley



Thank you for visiting the
Bass Monkey website.

Though much has changed in my life I remain a passionate collector and player of vintage American made plywood basses. The website will continue to serve as a resource for those that share my enthusiasm for these fine instruments. 

























Alan Bartram, bassist for 
Del McCoury and the Travelin' McCoury's with his vintage 1939 
American Standard Bass compliments of Bass Monkey
Matt Malley, co-founder and former bassist for the Counting Crows taking delivery of his fully restored 1948 Epiphone B-4 Bass compliments of 
Bass Monkey
Photo by Shlomo Ben-Yaacov