eBay of the Year: King Tubby's bass speaker

Sadly the auction has just finished, but eBay item #320091605269 is amazing - a bass speaker from King Tubby's legendary late '60s Hometown Hi-Fi sound system. The history of dub has more about Hometown Hi-Fi: "He took it to a dance and played the vocal, which everybody knew, then played the dub plate of this rhythm track and people couldn't believe it." According to the auction, it was "Recently found at a yard in Water House, (Near to Tubby's studio [at 38 St Lucia Road]), by one of our record hunters" The speaker box sold for $617, apparently to a dub 7" collector from my home town of Bristol, who's now going to have to pay $400+ to ship it over. (Thanks, Jim)
UPDATE: The buyer was indeed Jeremy Collingwood, a reggae historian from Bristol (England), who runs a vintage soundsystem hire business.

Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:

damn. this would have been the right equipment for our next camping trip.

# posted by

patellinger : 11:30 am

i wonder how much pot was smoked in/around that thing. oh, also i wonder how much pot you could fit inside there. i am thinking i could fit at least 50lbs in there.

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:25 pm

Probably could just scrape the resin off it - more than worth the price of shipping!

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:35 pm

hmm methinks this could have been snapped up by the legendary DJ Derek, he is a bit of a local superstar in Bristol & is notorious for having the largest collection of dub, rocksteady, reggae,ska.. you name it, this side of anywhere..

The BBC even did a documentary about him

# posted by

written-stuff : 10:43 am

I'm assuming you mean Bristol in the US... though the dub scene is pretty big in Bristol (UK) too... so which is it? Either way i'm jealous.

# posted by

Velkro Smaak : 11:29 am

Bristol England, of course! Is there a Bristol in the US?

# posted by

Tom Whitwell : 12:03 pm

http://www.town-usa.com/connecticut/hartford/bristol.html

There is indeed a Bristol USA. I know Derek pretty well. i shall inquire & report back if it`s him ;)

# posted by

written-stuff : 12:35 pm

Oh dear Lord, Music Thing - I do believe you have a sadistic streak! First up there's the vocoder that Kraftwerk used on Autobahn, now King Tubby's bassbin. Couldn't afford either of them, but really, really, really, really, really wish I could...

# posted by

Anonymous : 6:50 pm

A beat up wood relic is Ebay of the Year and it's only March?
Pathetic.

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:00 pm

If you were going to buy a golf club, you wouldn't walk into a store and buy the first one you see, would you? Of course

not; especially if you want to improve your golf game! You'll want to hold the club, take some practice swings, hit some

balls if the store has a practice spot, and look at the price, of course. If you are considering buying running shoes,

you need to go through a similar process and take the time to find the perfect shoe.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:03 am

Its King Tubby's homemade bassbin sold for £500

I'm glad it looks like its going to a good home cos i think its more iconic than a lot of rock band junk that fetches many $$$ more.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:23 pm

I am SO lucky I did not find out about this sooner. It would have been the dumbest $1500 I would have ever spent. (yes, I would have prob done 2k).

It would have been a huge waste of space, and an eyesore (to the wife) but I would have kept it till I died.

MUCH better that it's in good hands though.

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:59 pm

"A beat up wood relic is Ebay of the Year and it's only March? Pathetic."

That's one of the coolest "beat up wood relics" ever! Far from pathetic...

# posted by

Anonymous : 2:13 am

I doubt there's much weed "resin" on the speaker-Tubby himself was very anti-pot and didn't allow it in the studio at all...

Anyways, Bristol (uk, duh) has a very strong reggae music scene, and outside of perhaps NYC, this couldn't have ended up in a more perfect place!

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:56 pm

I think the perfect place for it is a yard in Jamaica, not with some rich white guy...

# posted by

Anonymous : 1:32 am

This should have gone to the new Jamaican music museum, not off the island.

# posted by

Anonymous : 2:44 pm

http://www.imminentinnovations.com

# posted by

Anonymous : 9:56 pm

Hey guys did you know that the currently hottest reggae singer Ava leigh who’s worked with the famous sly n Robbie ,Nick Mannesah ,and future cut has free music
You can download from her website which is avaleigh.co.uk come on and check it out.

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:40 pm

Hey guess what? the hottest reggae singer Ava leigh who’s worked with the famous Sly n Robbie, Nick Manasseh, and future cut has free music you can download at www.avaleigh.co.uk ?check it out.

# posted by

Anonymous : 1:30 pm