I know they first sold the dependent 50B2 in 1961, but I can't find info on when their other basses such as the 50B2O, 50B3, and 50B3O first entered their catalog.

Open wraps appeared in the 1990s. The 50B3 was before 1980 but after 1970. Can't help more than that.

[quote="BGuttman"]Open wraps appeared in the 1990s. The 50B3 was before 1980 but after 1970. Can't help more than that.[/quote]

Thanks!

[quote="BGuttman"]Open wraps appeared in the 1990s. The 50B3 was before 1980 but after 1970. Can't help more than that.[/quote]
I think the open wraps appeared a little before 1990.

I had a single Bach 50 with factory open wrap that was a little older. I remember it was a 5 digit serial number, but I don't think I have it handy anywhere. I bought a 42BO in 1991, and it wasn't a brand new wrap/product, they had been around for a bit.

Cheers,

Andy

[quote="elmsandr"]

I think the open wraps appeared a little before 1990.[/quote]

I think that is correct. But not much before 1990. Pretty sure it was not an option when I bought my 36B in about 1986 and 50B3 in 1987. I definitely had friends with 42BOs by 1990/91.

I can't give you an exact time for the independents appearing, but it would be shortly before 1980 (it could be a few years before that, giving it time to appear in the marketplace). I remember seeing a few around when I was a student, but they were horns that had been altered to independent by a tech. Then, in my last couple of years as a student, I remember seeing some independent horns straight from the factory start to show up at school or on gigs. They were still closed wrap at that point, unless they had been altered by a tech. If I remember correctly, Olds had the first independent models directly from the factory, and I heard back then that someone tried to sell the design to Bach, and they passed on it so Olds bought it first. The great instrument techs like Minnick introduced a lot of things like open wraps, detachable valve sections and removable leadpipes and eventually, the factories responded by offering those things as options.

Jim Scott