The late Barry 'Big Goose' Sullivan (1946-2003) was a very important bassist in Australian Rock and Blues history, especially well known as being the original bassist with Aussie Blues powerhouse band, Chain (along with Barry 'Little Goose" Harvey on drums), but his legacy is much deeper and wider than many realise. Click here to read the excellent obituary on the milesago website.

Barry had left Chain in 1974, and had formed funk band Sanctuary with Mal Logan and Mark Punch. In 1975 Barry played bass on the sessions for Renee Geyer's breakthrough and excellent LP 'It's A Man's Man's World' due to his proficiency in the soul-funk style. Renee subsequently hired Sanctuary as her backing band, which was renamed The Renee Geyer Band. They backed her on tour and on her next LP, the superb Ready To Deal. These are EXCELLENT albums if you can locate them!

It was during 1975, when Barry's playing and influence were at a peak, that Maton collaborated with Barry to produce a bass that was to be the precursor to the legendary Maton JB4 bass. Only 25 of these BS (Sullivan) basses were produced, all in 1975. This is number seven, carrying the serial 007 (James Bond fans eat your heart out!)

Unlike the JB4, the Sullivan bass has a Fender-style bolt-on neck. Body is Mahogany, while the neck is Rock Maple. The separate fretboard looks to me like Queensland Maple, and is lacquered Fender-style. Pickups are amazing, with a big fat humbucker in the neck position (actually half-way between the neck and bridge), while right at the bridge there is a Telecaster-style single coil with a surprisingly high output (it matches the other pickup beautifully). The tones available with the three-position selector switch are all good, and very wide in character. Nice biting trebles when you want them, thundering bass when you want it, and a perfect blend of the two when you want that. This bass really surprised me when I first gigged it, and it remains one of my first-choice gigging basses, both for its playability and sound. Plus, of course, it has rarity and coolness in truckloads.

The neck, as with all vintage Matons, is beautifully playable and perfectly straight. The original Schaller tuners and original Badass II bridge give great stability and sustain, while the original pickups and electronics are all in perfect working order. There are a few scuffs to the original finish, and the clear lacquer over the etched aluminium pick guard has yellowed and worn in some places, but overall the bass is in amazing condition. Check out the detailed photographs in the 'more pictures' link below.

A previous owner has scratched out the 'ull' and 'va' in the 'Sullivan' name on the original truss rod cover to make it read 'Sin', and the cover also has the designation F+4 on it - I can not find any reference to the F+4 anywhere in any reference material.

This is a VERY rare and collectable bass, as well as being perfectly usable.

This vintage Maton Sullivan bass comes complete with its original Maton hard shell case, which is in good condition, but with some wear to the inside lining at the contact point of the lower bass bout.

Sold to Sydney buyer