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S.D. Curlee is a guitar manufacturer originating in Matteson, Illinois and presently in central Texas. Peak years were 1977 to 1981 before ceasing production until 2011. For a while its electric basses were popular, much more so than their guitars. They were exported and especially popular in Belgium and Germany during the original run.
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History
This small enterprise was founded by businessman Randy Curlee, instrument designer Randy Dritz and pattern maker Sonny Storbeck in 1975 in Matteson, IL. The name S.D Curlee came from the three original partners: Storbeck, Dritz and Curlee. Actual production began in early 1976 and ceased in 1982. There is much speculation concerning how many USA instruments were made during the initial production run. However all involved (Dritz, former production manager Denny Rauen, export/AR manager Vicki Maker, for example) agree the published production figure of 15,000 was highly exaggerated. The true production numbers will probably never be known, but it would be safe to speculate that possibly 5,000 to 6,500 S.D. Curlee U.S.A. instruments were produced with the Japanese ("Int'l") and Korean-built versions bumping that figure up significantly.
Curlee wanted to offer a quality built instrument at an affordable price. Advertising campaigns were rather scarce: only a handful of ads exist. A rather classy 8 page color affair from 1979, multiple color ads originally placed in Guitar Player Magazine, and a few black-and-white flyers were distributed.
During these years, the Curlee brand was applied to Curlee-arranged import versions and was also licensed to Hondo. S.D. Curlee was one of the first instrument manufacturers to use this approach to address the issue of unlicensed copies of premium brands. Many other instrument companies subsequently followed its lead, such as Fender's Squier brand of Asian-manufactured products and Gibson's use of its Epiphone brand. This business model has become a standard both to gain a share in the copy market and also provide customers with a more budget-oriented version of a higher-priced instrument.
During the early 1980s the climate for these 'all natural' instruments changed drastically. Headless designs, flashy colors and an altogether different approach forced Curlee and his contemporary contenders into new grounds. Combined with a recession and internal business decisions, the company ceased operations in 1982.
Randy Curlee continued in sales and marketing in the musical instrument industry, including work for Yamaha. He died in 2005.
Construction
The Curlee instruments featured a unique design blend of neck through body and a bolt-on neck, which was anchored in the body with a heavy brass plate.
Most of the 1970s bass models shared the same basic, almost symmetrical shape (inspired by the Gibson Les Paul Jr. double cutaway), and were available in fretted and fretless versions. The main models were:
Other models and body shapes were prototyped and saw limited production. Some late "Curlee" instruments (late in the original run the brand as applied had been modified, removing the S and D) had painted bodies and set (glued in) necks. A P-bass bodied version was produced along with pointy "Star" model basses & guitars, all in very limited batches.
S.D. Curlees feature hardware including Grover tuning heads; brass, Badass II or original Badass bridges; a brass nut and high output DiMarzio pickups. All basses used a 32½" medium scale neck. Some of the original USA basses developed truss rod issues over time. Later models introduced a German Carve body edge and aluminum instead of brass plates.
Cultural effect and availability
Although the brand enjoys a cult-like status, only a few famous bass guitarists were seen with Curlee models in the mid- to late-1970s. Former Mahavishnu Orchestra bass guitarist Rick Laird had one, R. "Skeet" Curtis played one (and still has it) while touring with Parliament, Vincent Gallo used one in the New York City noise band Gray and Nick Lowe used a Curlee fretless on a few assignments. Jack Blades used them on the first Night Ranger album and played one on the "Don't tell me you love me" video. Alec Jon Such (Bon Jovi) was known to have three. Recently, guitarist Adam McIlwee of tigers jaw can be seen using a vintage Curlee guitar. Duran Duran bass player John Taylor posted the 1980 bill for his Hondo Curlee bass on the Duran Duran website.
On July 4, 2011 Scott Beckwith, owner of Birdsong Guitars, announced the resurrection of the SD Curlee instruments. The new basses are visually close to the originals but with modern hardware and upgrades. Current production is of USA basses only and is under 25 per year.