Weird String Instruments: That Crazy Bettie Paige Double Bass ;)

I always love it when we have non-classical musicians stopping by our shop. The other day, we had a a double bassist that dropped off his instrument for a new bridge. He was in a rock-a-billy band with a very interesting bass. He painted the bass in a mixture of black, green, with a gold finger board white tape decal.
At first I thought the strings were made of plastic. I had crazy thoughts of skipping jump rope in the basement with them but a closer look revealed these were Kevlar strings. Wow!

The bass player told us that he was having problems with his bridge standing up straight. One day, the bridge snapped. In his attempt to mend the situation, he nailed the pieces back together and held the pins in place with electrical tape. Alas, he told us, it just didn't sound the same:)

And here's the kicker...The back features a "pin-up" of a model resembling Bettie Page. Oh yea, you rebel double bassists! After we finished the repair job, he did mention about possible getting a new head stock with a skull from King Double Basses.