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Can you identify this P Bass?


HansonFerrari
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Hey guys and gals,old member from before the name change(was that really 5/6 years ago?!)
Looking for a little help from your wealth of knowledge.,
Im trying to find the original details of this bass, any details would be amazing.
I'm looking to refurb it e.g. New tuners, Nut, Pickups, Bridge

My aunt brought this P Bass to ,my house after her husband had finished a house clearance
I've attached some photos to help out
----
What I know[list]
[*]Its heavy as hell
[*]There is no decal on the Headstock
[*]Truss rod plate is missing at the top
[*]Says made in Japan on the back plate
[*]It has holes drilled for a pickup cover, Bridge cover and finger rests, like the older fender basses had
[*]The tuners are awful
[/list]
What I'd like to know[list]
[*]The Make/manufacturer
[*]What type of Pick up that is, and are there any similar ones i can replace it with today?
[*]If i can fit a badass bridge
[*]If i can fit a dropD tuner
[/list]
Thanks in advance

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[list]
[*]The Make/manufacturer - japanese, if bassassin was still around he would be able to tell you what factory it came out of.. but as it is, 70's japanese stuff. More likely satalite than ibanez if you know what I mean,
[*]What type of Pick up that is, and are there any similar ones i can replace it with today? Not a clue. Hows it sound?
[*]If i can fit a badass bridge - you could - your bridge would possibly be worth more than your bass but it could work.
[*]If i can fit a dropD tuner - ahh the bass might be worth a wee bit more than the D tuner. Bare in mind that you'll have small diameter almost guitar size holes for the tuner.
[/list]

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The pickup is very like the type used on Ibanez, Aria Diamond, CMI etc. I think they were by a company called Maxon. There were many basses out there with this type of pickup however and the neck looks like its a laminate of some kind. There would have been a chromed metal truss rod cover on at some stage. Is there evidence of any small holes where a logo badge could have been attached on the fascia? Some early MIJ instruments had a raised plastic logo including Top Twenty, Audition even Ibanez.

Edited by ash
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Yes, back in the early to mid '70's my school band bought one very similar, but with a solid neck instead of the laminate neck. I think its brand name was "Ventura" or something like that. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but any replacement/refurb/upgrade parts are probably going to cost more than the bass is worth. Try to make it playable as is by simply cleaning it up, setting it up, and carefully reinstalling strings so that the tuners work as well as they can. If you got a good one, it will stay in tune and sound reasonably well.

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At first glance I thought it was a Fuji Gen (the company that made Ibanez, Antoria and others) as well. But it has a lot of details I've never seen on a Fuji Gen bass.

The 6 bolt neck for a start. Moridaira made a lot of instruments with 6 bolt necks, so that's a possibility. And Kay made the KB-24 with a 6 bolt and stripwood neck, but they were made in Taiwan and didn't have the Maxon pickup.

So I don't really have a clue. :(

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[quote name='HansonFerrari' timestamp='1367866346' post='2070445']
Hey guys and gals,old member from before the name change(was that really 5/6 years ago?!)
Looking for a little help from your wealth of knowledge.,
Im trying to find the original details of this bass, any details would be amazing.
I'm looking to refurb it e.g. New tuners, Nut, Pickups, Bridge
[/quote]
Both Ventura and FujiGen have been mentioned. I had a Ventura guitar that was FujiGen so maybe start your search there. There are plenty of vintage Japanese guitar forums with many people knowledgeable on the subject.
I still have a few Japanese guitars and basses that i know little of where they were made but it sometimes takes time to find out. That's half the fun as is playing them. Spend as little money as you need to make it playable and enjoy it for what it is.

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Looks like it's made entirely from plywood (even the neck). It's definitely a very cheap copy, probably 80's or earlier. 6 bolt neck seems a little odd. I have an old 80's satellite Les Paul copy that's kind of similar - Cheap materials and parts, cheaply made. Not worth much, but might as well keep it around if it plays alright, or give it to some kid who wants to learn.

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