justjazz

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1342611192' post='1737790'] Probably 4001. Probably '70s. Probably Japanese. Given that the group of Japanese factories making Ric copies were buying in hardware and components from the same sources it's incredibly difficult to say with absolute certainty where any Ric copy was made. You can pin things down to possible sub-groups, such as those factories which were known to use Maxon pickups, so if the pickups have any of the markings known to be used by Maxon ... The TRC could have been of assistance, if it had a factory name, but not if it had an own-brander mark. The own-branders, such as Ross Morris, bought from multiple sources. Yours appears to be a neck-through, which is a sign of quality. Lots are bolt-on. A couple of the bigger factories doing neck-through were FujiGen (for Ibanez) and Matsumoku (for Aria). But both those factories were known to serial number their production, so it's unlikely to be either of those facilities. But even that's by no means definitive. The main sources of information will be pickups and pots, if these are original. [/quote][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][color=#008080] Thanks Noel, Can you give me some idea of its value please. It is in very good condition and plays really well. Good tone - quite pure if you play it gently. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks[/color][/size][/font]

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1342565631' post='1737304'] The original "Hondo" was the "brand name" under which the International Music Corp (IMC) and Samick (SMI) joint venture operated. It was a corporate entity in its own right, but it didn't own any facilities, and was initially a distribution agreement before being an own-branding manufacturing venture. [/quote][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][color=#008080]Noel, you are well informed. What do you make of my Bass? .... and what more can I do to identify it?. Is it likely there will be any marks or labels hidden beneath components? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.[/color][/size][/font]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1342474164' post='1735913'] Was there an issue with it that made you put it into your loft "soon afterwards" when it's such a good bass? [/quote][size=4][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][color=#008080]I just thought I would concentrate on playing jazz guitar and get back to the bass later. I never did!![/color][/font][/size]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1341846412' post='1725020'] Was it new or second-hand when you bought it? The problem with identifying Far Eastern copies is that the name that was on the headstock and place where they were manufactured change depending on the year. Most "brand" names were those of the importers rather than the manufacturers and the actual factory that the instruments were made in depended on who was doing the best deal for a certain level of quality at the time. In order for those with the knowledge to have a go at identifying it you'll need to post much bigger and better photos, showing in detail all the hardware, the body binding, the fingerboard inlays etc. And most important of all is it a bolt on neck? [/quote] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Thanks for the intelligent response,[/size][/font][/color] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]It was second hand when I bought it. Only 1 or 2 years old so dating it to around 1982.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]It has a a glued in neck.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Here are tons of pics showing hardware, binding, markers and T/R Cover. Maybe of interest that the TR Cover appeaers to have had an oval transfer in Gold about 50mms wide but I can't see any script, logo or writing on it!![/size][/font][/color] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Any help you can give would be much appreciated. [/size][/font][/color] [color=#008080][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Alan [/size][/font][/color]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I bought this Bass from Tim Gentle Music in Southend around 1984. Soon afterwards it went up into my loft and it has been there ever since. I chose it because it had such great tone and the action was so fast, so smooth, so nice. It is a very good quality copy and remains in excelent condition although it needs a good clean after all these years. It would be good to identify the maker. If you can help me with any clues (choice of components, little tricks, manufacturing oddities) so that I can identify it properly I would be grateful. Thanks Boot