Musky

[quote name='neilb' post='101084' date='Dec 7 2007, 07:22 PM']I'd say its a P neck for a start,therefore not originally on this body. Probably the P decal has been taken off and a J decal put on, not very well in my view. I personally am not aware of the Jap Fenders doing photoflame bodies, but I bow to Muskys knowledge. however, that is NOT a J neck, too wide at the stock.[/quote] Well spotted - that definitely does look like a P neck, especially in the shot looking down the neck. I seem to remember there was a point in the early 90's when the only Jap Fenders you could get had the foto flame finish, though maybe I'm getting confused and it was only Strats or something that all came in foto flames. Either way Fender Japan definitely did foto flames - a mate's got a Precision Lyte in a similar colour to the one in the auction.

It certainly looks like a Fender foto flame body, but the necks had a foto flame finish as well - which this one doesn't. Did they ever produce the foto flames with standard necks? That logo does look like it's been applied later, but the serial and 'made in Japan' (or what you can see of them) look kosher.

[quote name='Sparky' post='100845' date='Dec 7 2007, 12:47 PM']Thanks Musky. It's got dot inlays but I don't know what a 4 bolt neck is. It has a piece of copper wire running from the bridge pickup to under the bridge - earthing wire? and the headstock looks like this: [attachment=4006:800px_Fe...eadstock.jpeg] ...62 RI??[/quote] Dot inlays = 62 RI. It shoud also have a square metal plate with four bolts on on the back of the bass to secure the neck. A 75 will have a rounded triangular shaped plate with just three bolts doing the same job.

If it's got block inlays, bound neck and bullet truss rod it'll be a 75 RI. If it has dot inlays and a 4 bolt neck it'll be a 62 RI. Edit: Bear in mind that the RI's weren't exact copies of the originals, and there's certainly a difference in pickup spacing on the 62 RI and the original, so make sure you get a guard appropriate for a reissue.

[quote name='SJA' post='100418' date='Dec 6 2007, 06:19 PM']BTW, Bassassin, is Lemmy's maple board Rick (with the star inlays) a real Rickenbacker? did they actually do maple board 4001/4003's? I know they did a maple 4004 cheyenne/laredo or whatever it was.[/quote] I don't think anyone actually knows with any certainty what it is - including Lemmy. The story goes that he bought it off a shady character who offered it to him at a gig. Rickenbacker didn't offer 4001's with maple necks as standard, so it could be a custom, modified or a copy - though I believe Jon had doubts about any copies with those specs either.

[quote name='SJA' post='100418' date='Dec 6 2007, 06:19 PM']BTW, Bassassin, is Lemmy's maple board Rick (with the star inlays) a real Rickenbacker? did they actually do maple board 4001/4003's? I know they did a maple 4004 cheyenne/laredo or whatever it was.[/quote] I don't think anyone actually knows with any certainty what it is - including Lemmy. The story goes that he bought it off a shady character who offered it to him at a gig. Rickenbacker didn't offer 4001's with maple necks as standard, so it could be a custom, modified or a copy - though I believe Jon had doubts about any copies with those specs either.

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='99415' date='Dec 5 2007, 10:39 AM']I've just bagged a cheap 5 string bass on ebay... probably regret it, but I need a cheap 5 stringer asap and the only ones in the shops are outside my immediate budget... It's this one... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330194343949"]<a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=330194343949" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=330194343949[/url]</a> Never heard of the make before... but it came in my range and I (well my proxy) was the only bidder at £69.50 + £16.85p&p well, we'll see how good it is when it arrives... [b]If I'd discovered it had been posted in here and I'd ended up in a bidding war with a fellow BC'r, I'd have been upset...[/b] [/quote] I should have said that was exactly the kind of auction that could have done with flagging up here - it had been hanging around on ebay for ages. It was in the correct section and available for anyone to find ("5 String Bass Guitar by Cougar" pretty much flagged it up for anyone interested in a cheap 5 string). And given that it had been on ebay for ages, and is after all a cheap brand, I don't think there was much danger of a bidding war.

I can't really comment on the Glasgow scene but in London, for this type of venue, that doesn't seem too bad (I'm assuming there are other bands on the bill as well). Sure you're looking at a fraction of what you'd get at a pub gig, but it isn't a pub gig and for an unknown band in that neck of the woods different rules apply. I guess you've got to figure out how many people you could realistically get in and how much the gig is worth to you. Then again, I'm in London - I'm used to getting screwed over!

Well, there's quite a few variables there but here's my take: 1) If you can't get to a shop that stocks your combo or it's discontinued, take your own along. Probably best to call first though. 2) Ask to try it through other combos. What it will sound like through a PA is anyone's guess - it's not just due to the variability of the combination of different PA's and rooms, but your sound is pretty much in the hands of the engineer as well. 3) Never assume that it's going to be better with a set up - it might be playing as well as it's ever going to. 4) Unless you use flats it probably won't sound substantially different (assuming the strings are in good nick). The basic character of the bass will still be there, though it's likely you can find another set you'll prefer more. It's worth bearing in mind that more expensive basses are more likely to come with decent strings anyway. 5) It'll sound exactly the same when you're used to it. Your expectations or tastes may change, but then none us know what we'll want in a few years time. Buying online can be a bit of a pig-in-a-poke, especially if you're looking at cheaper basses where quality control might not be great. On the other hand, if you buy carefully second hand off ebay, you could reasonably expect to sell it on without without making a loss if you decide you don't like it.

I was going to suggest a Squier VM Precision, but having looked at the ESP it's quite metal looking so maybe a precision is not to your taste. The ESP is a 35" scale, which is longer than standard but would make it good for detuning if that's what you're into. On the flip side it will also make it a bit harder to play, especially if your hands aren't that big.

There's a lot to be said for that Warwickhunt. If you're on the look out for for a specific item or just a bargain in general, and have put the time in on ebay, you'd not be overjoyed to see a thread about it. On the other hand, some BCers have actually benefitted from these kind of threads. It's a bit of a two way street. Plenty of links go up in the JapCrap thread, and I consider these more of an information service more than anything else - a lot of these basses go for bargain prices anyway (for what they are) and Jon's comments are usually an education. I'm equally as sure that particular thread has prevented a few unsuspecting people from buying Japcrap in the truest sense of the word. I wouldn't like to see a ban but yes, maybe people could pause to reflect before posting a link.

[quote name='Bassman7' post='97859' date='Dec 2 2007, 11:17 PM']Ed Straker says: "It's part of late 60s early 70s British culture don't you know..." Caption: S.I.D. (Space Intruder Detector) "Alert...unidentified bass player unfamiliar with classic Gerry Anderson late 60s Sci-Fi culture" (Bit of fun really!!)[/quote] Hmm... Early seventies, surely?

Rothko had three bass players, as did Spinal Tap on Big Bottom - in fact I was in a band in the eighties with three bass players. Cop Shoot Cop, Girls Against Boys, God Speed You Black Emporor, Treponem Pal, The Dirtbombs, The Vipers (the Manchester one) and Deity Guns all had two bass players. Bands have two guitarists, even two drummers, with no problems so why not double up in the bass department. Twice the fun!

[quote name='Bassassin' post='97178' date='Dec 1 2007, 12:09 PM']Nothing about that suggests it's anything other than a generic cheapo J copy with a period-incorrect Ibanez transfer slapped on it. Worth bearing in mind, [b]no[/b] Ibanez copy had that style of logo, ever. J.[/quote] Absolutely. I think the logo first appeared on the JEM series in the late eighties, by which time Ibanez had long since given up on direct copies. Though to be fair to the seller, he's not actually selling it as an Ibanez.

Danelectro do plenty of curvy pedals. [attachment=3843:FAB_E_2T.jpg] Though obviously that one's an echo so probably not what he was using.

[quote name='mistahbenn' post='96295' date='Nov 29 2007, 07:19 PM']He did and he was thankful, he's also left feedback for the seller hehehehehe @)[/quote] Did he reply to you then? I often wonder in these sort of scam auctions whether the bidders think they're getting the real deal, or whether they just bid to spoil the auction.

[quote name='16Again' post='96073' date='Nov 29 2007, 11:58 AM']My first bass was in 1982 and it was a Kay P bass kinda thing bought for about £70 from santas grotto but i think it actually came from my mums Marshal Ward clubby book, i 'found' it in my mums wardrobe when i was doing pre-christmas present snopping That was the year i found ALL my christmas presents before christmas [/quote] I think my first bass was the same - a natural precision copy by Kay. Weighed a ton, ridiculously high action that couldn't be cured because it not only had 6 bolts, but was glued as well. Cost me £70 in 1980. I gave it to my brother - no idea if he still has it.

[quote name='bremen' post='95353' date='Nov 27 2007, 10:24 PM']Fukking he11, he's already sold an instrument with the same serial number for $3500 I've grassed him up to ebay, wonder what they'll do about it?[/quote] Well, it wasn't him that was the original seller. This guy has just copied the original auction's details and a few of it's photos.

It's dodgy alright - [url="http://ekg.ebay.com/items/desc/140177721545/"]http://ekg.ebay.com/items/desc/140177721545/[/url] Why do scammers make it so easy to do a search by including serials and pot dates?

[quote name='Weird War' post='94755' date='Nov 26 2007, 08:45 PM'][size=4][b][url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXc_OvTpOLA"]Jon Spencer Blues Explosion[/url][/b][/size][/quote] Good call! Likewise Jon Spencer's earlier stuff with Pussy Galore. I'd add to that early Cramps stuff as well, especially The Most Exalted Potentate of Love. None of their later stuff with a bass comes close - with that much fuzz who needs bass. I think I'm doing myself out of a job here.

[quote name='Russ' post='94369' date='Nov 26 2007, 02:13 AM']This is more or less correct. I believe the bass he used on RHCP and Freaky Styley was, in fact, a Musicman Cutlass (basically a Stingray with a Modulus Graphite neck - this is the bass the Flea Bass was based on). Other than that, yep, it's all pretty much right, apart from the fact that Stadium Arcadium is roughly half-and-half the '61 Jazz and the Modulus. The '61 J was strung with flats and sounds very different to the Modulus Flea - you can seriously hear the difference between the two basses on the album tracks.[/quote] I think you're right about the cutlass - I've got a video from The Tube in '85 where it's obviously a Musicman he's playing, but you can clearly see the back of the neck is entirely black (it's a bit hard to make out the front as it's covered with tape and stickers). Some of the footage was used on the official video for Freaky Styley, though you can see in other edited in segments that he's using a bass with a skunk stripe.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='94016' date='Nov 25 2007, 01:01 AM']BTW whoever's selling that Franconia's a know-all gobsh!te, ain't they? J.[/quote] That one's yours I take it then Jon?

The Electra auction has ended early - someone must have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

A lot of people here like their Markbass amps, but by no means all. There was some discussion of this recently which might suggest it'd be best to try one out before purchasing, especially if you can't afford to take a hit by selling it on. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8726"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8726[/url] One man's meat is another man's poison.

Welcome to the forum! I've got to disagree with those who suggest not bothering to try out a cheaper bass first. It's usually the lower end stuff that has the biggest issues with quality control. Although I've not heard that this is particularly a problem with VM Squiers, why not go for the best one available? If you got a friend to guide you, not having played much yourself shouldn't be any obstacle. Wunjo's is the only shop in Denmark St worth bothering with in my experience, although their bass stock is small. Sound Control beneath Virgin Megastore could be worth a visit at a quiet time of day, if only for the amount of stock they carry.