Bassassin

I'd say in execution it's closer to something like a Westone Thunder I, with its mock-through-neck build. A lot higher up the food chain than those rather nasty Korean-made Satellites, my feeling is that this is a Chushin or maybe a Yamaki build. Twice what I'd even think about paying, though.

Dunno if it qualifies as a Musician copy (although those did exist!) but it's certainly interesting to MIJ geeks such as myself. Massive cast Chushin bridge on it, same as on many early 80s Washburns. And I wonder if that pickup's a DiMarzio? Bit dear for a curiosity punt, though.

Clearly advertised as a Deko - but I'm not convinced the seller's at all clear what a Deko actually is...

That's lovely, and a rarity too. Factory fretless is about as Bathiki as it gets, and aside from the fingerboard, this is my SB40 with a different headstock. Interesting that it's a got v/v/t/t & selector setup, presumably passive - the other Force 40s I've seen have an active pre with a different control layout. Watching this - only through curiosity though, it's too far away & I'm hopeless with an unlined board!

I remember that £15 one. New one looks sweet - what are you going to do with the project though? Give you £15 for it...

Cool looking project - and good to hear it's something old & interesting, not just an MIJ Fender... DiMarzio P/J set with cream covers, then?

This really says "I don't give a sh!t" just like a "PLEASE LOOK AT ME!!" t-shirt might. The only evidence of not giving a sh!t here is the quality of the Dulux paintjob.

They didn't - don't think Hohner ever made anything other than harmonicas & squeeze boxes! This'll be made by Cort in Korea, and is a bit of a cheapo, tbh. However I'm pretty confident it never left the factory with the nut & truss adjuster looking like that!

Did they spell "ethereal" wrong intentionally? Can't help feeling they didn't.

Don't think there's any mystery about this. The truss adjuster's buggered and has been horribly bodged with something that appears to have dropped out of a bus engine, and the tuner positioning is a result of a half-arsed attempt to do a 3x1 arrangement using a standard inline head shape & unsuitably small machine heads. If they'd just moved the G tuner up a few cm they could've avoided that worrying break angle altogether.

This. The last 3 places I've lived have been terraced houses and that was how I approached the neighbours. In one of them we actually had a big basement area set up as a rehearsal space (acoustic kit, small PA, etc) and the neighbours' response was - "don't worry - if we think you're sh!t, we'll let you know!" Reassuringly they never complained. Present gaff is an end-terrace & we have an upstairs bedroom on the outside wall (not adjoining neighbours) set up as a music room/home studio & happily it doesn't bother anyone. What's interesting about this thread for me is that when I'm practicing alone, I'm always unplugged - I can hear myself perfectly well & have no need to complicate things with amps & leads. If I'm learning a song & need to play along I have a little Behringer mixer/interface attached to my laptop so I can either play (quietly) through speakers or through 'phones. I think if I decided to set up my GK 401RB rig & crank it until stuff started vibrating, the neighbours would have every reason to be a little bit f*cked-off.

I apologise for asking - but someone's got to: Is this photo a record of the unfortunate consequences that arise when fashionable-at-the-time white trousers coincide with stage-fright?

Budgety Korean thing, late 80s/early90s maybe - not that common but I have seen them before. Something horrific's happened to the truss adjuster on this - can't quite make out what's going on but it makes me slightly queasy to look at it.

That's pretty cool. Not Ibanez/Fujigen though, probably closer to Columbus or Grant - it looks like a Chushin Gakki build to me. It's a bit of a myth that CSLs were "rebranded Ibanez". There's a connection because Charles Summerfield Ltd was UK distributor for Ibanez & sourced their own CSL & Sumbro brands through Hoshino, owner of Ibanez. However CSLs tend to be rebrands of Hoshino's budget Cimar range, & that's what I'd say this is. Body finish is a bit odd, might be a bitsa. Pickups (neck pup specifically) are interesting, "Reflex" rings a bell but never seen a Roto-branded one. Hour & 40 to go, still £50 with just one bid, interesting bargain for someone - might have been me if it was a bit nearer.

Bet that's good for matal.

Not a fan but it's not a deal-breaker - I recently bought a lovely late 80s Aria SB-ELT with gold hardware. Really don't like the fact it's not durable, and when it wears off the metal underneath's usually grey.

Lovely old thing but not exactly immaculate. It's a high-end early Ibby Musician, looks to be in good, original order - although that red-tipped switch might have been changed. It's a rare guitar but I'd be very surprised if a realistic price would be more than £1000. I had an MC150 (passive, a bit more modest but same basic build) and sold it on for a massive £150! Will be watching this with interest in case of the unlikely eventuality that it sells - I have a set of those pearl-top Velve-Tune tuners and calculating from the asking price of this, they're worth about £400. Arch-top? Silly boy.

I think they should reissue this: For a laugh.

Shafty all the way. Like I said on the FB page!

Update o'clock: Posted the pics on my fave MIJ FB group and after lots of (occasionally heated & fractious) discussion, it's been established that the serial number & neckplate style is a dead-on match for Tokai. This is from a 1980 JB-65N: This seems to be the standard format Tokai used on their replica-level Fender copies & it's interesting to find that they were presumably building slightly more modestly-specced off-brand instruments simultaneously. There aren't any other 100% match components as far as I can see, although the tuners (which I'd say have distinctively large backplates) are quite similar. Here's the link to the full listing: https://reverb.com/item/3703632-1980-tokai-jazz-sound-bass-very-rare-natural-finish-birdseye-maple-neck-custom-shop-quality so @steviedee, looks like you got a vintage Tokai for £75. Not jealous or anything...

Great info - wonder which version of SB-1200 came first then?