Bassassin

Awesome colour, just needs more unicorn dust. [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Rickenfakers/rv4-01_zps2yzkaxow.jpg.html"][/url]

Me & a bunch of school mates were inspired to start a band after going to our first-ever gig. I got bass because no-one else was interested, and being a massive Stranglers fan, I couldn't understand why anyone would want to play anything else. I played bass for two years before I even picked up a guitar - I got a cheap Columbus SG copy mostly because I was interested in starting to compose music & didn't find bass a good vehicle for that. Broadly, I still don't. I suppose I can play guitar to a reasonably competent level, meaning I can play anything I can think of - after enough takes, anyway. I think as a guitarist I'm massively inconsistent, so there's never been a point where I considered it my main instrument and I'd never atempt to play in front of an audience. I've variously been told I play bass like a guitarist - which is clearly rubbish - and that I play guitar like a bassist. Not sure exactly what that means, but it is self-evidently true. Because I am one.

Well I think I ordered one - seemed to get trapped in some kind of Groundhog Day order-completion loop between the order page & Paypal checkout. So I might end up with three.

Similar, but not the same as the Westone. This appears to be a variant on a thing called an Aria WL Wedge - there's a high-spec headless version in [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/catalogs/1985/85_ap2_cat/85_ap2_cat.html"]this 1985 catalogue[/url], and a somewhat lower-end (possibly Korean-made, although I'm less sure now!) version, also headless, being discussed [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/262093-please-help-identifying-bass-difficulty-impossible/"]right here[/url]. Never seen a non-decapitated example before but I'm inclined to think there must have been a range of these oddities that never made it to the UK.

I think it's awesome and have had GAS for one for years. These never come up - why the ***** does it have to be in That London?

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1472756132' post='3124002'] I take it the reason this one has a scratchplate is that it has been routed for the Stingray pickups? Mine had the standard soapbars with the staggered poles [/quote] Think I need my eyes tested - I didn't even notice the scratchplate, 'Ray pups, individual bridges. So - I hereby retract any previous positive remarks made about this bass. Shamefully & needlessly butchered!

Maybe there's a big untapped market for misshapen Status Streamline knockoffs with incongruous headstocks.

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1472677005' post='3123280'] Yeah double P Vantages are very rare and this is the first one I've seen with 2 Ps and a set back. Sadly the bridges in the set necks are totally naff and the rest of the hardware isn't up to much either. However I think they still have the dimarzio pups so shouldn't be terrible. [/quote] Agree about the bridges - as well as being a clunky, dated fudge of a design in the first place, it seems Matsumoku used a batch made from cheese on a lot of basses from this period - I've seen numerous examples that have bent, distorted or cracked under string tension. This was my Westbury Track 2: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:72631] Tuners should be decent on the Vantage though, they'll be Vantage-branded Gotohs.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1472670682' post='3123180'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It didn't get a warm welcome on the FB Faker page either,wasn't fake enough for them [/font][/color] [/quote] Indeed! This if a Rick-influenced bass and doesn't qualify as a copy. John Hall & RIC have trademarks on various elements of the design - body shape, headstock, trc etc - and this bass doesn't infringe any of them. Hardware is all generic shonky Chickenbacker stuff and the only thing that copies a Rickenbacker component is the scratchplate. And Johnny H is on record saying he doesn't have a problem with 3rd party scratchplates. If it was £40 (a proper Deko price) I might be in, but for £109 they can stuff it.

Pretty sure it will have correct routing. Would look good with a transparent scratchplate, to avoid all the screwholes. In fact the finish & flame remind me of a lovely Moon J someone was selling back in the early days of BC - might even still have been BW back then. That had a transparent scratchplate & maple/dots neck - clearly made a big impression on me!

When CNC machines go bad...

Not now it won't be! Looks in very nice nick - these usually seem to turn up beaten to hell. Not my thing (I never manage to get those jazz gigs!) but would be cool if someone here got a bargain.

Like The Boy says, not easy to put a value on a bass like this. With vintage MIJ stuff the name on the headstock can actually make a significant difference to its value - so when there isn't one (which is surprisingly common) it can be a disadvantage. Also of the MIJ factories, Moridaira isn't the best-known (despite their top-quality instruments) so it's not got the same recognition that a Matsumoku or Fujigen might have. On the other hand there's a lot more recognition of the quality of 70s & 80s Japanese instruments, so that's in its favour. Tricky to talk actual figures but if I was selling this myself, say on a 99p no reserve Ebay list, I'd hope for about £175 and likely be happy with £150 or so.

[quote name='oldslapper' timestamp='1472315734' post='3120329'] Looks very similar to a Maya fretless precision I recently owned. Similar machine heads, nut and neck plate stamp. However, Jon is yer man for MIJ ID. Little cracker though. [/quote] A lot of crossover on components on MIJ stuff, lots of parts came from Gotoh. However Maya is currently reckoned to have been made by Chushin Gakki - who were actually a hardware manufacturer which expanded into full guitar production. They continued to supply parts to other builders though, just to help muddy the waters!

I think this bass has probably had north of 20 threads over the last couple of years. If we ignore it, surely it'll just go away!

Actually Jack - that might be the case. As understand it, Westone in the US wasn't a distinct brand as it was in the UK/EU - they were sold as a sub-brand of Saint Louis Music's Electra range, and the actual instruments (initially at least) were a bit different to the Westys we know and love. I'm not at all sure that the more idiosyncratic later models like the Quantums & Rails were sold there at all, and if they were, probably not in any great quantities. Listings like this really make me wish I'd stocked up a few years ago, when you'd be lucky to get £60 for one! Jon.

Good spot, watching - more out of curiosity than anything else. A little bit disconcerted by the high-ish looking action (certainly up the Dusty End) and the saddles appearing to be adjusted right down. Points to a couple of possibilities - excessive neck bow, (worst case scenario shagged trussrod) or - which I think is more likely - that's as low as it goes with that bridge. I've encountered a few Japanese & Korean neckthrough builds from the same era with this issue, particularly after big chunky bridges became fashionable. My Washburn SB40 was like that - nothing that couldn't be sorted after 20 minutes with a small round file - but in this instance I think I'd want a look before handing over money. Unless it was a proper stupid bargain. Jon.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1472339102' post='3120509'] There is a Greco for sale at Bass Direct at the moment. It is a P-style bass with PJ pickups, albeit with the P pickup way closer to the neck. I think Ibanez had a similar bass as part of their silver series. [/quote] This one: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Greco_PJ.html"]http://www.bassdirec...s/Greco_PJ.html[/url] It's a PB750S, looks like 1976 from what I can see of the s/n. Same bass in a 1978 catalogue: Tuners aren't original but otherwise it looks tidy. I'm guessing Mr Bass Direct doesn't know a whole lot about these judging from both the lack of any info and the surprisingly uninflated price tag. This was a Japanese market bass so very uncommon in the UK - or anywhere else for that matter. If I was selling one I think I'd cross my fingers & go for a bit more than BD are asking. The Ibanez you mention is very probably the 2369B-WH, broadly the same deal but white with black or pearl blocks, there were various versions of this including a Silver Series around 1977. Both the Ibby & Greco were made by Fujigen during the same period.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1472331444' post='3120446'] Keef tended to remove the low E string and play them as a five string guitar, he did it with the famous Micawber Telelcaster if you google images of it [/quote] I never knew that. Shows how much attention I pay...

Only just twigged that the hideous Keef guitar's a 5-string. Strange.

God, that's horrific, surprised Tony Z put his name to anything that shonky-looking. I suppose he just made what the customer asked for though. Apart from the ridiculous inlays that guitar looks like one of Zematis' £200 student models.

Stranglers. By a complete lack of coincidence, I got my first bass at 16 and learned by playing along to IV: Rattus Norvegicus. Pretty much lost interest after they released The Raven, but JJ Burnel is one of the main reasons I play bass and doubtless why I remain drawn towards upfront, aggressive bass.

Hard to gauge price on something so uncommon - Vantages seldom turn up in the UK and I can't remember the last time I saw a set-neck twin P. Think this is a VP-710B, if Google's correct. Sub - £300 would be nice but this is pretty much unplayed-looking - looks like it's lived in its case under someone's bed for the last 35 years. Jon.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1472021175' post='3117663'] LOL. This started out as a blatant attempt to buy, do up and sell for profit.... I know, I'm BAD!! [/quote] I feel your pain. Last year I bought a proper beater of an SR500 for £80, quick tart-up & flip, I thought. Before: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Ibanez%20SR500/sr500original01_zpspxs6c5sn.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Ibanez%20SR500/sr500original02_zpsww0scrli.jpg.html"][/url] And after: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Ibanez%20SR500/sr500refin01_zpsnkckqift.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Ibanez%20SR500/sr500refin02_zps0kjzon1a.jpg.html"][/url] My first go at a Danish Oil finish, amazed by how well it came up. And - surprise surprise, it's a keeper. SRs are lovely! J.