Bassassin

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1465939013' post='3072355'] Blimey, if that caught fire, it would burn for days... [/quote] And the fumes would put you in intensive care.

No problem - most people call me much worse! Anyway, if you bought it new in the mid-90s, that at least clarifies what it's not! Very likely it's an Elite/SB-R reissue rather than a completely different model. There's an Aria SB owners Facebook group which might be helpful: [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/196371477217872/"]https://www.facebook...96371477217872/[/url] J.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465898298' post='3071891'] The Cadavers had completely upped their game by the time of the big gig - it hardly seemed like the same band on stage from a performance PoV. Pity that on the evidence of the two tracks shown they don't actually have any memorable songs. [/quote] The song they performed at the gig was a cover - Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People". I thought it was a pretty dire version and was surprised that they went through. J.

If it's an SB-R80 or Elite II, it's a later, post Matsumoku bass. Might be a different, later model with similar configuration. Either of the aforementioned would have 2x co-ax V & T & rotary selector. Control knobs were a different type and there should be a dateable serial on the headstock. Also the pots in a Matsumoku-era bass would be full size. Tonybest - did you buy it new in 1990-something? Lovely bass btw. I have massive GAS for an SB-R80. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1465666028' post='3070104'] Loved the show, and great work by The Caffreys (well done Michael), but it left me wanting to know more about the Acid-Bhangra-Rock outfit from Peterborough, Kissmet. At their initial piece of the show when they were rehearsing I thought they sounded great, really interesting, original, and a great beat. At the Sheffield battle of the bands their version of Sunshine Of Your Love was strictly UK pub rock ... well-played and they're clearly a good band, but all the bhangra was gone and with it the originality. What was that all about? [/quote] Exactly my feelings about Kissmet - and finding myself really a bit put out by the focus on covers. Isn't part of the entire point of the show that these are original "part time" bands making their own music? NB quite happy to make an exception for The Caffrey's rather excellent re-imagining of Don't You Want Me. Not sure if that makes me a hypocrite, but I do feel the best covers are interpretations, not imitations. J.

Ibanez SoundGears are very light - I've had 3, and my current one (SR500) is under 7lbs. The very skinny necks can be a bit marmite though. Logically though, headless is the way to go if you're OK with the look. Jon.

Vaguely remember these from the Olden Days, but several problems suggest themselves to me regardless of the (questionable) validity of the concept - primarily the numerous variations in Fender headstock shape and type/placement of tuners & screwholes. Plus given a bit of brass & a few tools you could knock one up yourself in an hour or two. If you really wanted to. Also can't help wondering - what's in a name? D'you think Leo Quan's finest would still be with us now if he'd called it a FatAss? Jon.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1465657157' post='3070019'] And the clack is horrendous when slapping. [/quote] That's interesting. Are you sure the strings aren't hitting pickup poles?

I get a lot of Jazz Clack - and for me it's all about hand position. On a J I tend to use the neck pup as a thumb anchor whereas on some other basses I play a lot closer to the bridge, where string tension feels higher, and get a lot less clack. Same thing happens if I use the bridge pickup on my J, but I don't find it as comfortable. My playing style is pretty much hamfisted bludgeoning so the clack fits right in! Jon.

Surprisingly good show - just thought it was a shame that they only aired viciously edited versions of the performances - and too many covers! Delighted to see Bombskare doing well, have seen them a good few times, they are an outrageously good & entertaining live band. Back in the early 00s my band got involved organising the live music for the Meadows Festival in Edinburgh & booked Bombskare as closing act one of the years. Mandy Clarke's a great bassist, she used to play in a 3-piece absurdist prog band called Stepdads, gigged with them a few times. Jon.

I remember these (and other Mazetis) being sold new on Ebay about 10 years back - wasn't sure about the headstock but I liked the neck construction & inlays. They were about £150, I think. Jon.

Can't help feeling £65 + postage is a bit over the odds for a bunch of low-end, unfinished parts of hit-or-miss quality. Anyone who's just motivated by curiosity about how a bass works would be better off spending £30 on a car-boot P copy and a screwdriver. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1464364147' post='3058897'] Of course! I've often seen cars advertised as having detachable wheels ... [/quote] If others had set wheels (or wheel-through), they probably would! Typically loads of the old catalogues for MIJ stuff describes bolt-necks as "detachable", that's probably where the terminology in this ad comes from. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1464362763' post='3058876'] [font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][color=#000000][size=4]"The Grantson had a [/size][/color][color=#ff0000][size=4][b]detachable neck[/b][/size][/color][color=#000000][size=4] and rosewood fingerboard."[/size][/color][/font] [font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][color=#000000][size=4]WTF???[/size][/color][/font] [/quote] Bolt-on, innit? J.

Absolutely ludicrous price for a pretty generic old bass. It's in cosmetically decent & original condition, I suppose, but I'd want a proper good look a this before parting with even 1/3 of what he's asking.. He talks about "binding movement" - having some experience of early 70s cheapo MIJ hollowbodies, I'd bet that this is because the body/ neck join has distorted over time under string tension, causing binding delamination as the neck is pulled forward & upward. I had a 335 guitar copy (coincidentally a Grantson) with exactly this problem. These are fully hollow, with no solid centre section to take string stresses, so this is pretty much inevitable. Noticeably, there are no pics of the damage, or any of the side of the instrument at all. Just went & did a bit of digging, and look: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EB2-BASS-GUITAR-CHERRY-RED-CLASSIC-SIXTIES-STYLE-BASS-/252325341188"]http://www.ebay.co.u...S-/252325341188[/url] Slightly more honest ad, more revealing pics, and considerably more reasonable price! J.

Found a pic of mine, for completion's sake! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:74442] Pretty sure I sold it to a (maybe former) BCer, back in the Long, Long Ago. J.

I had one of these. OK, pretty much on a par with the more common Columbuses from the same era. If I remember, ply body, slightly weedy pickups, nicely fretted J-width (but pretty chunky) neck. Not liking the look of the back of the neck at all, otherwise I'd say £50-ish for this, in this condition. If the neck's OK it might be a quick resto, the original sunburst poly is probably still there under the rattlecan muck, if you can spare the elbow grease to get to it. J.

Loving the P/P Greco! J.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1464169274' post='3057058'] They look great - definitely interested to hear anyone's experiences. [url="http://www.laurus.it/en/"]http://www.laurus.it/en/[/url] [/quote] Always loved the look of these - not quite sure about the little flappy paddle on the end, though... Jon.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1464120487' post='3056776'] Thanks, I'll do that This year, and probably this summer - I need to work out what the electrics are supposed to do first. [/quote] Cool. I'll (probably) need to shift one or two basses myself before I can get away with any new acquisitions. Looking at the standard controls, I'd have to rewire it either without the (pointless, IMO) selector switch or with stack pots, so as long as the pups are working, the current state of the electrics wouldn't be a problem for me. J.

If you do go for it, buy a used one (not on here, obvs) - that way you won't lose money if you don't like it & sell it on. Plus, any dodgy quality issues will ether have been dealt with or can be figured into what you pay for it. Of course, the best basses of this type were made in Japan in the 70s. But technically they don't actually exist, so you can't buy them. Of course. Jon.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1464044143' post='3056140'] ...and a 3002, which I will definitely sell. [/quote] Drop us a PM when you decide to move it on! I have been curious about these for a long time... J.