Bassassin

There is of course an excellent Rickenfakers FB group, where [i]every[/i] aspect of Rickenfakery can be openly discussed. J.

Highfox - it's perfectly fine to show pics of Fakers, discuss them, whatever - we just can't offer them for sale, or discuss where they can be bought. Same goes for real Ricks, amusingly. Jon.

[quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1458633446' post='3009180'] Don't know if this is Japanese but it's a Hohner P copy and it looks old. Pictures aren't very detailed but it's close to me in Plymouth and pickup only. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hohner-Bass-Guitar-/291715299095?hash=item43eb963717:g:BssAAOSwHxVW8Cwv"]http://www.ebay.co.u...ssAAOSwHxVW8Cwv[/url] Wondering if worth a punt. [/quote] Yes it's MIJ & yes, it's worth a punt. Hohners of this era were made by Moridaira and are very nice indeed - some little guy called Rover - or is it Prince? Some dog's name anyway - is quite well-known for playing one of their Tele copies! Hard to tell from the pics but this one is probably mid-late 70s. Later Hohners (Arbor series & early Professionals) were Korean and not to the same standard initially. Jon.

Well, they're not exactly ten-a-penny, and to balance it out they are exceptionally high-quality. Mine is still the bass I pick up most often at home - and I do have some considerable choice! With luck the electronics problem will turn out to be something straightforward - the seller doesn't give the impression he has much of an idea what to look for. Interesting that the bridge has been replaced on yours (with a high-quality Gotoh, same as those used on early MIJ Ibanez SRs), and I wonder if this is because it had the same high-action issue as mine did when I got it. I filed the saddle slots on mine to get it down, but a lower-profile bridge might have been a quicker fix. Apart from the electronics yours is identical to mine - a later production than Bakithi's which looks to be an early Yamaki-built example: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Random/bakithi-washburn_zpsxomvtabq.jpg.html"][/url] The most obvious differences are the pickup placement - J unit very close to the bridge, and P unit non-reversed and nearer the neck - and the v/v/t/t + selector passive electronics, making the bass a B-40, according to our US correspondent upthread. It occurs to me that with the active circuit (assuming it works) & pickup placement on yours, you might struggle to nail Bakithi's tone. I'd probably bin the actives if they don't work, and wire it v/v/t with a phase reverse on the P unit. J.

Ahh, depends really. My kneejerk is to say yes - considering how rare these things are, any major modding seems just - wrong! However, I think I'm right in thinking it's a Bakithi thing for you? In which case I do understand why you'd want it fretless... Is this yours? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-Vintage-Washburn-SB40-Bass-with-Hard-Case-for-Service-/272168718865"]http://www.ebay.co.u...e-/272168718865[/url] J.

Excellent! Pics or it didn't happen, obviously. J.

"After finding it being discussed by a bunch of bargain-snaffling gyppos on Basschat..." J.

Well - that's a pretty extreme way of removing a headstock logo! Cheap for Fleabay certainly, not for these parts though: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/279698-westone-thunder-jet-dropped-to-l60/"]http://basschat.co.u...dropped-to-l60/[/url] C'mon - sixty quid? No idea why it's still here. J.

If there's not a stupid secret reserve on this, it could be a proper bargain - looks in great nick, and these don't come up very often. Particularly not the Banezes! Not sure if they are DiMarzios on these - my SB-40 of a similar vintage doesn't have them but it's possible, lots of MIJ from this era do. Jon.

Very nice, looks quality, and would happily give a home to that myself! I've encountered the Rally brand a few times over the years in random Ebay searches but never seen one at close quarters. Did a bit of digging & found this: [url="http://www.straus.co.kr/bass.htm"]http://www.straus.co.kr/bass.htm[/url] Still a current model, it would seem. Wonder if there's a current UK importer? Jon.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1457969066' post='3003478'] Woolies Special. Cost about £25.00 in the mid-70s. Unfortunately only worth the same today. [/quote] You'd be surprised how collectable some of these things have become. I'm not a fan (JapCrap got a [i]lot[/i] better) but looking at this guitar, it's a Kawai/Teisco build - the "gold foil" pickups fitted to this are particularly sought after and alone can sell for rather more than you'd expect: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-60s-TEISCO-GOLD-FOIL-RY-COODER-NECK-PICKUP-JAPAN-SOUNDS-AMAZING-/151939046632"]http://www.ebay.co.u...G-/151939046632[/url] I have found similar guitars to this for a tenner at the car boot, hosed them down & flipped them for £150+. Trust me, there's a hipster out there who'd bite your arm off for this. Jon.

"This striking effect is achieved by lightly machine-gunning the edges of the body". It should say.

If you like that, you might fancy one of these, then: They're a little bit cheaper, too! Jon.

Indeed. I think he was clearly [i]very[/i] careful what was on his laptop!

One of the great things about metal (and there are many) is that it's entirely aware of its own innate absurdity. And it totally doesn't give a sh!t.

Interesting that the OP's bass is a Yamaha BB. The original 80s BBs had reversed pickups, (see the insanely cheap BB300 in the For Sale section) as did a few other MIJs from the era - including he Washburn SB40 hanging on the wall next to me. I doubt there's an audible difference in the "real world" but conceptually it makes sense. For me it also moves my right hand a bit closer to the bridge, which I prefer. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1457443463' post='2998599'] So who was soughting after it? Was it you Jon? [/quote] If it was £15 at a car boot, I'd sought the actual f*** out of that. £865, less so. J.

It's kinda cool. Seen these before, some of the 60s MIJ "bizarre" instruments were very, erm, [i]adventurous[/i]. Jon.

Definitely not MIJ, I concur that it's a modded/butchered SB300. I'm familiar with this order of Gibsons as our guitarist has the equivalent SG200 6-stringer - these were Gibson's mid-70s attempt at an entry-level range. From what I know of these, this bass is very, very overpriced. Jon.

Wouldn't want one, but as daft metal basses go, that's pretty cool. Jon.

I remember seeing these in my LMS back in the 90s. Like the cutout but the rest of it's a bit of a moose. Jon.

More worrying when your local takeaway's menu actually advertises "Donor Kebab". Jon.

Catalogue piccys & specs from 1986. I want a natural one! J.

I do like that. I had an Aria AMB50 electro-acoustic which was really quite nice, if rather quiet when played acoustically. Modern Arias for some reason aren't very highly regarded, not sure why, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the ones I've owned or played. Jon.

Oooh - MC2924? First generation of what's now the Soundgear body shape, I think. Eric's right - not very many of these around, looks gorgeous. Jon.