Bassassin

That's a cool-looking little bass, have to admit to not really having paid too much attention to this sort of thing. Can't help but wonder though, from the perspective simply of portability, what advantage these have over full-scale Hohner B2/ Steinberger headless designs The specs for the Gold Tone give its overall length as 34", so it's barely physically smaller. Just curious, really. Jon.

Nice! Matsumoku often used a sort of generic bass template from around 1980-ish, with the likes of various Vantages, Westburys, Hondos, Arias & Washburns typically featuring P pickup, symmetrical doublecut body, 3-piece neck, 2-a-side tapered headstock and usually a Gibbo-style 3-point bridge,. I have a Westbury Track 2 and it's very nice, I expect this is built to the same standard. One thing though - don't be surprised if the bridge is a bit "tired" - the ones Mat used seemed to be made of chrome-plated cheese and prone to doing this after a couple of decades: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:72631] That was my Westbury when I got it - fortunately modern Epiphones are a drop-in replacement. Or the likes of Babicz or Hipshot if you're feelin' a bit flash! Jon.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1463521105' post='3052087'] Since this is the basis of the Brexit campaign, I consider this thread to be too political to contribute to. [/quote] Wot - this thread's really about a long-term schism within the Tory party culminating in a power-struggle between a pair of loathsome, (allegedly) pig-molesting public-school toffs? Jon.

I like that - don't think I remember seeing one of these with red binding before. None More Eighties! But good grief, couldn't he at least have run it under the tap first? Jon.

My band Maya29: [media]http://youtu.be/wwnCsXl19mw[/media] We're currently (very slowly) recording our concept album The Fifth Sun - which doesn't feature the track above. Jon.

You can make split shafts compatible with set screw knobs by packing out the split - I've used slivers of thin plastic card pushed tightly into the gap and it's perfectly stable. Superglue makes a good improvised threadlock for set-screws - use a tiny spot on the thread, and it will prevent it from vibrating loose, but is brittle enough to be easy to undo when necessary. Jon.

[quote name='three' timestamp='1463140797' post='3048935'] Stunning blueshift! Never played a double neck but being a Gordy it will be lovely [/quote] It is - the fretless neck is the best I've played. But dear [i]god[/i] it's heavy, I swear that when you open the case the room gets darker as the light gets sucked into its gravity well. J.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1463067428' post='3048292'] I'm surprised more people don't add wings to these. Take the paint off, add a couple of nice bits of wood and turn a dated design into something contemporary [/quote] Probably because the original design is eminently practical, incredibly portable and pretty damned iconic! Anyway, Hohner did exactly that & called it the Jack! J.

Not necessarily - when I was gigging mine, I made it passive-only because I found it incredibly easy to knock the active/passive micro-switch mid song, and disappear from the mix! Didn't think much of the active sound anyway, it just seemed (at least on the very early ones like mine) to be a big volume boost & prone to clipping. Jon.

1985 Blueshift Custom: [URL=http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Gordy%20Blueshift%20DoubleNeck/gordy01_zpszuvp8til.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y472/LanterneRouge/Gordy%20Blueshift%20DoubleNeck/gordy01_zpszuvp8til.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Back-brace not included. Jon.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1462815618' post='3045937'] Headstock and tuners look like Jedson? [/quote] Might be the same as used on some Jedsons, but Jedson was just an importer brand. Owned by J. E. Dallas & Sons Ltd (subsequently Dallas-Arbiter), if you're interested. J.

Late 60s MIJ, possibly made by Kawai or Teisco. Jon.

What a beautiful bass! I don't usually like singlecuts, but that's a real looker, maybe the nicest SC I've seen. Superb craftsmanship & design from someone who doesn't style himself a pro builder too - might have to have a chat with Andy about a twin-neck headless fretted/fretless one of these days... Jon.

Hairdryer. It'll soften the glue & the stickers should just peel straight off. Any residue will wipe away with acetone or white spirit, neither of which will damage a polyurethane finish. Don't use a heat gun or you will take the whole finish off! Jon.

Rebranded early 80s Musima from behind the Iron Curtain - Musima or unbranded examples (which often have better quality Gotoh tuners & bridges) probably fetch £80 - £100 on a good day. With a recognised rubbish brand like Marlin on the headstock, you can probably knock about £50 off that! Probably a halfway decent old bass if he was asking about £70, they are less common & better quality than later MIK Marlins. At least he had the decency to leave the Made In GDR sticker on the head and not pretend it was MIJ. Anyway - "Guitar Garage London" - missed out a "b"? Jon.

I've always felt that if the house was on fire & I could only grab one, it'd be this: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/CSL%20Jazz/CSLresize1_zpskufavwxd.jpg.html"][/url] I've had this for about 12 or 13 years - it's a Japanese CSL Jazz copy from 1980-ish, which I paid £60 for from a local pawn shop. When I bought it, it looked like this: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/CSL%20Jazz/CSLoriginal%20upscale_zpswmli7jh0.jpg.html"][/url] My intention was to give it a wipe, replace the missing scratchplate, bung some new strings on it and flip it for (hopefully) 3 times what I paid - which was something I was doing a fair bit of back then. The fly in the ointment was that it was, with no restoration or setup at all, the nicest-playing bass I'd ever had in my hands. So over the years, it got a few new bits - Schaller 3D bridge, DiMarzio Model Js (period-correct, I think) and a stack knob plate. Now it sounds as good as it plays - and I think looks the part too, it's been my go-to bass for anything/everything since I got it and really makes me question why on earth I have so many others! Jon.

Missing a Lada badge.

Cort have a deservedly good reputation - never had a Cort Squier, but I've had numerous other brands built by Cort & in general they've been very good. I expect the Squiers are the same. J.

Well, if I really, really wanted a YOB bass - it wouldn't be that one. It's a bit of a bodgefest - and I cannot help wondering why a Mudbucker that's apparently been there since 1969 is so much cleaner & shinier than any other bit of metal on the bass. Jon.

I only have experience of MIK Squier guitars, not basses, but IME it depends on the factory - you can use one of the many online s/n decoders to find who made what. Early MIKs were Young-Chang builds, and were excellent quality, same as their own-brand (& now sought-after) Fenix copies. However there are some nasty Samick-era Squiers with ply bodies & dubious quality control. AFAIK this isn't the case with all Samicks but while I'd happily take a blind punt on a Young-Chang, I'd want a proper look at something from a different maker. Jon.

Never a massive fan, but as many have said, he was a spectacularly gifted musician & composer. This year's death toll's getting harder & harder to get my head around. I would not wish death on anybody - but with so many monumental bastards in the world, why does it seem that only people of true value are being taken? Jon.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1461265501' post='3033178'] Yes, here it is. Sold it to a friend in 1985 and then lost contact with him. Last year he sends a Facebook friend request and asked if i'd like to have my old bass back! Its terrible to play and sounds awful but back in the day i loved it. [/quote] Looks like a cool old P copy to me - can't be sure from the pics but it's either an Italian-made Melody, or a Musima from the old DDR! These were usually pretty well-made, maybe it just needs a good setup & a decent pickup dropped in. J.

I assume most artists who are "tributed" appreciate that trib acts actually help maintain their fanbase & profile, typically in the twilight of the original artist's career. It can hardly be seen as detrimental, however you look at it. Meatloaf though - clealy a glutton for cash [i]and[/i] pies. Jon.

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1461155438' post='3031928'] First amps are interesting one..... I had a huge H and H hw100 combo, as big as a washing machine and has a neon green back lit panel long before trace elliot ever existed Happy days [/quote] HH VS Bassamp! My second amp, in fact. It probably sounded like arse, but the light-up front panel made it awesome to the power of 10! My first amp was a Selmer Treble & Bass 50, flooded to death in our drummer's basement, some time around 1982, I think. As I understand it, these are worth a minor fortune nowadays. J.