Bassassin

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1438631356' post='2835976'] I find the style of bridge on them quite appealing - looks like the ones on old Gibson basses. [/quote] Good to see the bridge is in one piece. The 3-pointers on Matsumokus of from this era have a disconcerting tendency to collapse under string tension - I've seen/read about a good few which have done this, including my Westbury Track 2: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:45688] Pickup underside & wiring suggests it's not a DiMarzio (should be green/white/red/black), but you'd have to do the pole-piece check to be certain. J.

It's a Cort, made in Korea around 1980-ish, almost certainly originally badged as Kay for the UK market. It's missing its original "Kay" logo'd brass trc. I had one of these - build on a par with a lot of midrange MIJ from the same period, hardware a bit more rough & ready. Unfortunately mine had a neck twist so I didn't keep it - if it had been a better player I might well have hotrodded it with better quality parts. Wouldn't ming picking up another one day - some of the attention to detail was lovely,particularly the brass triple-dot inlays, which looked great after a bit of elbow grease! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:35073] Definitely worth a look, if it's decent then £120 is probably about right. I wouldn't pay much more, though. Jon.

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1438468449' post='2834792'] Tokai Hard Puncher, advertised as an 80's Japanese Bass......... [url="http://www.cashgenerator.co.uk/product-bass/tokai-hard-puncher-bass-guitar-red-w211146"]http://www.cashgener...tar-red-w211146[/url] [/quote] Definitely 80s MIJ - looks like the PJ48 from this '86 catalogue, only more red: Not really that big on old Tokais, but £350 seems like a lot. Particularly considering it's Crack Generator. J.

He should post on here. With that level of obsessive-neurotic, anorakist fixation, he'd fit right in. Plus there's a whole universe of vintage MIJ he needs educating about... Jon.

About 6 years ago I had an A-serial ('85/'86) MIJ Squier P for £30 off Scumtree, plus a nice strap & stand. It was very, very nice after a good cleaning & fettling, but I'm not much of a P user, so it just sat there. Eventually sold it on here, for a few bob more than I paid... J.

In a moment of prog madness last year, I acquired this: It's a Gordy Blueshift custom, made in Manchester in 1985. Now, my excuse is that I play in a prog rock band, & some of our more extended compositions have passages I'd love to use a fretless for. The reality is that this thing, while being utterly amazing, is so heavy it has its own atmosphere and my back goes out when I'm in the same room as it. It's also quite awkward to play strapped on, because the necks are exactly parallel & set quite wide apart. However it sounds, plays & looks great, and I'm sure I'll use it one day. Probably after having a steel rod inserted into my back. Owning this has made me think quite seriously about what a genuinely practical & useable fretted/fretless twin neck would be like, and at some point in the future I do want to sit down with a luthier & kick some ideas around. Headless, small-bodied, necks close together, staggered and set at slightly different angles - I'm thinking along the lines of the sort of thing Prosebass used to do - maybe even 32" scale... Anyway - I've never wanted a bass/guitar doubleneck, and have always thought it was curious that they're so common. The only use I can think of for one is to make it easier to show one's guitarist how to play something correctly. I'd never actually do this, but only because I know if I did, him & the drummer would gang up on me & force me to play [i]Xanadu[/i]. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1437672337' post='2828124'] Well smoke my kipper! That still looks more like a shaft than a switch to me, but I learned (a LONG time ago) not to argue with Jon. [/quote] Well - I guess I must know a shaft when I see one, ooer missus etc.

The blurb says this: [quote][font=Arial][size=2]I took E string out and I moved A-D-G strings one level-up. Finally, I put C string to the bottom line. Technically, I played baritone style[/size][/font][/quote] So light string gauges & insufficient string tension probably means neck back-bow & fret rattle/choking - hence the bit of snot-rag in the G slot, to raise the height a bit. I suspect the weird stringing is because the D (originally the G) is cut too short to reach the tuner.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1437662043' post='2827976'] They were sold with a knob missing? [/quote] No - 3 knobs & a selector switch! New specs, Jack? [quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1437664346' post='2828008'] Just to confuse matters more check these 2 B-200's [/quote] The 'burst finish is possibly an SB-40, quite a lot like mine! I say "possibly" because Washburn (or more specifically, Yamaki & Matsumoku) produced a lot of variations of this model, with different electronics, control layouts & pickup positioning, with various different model numbers. The Washburn forums do produce a lot of conflicting binary opinions, which can have some quite aggressive defenders. There's a BC thread from a few years back, in which an American Washburn "expert" appears to have signed up here specifically to take me to task for describing my SB-40 as an SB-40, despite the fact it clearly says "SB-40" on its trc. Weird.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1437610475' post='2827616'] Couple of the fellas on the Washburn owners group say it was never sold in the USA but it's definitely early 80s Japan. They'd been in touch with seller for serials and more photos,it's an LP-40 or sometimes called a B-200 model One of them worked for Washburn at the time and says they're ultra rare,he's never played one though Want to ask if they can give a year Jon ? Might help add a piece to the Japanese Bass Building puzzle. [/quote] Did a bit of digging based on the model number, the bass is a Washburn B200, and it's early 90s, meaning not MIJ, so probably Korean. It's refinished and the original hardware swapped for crap, by the looks. Might've looked like this before it was "upgraded": There's also a pic of a solid blue-finished one in [url="http://www.washburn.com/media/catalogs/pdf/Washburn1993ElectricsCatalog.pdf"]this '93 catalogue[/url] (if you can be arsed waiting for the .pdf to load), where it's being presumably endorsed by an amusingly dressed man with a silly name, from a band with a similarly silly name. Anyway - not MIJ, not '80s - and because I am a dignified sort of person, I'll refrain from saying "told ya so!". J.

Dunno what the hell that is - but 80s? Made in Japan? Chinny reckon. Jon.

Wow. Good luck sorting the intonation on that... Jon.

Speaking of charidee shops, I had a Matsumoku-built Westbury Standard from a local one for £60. These are great-quality DiMarzio-equipped LP-eaters that often go for £200 - £300. Had it for 10+ years now, definitely a keeper. Until the right Yamaha SG comes along. J.

Good lord above, Ebay is throwing up some truly classic and hilarious chancers these days. About the only thing funnier than that would be if someone actually coughed up £250 for it. Proper cheered me up, that has. Jon.

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1437077065' post='2823470'] Bit late but I just noticed it's 100 quid for today only! Wow! [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/kimbara-bass-guitar-4-strings-in-exelent-condition-must-be-see-/1124405106"]http://www.gumtree.c...see-/1124405106[/url] [/quote] Mad. Why is it still there? J.

I've had few basses with neck-twist issues, this looks quite severe and the IMO it will be difficult to achieve a consistent & playable setup with this problem. If I'd paid £200 for this I would be looking for a refund, or in the event I was OK with keeping the bass, about half my money back. A £200 Hohner Jack shouldn't really come with any issues - never mind pretty much irreparable ones. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1436940820' post='2822145'] ??? What am I missing here? [/quote] The blatantly opportunistic cynical pisstaking? J.

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1436917969' post='2822119'] Didn't even realize those bridges existed! [/quote] I doubt they have for 20+ years! J.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1436898185' post='2821889'] That be salesman talk I think! [/quote] It's a poor salesman who resorts to a pack of lies. J.

Hilarious. If I could be arsed (which I can't) I'd send the seller a message along the lines of : [i]"Just to let you know, your description of your £300 bass is utter made-up rubbish. Please go and read a book. Have a nice day".[/i] Jon.

Self-taught, which seems quite appropriate for those of us who started in the Punk era! Basically learned by playing along to the Stranglers' Rattus Norvegicus & Killer by Alice Cooper. 35-odd years on, there's still a lot of JJ & DD in my playing. Jon.