Bassassin

I agree - it's a typical Matsumoku headstock shape, but that's where the similarities end. It's a unique-looking bass & I'd very much like to see bigger/clearer/more detailed pics. Jon.

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1430778573' post='2764565'] While we're on the subject of possible Mat made basses, does anyone know if these were made by them: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Bass-Guitar-Hondo-70s-80s-/121638951728"]http://www.ebay.co.u...s-/121638951728[/url] I see them quite often, and they look like an earlier incarnation of the Westone Thunder and Aria SB style basses. [/quote] Some of these have turned up with "Matsumoku" stamped neckplates, so evidently they were! The design echoes several 1980-ish Mat basses, all featuring symmetrical body, bolt neck, P pickup (frequently a DiMarzio) & a 3-point bridge. Washburn Scavenger, Westbury Track 2, Vantage VS & probably a few I can't remember. [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430760117' post='2764355'] Concerning SB-ELT and SB-R80, they are very similar looking instruments. After some googling, I think the gold truss rod cover indicates an SB-ELT, does it not? [/quote] Sort of. I recently acquired a Matsumoku SB Elite Black & Gold, which should have a brass trc - mine doesn't but that's another story. So after consulting [url="http://gfyfe.com/aria.htm"]Graeme Fyfe's SB page[/url] we can conclude that Matsumoku SB Elites & post-Mat SB-ELTs have gold coloured trcs, whereas SB-Rs don't. It looks like SB-Rs were just re-designated as SB Elites from about '83, and the only difference is the brass cover, then post Mat, they became SB-ELTs. J.,

Not certain but I think it's a de-fretted SB-R80. J.

This bass is a Korean-made shortscale Jazz copy, probably late 70s. It's pretty low-end, expect a ply body, poor frets & nothing much in the way of tone. I had a similar one to this branded Franconia, but for basses of this era no name on the headstock means it's not "an" anything. These would have been sold with various different names as well as unbranded like this one. It's likely to be a bit rubbish, I wouldn't recommend paying more than about £40 for something like this. Jon.

If you have a heat gun, that might help unfreeze it. When it's in the vice, obviously! J.

WD40 is penetrating oil. If there's enough thread sticking out, you could perhaps file flats either side & get an adjustable spanner on it. J.

Nice little piece, but it does echo with the sound of salesmen, just a bit. Jon.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430589249' post='2762950'] Poles that are wider spaced? Sorry j, you lost me! [/quote] These Artecs are intended (I guess) for something like a Hofner violin bass, which has pretty narrow string spacing, so they have pole pieces which are pretty close together compared with the old Maxons. I just thought that it would be best to choose the one which has slightly wider spacing - ie the bridge unit - so it would be a bit closer to the original. Shouldn't make a lot of difference in practice though. Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1430530442' post='2762418'] A friend of mine sold an almost identical Speed Triple known as Natalie - it was one of the two bikes that Ms Imbruglia rode in "Johnny English". That wouldn't happen to be her, would it? [/quote] No, unfortunately mine's only famous on BC! The Johnny English S3s were the 01-onward models which has different bodywork & a slightly uprated motor, mine's the earlier version which is basically a detuned Daytona T595 with the fairing kicked off. I do remember a couple of years back, a guy on Triumph Torque was selling an S3 that he reckoned was the Johnny English bike. He'd replaced all the bodywork with black (sexual insecurity must be a terrible thing) and was selling the "Nuclear Red" bits separately. J.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430563661' post='2762614'] So that's a tick for the thumb rest being close to the original! As for the bridge cover, the paintwork is unflawed all around the bridge so I'm not sure if it ever had a cover or that Maude's reconditioning was so well done that they really where covered over. [/quote] A Fujigen J copy of this vintage would have had a full-size bridge ashtray - absolutely no doubt. Those Artec pickups sare pretty low output for humbuckers - about 8.5k, so one of those probably wouldn't overpower the original. If you go for one, the bridge position should have poles that are wider spaced. J.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1430500594' post='2762138'] Phonetically they're identical... unless you pronounce it SKWEE-ER. [/quote] Although I have no problem pronouncing it correctly, I always read it as "Squeer". How queer! J.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1430496671' post='2762096'] Fixed, eBay stylee [/quote] Depressingly, that's about 90% BC-stylee 'n all. Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1430465353' post='2761595'] Jon - I'm loving seeing your more extreme tastes in basses but it's the bike that caught my eye. . . . . . VERY nice indeed! [/quote] It is quite magnificent, isn't it! I'm sufficiently shallow to be incredibly pleased to have found a bass to match (well, almost) my bike. Makes it even better that it's a Rickenfaker. J.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430429111' post='2761466'] The fingerboard seems solid on this one. The bridge cover is a short one again, why do so few of them have the original shape pickup/bridge cover? [/quote] I'd presume because most bassists took them off as soon as they got the bass home form the shop! No idea what that cover's from, something beginning with "v" perhaps! I've lost count of the number of 70s MIJ basses & guitars I've had - but never had a fretboard fall off! I'm inclined to think if a bass has lasted 40 years and the board hasn't dropped off, it's probably not going to! J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430384640' post='2760806'] I wonder what price the seller paid for the original. [/quote] 175 quid, if he bought it from Thomann. J.

Read a bit about this a few weeks back, the most concrete info I could find is that the partnership between Fender & Kanda Shokai, which constitutes Fender Japan, had come to an end. This doesn't preclude future Japan-made Fenders but means the name Fender Japan may no longer be used, and that production will probably move elsewhere, since Kanda owns the Dyna Gakki factory. Arguably the Dyna & Tokai-made CIJs never had the class of Fujigen-era MIJs anyway. Jon.

New, it would have had a full-size J cover over the bridge, which woud cover the pickup - which is likely why they initially used these pickups, rather than tooling up to make accurate copies. As I mentioned, this bass is identical to its Ibanez counterpart, so new it would have looked like this; These catalogues used Fujigen factory stock shots, hence no brand on the headstock. If there was a '72 Antoria catalogue, it would have used the same pics. Anecdotally the model numbers were the same also. Jon.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1430243144' post='2759448'] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Extremely-Rare-Semi-Acoustic-Custom-Electric-bass-/261866171240?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cf870ab68"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3cf870ab68[/url] Is this bass a Harley Benton? I think it is [/quote] It certainly is. And has been subject to plenty of well-earned ridicule on the FB Rickenfakers group. Jon.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1430232878' post='2759265'] How good are Retrovibes? What's it sound like? What's it like to play? [/quote] It's not bad. Haven't had the chance to give it a proper setup & fettling (in fact I currently don't have a useable workspace), so I'm playing it out of the box at the moment. The neck's nice - fairly broad but quite shallow with a flat-ish radius, it's well-balanced & comfortable on a strap, unlike a real Rick it's got a very welcome forearm contour & a bit of a gut-cut. It's pretty light too, compared with some of my deadweights. Fret work's spot-on, nice & smooth with no sharp edges. There's zero relief in the neck which means there's a tiny bit of buzzing around the 3rd/4th frets on the E & A, but plugged in, I'm not hearing it. I do need to tweak the string height down a bit - played it at practice tonight & it was quite hard work on some of the busier songs. Sound-wise, it's loud with masses of low-end, I ended up soloing the bridge pickup & boosting mids to get it to cut through properly. I think I'll re-wire it with push-pots to get proper single-coil switching - I don't think the T-40 wiring's working exactly how it should. Might go for a single volume & pickup pan pot - I've never seen the point of a 3-way selector switch on a bass. So I'm really happy with it - it's pretty damn good as it is, but has the potential to be great. And realistically, just look at it - even if it played like a turd, I'd love it. J.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1430248036' post='2759538'] There's someone on the Glasgow / Edinburgh / Central Scotland Facebook music gear group selling a sunburst one for £120. No idea if that's a realistic value. [/quote] That's my old one. I traded it for an Aria Pro SB-R Black & Gold. It's worth more than £120, imo. J.

[quote name='Matt Turner' timestamp='1430228495' post='2759188'] You want to install a Precision Bass pickguard onto a Jazz Bass? You know that the pickups are different shapes right? Minimum you would have to cut the P-Bass pickguard. Why not buy the Jazz bass pickguard in the colour you want? I just bought a new Jazz bass pickguard from The Music Trading Company through Amazon. Arrived after 3 days, perfect fit. cheers, Matt [/quote] He wants a Jazz plate cut for a P pickup! Jon.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1430228726' post='2759193'] I've got an old Wilson guitar with the 'zero fret' and I've always thought "what a good idea" no more fannying around cutting the nut to exactley the right depth, I've often wondered why it's not more widely used. [/quote] Exactly. I do my own set-ups, including fret levelling & dressing - the biggest pain in the arse is accurately cutting nut slots. Use a zero-fret and the nut just becomes a string guide. I'm not even convinced Warwick's adjustable nuts have any real advantage over it. J.

Doesn't make the slightest difference what it's made of as long as it's fitted & cut properly. Logically a zero-fret in front of the nut is a far more sensible idea - but that just ain't fashionable. Jon.

I've got two that don't work, which ain't much help! I'd suggest the [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/55074615631/"]Vintage Japanese Guitar Fanclub[/url] group on FB. No guarantee that someone will have one, but some of those guys have been collecting MIJ stuff for 40 years & have very deep spares boxes. J.

PB551. Only less yellow. J.