Bassassin

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1440185309' post='2849000'] Is this really Japanese? The neck plate says Japan, but neck plates can be swapped. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-precision-bass-guitar-Made-in-Japan-/271963965224?hash=item3f5250c728"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3f5250c728[/url] [/quote] Could be, but I don't think it's an Aria, despite the "ghost" logo - or if it is, it's a bitsa of some sort. J.

Definitely is - Matsumoku build, should be a DiMarzio in it - what's not to like? Well, apart from the name... J.

"The electroluminescent panel lights up as it should". That's the important bit, right there. Jon.

That looks in fantastic nick for its age (September 1975), and has probably one of the last open-book headstocks to come out of Fujigen. Lovely. J.

This is also on Ebay: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-P-Precision-Bass-Guitar-Body-Loaded-Made-in-Japan-Project-Dimarzio-/231644903852"]http://www.ebay.co.u...o-/231644903852[/url] And the neck & tuners (already sold) are in the guy's previous listings: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Bass-Guitar-Neck-Fretless-Project-Made-In-Japan-MIJ-/231639745240"]http://www.ebay.co.u...J-/231639745240[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Bass-Guitar-Tuners-Machine-Heads-with-Bushes-Ferrels-and-Screws-Project-/231645402182"]http://www.ebay.co.u...t-/231645402182[/url] Annnnd... It's not MIJ. It's (I'm 99% sure) also not a DiMarzio pup. The bass is/was an Italian-made Melody 5000, some of which came with DiMarzio lookey-likey pups as standard. Maple board fretted version second row from the bottom: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/castelfidardo-recanati/melody/melody-solidbodies/"]http://www.fetishgui...dy-solidbodies/[/url] And IMO it's a much more interesting, and certainly more rare instrument than the generic MIJ copy that our uneducated, wannabe-vintage guitar dealer chum is trying to fob it off as. Pity. J.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1439380085' post='2842277'] I've heard of people making a single-use screw extractor by notching the end of a piece of thin metal tubing (the hobby shop sort) with a hacksaw blade, using it in a hand drill and taking out just enough wood around the screw to get a grip on the end. [/quote] I've done this and it works. I used a bit of an old extending telescopic aerial that was lying around, I cut a suitable length & used a small, sharp file to make some serrations on the cutting end. Had to be very slow & careful, and it worked a treat in the end. Jon.

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1439243375' post='2841313'] Aria Cardinal Series for £35, I messaged them this morning but haven't heard anything, maybe someone else off here will have better luck: [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/aria-pro-ii-bass-guitar/1128615003"]http://www.gumtree.c...itar/1128615003[/url] [/quote] £35? With original case too? Bit far away for me - but you really don't see that level of bargain-ness too often! J.

Yeah. It's one thing to look at as pic & go "that's actually pretty cool", and quite another to own it on a bass that probably costs more than most people's cars. You'd have to [i]really[/i] like it.

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1439068836' post='2839810'] Do I win? [/quote] I like it. But I am wrong in the head.

Oh - most highly jealous! I've had masive GAS for a Flashback for years. Best looking bass Warwick ever made. Jon.

I'd give it a throrough sanding to get the wood colour as even as possible, while leaving the black that's penetrated the very open areas of the grain. Then I'd lacquer or oil it. Jon.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1438949150' post='2838893'] Yes! As long as it looks ok . Can't see if hthe front has been modified ,as I m using iPhone [/quote] It's just weirdy reflections. Pic 3 shows the front more clearly & it looks spotless. J.

+1. Would, definitely. Jon.

That's cool, whatever it is! Not sure it's worth £150+ though, by his own admission the pickup's crap, and the neck (hopefully just a result of the camera angle) looks alarmingly twisted. And why's it strung with guitar strings? Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1438930517' post='2838686'] Someone get that Ibanez. . . . . Quick! Great bass!! [/quote] Definitely is - it's an RS924, I have a near identical one & I'd say £250 is a good price. A couple of minor mods which might bug the purist (guilty!) though. Original cast brass trc has been swapped for a bit of wood, as has the steel plate over the neck bolts - this is an early one with the "Quadra-Lock" neck fitting, ie machine screws/threaded inserts. The proper cover should be black with white printing & stamped Fujigen s/n. Might've had one owner since new but I don't think that's who's selling it - unless they happily carted it around for 35 years with its "maple stalk" poking out of a cheap acoustic gigbag. That SD Curlee's interesting too, they don't turn up too often. For a moment I thought it might be a US-made original (in which case it would be a bargain) but I'm pretty sure it's a licensed Hondo. Shame there's only the one low-res pic... J.

I think that big-nosed guy out of Rush might be looking for a gig just about now. Plus he did base his early career on sounding ever-so-slightly exactly the same as Mr. Squire, which might help. Jon.

[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.