Bassassin

[quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1418639159' post='2631833'] The acetone is polish remover right? Do it put it in some cloth and just rub it on the paint area on the back? [/quote] Nail polish remover is diluted acetone but should still work. It won't harm the body finish but probably best to keep it away from plastic parts. J.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1418590957' post='2631555'] Really surprised at the price on this. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Transparent-Acrylic-Electric-Bass-Guitar-4-String-Pickups-1-2-Right-Handed-/390993707643?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item5b090a827b"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item5b090a827b[/url] [/quote] These are quite recent - there were loads of them on Ebay (often branded Wesley) about 5 or 6 years ago. Think they were about £100 new, so this seller's done pretty well. That Thunder II's stunning - one of the nicest examples I've seen. Interesting to see what it goes for. J.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1418579888' post='2631369'] OOOOoooooooooo Jon, I saw this when it first came up - now I see a good shot of of it WOW! [/quote] Hopefully you'll understand me swapping my (very nice but almost as heavy) T-40 for this! As far as I know, the twin-neck's unique, it was built in 1985 as a custom order for a Manc session player called Pete Glennon. It's in very good condition overall, in fact necks & hardware are almost like new. The fretless neck is simply the sweetest I've laid hands on and the whole thing sounds superb - the pickups & switching make it very versatile. The body has been refinished - neck pocket & routing indicate it was originally black - and unfortunately the refin's a little bit amateurish when you look closely. Looks like someone tried mixing some red stain with Ronseal & brush-coated it. I gave the whole body a thorough T-cutting, which evened the surface a bit & gave it some gloss, but it would benefit from a pro (or competent amateur!) job at some point. No idea if I'll ever use it in anger - my band does have a few multi-part prog epics which it would lend itself to, just don't know if I can stand the pain! J.

Commodore's just an importer's (possibly Rosetti) rebrand, as were most old MIJ brands, & as a name is pretty much meaningless. The headstock shape on this bass seems to have been used by the Matsumoku factory prior to adopting the Gibson "open book" shape - I don't remember seeing a Commodore with this headstock before. However this headstock does appear on early Conrad, Greco & Aria Diamond instruments - none of which were imported to the UK. Matsumoku's regarded as one of the best Japanese factories of the "lawsuit" era, and their heyday was definitely the mid 70s-mid 80s period. This is a somewhat earlier bass than that - I'd say 60s judging from the headstock shape - and it's not going to be fantastic quality tbh, it's over 40 years old and may well have deteriorated structurally. A lot of early Japanese manufacture used unseasoned timber, and warped necks can be common, as can body distortion (particularly in hollowbodies like this) under years of string tension. Don't buy this if you want a gigging bass that youre going to beat the hell out of, it's really more of a collector's curiosity. J.

Whip off the neck & you'll probably find a date and Andrew Evans' signature, if he did work on it. I've got this, and it's pretty amazing: Could do with a stronger back, though... Jon.

£60 with a hard case would be a serious bargain for those who know what this is. [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/commodore-bass-guitar/1092714272"]http://www.gumtree.c...itar/1092714272[/url] Late 60s/early 70s, Matsumoku-built, looks in original condition, even seems to have the original bridge cover still fitted. Probably not an agressive-sounding bass, so not my choice for Punk (I'd say Precision with new strings) but a bit of a score for a vintage MIJ collector. Jon.

Westone Thunder 1A fretless, made in Japan by Matsumoku in 1986, worth about £150- £175, a bit of acetone should sort the back out. Jon.

+1 to what Musky says, can't be early 80s. IIRC the first MIKs were made by the Young-Chang factory from about '87, & are very good quality. There was controversy over Young-Chang launching their own Fenix brand (essentially rebranded Squiers) which led to them losing their contract with Fender & facing legal threats over the use of headstock shapes etc - so if it turns out yours is a Young-Chang then there's some collectability in that. FWIW I've owned a Y-C Squier Bullet, and currently own an early Fenix Strat & both were top quality. Jon.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1418469001' post='2630417'] Note 2: When someone goes to the trouble to add 'No Returns' to a listing it makes me suspicious. [/quote] Particularly when they're too lazy to even be bothered to post the bloody thing. Having said that, after a buyer broke a guitar I sold, badly repacked it & posted it back to me unsolicited - [i]then[/i] made a claim against me saying I'd sold him a damaged item, I started adding "no returns". Ebay can be a nightmare for sellers. Jon.

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1418379107' post='2629650'] Perhaps a late 70's/early 80's Italian copy? Factories in the centre of italy were producing pretty believable versions of various instruments, and they would have had access to DiMarzios or other similar pieces of kit. I have a spine-bendingly heavy strat copy in natural finish which looks to be finished in the same style. [/quote] I did wonder about that, thinking about those nice original design Eko through-necks. Still thought the finishing looked a bit too rough & ready, though. Still might be worth asking on the Fetishguitars FB page... J.

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1418317781' post='2629141'] Jolana made a number of copies of gibson basses (i remember an interesting RD copy), but never seen one with DiMarzios [/quote] That one & the through-neck Rick copy are what I was thinking about - but you're right about the pickups, I'm pretty sure it's not a Jolana. J.

Agree with you Eric. This T-bird thing's interesting, think this was on a few months ago for a bit less money, not sure if it was the same seller. Anyway - IMO certainly not MIJ, never mind Matsumoku, I don't really understand why the average Ebay pikey inevitably concludes that anything with a through-neck is a Matsumoku. I'm inclined to think this is a one-off, quite a lot of shonky details you wouldn't find on a production instrument - scruffy pickup routes, wonky headstock shape, reversed single-side tuners, lumpy-looking finishing where neck meets headstock. That strip of marquetry would be odd on a factory-made bass too. I suppose it's possible it might be Eastern European - finishing on things like Jolanas wasn't quite up to MIJ standard - but I doubt it. That said it's interesting & fairly inexpensive - I'm pretty sure that's a set of DiMarzio Model Js, if so, there's half of your purchase cost. On other matters - two proper Matsumoku basses. That Westbury Track 4's a stunner, these very seldom come up & when they do, they're usually butchered or wrecked. Likewise the Washburn Force 40, I have an SB-40 which is the same bass with a 2-a-side headstock & passive electronics, again you never see these, and I can't say enough good things about them. Hope someone on BC can get a bargain - I'm not buying anything at the moment & would like to see some of you lot taking advantage of currently low JapCrap values! J.

Nice example - Avons weren't top of the MIJ heap but most would set up & play nicely - typical good quality Japanese necks & fretwork. I had the exact same bass branded as "Grantson", it definitely looked & sounded the part! Jon.

I know two bands who have done small self-arranged US tours "under the radar" on visitor's visas. The problem they faced is that you can't take any instruments or other gear, because it's assumed you intend to work if you do - so they had to hire/borrow/buy equipment to be able to play. The other downside is that if you get rumbled, you'll get deported! Jon.

Over hundreds of gigs, I've broken a string twice when I didn't take a spare. Never broken a string when I took the spare. Plainly, taking a spare means you won't break a string. Jon.

They're all keepers for the first few days. Then you turn around & there's 30 of the bloody things... J.

I've had growing SR GAS since I sold both of my SR800s - and this ain't helping! Incredibly pretty example in that finish with the maple board. Lovely. Jon.

Very uncommon bass, there are a couple of people on here who own them, & I'm one of 'em. These are from about 1980, basically a funny-looking Jazz with a P-shaped neck. This one looks pretty scabby, all the hardware's been changed and I'd expect the electronics too. There's no real way of guaging value (mine cost £60 about 5 years ago) but I think this is a little bit optimistic! My (reversibly hotrodded) one: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:46249] j.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1417120790' post='2617321'] Yeh because JVs came with SD pups and modern bridges! [/quote] Bridge is a Schaller 3D - pretty sure these pre-date JVs. Agree that this bass ain't right, though. Jon.

Odd one that. I'm inclined to think it's the original neck modified, though, if you look closely at the "V" shape, it's not perfectly symmetrical. The whole neck's been painted, including the fingerboard, and the inlays replaced with the brass ring types used on early 80s Washburns. It's still got the original brass/bone nut, tuners & trc. Interesting, but I'd think pretty dear for a highly modded & beat-up example. J.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1416835999' post='2614026'] I like the semi-pointed sculpt on the headstocks. Very Hohner-ish. [/quote] It is, isn't it? Very Hohner Revelation-ish, in fact! Hohner's Revelations (sometimes known as the Eurofighter Guitar) were assembled in Wales from bodies & necks made in the Czech Republic, Schaller & Wilkinson hardware, and ATX pickups made by Alan Entwistle - so there's your connection, I suspect! I'd guess Mr Entwistle has obtained the rights to the Revelation name & logo etc, and is behind this brand. If I remember right, he was also responsible for the fairy interesting-looking Alden brand from a few years back. I do like that LP Recording copy. Shortscale GAS alert! Jon.

Value's always really tricky with stuff like this - I can't really compare yours to mine because mine really was a beater, while yours does look in top condition. I bought mine on here about 5 years or so back, paid about £60 because it needed a fair bit of work. Sold it for about the same about a year later, having tidied it up as best I could given some of the issues it had. Yours being fretless & in good nick should fetch a bit more, but there's really been a downturn in the last few years in the market for MIJ & MIK instruments rom that era - even name brands like Aria Pro & Ibanez are largely fetching a lot less than they did 5 or so years back. As it stands, a vintage through-neck fretless Precision is a pretty unusual bass, definitely a bit of a head-turner. It'll never make huge money but if I was selling it, I think I'd ask £150, and be prepared to be haggled down a bit. Good luck! J.

Well, apart from the general (very good) condition, through-stringing & fretless rosewood board, it looks absolutely identical to my old one: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53507] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53508] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53509] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53510] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53511] It is what it is. Good to get a look at the pots, those "dp" logo units appear in every late 70s/early 80s MIK bass or guitar I've ever seen. J

Memphis wasn't a manufacturer, it was a brand used by a US importer, much as Satellite was a brand used by UK importer Fletcher, Coppock & Newman Ltd, alongside their Columbus & Kimbara brands. Memphis as a brand would never have been sold in the UK. I wouldn't swear this fretless was definitely a Satellite, though, there were numerous short-run rebrands (plenty of local music shops imported their own ranges back then), and no-name guitars were pretty common too. These basses would have been sold all around the world with a variety of different rebrands and detail differences. The bridge design on the fretless bass turns up on various string-through basses from both Japanese & Korean manufacturers, however by the time these basses were in the shops (I can remember looking at them in 1980!) Japanese factories had pretty much abandoned the copy market, at least for export. Korean factories were upping their game & jumping on the through-neck bandwagon, which was very popular at the time, and factories like Cor-tek (Cort) produced some great quality original designs based around that template. There's not as much available history on this period of the Korean industry as there is in Japan, so I've never been able to pin down which factory made these though-neck Satellite/Memphis/Whoever P copies - having owned one myself, I'd certainly like to know. J.