Bassassin

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1409910126' post='2544463'] Another interesting looking bass - Vantage. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980s-Vintage-Vantage-Standard-II-Bass-Guitar-Matsumoku-Japan-amp-/151401763620?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item23403f9324"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item23403f9324[/url] Same questions to the panel - anyone know anything about them? [/quote] MIJ Vantages were Matsumoku - not seen this model before but it's clearly got Aria Pro CSB, Washburn Scavenger & Westbury Track 2 DNA. Interesting how so many Mat basses were variatioins on one design. J.

Korean, early 80s, looks to me like it fits in between the Moridaira-built MIJ Hohners & the Cort-built Hohner Professionals. Probably decent enough but with a few rough edges, if the price starts creeping towards 3 figures, leave it! A couple of years back my local Crack Converters had one of these for about £60. Jon.

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1409701904' post='2542517'] You could try PM'ing Bassasin. He might be able to help. I think he had one at one point. [/quote] Sadly not - a Super Headless has been on my GAS list for years, but one's yet to turn up at my local car bood for £15! Jon.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1409388737' post='2539193'] MIJ jazz of some sort - headstock will probably give it away. any good? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261578676967?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT"]http://www.ebay.co.u...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT[/url] [/quote] Cimar or CSL. Would've been good but the dodgy defret probably relegates it to firewood. Shame. J.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1409324166' post='2538669'] Kate Bush fans are not like normal people. They would, by and large not want her to do a big greatest hits show. They want weird, and overtly theatrical productions of stuff that was not on the last stage show. Looks like they got it, Looking forward very much to the DVD. [/quote] As a Kate fan, I agree with this. Not going to the gigs (too late to get tickets, too far away, too expensive) but I'm delighted she's doing the Ninth Wave, the conceptual stuff from Aerial and whatever the hell she wants. I'm equally glad she's not doing "the hits" from the first 2 albums, there are already enough sad nostalgia acts plodding 'round the circuit trading on who they were 40-odd years ago. I somehow doubt the 50-something Kate Bush feels a lot of connection with songs she wrote when she was 17. DVD? Can't wait! Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1409248288' post='2537984'] Just seen the relist of the Takeharu bass. Is it really Matsumoku? It has a slight Kawai look about it. [/quote] I wouldn't rule it out, but everything MIJ on Ebay these days is a Matsumoku. Suppose it makes a change from everything being an Ibanez. Anyway, basic body shape is very Westone, and the laminated body/set neck thing has appeared on both Vantage & Aria Pro basses. However, on a Mat, I'd expect to see a 3-piece quartersawn neck - although exceptions do exist. For my money, it's a Moridaira. I'm basing this on the aforementioned laminated body/single-piece set neck, and also on the unusual scarf-jointed headstock. I've only seen these features all on the one instrument once before, and that's on a Moridaira-built Hohner-branded copy of a Washburn Wing series guitar, which I own. J.

Bass was my first instrument, and I learned guitar a couple of years later really so I had a vehicle for composition. So while I can play guitar well enough to play anything I can think of, I've never wanted to play it live, and bass remains "my" instrument. Dunno if I'm a "born" bassist, I don't think I have much natural aptitude for any instrument - learning to play to a reasonable standard always felt like a struggle with my innate ham-fistedness, and I still think I'm a terribly sloppy & inconsistent player. Can't remember who it was who said it, but there was an observation that the very best players are those whose talent is equally balanced between what's in their head & what's in their hands. Mine's probably 75% in the head. And arguably my head's full of rubbish! Jon.

I like these a lot. A few years ago a BCer (can't remember who) was selling one, no takers & it ended up at about £100. Typically I was skint! This one's a little bit dear for me. Jon.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1408086459' post='2526886'] To be honest though, from what I've read of your BC posts, if anyone could find a bargain it would be you. I very much doubt Mr Cash Converters has your astonishing depth of knowledge on Japanese bass guitars... [/quote] In fairness, I don't go into Crack Converters too often, only when I happen to pass one! I think you get lucky with the more uncommon stuff (like the SBV, for example) where a quick scan of Ebay is highly unlikely to turn up a bunch of sold examples, so Mr CrackCon pretty much has to guess a value. J.

For some reason these sorts of shonky "instruments" knocked up from random bits of broken junk fill me with blind, unreasoning contempt and disdain. Funny, that. There's another (non-music) forum I use which has an entire thread (misleadingly entitled "building your own guitar") devoted to people proudly showing off their own attempts at these pitiful contraptions, which all seem to consist of a splintery box with a bit of stick poking out of it. This thread's currently at eleven pages and shows no signs of stopping. Maybe I shouldn't be so dismissive, it's probably some sort of really helpful therapy for the poor sods. Jon.

Been keeping tabs on that myself, he's had this up for a good few weeks now, and it's already dropped from £200 or thereabouts. Really surprised at how little the really good MIJ stuff like this is going for now. J.

Very nice, I do like a nice pearl block neck, works well with the body colour. I'd have gone for DiMarzio Model Js and a Schaller 3D myself, though. And a pearl plate to match the blocks. No sticker. Jon.

About 5 years ago I had a 70s Satellite Jazz copy for £25 - it was up for £50 but one of the pups was dead & the guy wanted it out of the shop. Re-soldered the pup cable to the pot, cleaned it up and gyppo-flipped it for £100. Easy. A few years back the Newcastle branch had a very tidy Ibanez SR506 6-er up for £120, but I was too skint to take advantage. More recently my local one had a Yamaha SBV500 (exactly like the one I have, apart from the grime) for £60. I had no cash or card on me at the time - should've asked them to stick it out the back for me, because it was gone a few hours later! Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1407700691' post='2523192'] I would've thought the bridge would be different, probably not strung-through on the Mats version - different tuner ears too possibly? [/quote] Quite right - massive Chushin bridge and Schaller M4S (or bang-on copies) tuners. Still has through-body stringing, also pickup positions are a bit more sensible, the P is midway between the J unit & the fretboard, and reversed. J.

I seriously seriously hope someone on BC got it for the £37 it sold for. Bargain of the month, possibly year. Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1407678992' post='2522898'] This guy has a LOT of very sexy Japanese basses for sale on eBay - I want about 8 of them! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw=&item=111430412627&pt=Guitar&_osacat=0&hash=item19f1c52953&_ssn=solemettere&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xbass&_nkw=bass&_sacat=0&_from=R40"]http://www.ebay.co.u...cat=0&_from=R40[/url] [/quote] I do like his Yamaki-era [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-Vulture-Bass-Made-in-Japan-Very-Rare-late-70s-or-early-80s-Neck-Thru-/111420771006"]Washburn Vulture II[/url] - never seen a blue one before, & it's interesting to see the differences between this & the later Matsumoku build, like mine. J.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1407593416' post='2522139'] MB1. Looks like a hohner jack made to look like a Washburn Status copy? [/quote] I wondered about that but I don't think so, mostly because Cort made several weird & wonderful headlesses with this hardware, most of which never made it to the UK. This would fit right in alongside the headless Flying V, through-neck P/J Steiny copy & 2-tone headless Precision! J.

Actually Jack, it's a 2366B - the 2369 was the white P/J with the maple/black blocks board. As luck would have it, I own an Ibanez 2366B and as a result I've done some digging regarding these. Here's mine: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:43162] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:43163] MIne's pre-serial, meaning pre-76 but in many respects is quite different to Dik's. I'd say his is very early, probably '71 or '72, because it has a number of features not found on the majority of Ibanez Fender clones. These are the 8-pole Maxon single-coil pickup, tuners with small chrome keys, broad chrome truss cover, and dot inlays which stop at the 17th position. The last feature is the only one shared with my 2366, and that dates mine to approximately '72/'73. The Maxon pickup will have a serial number stamped on its reverse - these can be decoded to give a manufacturing date for the pickup, and therefore an approximate age for the bass. Anyway yes, [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/"]these are collectable[/url], rarity depends on where you are (there aren't too many in the UK) and value is determined only by who else wants it and how hard their GASmonkey is riding them that day. KevB - Fujigen Gakki, and believe it or not - bubble & squeak. Funny old world. Jon.

I had a fretless Ibanez SR800, lovely bass, and always had GAS for a fretted version. Ibanez do change the specs of their basses regularly but eventually I was lucky enough to find a fretted SR800 from the same model year. Apart from the neck & colour, it was identical - same weight, balance, pickups, EQ, hardware etc, so it did feel very similar & familiar in most ways. Sound & feel were different only because fretted & fretless are inherently different instruments. I don't have either of them any more (which I regret to a certain degree) but I did learn that while I prefer a skinny J-width neck on a fretted bass, I'm a lot more comfortable with a wider, flatter board on a fretless. Jon.

Ain't a Washburn. Washburns used hardware that was the same, or similar looking, to "real" Statii. On the other hand, this is actually the same bass as the Hohner Jack, or even Hohner's licensed Steinberger copy, only with Status-y body wings. It's even got the "licensed by Steinberger" tuners/tailpiece. The Hohners were made by Cort, so it's my speculation that it's a Cort Status copy, possibly a prototype or something never imported to the UK. If he'd post it - and if I wasn't skint - I might well be bidding, quite fancy a lined fretless headless with a body! Jon.

Typically if it's a Fleabay or Scumtree ad which starts in this way, I'll often know significantly more than the seller - specifically that yes, you do want three times more than it 's worth, and no, it really wasn't made by Matsumoku. Jon.

Headstock looks like a Dean, perhaps. Nice looking bass but not MIJ or particularly old, I wouldn't say. J.