Bassassin

Maiden didn't poach Bruce 'Bruce' Dickinson from Samson to stop Samson being a threat to Maiden's success though. I'd also expect the decision to have been as much management as artist-driven, if not more. Marketing again.

Might be splitting hairs a bit. More to do with who's suitable - a bit like Croakin' Joe's Blues Stumblers getting a residency at the Dog & Slopbucket rather than my conceptual prog originals 9-piece.

I'd argue that what you're talking about is marketing rather than music itself, and the effect marketing has upon the creation of new music. Obviously a lot of music is created specifically to be marketed, and there are clear formulae for creating a successfully marketable product in those areas. Successful artists will be under various pressures to create new music that repeats & builds upon previous success, regardless of how artistically motivated they may have originally been. I'd suspect (although this is purely speculative!) that most people who get into playing and creating music aren't too motivated by the commercial success (or otherwise) of what inspired them to pick up an instrument.

Crazy bargain. Antoria White Eagles are rarer than the already ridiculously rare Ibanez Black Eagle. UK market only and probably only produced in the hundreds. Has it had a head repair? It's incredibly uncommon to see any of this design with an undamaged headstock. We had one here a couple of years ago: What details/info are you looking for? Should be dateable from the neckplate serial (1st letter = month, next 2 digits = year), manufactured by Fujigen Gakki, distributed in the UK by JT Coppock Ltd in Leeds, who owned the Antoria brand at the time. Fwiw I'd happily give you twice what you paid for it...

I'd think never exported outside Brazil - if you Google it there are quite a few pics from local listings & FB. Quality doesn't look Kay-level junk but it's obviously more budget than Giannini or most MIJ. Home-grown hardware & electronics while the Gianninis have the same Japanese parts as many other 70s copies.

Some pics of the bass you're talking about would definitely help. With many of these basses it's straightforward to ID a manufacturer from build details. As it happens there were at least two. The most common & more accurate ones are Giannini: More rare and definitely more weird - and IMO a bit more interesting for it - is Finch:

Back in t'mid '80s, my gateway into the dark and demented world of slap was Kajagoogoo's Too Shy, I learned some basic techniques by plonking along on my completely inappropriate Washburn B20. I got to meet Nick Beggs a few years ago after a Steven Wilson gig, and had the opportunity to gently rebuke him for being directly responsible for me cluttering and clattering dozens of otherwise perfectly good songs with sloppy, badly-played and entirely unnecessary slap lines. I think he was faintly amused.

Very nice - had a sneaking bit of GAS for one of these for a while. Think you're right it'll be a Matsumoku, headstock & trc look mid-70s to me, with any luck the pickups will have date codes. Earlier versions have offset position dots, open-book headstock & arrowhead trc, & Maxon 8-pole single-coil bridge pickup. This one looks like a proper humbucker which is probably why it's a bit gutsier than the neck unit, which is probably the usual single-coil. Not sure but I don't think there ever was a proper MIJ Mudbucker. The Model 1980 in this Aria blurb looks like a close relative: https://vintagejapanguitars.com/1971-aria-catalogue/

Missed it - but Eastwood will now forever be FASIWOON to me. Anyone else remember the Squier listed as a 'Squizz'?

Aria reissued their old Mosrite types a few years back, 34" scale, fitted with J type pickups & under their old Aria Diamond label: Interesting to see this new one's a closer reissue, 'correct' shortscale and more accurate looking pickups. As a vintage MIJ nerd I am amused by the use of a Univox-style font for the logo - the Univox-labelled Hi-Fliers are somewhat more sought-after than the old Arias!

Aria's Sarzo sig (the SB-RSZ) appears to have been a Japan-only rebranding of the SB-ELT, from 1989-ish. Pretty sure RS himself never played one, all the pics of him with an Aria look like a Matsumoku-era SB Elite II. I have an ELT and an '83 SB Elite B&G - the later bass is quite different when you compare them side-by side - slimmer neck, thinner body horns, different proportions. Electronics are completely different too - a simple v/v/t layout + 2x microswitches, as opposed to the stacked pots & rotary selector of the SB-Elites & SB-Rs. The RSZ & ELT definitely appear to be the same bass - can't be 100% but it even looks like the same image in both brochures. Anyway, I'll stop cluttering up a Peavey thread with gratuitous Aria guff! Lovely pair of Sarzos, @BassManGraham!

Br*x*t bonus - it's now...

Wanx Norton.

I really couldn't say...

You say that like it's a bad thing! The most hilarious (and 100% maddest) bike I had was a Yammy TDR250 - basically a proto-supermoto with a 50bhp TZR twin stuck in a lightweight street trailie chassis. Would have another in a heartbeat. If they didn't go for 7 grand these days. Not sure what the bass equivalent would be - maybe a dayglo Ibby Soundgear, if it had a knife-edge powerband, spent half its time with its nose in the air & would happily chuck you through a hedge if you weren't careful.

The 'Argos' thread in OT made me wonder if this qualifies as properly pointy: Vester Argus Always thought these were genuinely great-looking basses, 90s or early '00s I think. Rare as anything. Can't believe I passed one up on here for £99 about 10 years ago, due to being brutally skint!

I think I remember reading that he's regretful...

You're doing it wrong! This is a Geddy Pee!

It's an apt comparison - it had occured to me but I never really thought it through. Two iconic US brands, both broadly creating quite brash & ostentatious products, with technology & design sensibilities those of a bygone era & relying on tradition & reputation (deserved or otherwise!) to maintain a niche, dedicated market. Latterly both brands succumbing to the inevitability of having to modernise their products. Just a bit, under the surface and not so's you'd really notice. I've never owned a Rick or a Harley - however I've always loved the look & sound of Rickenbacker basses and have a number of accurate & not-so-accurate Rick copies. On the other hand, I've never wanted a Yamaha DragStar, Honda Rebel, Kawasaki Vulcan, Suzuki Intruder or any other H-D knockoff - Harleys & H-D style bikes always strike me as slightly embarrassing weekend toys for midlife-crisis bank managers & financial advisors* cosplaying as badass bikers - and in no way suited to the realities of UK roads! *Apologies to any Harley/ cruiser-owning financial advisors. To be clear, one of my best mates is a 51 year-old IFA who rides a 1998 Honda Hornet 600. I think he quite fancies a Harley...

Never was a fan of the pointy/droopy headstock on an otherwise conventional-looking bass, just looks like a mismatched bitsa. However - proper out-there 80s pointiness: hook it into my veins! My first 'serious' bass was one of these: Washburn B20 Stage. Sold it to buy something you could slap on, a somewhat less pointy Aria RSB Deluxe II. Always had GAS for an Iceman or a Westone Dynasty. Maybe a Raider in one of the 2-tone glitter finishes. Or an Aria ZZB in blood splatter...

The pre - Kaja Beggsy, circa 1979. Tells you all you need to know. Kasuga EB-750 from '75-ish, if you were wondering.

Depending on the bass, I'm quite partial to a bit of pimpage. Usually reversible, but not always. A few victims examples: My no. 1 bass is a 1980-ish Japanese CSL Jazz copy, which I picked up for £60 from a local pawn shop 20-odd years ago: Schaller 3D bridge, DiMarzio Model J pickups, stacked controls, black pearl plate & lots of T-Cut. Bought this to hose down & flip, ended up being the nicest-playing J I ever picked up, and the one I'd save in a fire. Next - simple but effective bling on my MM V7 fretless - clear acrylic scratchplate & replacement knobs: Still haven't ruled out reshaping the headstock to Tele-style... This one goes beyond mere pimping into full-on butchery. Denizens of the builds folder may already be familiar with this particular exercise in nightmare fuel: It's a cheapo Ebay thing called a Wesley Europa, picked it up for £100 brand new. neckthrough, active, 2-way truss rod, quite a nicely made thing but with a finish on the back that fell off after 2 or 3 gigs and a misconceived headstock. Languished on the to-do pile until last summer (full uncensored story here), on reflection my Laurus-esque headflap wasn't quite the aesthetic improvement I wanted, so it'll have a second appointment with the hacksaw as soon as it's warm enough to work in the garage...

Always liked these. Stylistically a little bit influenced (especially those inlays!) by the Aria Pro SB-Elite II Sarzo played: