Bassassin

Second time he's listed that, same price & no bids first time. I'm a bit of a Kasuga fanboy but this doesn't look like one of the more accurate copies, and imo is a bit too much of a project for £120. I think it's had one of those 8-pole single-coil pups originally, like this: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:69930] So replacing the J unit (which might well be a DiMarzio) would require more than a new scratchplate - you'd either have to route it for a P unit or fit a mini-Mudbucker type, in which case you'd have to make a scratchplate or pay someone to make one. If he wanted £50 I'd probably be tempted... J.

I'm no-one's Fender expert but if it's genuine - body's a refin, ashtrays & thumbrest are brand new. It's drilled for a tug bar - or at least the scratchplate is. Very odd choice of angles for most of the pics, and no pics at all of the back of the body, no clear view of the neckplate. Jon.

That's really pretty & nicely designed. Most self-built basses tend to have body shapes that just look sort of "wrong", but that's a really attractive & considered design. Shame he stuck with a Fender headstock shape - but I'm inclined to think it's a factory neck that's been modified. I've seen fretless necks which have been defretted by filing the frets down to the tangs to leave metal inlays. More likely he removed the frets & inlaid brass strips though. Jon.

Had a few thoughts about this - not the rights & wrongs, if there are any, but more how & why the term's used here the way it is. This is probably incoherent thinking aloud will likely pose more questions than it answers... It occurs to me that it's probably an offensive term in North America (and probably other English speaking countries like Australia & NZ) because significant numbers of people of Japanese origin live in those countries. In the UK there's been little or no immigration from Japan, so there's less perception of the term as an expression of bigotry - at least not that I've ever been aware of. I also think there's a big difference in referring to actual people by this sort of abbreviation, in the term we're discussing here it's a literal abbreviation of "Japanese Crap" (apropos of nothing - sounds much more insulting like that with the ironic alliterative rhyme removed!) and refers to a place of origin, rather than the people who live there. Therefore it's a mock-generalisation about the instruments themselves, rather than any reference to the people who make them. I said I'd never use the term to refer to individuals, and that's because I can't really envisage a context where it [i]wouldn't [/i]be either an insult or at least a faintly derogatory generalisation. Context is everything, and if the context here is ironic, irreverent British humour, plainly that doesn't translate well across some cultural divides - however the membership of BC is primarily UK, and the fact that the thread's been running & pretty active for 7 years does suggest the title's not a problem for the people who use it - so presumably it's taken the way it's intended. I hope. So - after all this, how do I feel about it? I would prefer the thread to keep the title it has, but after all this consideration have to admit a little part of me is [i]faintly[/i] uneasy about it. There's also a tiny reactionary element of me (call it my Inner Farage - no, on second thoughts, let's not) that thinks BC is a British forum & we really shouldn't feel we have to sanitise how we express ourselves in case we upset the sensibilities of a tiny minority of visitors. Of course we embrace people from other parts of the world, but When In Rome & all that... So to sum up - I dunno. J.

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1400974246' post='2458818'] Jon - a very balanced post. But given that you acknowledge the phrase is considered offensive in the USA (as it it is in most parts of the world) why not change the title to Japanese Classics or similar? The irony is that this thread actually recognises how good some Japanese copies are - so to use a term that is racially offensive to the people who produced those basses seems somewhat bizarre. [/quote] To answer the first point - the term "JapCrap " was always intended as ironic humour, the point being that for the most part, MIJ instruments are good to excellent quality, and not "crap" in any sense. For me it also satirises the way older BC members (such as myself) regarded them back when we were young & easily-led brand slaves! To reply to the second point, I'm actually interested in whether it is in fact offensive to the people who produced the basses, or if it just offends the politically-correct, who so often seem determined to take offence on the behalf of others. Anyway, it is late, I'm tired and am probably not making as much sense as I would like to. I'll return to this when I've had some kip. J.

For me, it derives from old biker slang. When I was a kid getting into bikes, JapCrap went hand in hand with BritShit, (I ride a BritShit bike these days) and YankW@nk. If Korea had a motorcycle industry it would've been KoreaDiarrhoea. In the UK these abbreviations were not, are not, and I doubt will ever be intended as insults. This said, personally I'd never use the abbreviation to refer to a Japanese person. I am very aware how unacceptable the use of the term is on US - based forums. Cynic that I am, I've always been vaguely suspicious that this felt a bit like an attempt to utilise political correctness to redress potential collective guilt from the USA having waged nuclear war against Japan - or for whatever other reasons the US might feel bad about its historical relationship with Japan. Just my view on this - I love Japanese instruments, and have what is probably an incredibly romantcially idealised notion of Japanese culture. I suppose what actually makes any difference is whether this colloquial use of language would be perceived as offensive by any Japanese person using BC. Don't know if there are any Japanese BC members, but a few people on here have lived & worked there so might have a bit of insight into the matter. Jon.

Has this been on before? I seem to remember wondering why that horrible P ashtray's been stuck on it & what it's hiding. If the original bridge is gone, you'd struggle to find one to replace it. Jon.

I would. But I'm not allowed to buy anything else. Jon.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400767921' post='2456805'] If it was me, I would buy all three. [/quote] There's your answer. Obvious, really. Jon.

It's an iconic bit of hardware so it's a sad day if it's no longer in production - I do remember reading somewhere that Leo Quan had died - but personally I'm not a big fan. There are various high-mass bridges that are more refined, compact & better engineered than the somewhat crude BA2, in my opinion - Schaller 3D, Babicz Full Contact etc. Just wondering whether to hang on to the shiny nearly-new BA2 in my spares box, just to see how mad prices go... Jon.

No GAS allowed for a month or twenty Eric. I have had a couple of indiscretions recently but the trend is to part with gear rather than to accrue more, due to an imminent house move. Got room for another T40? J.

To be honest, I've never seen one in real life - I'm something of a fan of vintage Japanese basses & I tend to notice these things. I think it's a strong likelihood they were never sold in the UK. You'd be surprised how much cool stuff doesn't make it over here! Jon.

Spectacular! I knew these existed, previously I'd only seen these scraggy little Ebay pics from about 5 years ago: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:35315] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:35316] So - how much, and where from? I want one! J.

Looks fantastic! No scratchplate. Jon.

Bits of the review are faintly amusing, but I don't need to hear the album to know they'll still be peddling the exact same insipid, diluted U2-circa-Unforgettable-Fire knock-off slop that's made America love them so very hard. Just as well they're so incredibly easy to ignore, they pretty much barely exist in the first place. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1400442117' post='2453937'] The lower horn pointing the "wrong" way on the Riverhead bass took me a few tens of seconds to get used to. But, now I think it's one of the best looking headless basses I've seen. [/quote] That's quite amazing-looking. The steampunk bridge/tuner is remarkable! J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1400444542' post='2453972'] Sold for £411. [/quote] Total bargain. Be surprised if another one of these turns up anytime soon. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1400269561' post='2452555'] Can I phone you at 6am on a Sunday if I find a misshapen lump of wood with "Made in Japan" on the neck plate? [/quote] By all means. I won't actually answer, though. That's a serious car boot alright. J.

Never fear, Captain Twit - despite having long since lost any grasp of anything remotely useful in the Real World, I can still remember countless useless bits of info about cheapo bass & guitar brands, so I'm confident I'll be able to [s]pontificate endlessly[/s] - [i]offer advice[/i] - about all your Junk Bass needs for decades to come. Davetbass - glad it went to someone who'll appreciate it! J.

A lot of the later Jedsons were Matsumoku-made, including the LP copies (although not the bass in the link) and sometimes do get quite daft money on Ebay. Jedson was J.E. Dallas & Sons' house brand (see what they did there etc.), when J.E.D. amalgamated into Dallas-Arbiter, Jedson was replaced by the Arbiter brand. Some of them are quite decent too. J.

Same bass is on Ebay for £130, with added fabrications about its origin: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/S-D-Curlee-Bass-Guitar-USA-Model-Vintage-and-Rare-hondo-11-model-/201089574171 Jon.

I have an unbranded guitar version of this - it's actually pretty good, bass is probably not too bad either. FYI that's a Jedson Scimitar Bass, model 4454. Jon.