Bassassin

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1397428443' post='2423914'] Can the genuine article infringe its own trademark then? [/quote] Very interesting point - theoretically, perhaps it can. If the 4003/4001 body shape wasn't trademarked until 1999, then examples which precede this date could be considered to be infringements. Perhaps more interestingly, it's technically possible for Hoshino Gakki Ten (owner of the Ibanez brand) to demonstrate that they were producing instruments of this design, carrying their brand as early as 1971. A company which was launched in 1984 (RIC) might struggle to prove historical rights to these design elements. I doubt Hoshino would consider doing any such thing, but the idea's an amusing one. J.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1397392163' post='2423418'] Westone Superheadless for sale - the BIN is very reasonable was tempted to go for it until I read my old post about not getting with them [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Super-Headless-Bass-Guitar-/251504032736?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:3160"]http://www.ebay.co.u...ME:B:SS:GB:3160[/url] [/quote] No BIN on it now - presumably someone bid & it disappeared. How much was it? J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1397368935' post='2423182'] Would Jon want to put himself in the firing range of John Hall should he (Jon) make a mistake. I bl***dy well wouldn't. [/quote] Absolutely. As I've said, the current crop of Chinese/Taiwanese/whatever copies bear little more than a cosmetic resemblance to genuine Rick basses, and as far as vintage copies are concerned, I'm 100% confident in my ability to tell a well-crafted, professionally manufactured instrument from shonky overpriced American tat. ([i]Joke[/i], Rickenlovers. ) I would need exceptionally clear & detailed pics of certain areas of build & componentry but as I've said, the differences are very clear, with no margin for error if you know what you're looking at. This is an interesting theoretical discusssion for me - I'm happy to respect the mods' original & any future decision but in the event the community chose to allow RIC sales again, I'd be happy to help verify provenance. I can't accept that Hall would try to cause trouble over the sale of a genuine Rickenbacker - the notion seems frankly ludicrous and of no benefit to anyone, least of all him. John Hall is clearly a highly confrontational & aggressive character but I don't think he's actually mentally ill. I've had a few run-ins with Mr Hall himself, the official RIC forum and some of the less open-minded members of RickResource over the years and as a result have done a little digging myself regarding RIC's trademarks, US trademark law and whether or not there are any grounds under which sales of Rick copies are illegal in the UK. There's a tendency to assume that RIC is a huge, wealthy, powerful multinational corporation with a permanent flying squad of attack lawyers on 24-hour standby. The reality is that "Rickenbacker International Corporation" is a little family business owned in its entirety by John Hall and his wife. I doubt Hall's bluff, bluster & mythical C&D letters are any more than that - bluff that he has neither the resources or (in the case of privately-sold secondhand copies) legal right to back up. I'm certainly not advocating calling that bluff, but isn't it interesting that the CEO of a major instrument brand has nothing better to do with his time than pontificate on his own brand forums, send strings of emails to nonentities such as myself, and throw his weight around on little British bass forums. A previous poster wondered why he "allows" the sale of used Rickenbackers on TalkBass. This is likely because it's an American forum with an incredibly massive membership, there will be people far more aware of US law, and able to take him on at his own game. By comparison, over here we're distant, small, easily intimidated and have very little familiarity with the laws he's threatening us with. Anyway, a bit of Rickenbacker history is of interest when considering Japanese, Italian, British & Brazilian copies from the 70s. When all these instruments were first being made, Rickenbacker International Corp ("RIC") didn't exist. From memory, Rickenbacker was originally two separate companies, one handling manufacture & the other distribution - apparently a common US business model around the 1930s. Our Mr Hall's dad, F.C. Hall bought these two companies in the 50s and passed them to young Johnny H in the mid 80s, who subsequently amalgamated them and formed RIC. The important point is that Hall registered various design trademarks of Rick instruments in the late 90s - from which it's reasonable to infer that no such trademarks existed in the pre-RIC era, and current marks therefore cannot be retrospectively applied to instruments made before the company which registered the trademark was founded. Considering the nature of US trademark law, which requres that a trademark holder constantly pursues & challenges breaches, the existence of all these sought-after old copies must be immensely inconvenient to Mr Hall. J.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1397344913' post='2423122'] Because John Hall has time, money, expensive lawyers, and a seemingly litigious nature. Basschat has none of the tools required to fight that. [/quote] Yes we do. We have members who can identify a Rickenbacker copy, blindfolded and with one arm tied behind their back. J.

Always been curious when the MDF bodies were around after picking up a (99% certain) Fujigen-built no-name Precision copy, which turned out to be MDF under the rattlecan spray job. I assumed it was from the same era as the cardboard Silver Series, didn't know they used MDF on E-serials too. J.

If the issue here is that somebody might inadvertantly advertise a Faker, believing it to be genuine, and as a result BC might be on the recieving end of Hall's wrath, then what exactly would be the problem with verifying the authenticity of the instrument before allowing the listing to go live? There were/are absolutely no Rickenbacker copies which are indistinguishable from the real thing, spotting the differences is very straightforward. If it's true that secondhand sales are a thorn in Hall's side, I'd derive a tiny measure of [i]schadenfreude[/i] from exerting a little pressure on that thorn. Jon.

Definitely a bit of a project, fair enough if it stays around £100 or thereabouts. Are the solid colour Silver Series Squiers the ones with MDF bodies? Jon.

I do like Hohner Jacks - but that one's a good £100 over the odds! Jon.

If you want a bass for funk, this is what you want: In fairness, if you actually could work out how to isolate one of the Precision pickups, you'd probably be able to get a decent Motown sound out of it... Jon.

A P project I put together a few years ago: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:57742] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:57743] Having the head matching the actual body was a bit unrealistic but I do like how it turned out. Jon.

It's interesting to note that the original BBs (at least, my old '84 BB400S) had the P pickup reversed: This was fairly common in Japanese basses of the era (my Washburn SB40 also has this) and I suppose theoretically it might brighten the response of the E & A strings - although I think you'd be hard pushed to notice. I did think on the BB it made the pickup a slightly more conveniently placed thumb-anchor than a standard P layout. Unfortunately I don't have the bass any longer so I can't measure the position. Anyone else got an original BB? Jon.

I think it's fair to say that most manufacturers don't push "adventurous" designs because it's not what the current market demands. For a couple of decades now, pro players in successful acts - who influence purchasers - often tend to play Precisions, or maybe a Jazz if they're feeling daring. Of course there are exceptions but many players seem content with generic, traditional instruments. This is very disappointing to an old git like me who grew up watching my heroes playing stuff like JayDees, Steinbergers, Wals, Status, high-end Ibanez, Washburns & Aria Pros and so on. These days the bass tends to have a less prominent musical role than the 80s-era bands who used these instruments and I feel that's reflected in the conservative choices of both players and retailers. Jon.

Thanks for that, no surprise it's a modification. Wonder what it sounds like with that strange wiring? J.

Probably sounds quite a lot like a P - one of the reasons I'm not (very) interested... The phase switch & odd wiring should help make it more versatile though. If it is original wiring (which I doubt), a translation of the text accompanying the identical Kasuga SCB-1200 in the catalogue would prove enlightening. Mr Twit? J.

I'm in the same position as you, financially - I'd love to buy this just to sit and gawp at it! According to that old Kasuga catalogue I linked to, there is a (lined) fretless version. If the recent appearance of these two very uncommon basses within a few weeks has established a pattern, we can probably expect the fretless to be along sometime in the first week of May. J.

There were quite a few of these knocking around on Ebay 5 or 6 years ago - I remember them for having a singlecut design that didn't make me gag (although opinions may be split on this!) and for being within my gyppo-esque budget. Which is to say that this bass hails from a "boutique instrument builder" in Taiwan or Indonesia. Nice looking bass but this probably cost around £200 new. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1395613952' post='2404465'] I much prefer the darker finishes on the Kasugas on your document. All of them look pretty nice to me, though. [/quote] That being the case, maybe you'll prefer this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251499401197"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251499401197[/url] Pro Martin brand again, starting at £150 and that's an absolute stunner. I strongly suspect that's a DiMarzio Model P in there as well. J.

It's ever so slightly ambiguous, but the model's called a Sunburst: [url="http://www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=detail&mid=909"]http://www.hamerguit...=detail&mid=909[/url] Confused me a bit when I first came across them - no idea if it's actually available in sunburst, either... Very nice-looking bass but it'll neck-dive like a rotter! Jon. Jon.

That's gorgeous. Want. Jon.

Same sort of thing as the Kay P copies, Korean-made rather than Taiwanese. I've had a couple of car boot Kays, and they were surprisingly OK after a bit of fettling. These old Shatellites are really the same as any other cheapo - poor quality materials & components, most of them are junk but there's the (very) occasional playable one. J.

Great looking basses, always had GAS for one but never actually played one. Not sure whether it's a recommendation or not but Nicky Wire from the Manic Street Preachers plays these. Jon.

The point of a covers band is to gig, therefore the point of your set list is to appeal to the audience you want to play to. It's kind of immaterial whether band members find certain songs "boring"! You need a band meeting to clarify what the point of the band is for the other guys, while making it absolutely clear what you want from it. If you can reach a concensus which involves gigging, I suggest you go & book a date or two yourself to force the issue. If it turns out that some or all of the other members aren't interested in getting out of the practice room then it's either a matter of biting the bullet & looking for something else, or replacing the guys who don't want to gig. Do you have time for more than one band? You could continue with this for the social aspect and find a second band to do a bit of actual work with! Jon.

Skinny neck/active/under £400 - sounds like something from the Ibanez Soundgear range to me, masses of choice within that price range if you're buying used. I've had two Japanese SR800s, regret selling both - excellent playable, versatile, lightweight & great-looking basses. Jon.