Bassassin

These ain't great, but that's a deal! Korean-made, splintery off-cut body, rubbish hardware - however I had one of these (Gumtree, £40, mainly for the DiMarzio Model P it came with) and after a good clean, fret dress, new hardware & setup, it played really nicely. Would've sounded great too, if I'd left the DiMarzio in it.

Dunno what it is (interesting old thing, if nothing else) but the "Ibanez Prototype" spiel is exactly the bovine bowel product you suspect. This whole "unbranded Ibanez" myth comes from the early 70s catalogues which simply show unbranded Fujigen factory stock shots. Since Ibanez was, is, and has only ever been a brand name, the notion of "Ibanez prototypes" (particularly 70s era copies) is something of a nonsense, and the rule of thumb is if it doesn't say Ibanez, it ain't one. It is an interesting bass, however nothing about it says it's even Japanese. 70s MIJ hardware is very easy to spot, and this bass doesn't have any, pickups are unusual & I'd be inclined to think it's quite a bit more recent than the 1974 he's claiming. If bids started at £80 rather than the ludicrous £800 I might be interested. J.

Postage is £995! From Uxbridge! Although I'd say it's coming via Shenzhen City, judging from what reads suspiciously like a Chinglish translation! Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1395652799' post='2404619'] Everything about this screams that it isn't Matsumoku at all. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Columbus-Series-2-Sunburst-Electric-Bass-Guitar-MIJ-Matsumoko-Vintage-/161257731329?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item258bb5b501"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item258bb5b501[/url] [/quote] And you are quite correct. To me it screams "I'm Korean, I'm plywood and I'm from the early 80s!" Never seen an MIJ Columbus that looked remotely like a Matsumoku product. But I'm starting to think that in EbayLand "Matsumoku" has replaced "The Ibanez Factory" as the origin of anything remotely old & oriental. J.

Rebranded Kasuga Scorpion, like the one here: http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/kasuga/198x/p4.html Quite a few Kasugas appeared with this "Pro Martin" brand. I seriously doubt it's officially connected to Martin Guitars, but what's interesting is that Martin contracted Kasuga Gakki to build their Sigma range from the early 70s onward - in fact I think the first examples carried the Martin branding. I suspect "Pro Martin" was a sort of sneaky re-badged sideline, in the same way Korean manufacturer Young Chang sold Fenix-branded Fender copies which were identical to the Squiers they were building under contract. Anyway I think it's probably a pretty good buy at that price, it will be exceptionally good quality, and I doubt there are many others in the UK with that, or any other brand name. J.

Not Jap, might or might not be crap - but definitely not the 1981 Matsumoku he'd like to think. Late 80s onward Korean Pointyhead. J.

Some of you might be amused by this Ebay auction: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261424997235 I have messaged him with what I know about these (which is a fair bit) and a link to the review, but he has declined to update his ad with any facts! J.

Just to be contrary - pearl! Although black pearl would be even better... Anyway, I'm two years late to this particular party, but what a stunner - the whole design works so much better than you'd think it would. I'd like to see one of these with maple board/pearl blocks. Jon.

So I just don't know. Is this ad the biggest collection of cynical bullsh!t ever put together in a single statement, or is the seller genuinely a pitifully deluded & ripped-off tragedeian who actually believes this spiel? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261424997235"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261424997235[/url] The bass is a low-end Korean-made through-neck P copy from about 1980, commonly sold in the UK as a Satellite model 91. I'd like to give the seller the benefit of the doubt, but the fact you can see where a logo's been scraped off the headstock, and use of phrases such as "the Ibanez factory" tends to turn my cynicism dial up to 11. J.

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1394902041' post='2396519'] I use palm muting with a pick. I have been playing for many years and have never injured my self doing it!! [/quote] Same here, it's a big part of my technique when using a pick. Although saddles with long protruding screws can be a bit scratchy. A major part of pick technique is to get upstrokes & downstrokes even & fluid, and play from the wrist, not the forearm - unless you're Phil Lynott! And listen to Dennis Dunaway. Jon.

Nice example but IMO a bit overpriced, £150-£175's probably fair enough for one o' them. J.

I've wanted to try a short scale for a while now, had a few low-end 70s JapCrap examples (mostly cheap EB-0 copies) but that's not what I want. I have had some significant GAS for one of these for quite a long time now: Which is a Daisy Rock Stardust Elite - I think it's stunning and it's had some excellent reviews. I do appreciate that wanting to own this - and indeed gig it - means that I may well not be as other men. But that's not a bad thing. Jon.

That's a set-neck, isn't it? Anyway, does look like a bargain, if I wasn't being good & not cluttering myself with more basses I don't play, I'd be sorely tempted. J.

On aesthetics alone, I'd lose the Lakland. They're both stunners but the other (whatever it is) is a proper head-turner. Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1394448938' post='2391333'] YUMMY Quest [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARIA-QUEST-BASS-exhibition-RARE-neck-through-UNIKA-/230474918619?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=p2056016.l4276[/url] [/quote] Very nice, very expensive, and very not an Aria. Where do people get these ideas? J.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1394370687' post='2390720'] Jon - active? The bass, not you. [/quote] I want no part of this so-called "activity"! Too much like hard work... The through-neck Force 40 in the Washburn ad has 2-band parametric eq so this might be the same although it looks like it lacks one of the switches. Looks like the seller's correct about the model number - after uncharacteristically paying attention I noticed the actual bass itself is in this catalogue pic: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/catalogs/1985/pg4.html"]http://www.matsumoku...s/1985/pg4.html[/url] No info on the circuitry, though. J.

Gorgeous, that. You'd have to lose the selector switch & wire it v/v/t or stick a pan pot in, though. J.

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1394330870' post='2390430'] If you drop it down to, let's say 130-ish, you might have a buyer! [/quote] A fight, more like! J.

Oh - price now dropped to £270 - looks like someone's earwigging! Still too dear, if you're listening.... J.

That's a two-pickup version of a Force 8 BBR: http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/catalogs/bbr/bbr_pg2_web.jpg.html £300 is somewhat steep, he'd realistically get £200-ish in a straight £1 start auction, I should think. I do love the BBR colour scheme but it's so 80s it hurts! Jon.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1394141406' post='2388477'] If it was an SGV rather than an SBV, I'd be on it! [/quote] You wouldn't, 'cos I'd have bought it & not told you... J.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1394114806' post='2388069'] From what I've read, the Kay/Satellite brand were likely from the same maker as the Silvertones, ie. Teisco? [/quote] Some post-US manufacture Kays might have come from Teisco (more likely Kawai, who acquired Teisco in 1969) but most of them were Taiwanese & Korean. A Kay is only a Kay when it says Kay on the end, so this bass isn't a Kay. 'Kay? Regarding Satellite. This was a low-end UK brand owned by FCN music, who also owned Columbus & Kimbara. As far as I can tell all Satellites were Korean and absolutely nothing to do with Teisco. I have never seen an example of this type of bass badged as Satellite, and as far as how we identify a Satellite, refer to my handy guide to recognising a Kay, and substitute the word "Satellite". Pretty much everything that Ebay sellers & other assorted internet experts claim is a Teisco isn't one. J.

Like the title says, Yam SBV for a half ton, on Edinburgh Scumtree: http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/yamaha-bass-guitar/1051481212 Needless to say, if I didn't already have one, I'd be having this one. If it was a different colour I might anyway. But that way madness lies. Jon.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1394037373' post='2387229'] MB1. Tiesco Silvertone 1490 it is... [/quote] Isn't. Actually these come up very frequently, and were made by various factories in at least two different countries (Japan & Korea) and really all you can say is that it's a generic 70s short-scale bass with a design influenced by Burns. Silvertone was a US importer brand so it's monumentally unlikely that one would turn up in the UK (assuming the OP's from the UK), and if Teisco ever made this model, it wasn't sold either under their name or any other brand exclusively connected to Teisco. If I had one of these & wanted to profiteer from it, I'd likely direct anyone interested to this page: http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catalogs/75_aria/75_aria_catalog_pg1.jpg.html Although I very seriously doubt these were made by Matsumoku. But you never know... Jon.