Bassassin

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1033603' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:07 AM']Musicman truss rod wheel of fortune.[/quote] You'll find this on any number of bum-end cheapo Jap & Korean guitars going back to the 60s [quote name='Chris2112' post='1034154' date='Nov 23 2010, 05:49 PM']When thinking of this I usually think of Kubicki first, I'll elaborate on a few points: The neck is 34 laminates of maple, chosen by Phil because he wanted a super stiff neck but without the high cost of graphite. It's ultra stiff and stable and doesn't suffer from dead spots![/quote] You'll also find this on oriental cheapos from the 60s onward - known to JapCrapologists as strip ply or strip mahogany, realistically they probably used it for its cheapness rather than stiffness - but they don't tend to twist & warp. Anyway - I'll suggest CNC machines for guitar manufacture - that'll be Matsumoku, 1974, iirc. Jon.

Interesting pair! The Corley looks innocuous at first but gets weirder the closer you look! I love the way the logo's a shonky knock-off of the old Peavey design! I would say it's probably Korean or Taiwanese - it's a bit too strange for JapCrap, by the time the Japanese started making copies they tended to be a bit more accurate. If the J pup's a DiMarzio it should be 4-wire, coloured green, white, black & red. I doubt the Schaller bridge is original. The LP bass is much more up my street, and I'd agree, early 70s. I've seen unbranded basses like this which have that big, horizontally-split headstock diamond a good few times - in fact I owned one back in nthe mists of time. Looks like then tuners aren't original on this. Got any pics of the back? Unfortunately, I don't know who made these, but I'm fairly confident that they weren't from any of the "big name" Japanese factories. I've not seen this particular model with a brand name but the plain Les Paul bass version (which is what I had) appears with several different names, including Jedson. Jon.

Arse. If he'd been posting that I would've just pulled the trigger & thought about it later. J.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1032709' date='Nov 22 2010, 03:01 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westone-Thunder-II-R-H-electric-bass-padded-gig-bag-/260696812325?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cb2bdab25"]Really nice passive Westone Thunder II[/url] just been listed - BIN £100.[/quote] A hundred quid? Ridiculous, ludicrous bargain for a through-neck Thunder! Someone in Oxford get it bought! J.

Some black-as-the-ace-of-spades JapCrap - Westbury Track 2: [attachment=64631:track2full.jpg] And now, some close-formation aerobatics from the Westbury Synchro Pair: [attachment=64632:Westbury...hro_Pair.jpg] Jon.

[quote name='Musky' post='1032174' date='Nov 22 2010, 07:13 AM']Whoa, that's pretty gross! I didn't think it was possible to make one of those Kay 'fakers look worse than they already were. [/quote] It's amazing what can happen when misguidedness & hamfistedness come together! It's very easy to improve the appearance of one of these, with fire. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1031372' date='Nov 21 2010, 01:34 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nice-Rickenbacker-4003-copy-/260695969433?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cb2b0ce99"]Not quite so good value at £475[/url][/quote] Curious! The same guy has one of these on at £50 start/no reserve - that's probably a bit more interesting: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Rickenbacker-bass-copy-Bruce-Foxton-/260696408955"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Rickenbacker-b...n-/260696408955[/url] Right tempted by a red one at £249, though. J.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='1031084' date='Nov 21 2010, 12:49 AM']That red faker will look nice with a Black hipshot ricky bridge.....[/quote] Exactly what I thought. Black tuners too. J.

Now gorn like a caribou. Anyone on here? Jon.

Indeed - Kay "Kelvinator" style, US-made & rare as rocking-horse poo. Not a lot to do with the plywood Taiwanese tat from the 70s that many of us shudder at the thought of. Jon.

So is a luthier building the bass for the OP, using the Jap Faker he got here? Just trying to clarify what's going on, having missed this when the first post was up. Although I don't know why he doesn't just come on the thread & tell us! J.

Anecdotally, most of Geddy's best-known stuff - from Permanent Waves up until he started using a Wal in the studio - was apparently recorded using his Jazz. I think his problems with the Rick were size/shape/weight related. He's only little! J.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1030289' date='Nov 20 2010, 11:53 AM']I saw VW earlier this year and he really is an amazing player, but even so, I prefer his playing in a band context.[/quote] My feelings exactly - having seen him with The Flecktones I loved his playing as part an excellent virtuoso band. While the stunt-bass stuff is blindingly impressive when he's actually doing it 15 feet away from you, it's questionable (to me, at least) how musical most of it is. Unfortunately I can't help getting the feeling it's the pyrotechnics, rather than his ability & taste as a consummate ensemble player which have people bandying around words like "best". I take exception to "best" in the context of music. It implies a creative art is some kind of competition. Jon.

[quote name='danbowskill' post='1030180' date='Nov 20 2010, 09:56 AM']oh dear that looks proper sh.te(prob sound wonderful)...but what was he thinking?? ..[/quote] He was bassist in the original Alice Cooper band back in the 70s - it probably went with the rest of the look! I'm guessing you've never seen his EB-3? [attachment=64450:dunaway_frogbass.jpg] J.

[quote name='SS73' post='1030230' date='Nov 20 2010, 10:54 AM']oh hang on my mistake, he modified his with non Ric parts, a proper bridge and decent tuners, silly me. [/quote] There is that! Also it would require his endorsement & he's always said he never actually enjoyed playing Ricks, it was only ever about the sound. Not the best publicity for RIC. J.

If it plays well & you like it, then why not make it sound better? What are you considering upgrading? Unless the tuners & bridge don't actually work properly, changing these would probably be a waste of money, but if the existing pickups don't sound great, then replacing these (& possibly the pots & cap) is a worthwhile upgrade if you want to hang on to the bass. There's plenty of choice of decent, well-priced Jazz pups out there, you'll probably find some decent, well-priced sets for sale on here if you're patient. Jon.

Dennis Dunaway tribute project? [attachment=64438:dunaway_jazz.jpg] I've had worse ideas... Jon.

Either this, or something very similar, has been on before. The way it's been done looks to me like a conversion to headless, possibly the result of a headstock break. I did something similar to a guitar I maimed back in the 80s. Otherwise it looks like a generic late 70s/early 80s Japanese or Korean through-neck. I don't recognise the shape, but if I'm right about the headless mod, the body could have been reshaped at the same time. Or it could just be something obscure in the first place. It does look pretty cool for £150 BIN, as far as one can tell from the little pic. Not sure where you'd put it when you weren't playing it, though - apart from a couch or a case! Jon.

Quite rare, but loses points for changed pickups & bodged jack repair. The Greco versions seem to come up a lot more often, they're set-neck but otherwise identical. Probably cheaper too. Jon.

[quote name='paul h' post='1029782' date='Nov 19 2010, 07:05 PM']Late to the party again. Anyone care to summarize the last 10 pages for me? Did shouty man get his comeuppance?[/quote] I think he's pretty much guaranteed that he'll never sell his bass, or anything else on here, that probably counts as comeuppance. We've also seen the birth of a new forum celebrity - TIM. J.

Well, I don't suppose the poor sod's feeling any too happy about this at the moment. But really - what the hell did he [i]think[/i] was going to happen? He might think twice about chucking his rattle around & having a paddy next time - both online & out there. I'm kind of of the opinion that on the whole, the world might be a slightly better place if more people had it explained to them when they were acting like a right twat. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1029503' date='Nov 19 2010, 03:50 PM']Wipe down with meths and electrical tape. Electrical tape has fooled Bassassin in photos of a Rickenfaker.[/quote] If you're talking about your CMI pre-restoration, I think that was down to the pic quality rather than the artistry of the work! If it's not, then I blame short-term memory loss. I think electrical tape would have a tendency to peel off, particularly the lower side. I've seen painted-on "binding" on cheap 70s Korean tat, looked OK apart from where it was chipped. I think that's the best idea, if you can mask it accurately. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1029485' date='Nov 19 2010, 03:38 PM']That's rather nice, Jon, but the perspex fingerpull is a stylistic disaster.[/quote] Must admit I quite like it, although I doubt I'd have one on my (theoretical) copy because they get in the way of my artless right-hand flailing. J.

[quote name='tino' post='1029551' date='Nov 19 2010, 04:25 PM']Im happy enough buying bits and peices off here ....................never had a problem.........................................BUT SELLING( foget it) CHEAP WADS on HERE [/quote] Tino mate, I think you'll find that's your rather ambitious pricing structure. Some people have to accept that they're just life's natural Ebayers - I mean no insult or disrespect, after all it takes one to know one! J.

Interesting and strange, this. I missed this thread when it was new so I missed the first post, but I presume the OP has a vintage Faker he wants to modify into a 4005 clone. Of the handful of 4005 Faker projects I've seen, a donor neck from a different copy has been the most common starting point. So I don't know why it's been deleted (hopefully he'll post to explain) but I really don't think the threat of legal action from Uncle John's anything to do with it - unless it's sheer paranoia. This is the UK and last time I checked was not subject to US trademark laws, besides RIC is a business with better things to do than poke around personal projects on little UK bass forums. Read my post in the thread about this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=111252&view=findpost&p=1028126"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...t&p=1028126[/url] I'm more concerned that he fears being lynched by a bunch of pitchfork-wielding JapCrappers! While I do think there are better & cheaper sources of parts than a near-pristine 35-year-old CMI 4001 (like a bolt-neck Hondo - the rest of which is rubbish - or any of the much cheaper modern copies), this sounded like an interesting and serious project, and it's a pity to see coverage of it shelved. For the record, if I'm ever lucky enough to come across a cheap, beater 4001S copy, I want to build a 1950s 4000 clone: Jon.