Bassassin

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1023915' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:33 PM']Everyone else's crack converters seem much better than mine. I dropped in one one today, and apart from a Satellite six string, rather awful looking, they've had for ages, nothing. When will I see a decent JPN Jazz Bass in one?[/quote] Right place/right time - that J is the only thing I've ever seen or bought from mine. J

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1024019' date='Nov 14 2010, 09:31 PM']To be fair personal opinions on it's aesthetics are being asked in the thread title. You can't expect for only positive answers to be submitted.[/quote] Quite - and while I wouldn't go as far as Wayne, for what it's worth I don't think the yin-yang design works in this context, and the body shape of the Monarch to me is clunky, cluttered & half-finished looking, like the slightly wonky-looking home-made basses that pop up on Ebay from time to time. Quite like the pretty butterfly, though. Jon.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1023315' date='Nov 14 2010, 12:30 PM']If this really a 70s one, it might be good. I just dont like the ?? in the description. Tempted to have a punt, I've never even tried a fretless. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Antoria-Precision-Bass-Fretless-Japan-70s-/300492119662?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45f6b9de6e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Antoria-Prec...=item45f6b9de6e[/url][/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=7473&view=findpost&p=1020743"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...t&p=1020743[/url] and the subsequent 5 or 6 posts. Always assume any Ebay seller has no idea what he's talking about. For a change this one's admitting he knows nothing rather than just inventing random lies. In short, it's a 70s Antoria built by Fujigen & these were very good. J.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1023289' date='Nov 14 2010, 11:55 AM']My local Crack Converters (Lewisham) has a fairly tidy-looking bound 'n' blocked Sunburst Columbus Jazz for £65. Some wear to the finish on the neck, but looked quite well set up. Usual black-edged sunburst to hide the plywood. Good deal? Par for the course? Rip Off?[/quote] Play it, try & find fault/pick holes and they might knock the price down - I got a Satellite Jazz copy for £25 by doing this. The neck pup just needed to be re-soldered. If they won't bite, hand over the £65 and walk out grinning - these are pretty decent 70s copies and would make at least twice that in a 99p/no reserve Ebay sale. J.

This looks quite tidy for £40 BIN: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Jazz-Style-Bass-/270662847508"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Jazz-Style-Bass-/270662847508[/url] Sunburst J hybrid with a Satellite neck. Pick up only from Dorset. J.

Guitarist in my band has an SG200, the skinny-string version of this. These were a budget range from 1972, although pretty scarce now because they only made them for a year or so, and in small quantities. Single-coil pups in the guitar make it a bit Tele-ish, but quite prone to feedback. I'd guess the bass probably sounds a bit brighter & more defined than a standard Mudbuckered Gibbo of the era. Think I've only ever seen one bass vesion before. Jon.

[quote name='Davo-London' post='1022082' date='Nov 13 2010, 01:09 AM']The vehemence of the "it can't make any difference" camp sounds like denial to me.[/quote] Why do you think that? What would be the logic in denying it if it did make an apparent, immediately obvious & quantifiable difference? To my ears, it doesn't, and to my analytical faculties there is absolutely no reason why it should. J.

Aprpos of not a lot, 72 ones & 75 ones are probably identical in pretty much every way. Anyone else got any hairs need splitting, bring 'em over here. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1021197' date='Nov 12 2010, 11:36 AM']That looks like it is made the same as my CMI one.[/quote] I think so, also the same as Annoying Twit's Cimar & my Frankenbugger. Absolutely no idea who made them though, which is irritating. J.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1021327' date='Nov 12 2010, 12:58 PM']priced to keep the riff-raff out [/quote] OK - I'll find a cheap one to spend my scumbag money on, then! J.

I would bite your arm off for that Daisy Rock, been looking for one of those for a while. If the price was a bit closer to what I remember you paid for it... Jon.

I've sold my fair share of JapCrap on Ebay. Typically I might expect to get about 60 or 70 watchers on (say) a decent Les Paul copy, and in the last few hours of the auction watch a scrap between two (three if I'm lucky) different bidders. I always run low-start no reserve auctions but there are seldom more than ten different bidders, including all the sub £10 lowball chancers. I watch loads of stuff, mostly just from curiosity, sometimes to gauge interest in something similar I want to sell - and very occasionally with a view to bidding myself. I don't get the impression I'm particularly odd in this. It's really like this tit doesn't get how Ebay works at all. J.

He wants 2 grand for it now. Mentalist. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1020995' date='Nov 12 2010, 08:53 AM']Not that I will be bidding on the Antoria, but I'm curious to know how nice your Ibanez was. 1972 is, I thought, before the golden era of Japanese instruments. How was it?[/quote] I do keep banging on about this but pre-serial Fujigens (mostly Antoria & Ibanez) cannot be dated that accurately unless a model was discontinued or changed drastically. Fujigen introduced serial numbers in late 1975 so the most accurate it's realistically possible to be with Jack's fretless is 1975 or earlier. In fact the [url="http://www.ibanez.ru/info/catalog/1975/06.jpg"]1975 Ibanez catalogue[/url] shows a 2366FLB identical to Jack's. I have a fretted Ibanez 2366B Precision, pre-serial, which has details - specifically the number of position dots - which make me inclined to think it's early rather than mid-70s. Essentially it's a fretted version of the bass on Ebay, and like a lot of Fujigen copies from the era, while it's an extremely well-made bass it isn't a fantastically accurate copy. The body's quite narrow & "slabby", it has a Jazz-width neck with an oddly round, chunky profile and it has all of the construction peculiarities common on mid-range MIJ copies of the era. However what it also has is a very authentic P-bass tone, and it's a lovely player thanks to the typically high standard of Fujigen fretwork & build. I'd expect the Ebay example to be as consistently good, providing it's not been abused too badly in the last 35 years. J.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1019743' date='Nov 11 2010, 09:36 AM']The Daleks made him do it. (reflection bottom pic )[/quote] OK - so check the reflections in the windows in the other pics and then answer this: WHO - OR WHAT - TOOK THE PHOTOS? Jon.

Ignorant troglodyte - someone should send him a link to this thread. Watching. Jon.

Thing of beauty, sir. I'll have a dig around & see if I can match the vine style to a particular factory - just for my own curiosity! That one should do very nicely, if you're moving it on. Jon.

Natural finishes can be stunning - there were painted versions of [url="http://www.maya29.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/talbo/talbof.jpg"]this bass[/url] and they were just a travesty. Jon.

I pretty much gave up after he used the scientific term "sounds like sh!t" for about the fifth time, because unfortunately the entire article was sounding to me a little to much like one long, gaseous, loose bowel movement. I hate this pretentious rubbish so much. Pickups, strings, electronics, playing technique, amp, speaker, EQ, room acoustics etc account for 99.9 of what any electric bass or guitar will sound like. I remain unconvinced that even the bridge or nut - unless they're failing to do their job properly - make a discernible difference to what you hear coming out of your loudspeaker. I suppose a specially trained dog might be able detect whatever influence a bit of wood & a couple of microns of shiny coating have, but it wouldn't be able to describe it too well, so what exactly's left? Good, old fashioned self-delusion. Jon.