Bassassin

[quote name='tino' post='990310' date='Oct 16 2010, 03:53 PM']well heres my Ebay pileapants for this week,modded and not in the best of condition ,I paid to much ...BUT IT..Sings Like an Angel abeit a dirty nasty tart of one Will I ever learn[/quote] I do hope not! So what's this then - Ibby Artist, AS series? Don't know my semis too well... And the ICW purists would have kittens over all those switches! Anyway what the hell am I on about - GTFO with that bloody g*it*r, Quisling! J.

Bring back :brow: - the GAS one is rubbish. Jon.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='989713' date='Oct 15 2010, 10:14 PM']And at the higher end (of price anyway), I just wish I could think of a reason to buy this ... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Teisco-Audition-Japan-Double-Neck-six-and-bass-/300480274729"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Teisco-Audit...s-/300480274729[/url][/quote] Absolute piece of nasty, cheapo crap. £500? Surely no-one would be retarded enough to pay that for this pile of arse. And it's [b]not[/b] a f@cking Teisco - it's sh!tty Korean rubbish. J.

Just to draw a conclusion from Bass Doc Howard's astute observations - this is a 70s copy, almost certainly Korean, or to be more specific a Hondo, made in the Samick factory. Expect to find lovely splintery plywood under all that black paint - these were not particularly good quality copies. Hondos don't sell very well on Ebay - if this still had its original logo and wasn't being sold by either a retard or a liar, it would be lucky to make half the £122 it's currently sitting at. Jon.

I have sold loads and don't really, really regret any - possibly though my Washburn B20 Stage, my first quality bass, which I sold to a mate in the mid 80s so I could buy an Aria RSB Deluxe II. I wanted to learn to slap, and the Washboard was a vaguely Explorer-shaped effort, with the P pup jammed up against the end of the fingerboard, and was (at least for me at the time) unslappable. I did love the Aria & it was my main bass for about 15 years, until the neck developed an uncorrectable twist. Anyway if I still had the Washburn I'd probably just sell it now because they can get some quite daft money these days & I'm a total gyppo... Things I feel vague pangs about that I've sold recently would be an SQ series Squier Precision, gorgeous thing and the nicest P I've played, I doubt I'll see its like again; a very accurate no-name JapCrap Gibson Grabber copy, in lovely condition, and my Ibanez SR800LE. I bought the Ibby to replace the Aria, it got a lot of use for a few years but I hadn't touched it for 4 or 5 - so I swapped with a BCer for a Peavey T-40, which is a lumpy, backbreaking boat-anchor compared to the featherweight, ergonomic sleekness of the SR800. JapCrap FTW, I'm afraid. A couple of months ago I found myself in an unforseen financial black hole and [i]nearly[/i] sold my Tokai Talbo - fortunately I saw sense at the last minute & weathered the crisis. I would have been gutted if I'd parted with it, as it turned it would have been for nothing anyway. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160492466299"]Decent-ish looking P project, £35 BIN[/url] You'll have to be quick - it runs out in about 35 mins! Not a Marlin, more likely an Italian-made Melody, although with no pics of the back I can't be too sure. If I didn't have a basement full of crap projects & little time (or inclination, if I'm honest) to sort them, I'd grab this myself - probably wouldn't take much to sort. J.

I co-write with our singer, up until now (that's 9 years) the guitarist & drummer have chosen to have no creative input as far as composition is concerned. This has worked fine, although some more collaborative input would be interesting - although the band started as a writing/recording project with me & the singer, so we're used to working this way. I'm very happy for the other guys to interpret and embellish the guitar parts & drum patterns I create, as I'm an average guitarist and no drummer at all. The vast majority of the lyrics & melodies come from the singer, although she has used the occasional idea or line I've come up with. Things are changing a little, as we're working with a different drummer on our most recent material (it's a strange situation - we seem to have ended up with two drummers, each playing a different set of songs!) and he's composing his own parts from the ground up, and also adding some keyboard parts to our current bass/guitar/drums/voice compositions. He writes & records himself so I'm hopeful there will be some more collaborative composition in the future. Jon.

[quote name='TransistorBassMan' post='988137' date='Oct 14 2010, 03:35 PM']Does it really matter? I've played music that I've written and I've played music that someone else has written.[/quote] Like I said several (hundred) pages back - if you're a bassist in an originals band, nine times out of ten you'll be playing music that someone else has written anyway. It makes no difference beyond what you personally want & enjoy. J.

[quote name='lanark' post='987838' date='Oct 14 2010, 11:10 AM']Ok - you're in a moderately successful band playing their own music.[/quote] I have a question for Twigman regarding this. The band you play with, as far as I can see, recorded & toured presumably on a pro or semi-pro basis predominantly in the 80s, and recorded (according to the band website's discog) sporadically between 1990 & 2003. Are you still writing, recording, releasing and (most importantly) performing new material now? If you're not (and forgive me for making something of an assumption here) and you're gigging your best-known material for an audience of old fans from the 80s who want to hear the classics - in what way is that manifestly & functionally any different to playing covers or even being a tribute band? My 80s & 90s originals bands didn't reach anything like the level of success that yours did, but if someone were to offer me money to get back with the guys from those bands for a few gigs - yes, I'd do it. But those bands & the songs I wrote & played back then have nothing to do with me as a musician now, and while I would probably enjoy the experience, it wouldn't have anything to do with why those bands existed in the first place - and from that perspective I doubt I'd feel particularly satisfied with it. Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='987389' date='Oct 13 2010, 08:45 PM']Look out for one of the fretless Westone Thunders, they come up and don't get bid so high due to the specialist nature.[/quote] These are great basses - but I think the factory fretless was unlined, also the Thunder 1 (most common & cheapest) has a single P pup, so not really a Jazz style. Personally I've been tempted for a while by the Squier VM fretless, not heard a bad word about them & they sell on here for £150 or less. Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='985585' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:11 PM']Isn't 300 (+ P&P) a bit too much for this?[/quote] Just a bit! It's both wrecked and erm, "specialist". Jon.

There's no one method that works for me - although usually it will start with a guitar part and build from there. Usually an interesting & memorable riff or chord sequence will suggest other directions it can go off in, I don't force the process and just play around with ideas, and an arrangement will tend to come together organically. I write with a singer and sometimes she'll give me completed lyrics & melody and some ideas of style, tempo & feel. To be honest that's easier for me, or at least, more immediate - composing an arrangement around a lyric/melody is simply fleshing out something that already exists. The downside is that it's easier to end up with a more generic end result - which considering my band's somewhat proggy inclination, isn't necessarily desirable. Jon.

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='985558' date='Oct 12 2010, 11:48 AM']Unless I'm seeing things, there are holes in your scratchplate ahead of the tone/volume knobs. My T-40 doesn't have those.[/quote] Right - I'm with you now, sorry! Just had a look through the T-40 Porn thread & it looks like earlier toaster pup models all seem to have these holes, drilled as position markers next to the controls. It looks like it was discontinued on later models - one pic of a rail pup example has them & the rest don't. As far as I can see the ones with markers are all like mine - just a hole drilled in the plate, with the inside of the foil showing through. These are clearly visible on one pic of Eric's toaster tanburst, & look just the same as mine. I assume there was never an insert or inlay in these - just a bit of sticky foil! Is yours a later bass? J. Edit: Ha - cross post! Edit v.2 - Eric's right, it doesn't go all the way through. I didn't get much sleep last night.....

Arrived safe & sound - I'll get it scanned, traced, PDF'd and otherwise archived & then send it on to Mr Umph. J.

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='985450' date='Oct 12 2010, 10:23 AM']Mine doesn't have any extra ones.[/quote] What extra holes are you talking about? What do you mean by "extra"? Genuinely confused here! J.

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='985406' date='Oct 12 2010, 09:56 AM']Is there a reason for the extra holes in bassassin's scratchplate?[/quote] I think mine's standard - don't they all have far too many holes? Eric? J.

I think the break-angle over the nut will be what makes a difference to tension rather than the length of string behind the nut. Fender types often suffer from a shallow angle on the E & A because of the headstock design, I think a second string tree for these two strings would help. Also make sure when you string up that the windings go from top to bottom of the post, so the string comes out at the lowest point. This should help make the angle sharper & improve tension. I really wouldn't advocate using superglue to attach a nut - if it needs to be replaced there's every possibility that it'll take lumps of wood with it when you try & remove it! Use a good-quality wood glue like Titebond. I'll agree with Mog's DiMarzio suggestion - just dropped a set of old PAF-stickered Model Js into mine & it sounds lovely. Jon.

Easy. This: [attachment=61130:csledit.jpg] The current incarnation of my 1979-ish CSL JapCrap Jazz, now wearing DiMarzio Model Js & sexy stack knobs. Simply the most comfortable, playable and (with its new pups) most useable-sounding bass I've owned. I have a ridiculous & unnecessary number of basses, but all the rest can get flung on the fire to warm me through the coming nuclear winter, apart from this one. Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' post='984601' date='Oct 11 2010, 04:54 PM']Jon, you have a lovely looking bass - if it's OK with you, I'll stick the pics up on the T-40 section in Gear Porn. Did anyone on here get this [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170548310933&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]T-40 Tanburst[/url] I know a couple of you were looking at it. Cheers. [/quote] By all means post the pics Eric! That Tanburst's an absolute stunner, & in a way I'm not too surprised at the price given the finish & condition. T-40s seem to be on the up at the moment, one like mine only quite a lot rougher went for £340 a week or two ago. Definitely hanging onto mine - it really is a delight to play. By the way Eric, completely forgot to get those Tele Thinline bits off to you - I'll get it sorted! J.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='984921' date='Oct 11 2010, 09:16 PM']What wood is it-any idea ? Very heavy thats fer sure ![/quote] This sort of body tends to be mahogany butcher-block sandwich with front & back veneers. Not sure what wood but apparently birch on the Fujigen-built J copies, which were made the same way. J.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='984540' date='Oct 11 2010, 04:03 PM']Sure does look a lot like this.. Which is my old 73 Eros. Only one I ever saw with these pups, which aint humbuckers, but they have a lovely deep growl. Bit microphonic, but I filled em with hot wax years ago, and that more or less eliminated it. Often thought they looked more Gibson-ish though, same with the machine heads. Anyone know if there is/was any connection between Eros and MIJ Matsumoko ? [attachment=61062:b.jpg] [attachment=61067:c.jpg] [attachment=61065:d.jpg] [attachment=61069:e.jpg][/quote] Yours is the same bass as Tino's. When he got it, the silhouette of the Eros badge was clearly visible on the headstock. Anyway - Eros. First of all there's no connection to the Italian E-Ros brand (whatever the Ebay "experts" might say), Eros & Eros Mk II were names used by UK distributor Rosetti, and some of their guitars were indeed from Matsumoku - including this Jazz. They also sourced from Fujigen (I had an Eros Tele identical to the equivalent Ibanez) and later ones - particularly the garish LP copies - were Korean & not very good. The MIJ ones however are typically good quality. J.

Fair enough - thought they tended to go for £150ish + postage round here. J.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bass-guitar-/270647663827"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bass-guitar-/270647663827[/url] I don't need this at all - so someone pull the trigger & save me from myself! Jon.

[quote name='Soliloquy' post='983714' date='Oct 10 2010, 08:01 PM']Having good technical ability and playing something 'inappropiate are two entirely different things. Having good technique enables you to play what you are hearing, or what the band/MD/producer/artiste wants you to play. Playing something inappropiate is just showing off or not caring about the music. Good technical ability is as important in music as it is in football, snooker, tennis or anuthing else 'physical'. It is not and cannot possibly be a hindrance to your creativity if you are able to play comfortably what you are hearing in your mind. Anyone who says otherwise is talking rubbish.[/quote] This, 100%. Jon.