Bassassin

I had an SQ P, best Precision I ever played, absolutely beautiful burst & woodgrain: [attachment=60579:sqp2.jpg] [attachment=60580:sqp6.jpg] Really only sold it because I can never get the sound I want from a Precision so it never got used. I regret it every time I look at the pics - doubt I'll get the chance of another one as nice. As far as I know build quality of these & JVs are pretty much identical, main differences seem to be that JVs were highly detailed vintage reissues & the subsequent SQ range was based on Fender's current designs at the time. Jon.

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='977172' date='Oct 4 2010, 02:52 PM']The band I'm in now I write and compose all the music.[/quote] I did say "most" bassists - and so far you're the second person in a 12-page thread who's responded to my observation. Which might well speak for itself. So anyway - you'd walk away from your songs & present band & never look back, for more regular gigs & a bit of cash playing covers? Me neither. J.

In response to the idea that playing covers will broaden your playing & make you a better bassist - absolutely. I learned to play entirely by playing other peoples' songs, and still love to learn & (try to) perfect other players' bass parts that stretch me & challenge me. The trouble is that audiences on the whole don't seem to want to hear the sort of covers which stretch & challenge the bassist! J.

Kimbara J for £20??? These are very, very good - Kimbara was the top-end range from importer FCN Music, and as far as I can tell all their electrics (acoustics are actually more common) were sourced from Matsumoku. Your bass is definitely a mid-70s Matsumoku, who exclusively used the Steel Adjustable type plate. The serial number is probably random - most are on copy-era Mats, but post 75-ish there were some dateable serials using a couple of different schemes on these plates. The pickups, with adjuster screws at the ends only seem to turn up on Mat Jazz copies too. Anyway here's the Aria-badged version of your bass: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catalogs/75_aria/75_aria_catalog_pg3.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catal...og_pg3.jpg.html[/url] I've recently got a batch of old 70s catalogues & leaflets (courtesy of Bass Doc) including a couple of Kimbara ones. The natural finish version of your bass is included (model N.124) and the spec gives the body wood as maple. I'm no wood expert but yours doesn't look "grainy" enough for that or sen, which was also commonly used. I do know they sometimes used birch laminates on mahogany, but I'm guessing yours is solid, by the absence of contour oversprays. Anyway, £20 is a steal, as would £50 have been. Lovely bass and please take more pics! Jon.

That really is cheap. That's the sort of thing a gyppo would buy simply for the outrageous profiteering opportunity. And me stuck up here in Edinburgh... Jon.

Can't tell with this one but this is probably why so many 70s Fenders have such dreadful string & bridge alignment. J.

[quote name='tino' post='976034' date='Oct 3 2010, 02:55 PM']Youve talked me into keeping the bugg*r.The neck swayed it...I cant understand how the body got in the condition it is and the neck appears unused.....I think they possibly used it as a cricket bat... Mrs T is gonna lose it....flowers me thinks may go some way to swaying it. .Yeah like that will do it Possibly 10 days in the Caymans might Shes already kicked my new Fender.....but there was a smile when the Mesa sold on the Bay [/quote] Just tell her about the massive profit you'll make on the Fender when it's finished. And that you'll sell it "as soon as the market picks up a bit". J.

[quote name='tino' post='975810' date='Oct 3 2010, 11:06 AM']Pics[/quote] Cheers for that! August '72, then? J.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='975940' date='Oct 3 2010, 01:26 PM']Thunderbird necks are a lot narrower at the heel than Fenders and the like. There's a seller in th US sells Epi parts. Pm me the width and I'll measure my thunderbird if you like[/quote] He'd have to move the bridge back to compensate but this with a T-bird neck would actually be pretty cool... Would need a forked stick to prop the headstock up, though! J.

[quote name='tino' post='975165' date='Oct 2 2010, 05:10 PM']Yes inkstamped numbers with a sort of engraved Maxon.... no way to test the reading though.......In fact just after my laST post I managed to buy myself a Fender 71 jazz body & neck from a pal that was insistent that he would never sell so Im splitting up this bass and parting it out to pay towards for the parts I need for the Fender....good old recycler that I am....its got a beauty of a neck,nice pups and most of the hardwares good the body needs love but nice basis for a relic....and I cant really undertake 2 projects at this point in time...ones pushing it as far as Mrs T is concerned Needs Must etc etc etc I will take a few pics of the pups for your records if you want them T[/quote] Not sure you'll necessarily make much of a profit parting it out - the unusual pups mean that the body, electronics & scratchplate aren't very much use without each other - there would have to be a bunch of people looking to restore the same type of bass & fighting over the parts for them to get decent bids. The neck would do OK on its own, but you're really only talking about £50 or so. Do it up a bit & sell it complete - sort the wiring, give it a meticulous clean-up, then take some clear, detailed pics & write a good description/listing title & it'll Ebay for a bit more than you paid. Anyway the pickup codes should be 5 numbers - the first is the pickup model, second the year (2=1972 etc), third the month and the last two the day of the month. J.

[quote name='noelk27' post='975615' date='Oct 3 2010, 01:05 AM'][url="http://cortleyguitars.tripod.com/"]http://cortleyguitars.tripod.com/[/url][/quote] Thanks for that Noel - bookmarked. Very interesting, genuinely never encountered this brand before. The bass in question appears to be a CB200: [url="http://cortleyguitars.tripod.com/Catalog1P6.html"]http://cortleyguitars.tripod.com/Catalog1P6.html[/url] J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='975470' date='Oct 2 2010, 10:07 PM']Normally I wouldn't post a bass from the US. But I've never heard of a "Cortley" brand bass. I suppose that back in the day there were loads of micro-brands, the same way the Chinese factories will put "your" brand on a generic instrument. Was Cortley one of these, or was it a better known brand that I just hadn't heard of ye? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-RARE-70s-Cortley-MIJ-P-Bass-Guitar-Case-Blond-/260672279280?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cb14752f0"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-RARE-70s-Cor...=item3cb14752f0[/url][/quote] New one on me, but there are probably hundreds of little US brands that were made in such small quantities that they never see the light of day. Nice-looking bass, but the seller hasn't got a clue what he's on about! J.

[quote name='karlfer' post='975423' date='Oct 2 2010, 09:12 PM']Even the horrendously long Metallica "Am I Evil" went down a storm.[/quote] Think you'll find that was Diamond Head. Metallica covered it. :ph34r: J.

[quote name='andy67' post='975454' date='Oct 2 2010, 09:56 PM']Hondo is my first instinct. andy[/quote] Nah. Johnston was probably right - I'd say Antoria. I don't think Hondo ever did an LP bass, and the pots look MIJ, not Korean. And yes - an Epi EB0 neck might very well work. I think it'd probably be too wide to fit without modification, though. J.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='975339' date='Oct 2 2010, 07:34 PM']I dont think he played on anything Steve jones did it.[/quote] This is right - original bassist Glen Matlock played on Anarchy In The UK and apparently they got him back to play on God Save The Queen, despite the fact he'd been sacked. Jones played everything else. Matlock plays on the Spu nk* bootleg - arguably the only "proper" Sex Pistols album - and he's pretty damn good. I remember reading somewhere that Alan Lancaster didn't play on any Status Quo studio albums. How rubbish would you need to be? Jon. *[i]Note to whoever programmes the autocensor - this [u]isn't[/u] a rude word. Look it up[/i].

[quote name='tino' post='975064' date='Oct 2 2010, 03:17 PM']I feel you are absolutely correct....had it to peices today PUPs are Maxon and lo & behold they work....its the control plate pots etc that are at fault,the neck is very nice with absolutely no fretwear but the body needs some love and a few coats of cellulose luminous green maywell get the vote ,tuners came up real good with a bit of spit and polish.....the bridge has all but had it but thats a relatively cheap fix in the big scheme of things... For Luminous green please read Olympic White....the GD was looking as I was typing Seen and all singing & all dancing control plate on Ebay USA with 28 different variations so thinking pop that baby in...could end up with something very nice for less than 200 sovs T[/quote] Ooh - interesting, seen a few of these pups but never with a brand stamp. Do they have an ink-stamped number as well? Many Maxxons tend to & you can date them from the serial. Very good news that they work - what are they reading? J.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='975094' date='Oct 2 2010, 04:11 PM']Prices ?[/quote] Lots for what they appear to be, if I remember rightly. J.

Yep - keeps telling me I'm doing it wrong. Story of my life... Jon.

[quote name='buff' post='974921' date='Oct 2 2010, 12:49 PM']Anyone heard of them before, product range look's good [url="http://www.tuscanyguitars.com/tuscany_jag_red.html"]http://www.tuscanyguitars.com/tuscany_jag_red.html[/url][/quote] There have been a couple of previous threads, but the search ain't working for me so I can't find 'em. Jon.

This is an early 70s (not 60s) JapCrap Les Paul bass copy, it would've been shortscale (probably 30 - 32") so you'd have real trouble finding a bass neck to fit. If you put a guitar neck on, you will have to reposition the bridge fittings to suit the scale length, which should be around 25". If you do a conversion & put 6-pole guitar pickups in, I'll buy the bass 'buckers off you. Jon.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='974834' date='Oct 2 2010, 11:21 AM']What a cow. I don't even think she's that nice looking really. (sorry marvin). FENDER P-BASSES i mean what's up with them!!!?[/quote] The world's gone mad. Roasted necks? I ask you... And well - she's a Terminator. They do that sort of thing, it's the programming. J.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='974345' date='Oct 1 2010, 05:13 PM']Why covers? Well, why originals? * Greater financial rewards from song publishing, etc? Unlikely in most instances if you're 'only the bassplayer'. * Moral superiority? Unproven * Increased likelihood of being 'signed' - possibly, but only if you're a pretty boy to start off with * Greater social cachet? Sigh.[/quote] None of the above for me. I write songs which I think are good & I want to play them live. I have no idea if they [i]are[/i] actually any good. I see so many original bands who are absolutely tragically awful on every possible level, yet they go out in front of an audience and parade their ineptitude with utter pride & confidence in their songs, their bands, their musicianship. But they're [i]terrible[/i]. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever if I'm any different. J.

[quote name='Marvin' post='974652' date='Oct 1 2010, 10:08 PM']I like Garbage, the singer's really nice :blush:[/quote] Depends what you mean by "nice" - by her own admission, she sh*t on her boyfriend's cornflakes. Jon.

[quote name='silddx' post='974278' date='Oct 1 2010, 04:12 PM']That's a fair assessment I suppose Jon. I'm probably being highly contentious now, but I really do think a large proportion of bassists picked up the instrument because it is easier to play bass with a (simple song-playing) band than it is to play any other stringed instrument. That's not contentious, that is just the truth. However, I do think that a lot of those bassists may have adopted or already held a "second class citizen" attitude, to themselves, the bass, or both and don't even feel worthy or confident to be considered "equal" in their band and have to come on a bass forum to moan about it because they think we are all the same. That may be contentious [/quote] Not my experience (I was inspired to play by bassists who made an upfront, band-defining racket) but I strongly suspect you have a point. The second-class citizen thing does seem pretty endemic in many attitudes - this whole "we only exist to make guitarists/singers sound better" thing, and that "What makes a bad bassist" thread, which has so many variations on the idea that if the audience becomes aware of you, then you're by definition crap. To be honest, I don't know why people who think like that actually play at all. J.

Paul h & Nigel - that's [u]most[/u] bassists in originals bands. I suppose being just the one bassist myself, maybe I presume too much, but I don't think so. Numerous threads on here involve people being told what to play, being sacked/failing auditions for playing too much/above the 12th fret (or not having a Precision or SVT!), generally moaning about being musically a second-class citizen in some guitar player's band. It's also reflected in my own experience and that of many bassists I've known over the years. It certainly looks to me like this typifies the experience of most bassists, and makes it easier & more acceptable to see the move to playing covers as being pretty much inevitable. J.