Bassassin

[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.

That's nearly a Katana headstock shape in the TB link. Just a bit too stubby. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1019700' date='Nov 11 2010, 08:51 AM']It's probably genuine, but the Ibanez logo looks to me like someone painted it on with Tippex ... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-IBANEZ-BASS-no-reserve-JAPAN-1970s-/190465173911?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c589be997"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-IBANEZ-BASS-no-r...=item2c589be997[/url][/quote] Here's another one - maybe Fujigen had a sideline in correction fluid! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Ibanez-2030-Bass-Guitar-/280587458740"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Ibanez-2030-Ba...r-/280587458740[/url] J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1019142' date='Nov 10 2010, 06:32 PM']Just in case anyone was looking to upgrade their RickenFaker ... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HIPSHOT-Rickenbacker-Ric-Bass-Bridge-/260690744705?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cb2611581"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HIPSHOT-Rickenbacker...=item3cb2611581[/url] Without doing any research at all, that looks like a pretty decent price to me.[/quote] It ain't at all bad, and you hardly ever see the aluminium ones in the UK. If that was black I'd be all over it. And no, these are not for real Rickenbackers. We must consider Mr Hall's blood pressure, and maintain the long-held tradition of hit-or-miss saddle height & intonation. And palm-muting? Never!!! J.

[quote name='daz' post='1019141' date='Nov 10 2010, 06:32 PM'][url="http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2174416"]close up of neck[/url] The neck seems to be 'bolted' on with two small screws. NB, look at the strange refelction on the top tuning peg on pic #4. Looks as if the devil is caught in it. [/quote] Looks like that neck's never been fitted. Dunno what that is but the one I played a week or so ago was a Jazz just like any other. Fender headstock, bent-tin bridge, 4-bolt neckplate (neck fit was very good) normal J pups etc. The only thing I couldn't be certain of was the body construction - could've been ply or some sort of MDF type material under the paint. Didn't appear to be demonically possessed either, more's the pity. J.

My local Costco had one of these plugged into a little praccy amp last time I was in, so I couldn't resist a look & a quick noodle. Could have done with a little tweaking, like any straight-out-of-the-box bass, but I was pretty impressed - solid, well-put together & perfectly playable. Sounded decent enough even through the little rubbish guitar amp. So yes - good little budget bass - but I wouldn't pick it over a used VMJ or CVJ for the same (or less) money. Jon.

I've seen (and scraped my way through) much worse refins. That'd come off no problem with a bit of wire wool & elbow grease, and the original finish would come up OK with some T-cut. Too bad about the hack-job defret. Why do so many people feel they have to attack perfectly good JapCraps with pliers & screwdrivers? J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1018255' date='Nov 9 2010, 11:19 PM']Jolana Diamant, perhaps?[/quote] It is early 70s JapCrap - my first halfway decent bass was a beat-up one of these, exactly the same. J.

ATK copy, certainly. I always get the impression it's pot luck with these brand-new cheapos off Ebay - if you're lucky it might be well put-together & playable, or you might end up with a banana-necked piece of junk with the frets popping out. Get a good one and it would probably be a good candidate for upgrading. I have a slight aversion reaction to ATKs, which is probably due to the one I spotted on Ebay for £99 BIN a few years ago. Couldn't afford it at that instant so I flagged it up on here. The guy who bought it said if he ever sold it on he'd offer it to me first - which he subsequently did, at nearly 3 times what he paid for it. Human beings, eh? Jon.

Considering the rubbish that gets written about 70s Fakers & Jap copies in general, both on Ebay & on less specialised forums than this one, I think it's pretty likely that a lot of people were under the impression they were [b]all[/b] "made by Ibanez". In this guy's case I think it was probably general ignorance rather than considered bullsh!t - my message would have been very easy to ignore, never mind publish on his listing. Keeping the same price is beyond mental, though. J.

Absolutely love it - it's a toss-up between this & Neepheid's Gibbo Victory restoration for BC Project Of The Year. Matching headstock face though Nige, surely! Jon.

[quote name='Musky' post='1017043' date='Nov 8 2010, 11:35 PM']Good to see you're getting another quote in this one Jon. You really ought to be on commission. [/quote] It's a mangled, misquoted interpretation of something I once posted somewhere. That's the problem with sh!t like this on Ebay - these retards just misquote hard-researched bits of discussions and chop them around to fit whatever piece of broken car-boot junk they're trying to offload. Annoyingly I can't even message him to tear him off a strip because he's taken what I said and bastardized it in his own semi-literate fashion. J.

[quote name='icastle' post='1016355' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:51 PM']I'm off to the carboot next weekend to find myself a few grands worth of guitars for a tenner - couple of those a month and it'd sure beat working for a living [/quote] I highly recommend it - although my biggest success so far has been punting a 1963 Watkins Rapier for £250. Paid £6 for it but it needed a [i]lot[/i] of restoration. J.

You're right, of course. It's the kneejerk bullsh!t I can't stand though. Here's a rather nice Aria Pro II bolt-neck c/w undisclosed reserve to make it all better. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270660581854"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=270660581854[/url] J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1016302' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:13 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Law-suit-Bass-Rick-copy-/200540762141?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb129301d"]"Ibanez" with added historical revisionism.[/url][/quote] That was funny. Clearly I have too much time on my hands today: [quote]I'm intrigued to know how you identify this bass as an Ibanez, since it apparently bears no maker's name. Your information is interesting but incorrect - Peter Hook played a Hondo Rick copy (this is well documented) and Hondo was a Korean low-end brand, built in the Samick factory. Ibanez 4001 copies were built by Fujigen Gakki in Japan and differ quite drastically from yours - they all feature checquered edge binding, and earlier versions have quite different pickups & inlays. A 1977/8 Ibanez will have a neck plate stamped with a serial number & Made In Japan - does yours? If so it would be a good idea to picture it in your listing. Unfortunately however yours looks to me like the model played by Hooky - a Korean-made Hondo. If it has a plain neckplate and the plywood construction is visible on the body edges, then that's exactly what it is. Best of luck - Jon.[/quote]

If it's a song I'm not familiar with as a listener I prefer to just hear it through a good few times until I "know" it, which will allow me to approach it more naturally (for want of a better word) with a view to playing it. Which version (if there's a choice) will be based on band consensus and then it's a matter of working parts out by ear - if something's not clear I'll consult other versions or even Youtube interpretations. Don't use tab much because it's a bit too much like reading (token topical reference! ) and if I can't hear it clearly, then the 13-year-old American kid that tabbed it isn't likely to have either. I'm not good at being a slavish imitator so unless the original bass part is a definitive component, or has parts I really like, then my line will tend to be an interpretation that works in context and that I enjoy playing. Jon.