Bassassin

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.

He's got a similarly optimistic/mentally challenged/archly comic (delete to fit personal theory) mate in Bath: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-GUITAR-GIBSON-LOGO-LED-ZEPELLIN-JACK-BRUCE_W0QQitemZ130452604384"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-GUITAR-GIBSON-L...emZ130452604384[/url] And you even get STICKERS with this one! J.

Really people - what do we know? We are clearly out of our depth here - as he repeatedly reminds us, he's backed up by the authority & approbation of a bunch of shop assistants. J.

I can only think of one gig where I don't think I played a single flub - and that's out of about 29 years' worth! I screw up regularly, never with car-crash consequences, and just laugh & get on with it. My band plays some pretty convoluted stuff & it has been known to spontaneously collapse into mutual chaos - but we have a knack of pulling it seamlessly back together & I'm pretty sure the audience doesn't usually notice. Or if they do they think it's jazz. Jon.

[quote name='steverickwood' post='1014979' date='Nov 7 2010, 07:35 AM']Haha!! That'll learn ya;) That said, an eerie mist has just crept in from the sea and is hovering around our streets as I write. So it's not exactly summer here. You playing much at mo?[/quote] Very, very quiet gig-wise unfortunately but the band's still practising weekly. Kind of schizoid at the moment as we have two drummers playing two different sets! Basically our long-term drummer Mark has a lot of other commitments, what with being a new dad & playing in a traditional folky band that actually pays him, so we're working with another guy on our most recent material which Mark hasn't really had time to learn. Not exactly sure how this is going to pan out... J.

Leaving aside the seller's obvious mental health issues (unless of course it's an elaborate joke), this is actually very interesting for a 70s Jap P copy - assuming it's not a refinished bitsa, which I'm inclined to think it's not. Neck looks bound as well as blocked: J copies are almost always blocked & bound, but I've never seen this on the few Ps with block inlays that have come up - these have been unbound. I wonder if it's actually Jazz proportions as well. The all-black finish (including the neck) with maple board is another new one on me, in fact I can't think of another Jap Fender copy with a painted neck, never mind the board material. It's actually a really cool bass - suffice it to say if this was £50 on gumtree and within a 15-mile radius, I'd probably buy it. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1015096' date='Nov 7 2010, 11:19 AM']I might go after this - I've always like the Mosrite The Ventures bass but they're well outside what I'm able to pay just now. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Guitar-/280585933754?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item41543993ba"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Guitar-/2805859...=item41543993ba[/url] There's virtually nothing about Sheerline on a quick Google; what do the panel think?[/quote] Not encountered the brand before - or another bass the same as this, as far as I can remember. This looks like a cross between those Aria A200 type things & the budget Mosrite inspired designs that occasionally come up. Shame there aren't better pics but it does look kind of cool. Always had a soft spot for the Mosrite shape (Ramones fan!) and if I ever get the chance of an ultra cheap [url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products/pro_eb_dmb_380.html"]Aria Diamond reissue[/url] I might find it hard to pass up! Jon.

That's the very definition of Care In The Community. Jon.

[quote name='steverickwood' post='1014578' date='Nov 6 2010, 06:06 PM']Hows things way up there?[/quote] Cold! J.

Mister Rickwood - you are a very, very silly man. Jon.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='1013758' date='Nov 5 2010, 09:21 PM']4. You try and lecture us and drop that in at the end......? Funny ? I think not...![/quote] Speaking as a Soulless Ginger Tosser, actually it was. Because they just don't seem to grasp how the lack of a soul makes it so easy to kill without remorse. J.