Bassassin

[quote name='MuseMatt' post='831433' date='May 8 2010, 01:54 PM'](mkay, doublepost..) It's saved I got me a nice Sandberg Precision and treated the Ibby to a set of new strings to make up for threatening it (A)[/quote] Nice one! It'll love you long time now! J.

Buy a bass from [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=19"]here[/url]! You'll get loads more bass for your money! Jon.

If you do a bit of digging there are some interesting factoids floating around regarding the MII Sunns - which of course may not be entirely accurate! Apparently the Sunn brand was EU - only, the same guitars were Squier II in the US and are fairly sought-after. I also read that it's rumoured that early bodies & necks were surplus MIJ production. This sounds like Ebay [s]bullshit[/s] hype and I take with several large mouthfuls of salt, but there's certainly a huge discrepancy between the excellent quality of the necks/fretwork/bodies & the frankly rubbish hardware. Anyway, I'm hoping a Sunn Mustang P will turn up a the local car boot for a tenner. And if I wait long enough, it probably will... J.

Black nylon Dunlops, 1mm, not the Tortex ones because they don't flex and can snap if you're heavy-handed, like me. The springier nylons give a lot more feel than a rigid pick and I'd say a slightly more full & rounder tone. Jon.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='829974' date='May 6 2010, 07:51 PM']Now I remember these back in the day & they were Squier's budget range. £130 is a bit hopeful or am I missing something? [url="http://www.josaka.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24895"]http://www.josaka.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24895[/url][/quote] About half that would be nearer the mark. The early ones (with the Fender-shaped headstock & Sunn amps type logo) are seriously undervalued for how good they are, if the Strat I had was anything to go on - one of the few guitars I regret selling. Jon.

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='828975' date='May 5 2010, 09:08 PM']Granted, the spelling may be down to Dyslexia. Now i feel like a snidey c***.[/quote] I don't think the seller's a native English speaker, judging from the sentence construction & odd phonetic spelling. Great big fiddle though, that. Jon.

Seller says this: [quote]I don't know where it was made as i bought it off of a friend... It plays well and really looks the part.[/quote] Which doesn't exactly sound like he thinks it's the real deal. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='828528' date='May 5 2010, 03:25 PM']Sold before I could ask "will this fit my Cimar?[/quote] That's silly cheap for one of these - and yes, they do fit JapCrap Fakers - got one on my Kasuga and I'm after a black one for the Fireglo Frankenbugger. Mine is brass & incredibly heavy - if I'd seen this (which is aluminium) I might well have bought it & sold my old one. J.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='828055' date='May 4 2010, 11:51 PM']Ahhh I think I posted the link to the gumtree ad for the zzb anyway, its a guitar (forgive me) but look at the price! [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/22/58056522.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/22/58056522.html[/url][/quote] That's demented! I've seen these a couple of times on Ebay & would've thought £250 was a bit nearer the mark. You'd have to really want the Vox logo too - this is identical to a [url="http://www.whitstableguitars.co.uk/Westbury%20Standard%20Black%201.jpg"]Westbury Standard[/url] apart from the headstock, don't think it has the sexy German carve, either. Westys are fantastic little guitars & go for around £200. Or £60 from a charity shop if you're me. J.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='827984' date='May 4 2010, 10:42 PM']A shameless plug for my defretted Aria ZZB Deluxe [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140404850462&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...=STRK:MESELX:IT[/url] Took it apart yesterday to give it a good clean. and added a shim to the neck pocket so that I could adjust the action at the bridge - with the frets gone, the saddles couldn;t go low enough for reasonable action Cheaper here if anyone wants to make an offer by PM[/quote] Now that looks strrrrrrangely familiar! Or could it just be a bizarre coincidence? Best of luck with the sale - give me a reason to kick myself! J.

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='827733' date='May 4 2010, 06:32 PM']This is a fair comment. I shall ask around my local shops and see what they recomend also. If I have to shim, I would prob end up with the Gotoh but we'll see [/quote] They'll likely recommend the most expensive bridge they stock/can get! Shops aren't on the whole staffed by experts (despite what they might want you to think!) - they're staffed by salesmen. I still think if you're heart's set on a BA though you should have one - sod what all the pragmatic old miseries (me included!) think. J.

Squier bridge - exactly the same as any other bent-tin Fender type, surely? Neck shims are frequently an essential part of correct setup of any bolt-neck bass or guitar, saying you're not a fan is like saying you're not a fan of setting intonation & adjusting the truss rod! But if you really want a BAII, go for it, don't let people talk you out of it, it's your bass. Just don't expect miracles for your £70+. And do expect to need a shim. [quote name='Davo-London' post='827562' date='May 4 2010, 03:30 PM']Here this should lighten the load. This was my contribution to the debate. [url="http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/1963478/1"]Fender versus Badass II shootout[/url] Really, at the end of the day, don't bother. Apart from the sonic debate, they don't look right. A lot of famous bassplayers who own Jazzes and Precisions have not changed their bridge. Think about it. Davo[/quote] For those that haven't DL'd the clip, the BAII sounds broadly quite weak & undefined compared to the stock bent tin on several of the recordings. Davo - did you raise the pup to compensate for the increased string height? Jon.

Well, it's your bass & you can do what you please with it. But I doubt you'll find much support for butchering a rare vintage bass among JapCrap fans. J.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='827089' date='May 4 2010, 08:20 AM']I have a Schaller 3D 4-string in the drawer that I'd part with - if interested give me a shout.... G.[/quote] Someone give Geoff a shout - these are excellent bridges. I'd have it myself but I already have a spare waiting for the right project! J.

Rubbish attitude & I don't get the impression he knows his Ricks from the listing. It would take him 10 minutes to pop the plate off this and snap a couple of pics - you don't even have to take off the strings. Anyway - I don't think the 1/2" gap is necessarily a problem here, the change to a 1" gap (between the end of the fretboard & pickup, for the less obsessive readers!) occurred in 1974 but Rickenbacker are notorious for having "transitional" periods when there are design changes, so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a '74 4001 with a 1/2" gap like this. As far as I know it's only the scratchplate that's affected & the routing underneath stayed the same - think I remember a discussion about that at RickResource. Speaking of whom, I'd ask them if I had any concerns about the authenticity of the bass/description. To me the finish looks a bit scarlet & garish to be Burgundyglo, but that's as likely to be the photo/lighting as anything else. On the other hand, it might point to a refin, so that's even more reason to get a peek under the scratchplate. Jon.

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='826308' date='May 3 2010, 11:24 AM']If you're thinking that it's gonna give you an automatic improvement you may be disapointed. The standard Fender bridge does exactly what it's supposed to do very well, especially if you've got the through body stringing option. I've never really understood the point of isolating your strings from your erm...."tonewoods" by sticking a big slab of metal between them. I wouldn't waste your money.[/quote] It's a good point. I'd take it a little further, where you find a lot of bassists are very resistant to the idea that the huge majority of your tone comes from your pickups/electronics and your strings. Oh, and your fingers. Do all those fancy expensive endangered timbers that have been preserved in a peat-bog for 50,000 years[i] really[/i] sound demonstrably better than plywood? Sacrilege, I know, but go on & prove it... J.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='826110' date='May 3 2010, 01:13 AM']Looks like it has a Westone type of body shape but the headless basses I know Westone released look nothing like that.[/quote] I know what you mean - it has that Matsumoku "look" to it. The closest Westone would be the [url="http://www.westone.info/superheadlessbass.html"]Super Headless[/url] - but it's much less "traditional" looking. I'm now back to thinking it's a headless mod -the routing for the tailpiece looks rough & inaccurate, and the body base contour is probably just a convenient coincidence. I always thought a Warwick Vampyre would make a good headless mod for the very same reason... J.

[quote name='MuseMatt' post='825880' date='May 2 2010, 08:57 PM']I feel like replacing the pickup for either an SPB-1 or SPB-3, replacing the pots because they're quite old (not the covers though) and a new bridge too, possibly badass II Not sure whether to sand off the body and re-lacquer it. It's quite damaged as you can see in the added picture. I will definitely stay with the colours (eg: not painting it).[/quote] If it was a Fender of the same age & condition (which looks excellent to me) would you still want to do these things? Vintage Japanese basses are getting more & more sought-after & collectable - particularly Ibanez. I really wouldn't do [i]any[/i] irreversible mods. J.

Apologies to anyone watching this & keeping schtum, but this is very interesting: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300422922371"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300422922371[/url] The body/neck has an air of early 80s JapCrap/Matsumoku about it, & my first thought was that it was a headless conversion using Hohner parts, but looking a bit closer I'm not so sure. I think it's a factory job - and those Hohners with licensed Steinberger parts/designs came out of Cort in Korea. Cort went a bit mental at this point and made a variety of headlesses, sold under their own name as well as Hohner, including a paddle-shaped headless with P & J pups, as well as a headless Precision. They were also making some very nice through-neck stripy headed basses & guitars in various designs, which often turn up branded as Kay. So I'm inclined to think this is a very uncommon mid 80s Cort factory hybrid - anyone else ever seen one of these before? I won't be bidding on this due to having a bad case of The Skint but it would be good to see it inducted into the BC collective - so one of you buy it! Jon.

Here's my modest little Peavey 300 Mk III XP, and 115BX cab. The cab I've had for about 12 years & it was old as the hills when I got it, and the head came from a BCer about a year or so ago as a £50 stopgap: [attachment=48809:peaveyrig.jpg] A year on & I still haven't replaced it because - well - it's a beast! It's apparently only 150 watts but by 'eck they're big watts! Unfortunately the Black Widow is starting to sound a bit flatulent so a new cab, or at least a new driver is on the cards. Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' post='825853' date='May 2 2010, 08:19 PM']Don't Do It!!!!! Please. Pimp something cheep and cheerful. I'll swap you something you can fully pimp up. [/quote] +1. Really - what would you change? Jon.

It's actually a moot point whether there's any discernible improvement. I'm not personally convinced - despite the fact I like to "upgrade" bridges. I just don't happen to like the fact the stock design looks like a tinny afterthought which was intended to be hidden under a cover. I also like the improved adjustability of my preferred alternative. J.

There's a recently revived thread dealing with this very topic: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46765"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46765[/url] My opinion is that it ain't a two-horse race. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='825702' date='May 2 2010, 05:51 PM']The Maya Jazz looks IMHO a lot nicer than this precision, possibly a bitsa? I wonder how the owner knows it's Japanese, or if it is. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-copy-Japanese-vintage-bass-guitar-70-80s-/300423348703?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45f2a081df"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-copy-Japanese...=item45f2a081df[/url][/quote] Looks like a generic P copy, 80s onward, no reason at all to think it's MIJ. There's an Ebay seller mindset which calls any old-ish copy guitar Japanese (or if they want to be specific, "from the Ibanez factory"!), same as the way anything a bit tacky & 60s-looking is automatically a "Teisco". Ebay Experts, eh? J.