Bassassin

[quote name='WWRRSS' post='752048' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:50 PM']Mine looked that good once. Sean.[/quote] In fairness, it didn't look much like that when I got it. Scrubbed up nice, though. J.

Pretty in pink - Ibanez 2366b, pre-75: [attachment=43162:2366f.jpg] [attachment=43163:2366n.jpg] Bought this off a BCer (sorry - can't remember your name offhand!) about 4 years ago, gorgeous old thing in fine condition, plays like butter & thumps like a thumpy thing. I don't think the 'trays are original but I'm not complaining! The fretboard has a lovely flame which you can just see a hint of in these pics. 1980 RS924 Roadster: [attachment=43164:rs924v2.jpg] Rubbish pic I'm afraid - I'll have to take some more that do it better justice. Picked this up from ScumTree about 3 years ago, ridiculous bargain at £80, being a total gyppo scumbag I bought it to profiteer (I've seen these Ebayed for £300+) but once I cleaned it up & re-strung it, I couldn't put it down or part with it. This hasn't been out of its case much in the last 30 years, & it's practically spotless - I've gigged it a couple of times but it's a hefty beast & my back doesn't like it for more than half an hour without a lie down! For that reason it's on recording duty - an excellent-sounding bass that seems to be great in any context. Jon.

Best thing you can do for a quick overview is check out the Thunder pages at www.westone.info: [url="http://www.westone.info/indexthunderbass.html"]http://www.westone.info/indexthunderbass.html[/url] And Geoff - what a stunner for £120! It's things like that that keep me going into Crack Converters. Mind you, I think my Thunder 1 guitar was a bit of a bargain: £8. It's good when people don't appreciate the value of something, ain't it? Jon.

It was JJ playing Peaches that lit the blue touchpaper. Subsequently I learned to play by copying every line on The Stranglers' Rattus Norvegicus. It was probably Geddy Lee, & specifically that riff from Xanadu which kept me playing, but there have been a hell of a lot of others... Jon.

If you must have it saying "Fender" on the end, remember that for US basses you pay a premium for the fact that it was made in the States - not for quality. Buy a Japanese Fender & save £300. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARIA-PRO-2-SB900-BASS-EARLY-80S-MADE-IN-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ120533478455"]APII SB900 for £325 BIN[/url] Which I think qualifies as something of a bargain for one of these, ne c'est pas? J.

[url="http://shop.ebay.co.uk/babs2441/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340"]I spy an alcohol-fuelled free listing day frenzy![/url] Jon.

[quote name='Bassulike66' post='750351' date='Feb 18 2010, 11:10 PM']Cheers Jon....thank's for the info.. Bloody hell!! that B-20 takes me back..i had the tobacco burst version, great bass! I'll keep hold of it if your interested, i'm in no rush to get rid mate..... [/quote] You had a B20? Snap! Wish I'd never sold it - the stupid things you do when you're young... J.

[quote name='Bassulike66' post='750317' date='Feb 18 2010, 10:47 PM']I didn't think the Force series was out that early Jon... Worth an investigation though...cheers. oh and make me an offer if you want..lol I only play 5 strings now....[/quote] That'll be from 84/85-ish, the Forces were out in 84 - the guitarist in a band I was in had the Force 6, like the one in this catalogue: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/catalogs/bbr/bbr_pg1_web.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/c...g1_web.jpg.html[/url] Basses here: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/catalogs/bbr/bbr_pg2_web.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/washburn/c...g2_web.jpg.html[/url] But no Force 42 - in fact I don't remember ever seeing one before in BBR. I'd love the bass but a new rig's my priority at the moment - that said, if you decide to sell give me a shout. J.

Off the top of my head, I think the headless is a Force 42, so that'll be a Force 42 BBR. And yes, I'd like that very much please. Now. Jon.

[quote name='pieterv' post='750022' date='Feb 18 2010, 05:52 PM']He did sent me a copy of an email he received from Paypal asking for advice. They said it was basically up to him if he wanted to refund or not (despite pretty strong evidence on my part that this was a fake with a genuione Fender neck). So, things worked out OK for me due to an honest and fair seller, but it made me doubt Paypal's "buyer-bias" a bit. Pieter[/quote] It's possible that US Ebay has different regulations than UK - it certainly does in many other areas, particularly the fee structure. J.

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='750049' date='Feb 18 2010, 06:17 PM']I know!!! [/quote] You make Baby Seal Bass very, very sad. J.

[quote name='area_bass' post='750014' date='Feb 18 2010, 05:46 PM']Thanks for the replies guys. I think it's going to have to be the Maple, got a nice light feel about it. Super excited now, just have to wait for pay day![/quote] You made the right choice, right there. J.

I have had numerous rosewood & maple board basses & feel it makes knob-all tangible difference to tone. They do feel a bit different because a maple board is lacquered whereas a rosewood board is bare wood (unless it's a Rickenbacker) and generally has coarser grain, which you may be aware of when playing. I personally prefer maple, but that's because of the appearance. rather than anything else. Easier to clean, too. Jon.

Lemmy - Jon.

[quote name='discreet' post='748624' date='Feb 17 2010, 04:27 PM']Ha! There was certainly a bit of a show when the current mrs discreet, the other mrs discreet, an ex-mrs discreet [i]and[/i] my girlfriend turned up at the same gig... I could really have done with not being noticed at all... mrs discreet still hasn't forgiven me, and it was ten years ago, now![/quote] "Discreet"? You sure you don't want to change your screen name? J.

Ebay & PayPal are both very weighted in the favour of the buyer - if for some reason you decide it's not what you want (perhaps you don't really like the colour) they will make the seller refund you. Just to make sure, stamp on the bass until the neck snaps (or do something to damage it), then send it back to him before you contact either the seller or Ebay. You then insist that this was the condition it arrived in, and you want a refund. This technique worked a treat for a "customer" who bought a JapCrap LP copy from me a while ago. He also lied about the condition of the instrument, as well as doing deliberate damage. I had no option but to refund him - and still got negative feedback. So I wouldn't worry. Jon.

"Basses With Faces" is a fantastic idea for a thread - but I was a bit disheartened by the fact that the best I could come up with was the Pac-Man ghost which lives on the end of my Hohner B2A: [attachment=42893:pacmanghost.jpg] However I finally got around to taking some pics of my Lace Helix - and when going through them, was struck by the realisation that it looks [i]exactly[/i] like a fluffy little baby seal cub, flinching as it waits for the cudgel to descend: [attachment=42894:sealcub.jpg] And once you see it, you can't un-see it. I was intending to swap the knobs for wooden or metal ones, if I could find the right style - but that would be like plucking its little eyes out. I'm so glad it's not white. Jon.

[quote name='crez5150' post='748141' date='Feb 17 2010, 10:35 AM']Absolutely...... last year during a wedding gig.... I had a guy (drunk, very drunk) keep coming up to me saying... you play any Level 42 in your set.... and I'm saying no over and over again.... this goes on for about an hour.... so at the end of the night I slip in the riff to Lessons in Love over Honky tonk women (made the guys in the band chuckle)... the guy was standing right in front of me dancing when I do this..... he looks up then smiles then throws up everywhere.......[/quote] There you go - it was a warning, not a request. Jon.

Second on my list of desirable Gibbos, following Victory Artist or Custom. Such a tragedy these were post-JapCrap copy era, which means the only cheap & shonky option for us Gyppos is this: [url="http://www.cheesyguitars.com/disco.html"]http://www.cheesyguitars.com/disco.html[/url] Jon.

Ibby RB750 Roadstar II, on Edinburgh Glumtree: [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/84/54071984.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/84/54071984.html[/url] Classic 80s black-with-red-binding at a very reasonable (and haggle-able) 200 sovs. If I had the readies, the room & the reason, I most certainly would. Ow. J.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='746834' date='Feb 16 2010, 08:09 AM']I seem to remember them being quite sought after. Is it worth much?[/quote] Broadly between around £300 - £450, depending on condition. Get some good, clear & detailed pics up & I'll see if I can work out what it is. CMI was an importer brand (Cleartone Musical Instruments, an offshoot of Marshall Amps) and they sourced instruments from several different manufacturers. Real Ricks have heavily lacquered boards and most of the copies did likewise - there's probably no noticeable effect on the tone but I doubt it would make it duller. Jon.

I think I'm right in thinking if the neck plate doesn't read Made In Japan, then it's Korean. Matsumoku stopped building Aria Pro (or anything else) in 1987, and I would expect that economic conditions would have meant that only the higher-end Arias would have continued being Japanese-made. Apropos of nothing, early Matsumoku serials, eg on the "Steel Adjustable Neck" plates, appear to be random & not dateable. Early (pre 75-ish) set & through-neck instruments appear not to have serial numbers at all. Jon.