Bassassin

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320418507184"]Black & Red Mess[/url] No idea what this is thanks to awful photos which the seller describes as "as many different close-ups as possible". Won't be there for long. J.

[quote name='BassBod' post='585592' date='Aug 31 2009, 08:56 AM']A friend of mine has a Thunder 3 - very good bass, but there is one issue that I've noticed. Because the battery box sits at the back of the bass the bridge is positioned slightly more to the neck than normal, which makes it feel a bit top heavy/out of balance? its not a heavy bass so its not a big problem, but if you're used to a fender its a bit odd.[/quote] Surely the bridge positioning & balance are to do with the body dimensions. Move the bridge back & the neck would have to be set further back to keep the scale the same. It has a short top horn which makes it neck-heavy, so if the body style & proportions stayed the same, so would the balance point, regardless of bridge position. I think... I'm presently adapting to my new-to-me Westbury Track 2 (from the same factory as this) which has a symmetrical body with very short horns. I've mostly been playing J, P & Rick derivatives lately so it feels proper weird - a broad suede-backed strap helps compensate for neck weight, but it feels like miles to reach for the low notes! Jon.

[quote name='grahamd' post='584172' date='Aug 28 2009, 11:28 PM']to confuse matters further it's worth making the distinction between CIJ - made for the domestic market to a very high standard, and MIJ - made for export and regarded as lesser quality, some are basswood etc. having said that many MIJ's are cracking instruments. it's such an intangible thing: try before you buy innit[/quote] Let's clear this up. MIJ or CIJ refers [b]only[/b] to which factory produced the bass and does not reflect quality in any way. The first Jap Fenders (and the incredibly sought after JV & SQ Squiers) were made by Fujigen Gakki. Fujigen was specifically chosen because of the excellent quality of their Fender copies, particularly the Greco range. Fujigen Gakki had the contract for Japanese Fenders up until 1997, and these are labelled MIJ. Subsequently production moved to Dyna Gakki & Tokai Gakki, who labelled their output as CIJ, to distinguish them from Fujigen. Recently Fujigen has resumed production of Fenders so there are now new MIJs hitting the shops. Jon.

[quote name='Beedster' post='585131' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:38 PM']Hardly describe Westone as Japcrap [/quote] I would - t'ain't a value judgement! Jon.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='585332' date='Aug 30 2009, 07:34 PM']The Hohner basses made by Cort in Korea are pretty d@*n good. G.[/quote] +1 to the man in the seasonal hat. The early Hohner Professionals are Corts and from the C-suffix serial I'd suspect this is one. Pics would be good. Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='585091' date='Aug 30 2009, 01:08 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/60s-70s-VINTAGE-COPY-BASS-GUITAR-AMERICAN-STYLE-BASS_W0QQitemZ110429632615QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item19b61e7867&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]Kay? Looks rubbish though,[/url][/quote] Looks like a bitsa / home made effort to me. That's an EB-0 copy neck by the looks of it. Definitely rubbish! J.

Is that a proper fluorescent orange? You'll need a UV light onstage then! Jon.

I love these too, but have no confusion about why - I'm in no way insecure about my sexuality, plus I was In The Eighties - when Real Men wore pink. Oh yes. J.

Apparently he's an international Myspace sensation, despite the fact no-one's heard of him: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Brooks_(singer)"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Brooks_(singer)[/url] Smells like astroturf... J.

[i]This[/i] is who he is: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Gs4xGw1Eg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Gs4xGw1Eg[/url] NSFW. Jon.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='582834' date='Aug 27 2009, 08:01 PM']£250 for a wrecked piece of crap.[/quote] Fixed. Jon.

Way too much of a Ritter wannabe for me - although I do like the maple board with swoopy line motif, and the finish looks quite cool. Jon.

Dresden Dolls - piano & drums so genuinely don't need one. Jon.

Call that a pink bass? Nah - [b]this[/b] is a pink bass: [attachment=31747:pinkstarbass.jpg] And yes, I would. Hell yeah. Jon.

Oh, alright. Three Of A Perfect Pair, L to R: Matsumoku through-neck, no idea of the original brand. as it had been living as a 1974 Rickenbacker for a few decades and has forgotten its real name. No-brand Frankenbugger parts project, body/neck I think from the same factory the Sigma in your pics. Sigma was owned by CF Martin and Kasuga & Tokai are thought to have built for them. Kasuga EB-750, pimped with Hipshot, pearloid plate, home-made pup ring. All mods reversible. Very interesting collection of pics - I can tell you that the Gonzales, Goya, Vorg & Westminster are all Matsumoku, The Electra Corsair is a Fujigen - Matsumoku did build Electras but so did Fujigen & Kasuga - all 3 factories did Corsair Rick copies. Cimar was associated with Ibanez but the guitars at that point don't appear to be Fujigen - the Cimar Rick is much more accurate than Fujigen's. The Greco is a Fujigen but they also sold Matsumoku-made Ricks at the same time, and Shaftesbury sourced near-identical hollow body Rickish basses from both Japan and Eko in Italy - they're very hard to tell apart! You should have a look at this Facebook group: [url="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=78514186083"]http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=78514186083[/url] I don't think John Hall's a member! Jon.

My band used these guys: [url="http://www.monsterscreenprints.com/"]http://www.monsterscreenprints.com/[/url] ...when we got shirts done a few years back. Reasonable prices, excellent quality shirts & prints. Looks like they still have an array of fairly high-profile customers so I would imagine they're still worth a look. We'll probably be getting a batch of new designs for the new album so I'll definitely have a close look at other recommendations. Jon.

I was there - agree completely about the encores - they have been playing We Care A Lot at other dates so I was hoping they'd end on that, but otherwise it was a blinder, the band seemed to be genuinely having a blast too. Oceansize as support was a major bonus, phenomenal band. As far as the venue & conditions are concerned though, see my last post in the "I hate you so much right now" topic... :ph34r: Jon.

If this was my project I'd take the opportunity to turn it into an interesting Rick variation - which would probably mean little or no "official" prts would be involved! The Hipshot bridge is excellent - it's available in brass or aluminium, mine's brass and it's very heavy. According to the Rickresource guys the aluminium is tonally closer to the original Rick - but mortals like me probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I'd probably put Seymour Dunks in it, based on availability & affordability. Also the bridge unit comes with its own pickup ring so that's one less part to source. Rick tuners (or "keywinds" in Rickanese) are Schallers with a Rick logo - not sure what the exact model is but I expect the Rick logo adds a bit to the price... Go to www.pickguardian.com for a scratchplate in the colour/material of your choice. Jon.

I don't think it was me - I was standing in Holyrood Park watching a pair of Tornado F3s screaming overhead. Might've been my Evil Twin, though. Jon.

Aria ftw. The Js are all sweet but they're "just Fenders", after all. Jon.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='577631' date='Aug 22 2009, 04:05 PM']Nice old Roadstar: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass-MIJ_W0QQitemZ320415050185QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9a39a9c9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] £160 BIN, he wants £25 postage though, grrrrrrrrrr[/quote] 1980 Roadst[b]e[/b]r (RS800, I think) rather than Roadst[b]a[/b]r - very good price considering what some of these fetch. Postage is a bit of a p!sstake though - that'll cost about £11 fully insured to send with ParcelFarce. [quote name='budget bassist' post='577639' date='Aug 22 2009, 04:14 PM']I've never understood that and i never will. The people listing these rickenfakers aren't doing anything wrong so long as they don't actually try and pass it off as a rick, so what's the problem?[/quote] It's US trademark law. In order for Rickenbacker to retain exclusivity of their designs (like Fender & Gibson haven't) they have to be seen to take action against any infringement - and a 35-year-old copy is as much of an infringement as a brand-new one. It's US law but it works in the UK because Ebay is a US company based practically next-door to RIC, so they'll pull auctions when they're flagged up rather than risk having RIC suing them! If they lose exclusivity then any & every no-mark little Taiwanese guitar factory can churn out as many rubbish Rick copies as they want. The only way RIC (which is a tiny, family owned & run business) would be able to compete with this is to do a Squier or Epiphone & license their own low-budget import range. Rickenbacker is such a niche brand that it's unlikely they'd be able to compete on this level, the reputation of the brand would be affected, sales of "real" Ricks would be hit and they'd probably end up having to sell the brand to a stronger competitor. Personally I think this would be a very, very bad thing. J.

Well - I pronounce the Westbury Track 2 project complete - new switch works perfectly, a minor fret dress, re-strung it with some sensible gauges (the strings it came with were very light) and it's cured the open E-string rattle & choke without having to do any nut work - and it's getting gigged tonight. Result-tastic! EDIT: Update - gigged it, liked it a lot. The Dimarzio pup is set a lot closer to the bridge than other P-equipped basses I've played, and that gives it a real aggressive & defined snarl, & maybe a bit less "thud" than normal P positioning. It's a pretty comfortable little bass too, a fair bit lighter than my mahogany-bodied J or the Rickenbuggers. The small, symmetrical body makes it feel a bit more of a reach to the low frets & does make it feel a little neck-heavy compared with what I'm more used to - but after a couple of minutes I didn't really notice. A great little bass which I think I'll be using quite a bit. J.

Did you point out to him that the body couldn't be from 1959? Hope you didn't - I'd far sooner see him try & justify this load of rubbish! J.