Bassassin

RUN AWAY!!! Excuse me, I just have a panic reaction to these... My first-ever bass was nearly identical to this - slightly different headstock & branded Grant. It was diabolically awful - it sounded vile, was near-unplayable, impossible to tune & intonate & had such a misaligned bridge the G-string was off the fretboard up the dusty end... At least I think the dots on mine were in the right places! With a start like that it's a miracle I played bass for longer than a fortnight. Unless this one's a significant upgrade over mine, I don't think the bridge is original, mine had a crude 2-saddle design. Perhaps that's why the strings on this one are over the fretboard rather than thin air... Mine was Japanese - it had an MIJ-stamped neckplate, but lots of low-end Japanese & Korean guitars turn up with identical designs so Korea's equally possible with this. Mine was purchased brand-new in mid-1978, so this might be later than you think, it seems these crude-looking starter instruments were sold throughout the 70s and possibly even beyond. Jon.

I'd assume it was £10 from the car boot last Sunday, & he hopes he'll be able to bump it on the Bay for £50. Not getting a huge amount of attention listed like it is! J.

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='546286' date='Jul 21 2009, 12:25 PM']Very very true ... also someone on this forum pointed out recently (a fact that I had forgotten over the years) that Geds Jazz had some dodgy wiring that contributed to his sound. It's all in his fingers though isn't it really??? [/quote] I suppose - the Steinberger & Wals sounded very different, but maybe that was what he was after at the time. He's playing a Precision on the first Rush album & still had a lot of "that" tone, even back then. Any idea what the dodgy wiring was? Maybe that's the answer the OP's after. J.

I don't know much about Hofners, but the Literacy Police spotted this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hofner-Electric-Base-Guitar_W0QQitemZ300331628017"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hofner-Electric-Base...emZ300331628017[/url] Might be worth keeping an eye on if you're in the Midlands... Jon.

He's got an Ibby RS824 up as well - £600!!! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1980-Ibanez-Roadster-Bass_W0QQitemZ200365158249"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1980-Ibanez-Roa...emZ200365158249[/url] Wonder if he's been on here & reading that thread where I said JapCrap was recession-proof? What have I done???? :ph34r: Jon.

Historically Geddy Lee fooled most Rush fans into thinking his 70s Jazz was a 4001, particularly on [i]Moving Pictures[/i] but allegedly on a good few other Rush albums too. Alternatively there's this approach: Jon.

Very rare piece of 80s JapCrap, that is - it's been listed before & was mentioned in the JapCrap Spotting thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=7473&view=findpost&p=530131"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=530131[/url] He's dropped the price a bit but it's still pretty dear IMO, shame it's not the neck-through version. Jon.

Probably a pointless pack of lies based on that response - backed up by the fact X Ray Spex never "toured everywhere" & split up in 1979 - before this bass was made! Nonetheless £50 was probably a reasonable price for an Ibby Blazer project, assuming it's complete & nothing's wrecked. Jon.

[quote name='TheButler' post='543900' date='Jul 18 2009, 12:00 PM']The pawn shop on Queen street can sometimes have decent deals. Most of the time they're over priced, but i saw a Rick 4001 in there recently for £900.[/quote] I take it that's the burgundy 4001 that's been in the window since last year? I keep meaning to go in for a proper look, but even in the window you can see the action's shockingly high & the bridge appears to be at its lowest limit - presumably it's had the "neck joint flex" that 4001s can suffer from when strung with roundwounds. This is pretty much unfixable. Jon.

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='544168' date='Jul 18 2009, 05:42 PM']Is there anything recession proof?[/quote] JapCrap. Since all this belt-tightening & crunchy credit began, it's seemed to me that people are not abstaining from GAS indulgence, but re-focussing on the lower end of the market. I've seen cheapo (and sometimes crappo) vintage basses & guitars fetching some scandalously silly money. Rickenbacker copies have gone particularly mental, the record currently being £656, and even the more lowly examples fetching between £350 - £500. Broadly speaking I'd say they're getting 20% odd more than they were two years ago, and much the same's true with other MIJ & MIK stuff. Jon.

[quote name='Fitzy73' post='543904' date='Jul 18 2009, 12:06 PM']Hi . i got this vintage mosrite bass copy off a friend who asked me to set it up for him . i have seaching the web for find out what make it is with no luck , i think its a early 70s Teisco ,Eko or univox . any help in identifying this bass would be great .the headstock has 2 screw holes for missing emblem . sorry about poor pictures[/quote] Can you get bigger pictures? It's hard to see much detail from these. I'm fairly sure it's not an Eko, I don't think they made a Mosrite copy, and Italian guitars tend to be quite idiosyncratic - you wouldn't be likely to confuse them with Oriental instruments. Univox Hi-Flyer basses (and Matsumoku copies with different brands) will have a German carve around the body edge, two black single-coil pickups and the same castellated headstock as the original Mosrite, so this isn't one. Also, Univox was an American brand so are very, very uncommon in the UK. It is possible it's a Kawai/Teisco product, it's quite reminiscent of their style. However, lots of old budget instruments are - do an Ebay search for Teisco & 99% of what comes up are nothing of the kind, it's become Ebay Shorthand for "kitsch, cheap & tacky 60s-looking guitar". Most of these will have come from unknown factories in Taiwan & Korea, probably in the early-mid 70s, and I suspect this bass did too. The angular tuners look a lot like the ones on many Kay basses of the era, and they were predominantly Taiwanese. I don't know if there was a Kay-branded Mosrite copy, but I wouldn't be surprised. The headstock badge might have provided a clue, but realistically probably not - these guitars would enter the country unbadged, and importers, distributors or retailers would put their own brands on - or they would just be sold unbadged. Clearer pics might give some clues from components & construction, at least to what country it's from. Jon.

Here's a band local to me who sound like they might the sort of thing you're after: [url="http://www.myspace.com/theincendiarybats"]Incendiary Bats (Edinburgh)[/url] Not caught them live yet, their drummer turned up at one of our gigs & was full of (very drunken) praise afterwards, so I checked out his band and I think they're great, & the bassist is very off the wall & melodic. Jon.

[quote name='grumble' post='542384' date='Jul 16 2009, 04:31 PM']Just seen this on FleaBay [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-DOUBLE-NECK-BASS-GUITAR-AND-FRETLESS-BASS_W0QQitemZ200362418686QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item2ea687e1fe&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1|66%3A2|39%3A1|293%3A7|294%3A50"]FleaBay bass[/url][/quote] Another: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150359500652"]Twin-Neck Steinberger Clone[/url] £200 BIN, fitted hard case, proper headless hardware - if the fretless was lined I'd have this myself. J.

Intriguing! I don't know him although I've seen the name of his band around. With any luck he'll be along at some point to tell us all about his, err... Prick. :blush: J.

I've got one, very heavy, nice and exciting-looking bass, but I can't use it live. I like a bright sound & use various effects including overdrive, this thing is very microphonic (maybe due to the hollow metal body) and just squeals like a piggy. A shame because it's a pleasure to play & looks amazing. Jon.

Cheers for that - no, I don't think that's the body - the contouring where horns meet neck pocket is different. It turns out this was found on on the Alembic forum - there's another pic, showing the bass in use, looks to be a couple of decades or so ago: [url="http://alembic.com/club/messages/393/67321.jpg"]http://alembic.com/club/messages/393/67321.jpg[/url] The amount of old H/H gear visible on that stage does sort of make me assume the pic was taken over here. J.

The back of that bass really ain't a good advert for these things. Jon.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='541216' date='Jul 15 2009, 12:46 PM']it is most likely to be a Vox Symphonic bass body which carried the twin pickups in the same position as the Rick ones now look to occupy. I still have a Vox body of the same type (routed out for a Kahler trem believe it or not) and it looks to be made of the same wood - mahogany-type grain but a lighter brown colour.[/quote] Intriguing! I've been scouring the web for a piccy of a Vox Symphonic, but no luck, they seem to be incredibly rare. Any chance you could post a pic of the body you still have? I've asked on RickResource if anyone knows where this lives now. J.

[quote name='teaser360' post='540934' date='Jul 15 2009, 08:04 AM']thats the one i was watching jon, i was going to go for it , just changed my mind in the last minute, what model is it then? is it the c4, need a cheap bass while the faker is off the road,[/quote] Aye, that's a C4. He's re-listed at £150 again, I'd say it's a pretty good price. I think the Grind was a direct replacement for this, so if they sell at £290-ish, this one seems OK. A lot better looking too, imo. J.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='540679' date='Jul 14 2009, 08:42 PM']Oh and why P-rick when there could have been SOooooooo many different anagrams of Rickenbacker and Fender Precision bass.... Come on folks, open season (but try to keep it fairly clean... ) I'll start...... Rickender, Ricks ion ass Frickinbacker Ferskinbender..... [/quote] The problem with those is that they're not as funny as "Prick"... Cheap innuendo's always funny, especially when it's all in the filthy mind of the reader... :brow: I like the Prick - it's an interesting hybrid & I'm intrigued by what it would sound like - one noticeable thing here is that the pup placement isn't the same as either a P or a Rick, so that's going to affect its overall tone regardless of the pickups fitted. I'm inclined to think the body's been made specifically for this project - a P, or P derived design would have its pup route exactly between the scratchplate & bridge pickup. The more I look at this, the more I think I want to build one. :ph34r: As to where it came from, I found it on RickResource, which is 95% populated by our Colonial chums, so I assumed that's where it lives. However... J.

I don't think that's a Grind - looks like A C4, from about 2002. The Grind has some extra contouring & black hardware & less of a Hippie Sandwich thing going on: I can be this pedantic because I've got a C5, identical but for a 5th string (really!). Mine's currently waiting patiently for a de-fret, but it's a lovely-looking, well-constructed bass very comfortable. Not very exciting-sounding, if I remember, and a bit heavy, but a bargain if it's cheap enough. Like this one on Ebay ending in half an hour: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Grind-Bass-Guitar-4-string_W0QQitemZ320397066860"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Grind-Bass-Gu...emZ320397066860[/url] And that's not a Grind either. Jon.