Bassassin

[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.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='576297' date='Aug 21 2009, 02:52 AM']That is one of the trashiest bitsa's I've seen in a while. Neck looks well wrong too - off a cheap Jap copy? Headstock logo partially scratched out. Bridge plate with elephantitis and brand new saddles? It's not been trashed - it's been pulled out of a skip. Love the way this [i]Toad's[/i] worded it to cover his arse. There's a place in Hell for people like that.[/quote] I don't think the neck's JapCrap - if it is it would have to be one of the later, more accurate copies (Silver Series Ibby or Tokai or something) - you don't see maple/pearl, bullet adjuster & skunk stripe all that often, never mind together. I'm by no means convinced about the body - look at that huuuuge bridge pup route - it's either had one of those round-end Jap jazz pups in it or it's been badly hacked out to take a standard Jazz pup. I think a look under the scratchplate would be a revelation. Nothing's entirely obvious because of the (deliberately?) dreadful show-nothing pics, though - but isn't the bridge a BAII? The Entwhistle thing is clearly bollocks - this is a car boot bitsa he paid £20 for last Sunday. Jon.

[quote name='Weird War' post='576163' date='Aug 20 2009, 10:25 PM']Excellent stuff, Jon, the new album sounds very promising. May we safely assume that a quality array of Japcrap is wielded during your live show?[/quote] Usually just the one! The recorded stuff was mostly the Ibanez RS924 Roadster (weighs a ton but records wonderfully) with guest appearances from the Frankenbugger & refurbed Cimar XR2065. Which I keep thinking about selling, but then change my mind when I hear how good it sounds! J.

[quote name='starman' post='575995' date='Aug 20 2009, 07:52 PM']JJ Burnel[/quote] Yep. Him. Jon.

[quote name='JanSpeeltBas' post='575508' date='Aug 20 2009, 01:33 PM']As for Wesley: did someone ever try their Vigier-copy? Must be as bad as this Chinese made Neotone Ritter Ripoff![/quote] For the record - I did! I think it's more of an anorexic Rickenbacker (AnorexRick?) shape but that does give it an air of Vigier... Vigienbugger? I dunno. Anyway, for £99 it's a really well-made little bass - through-neck, real (not photo) flamed top, wooden binding, 2-way trussrod and nice quality hardware. Let down mostly by the active circuit - useless rubbish in mine (although I think it was actually faulty) which I binned & swapped for an Artec 3-band, back when you could get them from Hong Kong for £15 - sorted. The finish is a bit iffy too - the MeconiumGlo front is not to everyone's taste (I quite like it) but the back, neck & headstock is simply oversprayed with thin matt black that literally rubs off on your clothes & hands! I gigged mine a few times & then decided the back would have to be refinished - so I took it apart, stripped off the paint & now it's awaiting a convenient window of opportunity for refinishing. I might re-shape the headstock a bit as well - it's fugly & in no way sympathetic to the body design. It's not very weird & wonderful but I have an acrylic P-bass project waiting in the wings too. Anyway - carry on! Jon.

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='574605' date='Aug 19 2009, 07:17 PM']You already know what the Tinnie household think of this. Keep up the good work! We [b]will[/b] haul our sorry arses up to Edinbugger to see you sometime! [/quote] Be lovely if you did - but to be honest we'd far sooner play somewhere in your vicinity, we always like to get out & about and play to new people. Hometown gigs are frequently more of a necessity than a pleasure. Wonder if I'm unusual in finding that? J.

[quote name='casapete' post='574420' date='Aug 19 2009, 04:48 PM']Ace Chuck berry clip. The bemused looks on the faces of the band is fantastic! Chuck remains for me the best of the rock&roll pioneers. Been fortunate to see him half a dozen times, and he's varied from being amazing to indifferent but always somehow enjoyable. Met him (briefly)once too. Can be notoriously difficult, as anyone who's seen the footage of him rehearsing with Keith Richard etc in the film 'Hail Hail Rock&Roll'. Often let down by using under-rehearsed pick up bands (what I would have given to play for him though!) As a songwriter unequalled in my view,and a direct inspiration for so many legendary band/performers/writers. Still gigging at 82 years old. Go Chuck go![/quote] Arguably rock's first lead guitarist too - fantastic, witty songwriter & a living legend. An ancient Chuck Berry hits compliation was one of my favourite albums as a kid. Jon.

I would say relieve yourself of the burden by way of an act of charitable kindness. Give it to me. God will smile upon you. Jon.

Could just be a coincidence - however - it's in the Ebay section, not Basses For Sale. Therefore fair game. J.

[quote name='jamiejames' post='574103' date='Aug 19 2009, 01:17 PM']1) Do you welcome a bass specific shop in Scotland 2) What would you like to see in stock 3) Are you more likely to visit the shop or use our online service 4) Roughly how much do you spend on bass goods in a year 5) Is this likely to increase if you had a bass shop you could visit?[/quote] 1 - Definitely (or since it's Glasgow, definAtely!) 2 - A decent range of realistically-priced used/vintage stuff. Ebay is working hard to squeeze out private sellers so a shop with a good & varied secondhand range might be opportune. It would be good to see some less mainstream new stuff - Lace Helix, Status etc - things you don't get in GuitarGuitar. 3 - Probably a bit of both. I'm in Edinburgh & don't get through to Weege all that often but a website which let me see instore stock & prices would be an incentive. 4 - Realistically probably less than a grand. Like my sig says, I'm a cheapskate Pikey & most of my gear comes from either BC or Fleabay, Glumtree & the local car boot. 5 - The above is partly the case because there's no local (ish) bass shop - so yes! I'd also like to suggest a good range of components - hardware, pups & electronics, necks & bodies. BC is a perfect gauge of how popular building your own bass is - but trying to find the right parts can be a severe pain in the arse. Access to good recommended luthiers/techs & amp techs through the shop would be good too. Oh, and open it in Edinburgh. Jon.