Bassassin

[quote name='Footos' post='495610' date='May 22 2009, 10:31 PM']So far so good and I can assure you that Jayro JRB-600 is miles better than Indie's Rickenbugger and Aria Pro's knock-off! With a little tweaking this bass can be transformed into a potent bass![/quote] Agreed that the Indie copy is a half-arsed piece of crap, but the Aria (built by Matsumoku) neck-through copies are stunning - near indistinguishable from the real thing, and the reason that they are as rare as they are is because most of them have spent the last 30 years being passed off as genuine Rickenbackers. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='494569' date='May 21 2009, 07:16 PM']Claims to be real, suspect its not, unless they do a neater wire trench now, ones I've seen have a row of holes drilled: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BASS-GUITAR-FL-NEW-PROJECT-NR-MINT_W0QQitemZ370204767911QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item370204767911&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]Dodge[/url][/quote] I'd say it's real - the "row of holes" routing disappeared sometime in the 80s, and these days Rickenbacker even use those evil computerised CNC machines to crank out 500 of these in half an hour, just like Matsumoku used to in the early 70s! J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='494505' date='May 21 2009, 05:41 PM']Morris as in Rose Morris, of Shaftesbury fame?[/quote] Morris as in house-brand of [url="http://www.kiwi-us.com/~mmi/"]Moridaira Musical Instruments[/url]. Pretty acoustics & distribution these days, but back in the day Morris/Moridaira gave the world some pretty decent JapCrap, although I don't think the Hurricane brand was their top stuff. This looks like an OK late 70s/early 80s P copy, the guy says it was a project & I'm guessing that involved fitting the Dimarzio pup, which doesn't exactly fit the scratchplate. Plainly the project didn't extend to realigning the bridge. Jon.

Cheers for that, Samick's quite likely, they made the Hondo copies. Do post more pics when you get it. J.

Interesting! A 70s or 80s Korean copy - usually the only old Koreans you see are plywood Hondos. I wonder if the scratchplate's been replaced (it has the wider neck pup spacing, unusual on old copies) or if it's just copied from a later 4001 or 4003? Old 80s Korean Rick guitar copies are pretty common (I used to have a cute little 325-alike) but you don't really see the basses, although it seems perfectly reasonable to think Cort or Samick or whoever would have been knocking them out. Might one ask how much the friendly shopkeeper was asking for this interesting bit of Pacific Rim driftwood? And was the shop actually open-air with corrugated steel walls? Jon.

I think if they've let John Birch get away with it for 35 years... Then Al probably doesn't have much to worry about. J.

I played one of these in a local music shop a few years ago - couldn't put it down & [i]almost[/i] ended up taking it home... I've subsequently watched a few on Ebay & they don't go for huge sums - I suppose because Cort ain't a hugely fashionable brand. Jon.

Play the gig with him, let him make a right arse of it, and you'll have an excuse. Jon.

Headstock's shaped like an Ibby Soundgear - the body has been reshaped seemingly by a blind 4-year old. Why do people let their children play with power tools? Jon.

[quote name='deaver' post='488200' date='May 14 2009, 07:29 PM']Thanks Jon. A couple of taster pics for you to mull on. I'll try and sort something better at the weekend. Remarkable piece of work this bass[/quote] Cheers for that, lovely bass, I really like that black body binding - is it on the fretboard too? Looking forward to seeing more pics. J.

[quote name='Hamster' post='485318' date='May 11 2009, 08:32 PM']It's just an [i]estimated [/i]price! Nice necks on those, knock a 0 off the estimate and you're about there.[/quote] Bit optimistic still - someone needs to send him a couple of reality check links: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-fretless-MAGNA-bass-4-string-black-Maple-board_W0QQitemZ320364710465"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-fretless-MAGNA-...emZ320364710465[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-Bass-Guitar-Black-Aria-Pro-II-Magna-Series_W0QQitemZ130301473168"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-Bass-Guitar...emZ130301473168[/url] Self delusion's a deeply tragic thing. I should know... J.

[quote name='deaver' post='484529' date='May 10 2009, 07:53 PM']Picked it up this afternoon. Pictures and whatever sort of report I can muster coming your way next weekend. Lovely shape to the front face of the body, thanks again for the tip-off.[/quote] Cool - looking forward to seeing some nice pics! Still can't find any specific info about the bass but here's another g*it*r - this one almost looks like the 6-string sibling of yours, with the German carve & black binding: [url="http://www.wietsesguitars.nl/pagina102.html"]http://www.wietsesguitars.nl/pagina102.html[/url] J.

[quote name='Empire Road' post='484674' date='May 10 2009, 10:16 PM']I'm not sure what you mean by the '2 neck position high gains'. I must admit the switching confuses me. Do you mean the large toggle switch or the tiny 3-way switch embedded in the finger rest? Left or right the tiny 3-way sounds the same, centre is off![/quote] By "Hi-Gains" I mean the two pickups in the neck position - this is what Rickenbacker calls this type of pickup. One of yours has been added as a modification; the one nearest the end of the neck is the original, and somebody has installed a second pickup right next to it. It sounds like the micro-switch controls these two pickups and is presently wired to select either one or the other, or neither! It would probably make more sense if the middle position had them both on, rather than both off, though. If you look very closely at the two pickups they're not identical, it's actually possible that the additional one (which looks fractionally larger to me) might even be a genuine Rickenbacker part, it's surprising how often real & copy components can get mixed up on these basses. As for your two strange holes in the body - I have no idea! Again, strange & inexplicable things seem to get done to instruments over the years - the bass I pictured earlier in the thread has two rivets embedded in it underneath the bridge! I have absolutely no idea what they could have been for, and I was unable to remove them so I had to grind them flat before I could screw a bridge onto the bass. Weird. J.

[quote name='Empire Road' post='484482' date='May 10 2009, 06:55 PM']The wires seemed to be attached to just a single strand of copper wire on the pick-up. Is this the case? Is there a special way I need to re-connect them? Any guidance with this would be valuable as I am cack-handed with tools to say the least.[/quote] Hi Alan - first of all, hi, very nice late-model Ibanez 2388B/DX you have there! Second, yes, the leads do connect to single strands on the pickup bobbin. To be honest a repair like this would, in my opinion, be best left to a professional - trying to solder such tiny connections runs a risk of frying the windings on the pickup. I've not personally needed any pickup repair work done, so I can't recommend anybody, so I'd say the best place to ask for advice might be the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=12"]Repairs & Technical Issues[/url] board. Anyway, that's a very unusual modification your bass has, with the 2 neck-position hi-gains. It's a very tidy-looking mod, & I wonder if the body needed any extra routing to accept the extra pup. Was it like that when you got it? Jon.

Here's an interesting replacement Rick bridge for anyone not liking the idea of paying [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rickenbacker-4003-Bass-Tailpiece-Genuine-Ric-Part_W0QQitemZ260407844909QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item260407844909"]£105 for a piece of cheap crap that bends the moment you string it up[/url]: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200325029390"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=200325029390[/url] Still no individual string height adjustment, though. If it was available in black I'd have one for The Frankenbugger. J.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='483078' date='May 8 2009, 04:39 PM']This fine beast cost me the princely sum of £67[/quote] Bargain! You probably already know, but unlike most 70s copies this isn't JapCrap, it's Italian. Never seen a Melody with that logo before, or a maple/fretless like this. Very nice! If it's like the fretted JapCrap one I had, the pup will have screws to adjust height & angle on the sliding plate, and the plate itself just sits in a shallow body route under the scratchplate, held in position by friction. Should be easy to straighten it up. Jon.

Arne purchased my '83 Squier SQ Precision - making my first international bank transfer experience a straightforward & stress-free one! Very nice guy, easy to do business with, and knows a fine bass when he sees one! Jon.

My fellow Rickenfaker anorak Ian sold me a lovely fireglo body/through neck (now revived as The Frankenbugger) for a very fair price. Well packed & rapidly posted from a man with impeccable taste in vintage firewood! Jon.

Just had a nice old Peavey head from Dave - lovely fella to deal with, head came immaculately packed & next-day delivery. And the cheque hasn't even cleared yet!!! Jon.

Played it at rehearsal last night - it sounds evil! J.

Gorgeous old JapCrap Hippie Sandwich, you hardly ever see these - wonder how many of them ended up being fobbed off as genuine? Jon.

[quote name='deaver' post='482576' date='May 7 2009, 11:15 PM']Your wish is my command. I'll let you know how I get on with it. PS: If I don't like it - I have no qualms about posting it[/quote] Excellent - lots of hi-res pics in the Porn section please! And if it's not for you I'll happily take it off your hands. Unless it's got a neck like a corkscrew! :ph34r: J.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='481169' date='May 6 2009, 04:55 PM']Here's a link to my Rickenfaker facebook page.... [url="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=78514186083&ref=mf"]http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.p...6083&ref=mf[/url] Wow Jon it's looking good! I've reasembled the Tokai with Ricky(like) bits and rewired it and it sounds bloody nice. Ive got to make a TRC and pick guard as the neck PUP is slightly out of line and sits alittle tooo low so I need to make the hole wider. Next I'm going to varnish the fretboard- Jon any tips, ie what type of varnish and can I applie it with out taking the frets out??? Bassassin Padawan.[/quote] Yes you can varnish over the frets - many lacquered boards are done once the frets are fitted, just lightly wire-wool the tops of the frets back to the metal once it's done & dried. Going on my own basses, it seems about half & half whether the board's been lacquered before or after fretting. As far as what to use - I wish I knew! I've re-touched a couple of boards that had flaky lacquer with cheapo Screwfix rattle-can stuff, but I don't know how hard-wearing that sort of thing would be as a finish for an unlacquered board. Logically the strings shouldn't be making much, if any contact with the board anyway, so it might be OK. I have a maple Jazz neck needing refinished and I might experiment with that. I have a minor alignment problem with the Frankenbugger - it predates CNC routing & it looks like the template they used was ever so slightly too far south. Also the bridge could do with being maybe 5mm further back to get the intonation spot-on, however I'm on the lookout for a cheap Hipshot which should fix that. J.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='481626' date='May 7 2009, 09:04 AM']Cummon, give us a bit of history! I'm tempted.... Is it meant to be a bit of an alembic rip off?[/quote] Well, clearly there's a bit of an Alembic "influence"! This will be late 70s, built at Rokkomann's factory in Kobe (destroyed in the 90s Kobe earthquake) El Maya was Rokkomann's high-end brand, mostly original designs & some replica-level copies. These are staggeringly rare - I've never seen this particular design before as a bass - the g*it*r is called an EM-1000 and is a little bit more common: [url="http://www.guitar-museum.com/uploads/guitar/157/44544-1.jpg"]http://www.guitar-museum.com/uploads/guitar/157/44544-1.jpg[/url] I think it's fair to say if this had Ibanez or even Aria Pro written on it you'd be talking several times that price. Just bleedin' buy it, right? J.

Somebody down south [b]just buy this[/b], don't argue - it's buttons for something this unique & stunning: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170329151446"]El Maya through-neck original - £175 BIN[/url] If he'd post it, I'd pull the trigger without a second thought. J.