Bassassin

According to a reply to a question, zero-feedback seller reckon's the other listing's his mum. But the reserve on both listings is the same - so I guess that's OK, then! Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='352227' date='Dec 11 2008, 10:30 PM']Think we've discussed this style of tuner before, but this has a logo. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-collectable-Ibenez-MIJ-60s-70s-Bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ190273516875QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item190273516875&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-collectable-Ibe...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url][/quote] Yep, that's a proper 60s/early 70s Ibby, or "Ibenez", as the seller would have it: And with any luck its original burst is waiting to be revealed, once the tacky rattle-can gold all flakes off, or it gets chucked in a handy barrel of acetone. That interesting bridge - or the saddles, at least - are unlikely to be original. J.

Damn - that's tempting. Someone put me off by telling me they don't do much Dennis Dunaway era stuff! Jon.

That looks like this '68 Teisco: In which case the crooked P-pup's not original. I can't quite tell from the pic but I think it's not the neck pocket, but the scratchplate that's a poor fit. These turn up quite often, either as Teisco or Woolies (RIP) Top Twenty brand - considering how non-original this is, £130 is far too much. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='351160' date='Dec 10 2008, 07:51 PM']'Nother Rockinsbetter: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROCKINBETTER-BASS-UNUSED-RICKY-REPLICA_W0QQitemZ150315373227QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item150315373227&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROCKINBETTER-BASS-UN...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url][/quote] If it's "unused" as the listing says, why has someone binned the pup cover? And "best copy ever"? J.

Jazz copies identical to mine were also sold as Cimars (it's that Ibanez connection again) and these are fairly common in Europe, and with any luck there will be some knocking around in Iceland - keep your eyes peeled! J.

[quote name='zbigniew' post='350933' date='Dec 10 2008, 04:04 PM']Agreed on the colour! I wonder what it sounds like - does anyone have an idea how close those are to a good Jazz? Z[/quote] My main squeeze just happens to be a CSL Jazz: However: it's not the same as that one - it's quite a lot later, about 79/80, built by Fujigen, solid mahog body, Ibanez Blazer shape headstock. I'm not convinced the one on the Bay is Fujigen (early Sumbro & CSLs weren't) it might be ply under the finish - which I don't think is original - and I really don't like that hole in the neck - if that really is an imperfection in the wood, not damage, I'd be a bit concerned. Also the round-end JapCrap pups can be variable - I've had a few basses with these, they can be weak & insipid, loud & unsubtle (wish I'd kept those! ) or generally well-rounded, punchy but pleasantly mellow like my CSL. The body routes match the pups so you'd probably have to do a bit of modification to get a standard set to fit. J.

Oh yes - that's one to turn up to a jazz or country gig with! J.

Weird coincidence alert: Hayman 40/40 now on Ebay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Original-Hayman-40-40-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ180312903689"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Original-Hayman-40-4...emZ180312903689[/url] :ph34r: Jon.

He does seem to be in a bit of a mood, doesn't he? For £35 postage will he be teleporting the bloody thing? Jon.

Yeah - he seems to punt a lot of instruments: [url="http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZceptfurcuscus"]http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZceptfurcuscus[/url] And nothing else there seems to be remotely bargain-basement. Which actually makes me wonder if we're getting the full story about this HondoBacker. J.

[quote name='2x18' post='348553' date='Dec 8 2008, 01:11 PM']Cheap bolt on neck copy! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Project-Poss-Hondo-Shaftesbury_W0QQitemZ260329101725QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Electric-Bass-Gu...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Will.[/quote] Not a bad price considering what these things have been known to go for on the Bay. Judging from the blank, elongated neck plate, it's a Hondo, an edge-view of the body would confirm it - it'll be ply. The chip off the back edge looks like it's the top veneer which would bear this out. J.

[quote name='Musky' post='348376' date='Dec 8 2008, 09:55 AM']An Aria Cardinal ended yesterday as well, a CSB Deluxe. I don't remember one of these coming up before and a I was sorely tempted especially as it was black. Didn't go for it in the end because of the pickup placement and the fact that I recently bought a CSB 380, but it only went for £99. Prices do seem to dropping a hell of a lot... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/80s-Aria-Cardinal-CSB-Deluxe-Bass-Guitar-Made-in-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ120342547483"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/80s-Aria-Cardinal-CS...emZ120342547483[/url][/quote] I dunno - I think people are being circumspect about bidding on stuff with relatively high start prices, like that APII. It sold for its start price, £99, while that other piece of broken crap started at a tenner and made it to £78! Which is outrageous considering it's incomplete, the neck & body are very probably from different instruments (ever seen a maple dot board on a JapCrap J? Me neither) and bloody Status Quo might have scrawled all over it! What's [i]wrong[/i] with people?? J.

[quote name='paul h' post='348212' date='Dec 7 2008, 10:59 PM']You sir are the absolute embodiment of this forum. You are like a version of me with more money or a more understanding wife. Possibly both. Paul.[/quote] I suspect a version of you with 1) significantly less money but a taste for cheap & idiosyncratic (ie repulsive to anyone with standards) crap that would be more at home burning in a skip, and 2) a partner who sings in my band & therefore allows me my little foibles. As for embodying this forum - I have to say right now I have never owned a Fender, MusicMan, Warwick, Shuker, Lakland, WAL, Status, Goodfellow, G&L, Pedulla or even a bloody SX - so I'm amazed they even let me come on here! :ph34r: J.

Just done a recount and despite having parted with (most of) the ones I intended to part with, it looks like the final total is approximately "all of them". This compulsive behaviour is actually starting to cause me stress & upset - and as a result I feel I'm slipping into a cycle of "Comfort GAS". I'll have to buy another bass to cheer myself up... J

Actually to his credit he has posted my comment and was quite gracious about it. So he may have been completely genuine in his description. This one's not ply - a lot of the solid wood JapCraps would still have a front & back veneer over a sandwich or butcher-block construction, hence the big black oversprays on 'bursts. The pic of the edge isn't clear enough to tell what sort of construction this one is but you can see it's not ply. I think it would seem less iffy if the neck was sold separately. I don't know if it's the real deal, but I doubt someone would go to the length of faking a convincing vintage neck & think no-one would notice that it was stuck on an old copy body. J.

No link! Had a quick look the ending soon & recently ended stuff & can't find it. Put us out of our misery, Musky! J.

Being the generally helpful fellow that I am, I've sent him this message: [quote name='Know-All JapCrap Smartarse']Hi - for your information, the body, pickups and hardware of this bass are from a 1970s Japanese copy, they are absolutely not Fender parts. I am no particular Fender expert so cannot say whether or not the neck is what it purports to be, however I collect & study vintage Japanese guitars, and the round-end pickups, matching body routes and 7-screw bridge are typical Japanese copy components. It's reasonable to assume the same is true of the control plate & electronics. This is a positive ID, not guesswork or speculation, and my advice would be that you amend your listing to include this information. Cheers - Jon[/quote] Ain't I nice? J.

Well spotted Oli. The pickups - and therefore the body, because the routs match the pups, are 70s JapCrap, whatever the rest of it might be. The 7-screw bridge is a bit of a giveaway too. He's very circumspect about everything but the neck, so I suspect he knows very well what it is. Jon.

This is kind of turning into a discussion about ramps rather than the viability of a business concept! Never tried one but I'd be interested in experimenting - however: I am an occasional pick player - in fact probably 25% - 50% of the time realistically. I'm also a heavy-handed fingers player - I like to dig in hard specifically to get the attack from doing so. I think a ramp would interfere with this. If I got curious enough, I'd make one myself (they're not exactly complicated) and fit it in an easily-removable way. Jon.

[quote name='4000' post='345796' date='Dec 4 2008, 06:42 PM']Guild B301 or B302. I'm not sure of the difference; it's possible that the 1 was 1 pickup and the 2 was 2 pickup. When you're as old as me you've seen several of these things in the flesh...and brand new!l[/quote] I don't ever remember seeing a new 'un but back in the 80s a little local music shop had a fretless version that would be in the window for a week, then disappear for a fortnight, and then be back again. I was never entirely sure what was going on there, but it was a strange little shop - the owner seemingly made more money from producing amateur porn (which he apparently participated in) than from flogging old guitars... J.

I do believe that's a Guild B302. Actually I'm not 100% sure of the model number but it's a 70s Guild anyhow. What do I win? Jon.

I started out playing bass & it's always been my first instrument, but I got very interested in songwriting & home recording which means I have spent a lot of time playing guitar, and am fairly competent, in that I can play anything I think up. I'm the main composer & co-songwriter (with the vocalist) in my current band which means we record full demos which are given to the other guys to learn/interpret. Fortunately our guitarist is a very gifted & individual player but has no interest in writing - so I don't get any grief about that! Guitar's very much my main instrument for writing - I have seldom been fully satisfied with anything that started out as a bass part. Adding a guitar part always seems to sound forced & contrived, whereas it never does when I write a bass line to an existing guitar part. Never played it live (apart from one band in the 80s where we would swap instruments for one song - [i]bad[/i] idea!) and have no wish to - unless I really want to be a failed guitarist! Jon.

[quote name='jxljxl' post='343495' date='Dec 2 2008, 08:50 PM']Thanks for your support and the info, I didn't know that.[/quote] No problem. I know such things, being the Most Tragically Dull Man On Earth. J.