Bassassin

I somehow managed to miss this thread for the last couple of weeks! My original idea with the perspex trc was to use a reverse-printed transfer on the rear for the logo - I have a laser printer so should theoretically be able to do this with the print-your-own decal sheets available on Fleabay - unfortunately my rubbish printer melts these & then jams, so the idea remains untested. However, the paper/card underlay things work well, & once properly fitted are pretty much undetectable. I've done two so far & am very pleased with the result. If you're interested I could make up a perspex trc/underlay to fit your bass - I can do any design you want as long as it's [u]not[/u] Rickenbacker! Not sure what I'd charge but it wouldn't be as much as a dodgy Italian one! I'm interested in the idea of engraving one - some of the old copies had engraved-logo covers, the Ibanez & Jolanas did. These had 3-ply scratchplate material covers, engraved through the top layer so the middle colour showed. Might have a go with a bit of black 3-ply I've got lying around. Jon.

Just received a very nice Schaller 3-D bridge at a great price, and near-instantaneous delivery. A complete gent and a pleasure to do business with! Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='333990' date='Nov 21 2008, 05:14 PM'][/quote] You'll need the other four of them if you want to kill the Antichrist. Jon.

Don't know if it's the same, but I'm really, really pleased with the material I'm writing at the moment and very happy with the bass parts. The band's currently working the songs into performable pieces, and it's coming together much better/quicker than I'd expected, considering the complexity of some of the arrangements. I'm having a satisfying struggle learning to sing the BVs over some of the bass lines I've given myself! Jon.

at the original post, perhaps a bit more at the tone of some responses! Bass solos - more divisive than religion? To paraphrase, a gentleman is a man who can play a bass solo. And doesn't. Jon.

Tennessee? Tropicalmoonmusic??? [b]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!![/b] J.

[quote name='Musky' post='332039' date='Nov 19 2008, 12:41 AM']Woah! Top marks that man! If there was an applause smilie I'd be using it right about... now![/quote] This one: Fascinating stuff, never encountered Acoustic Black Widows before. Looks like the bass might originally have been a Hohner rebrand, but built by Bartell. Also very interesting to see that Matsumoku built a JapCrap Black Widow bass too - I'm guessing they never made it over to the U of K though. Jon.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='331413' date='Nov 18 2008, 12:37 PM']I think we've had a thread on him before. He's a busker in Barcelona, I saw him last year and bunged him a bunch of money, he's a really great player.[/quote] Saw him too last year - I really don't like this sort of thing ordinarily but he was just mesmerising - lovely fluid technique & superb sense of melody. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='332082' date='Nov 19 2008, 09:10 AM']I don't claim to understand what things should be priced at yet. But this looks another overpriced Ibanez to me. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=220311005804&Category=4713null&_trksid=p3907.m29"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...rksid=p3907.m29[/url][/quote] That's probably not too far from the ballpark for an Ibby Musician, unless you get lucky. The early 80 originals - Musician, Studio & Artist ranges - were high-end & can fetch some pretty silly money, particularly the Artists. With this one you also have to factor in the fact it's in Japan & will cost six thousand quid to post. J.

Well I quite like it. It's in some ways quite contemporary-looking for an oldie. As far as Hohner or Mosrite are concerned, I get the impression he just thought of two random brands. I don't think Hohner have ever actually made guitars themselves anyway. The Schaller tuners look original to this (can't see any other screwholes) which would suggest it's probably mid-70s at the earliest. Wonder if it's a one-off? Jon.

[quote name='Dan_Q' post='331195' date='Nov 18 2008, 12:50 AM']as a rickenlearner (not a rockinbeginner ) when you say "the holes are oval in the bridge" exactly which ones do you mean? the ones in the tailpiece where the strings come through the stop or actually on the bridge itself? apologies if this is a bit of a ricken-noob question.[/quote] Yes - it's the holes in the tailpiece that the strings pass through. Copy parts have very even, oval holes, while real ones are more squared-off & rough-looking. It's a worrying fact that if you compare the two side-by-side the old Japanese ones appear much better finished & more robust.. I guess that's why Ricks have been plagued with tail-lift since the tailpieces stopped being huge lumps of cast aluminium, sometime in the early 70s. Speaking of early 70s, that 4000's a stunner, and that's probably a damn good price too, considering current Rick values. J.

But Tokai don't, at least not on their UK or Japan websites. Or anywhere visible on the instrument itself. J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='330212' date='Nov 16 2008, 06:38 PM']Rockinbetter's are made by Tokai then. i wondered who made them.[/quote] Are they? Go see if you can find any "official" connection. J.

I'm kind of inclined to think it's not a copy - but it's had a number of new parts - the copy bridge, plus the pup surround looks brand new. It has what looks like a legit plexi TRC - which reads "Model 4001", which would be consistent with a '73. Speaking of which, he's updated the listing & is now saying it's a '73. Did a bit of revision last night & it's quite possible a Sept 73 might have small inlays, plain binding & higain pup - looks like these changes all happened earlier in the same year, but many later '73 basses are transitional & have one or more old features. Hope he comes through with the truss rod pics - Rick ones are quite different to any copy I've seen & that would pretty much confirm it one way or t'other. A great resource for spotting Fakers - and for general Rick minutiae - is [url="http://www.joeysbassnotes.com"]Joey's Bass Notes[/url], which unfortunately appears to be down right now. He has a comparison gallery of loads of different (and fascinating, if you're tragic like me) fakers & the differences & details. I'd love to know what some of them are. J.

[quote name='kevbass' post='329971' date='Nov 16 2008, 01:18 AM']I might have a punt on this. Is it just me or does the nut look poorly glued in?[/quote] There was a feller on here selling one for £50 a week or two ago - might be worth asking if he's still got it: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=30935"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=30935[/url] No question about the body material on that one, either. BTW these pickups are actually odd-looking single-coils, not 'buckers, despite the twin row of pole pieces. I bought one for a project, it puts out 11k which is pretty hefty for a single coil. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='329325' date='Nov 14 2008, 06:27 PM']As ever, Jon, I am in awe. I actually own two vintage Ric's...[/quote] You don't need [i]two[/i]. Being able to spot these differences is why they put up with me on RickResource! J.

It's not just the date though. The bridge is a copy - oval holes (real ones are more squared) and chrome saddles; the tuners are not standard Rick fittings - the shafts are too long & the ferrules too large; the strap buttons don't look like the knurled studs (same part as the mute adjusters) used on Ricks; it has the small gap between the neck pup & end of the neck. This would be right on a '73, but I think it would have a toaster pickup, not a hi-gain. And if it is a 73, it's likely it would have either checked binding or full-width inlays, maybe both. For a '73, it would be in very good cosmetic condition - a Rick of that age would likely have pretty worn finish on most contact areas. He manages to not show clearly things that would confirm whether it is or isn't - the fretboard wood / inlays & original strap buttons are good ways of spotting copies from real ones. From what I can see, this could either be a real Rick rebuilt with a combination of genuine & copy parts - including the jackplate, or just a good copy - perhaps a late 70s/early 80s Jap market Greco, with a Rick jackplate & TRC. Have I been spending too much time hanging around RickResource? :ph34r: J.

And what do we think about this one? January 1998 Rickenbacker 4003? Does that make anyone else want to quote the famous Internet Owl? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320318087892"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320318087892[/url] I'm undecided as to quite what it is, and quite what the seller thinks/knows it is. A copy with a real jackplate (which seems to decode to September 1973)? A real Rick with a lot of replacement/non-original parts? And not one single clear photograph of a detail which would confirm or deny its provenance. Ignorance, or artfully concealing camera work? Your thought please, fellow cynics. J.

[quote name='BassManKev' post='328481' date='Nov 13 2008, 04:47 PM']you got a link to that polish?? i know its a thick finish, but it looks shiny as fook [/quote] [url="http://www.carplan.co.uk/index.cfm?category=58"]http://www.carplan.co.uk/index.cfm?category=58[/url] Your local Halfords will sort you out for about £5! It's good for cleaning up metalwork too. If you use it on laquer or paint, do make sure it's a modern, heavy-duty finish, it's a mild abrasive & I don't think using it on a thin nitro finish would be a good idea. J.

I should perch this precariously on the top of the stack: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150309633551"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=150309633551[/url] One o' them Shaftesbury-branded 360/4005 hybrid things, either JapCrap or a rebadged Eko. J.

A few objects of curiosity & desire seemed to have slipped under the communal radar (or have they? ) so maybe an update might be prudent. Or something. Hondo P in some disrepair - might be a cheap project for someone local to it: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140281294177"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=140281294177[/url] No-name EB0 thing; a bit of hacksaw damage but a sane BIN considering the altitudes some of these things achieve: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330285235598"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=330285235598[/url] Shaftesbury Rick 360/4005 hybrid: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150309633551"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=150309633551[/url] Really weird Morris Tele-shaped thing: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290274766531"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=290274766531[/url] Even weirder Morris neckthrough thing, in Italy: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110304011543"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=110304011543[/url] And finally - but bloody hell, I've never seen one of these outside a '72 Ibanez catalogue before. I want this, quite a lot: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160297642790"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=160297642790[/url] J.

Direct link-tastic: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dean-Cabbie-Stylist-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ230307190058"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dean-Cabbie-Stylist-...emZ230307190058[/url] I am strangely drawn to this, despite finding myself ill-equipped to adequately explain why. Jon.

[quote name='jono b' post='327820' date='Nov 12 2008, 06:17 PM']So was the bass in a hard case and they still managed to do that much damage? Royal Mail never cease to amaze me with the ways they come up with to break stuff. By the way, to you loan out your carpets to porn shoots? [/quote] Indeed it was in a case - admittedly a pretty wrecked one, but you'd [i]really[/i] have to be trying! And fortunately the carpets are a bit more subdued than this - it's a bit of dodgy fur fabric which appeals to my inner porno director! :brow: It gets worse, I also have this (excuse the g*it*r): [attachment=15941:fullfront.jpg] J.