Bassassin

Very sad news. Remember him well from BW days. Jon.

I think this damage looks too severe to be down to the suggested causes - I can't see something as major as this appearing overnight on a bass that I'd guess is a few years old already. I'd say it's somehow had a knock, probably to the backs of the tuners. Looks like 3 individual cracks, each one starting at the respective tuner screw, but you'll need to get the hardware off to see properly. A warranty or other manufacturer repair certainly would be the best solution - but speaking as a bodger, I'd probably just remove the tuners and flow superglue around the cracks. Chances are with the hardware off, it'll close up so it might need to be flexed open fractionally to allow the glue to penetrate. Then I'd clamp it up and leave it overnight, next day buff any superglue excess off with fine wire wool. Whatever you do - [b]don't[/b] go breaking lumps of it off!! You're very lucky it's just a couple of splits as it is! Jon.

Here's a nice-looking Aria/Matsumoku bolt-neck, nice fireglo, looks all original (including weird "staple" type bridge pickup) only thing missing is the pup cover: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Bass-Guitar-4001_W0QQitemZ140261021290"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Bass-Guitar-4001...emZ140261021290[/url] £290 BIN or offers seems almost sane, considering. One slightly odd thing - the seller says "probably 1970's Jap. Not sure" - and if you look closely at the neckplate, it has "Steel Adjustable Neck" and a serial number, as one would expect - but no MIJ stamp. Since the Grover copy tuners & strange pickup convince me it's an Aria/Mat copy, maybe a dodgy batch of neckplates? Edit: Twin truss rods too. Nice. J.

[quote name='SJA' post='268567' date='Aug 23 2008, 06:58 PM']how about, see-thru acrylic P-bass, Aurora project glowguard + fretlights [/quote] I'd hit it, oh yes. :brow: Jon.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='268726' date='Aug 24 2008, 08:05 AM'][size=7]£100[/size] That is obscene! I've never liked the look of the re-issue ones but I must confess an 'orange' one if cheap enough might have tempted me [/quote] Even more obscene when you've been watching it like a GAS-raddled hawk for a week - and are prepared to bid a few multiples of what it ended up selling for. And you miss it. I can only guess it went so cheap because it's so obscure. Seller must've been gutted. If I ever decide to move my orange plastic horror on, I'll let you know! J.

[quote name='dood' post='268470' date='Aug 23 2008, 03:04 PM']Interesting bit of information: Music Live is (was) organised by Sound Control... which is why you'd never find the likes of the Bass Centre etc at Music Live.. Apparently Sound Control would never invite their competitors to the trade shows![/quote] I'm 99% sure Bass Centre were there the year before last. However, if that's the case, hopefully the demise of SC might help make it a bit more varied & interesting - over the last few years it's really become pretty bland. Jon.

The Rimini's the semi, isn't it? I do like the way it's blatantly based on the Rickenbacker 4005 semi but pulls it off without doing a single thing to attract the wrath of RIC's legal department! Other designers should watch & learn. And bloody hell - what about this for a subtle finish? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ITALIA-RIMINI-CLASSIC-BASS-BLUE-PEARL-NEW-CHEAP_W0QQitemZ130248952177"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ITALIA-RIMINI-CLASSI...emZ130248952177[/url] Jon.

I've seen two of them go through Ebay in the last four or five years - and I was absolutely gutted when I missed the finish of one auction - and the bloody thing sold for just over £100! Unbelievable. Ibanez re-used the design for their peculiar plastic Ergodyne EDA900: Also features the Piezo bridge from the AFR but ultimately looks more like a [i]Star Trek[/i] prop than a bass. Didn't stop me buying a bright orange one, though... Jon.

[quote name='coasterbass' post='267495' date='Aug 22 2008, 12:26 AM']i apologise for the extemely patronising tone of my last post having read it back[/quote] Nothing to apologise for - I do agree that we should be out playing the things, not hoarding 'em! The sad fact of my "career" is that I've probably made more money selling "rare & vintage" (cough) basses & g*it*rs than I have playing, writing or recording with the bloody things! :ph34r: Jon.

I picked this up from a pawn shop for buttons a few years ago, with a view to a bit of Ebay profiteering. I'm not proud: [attachment=12515:CSLoriginal.jpg] However, even with rotten, dead strings, misaligned bridge, banana-shaped neck, and 25 years of filth on it - the moment I sat down & played it - [i]everything[/i] felt right. I've owned & played some really nice instruments over the years, but this thing has something indefinable that nothing else does - and it's my no. 1 bass, and now looks more like this: [attachment=12516:CSL2008.jpg] If I had to sell the lot & keep just one, it would be this, no question. Jon.

Saw that earlier myself. very striking looking. He says "hand-built in the UK", I'd take that to mean bolted together here - not that that's a bad thing. I'm curious as to what that sounds like with those big Mudbuckers mounted where they are, and aesthetically, the only thing I don't like is the big MM-type bent tin bridge - but that's really just a detail. Doubt I'd've put speed knobs on it, either, though. He's saying £175 or best offer - he might go down to £150 or so. EDIT: Actually, £160 shipped! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25921&st=0&#entry267307"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry267307[/url] Jon.

Using Far0n's original example - I'd say a bass like an Ibanez Musician [i]is[/i] a vintage & rare instrument. Vintage is hard to define in this context, but the Musician is a bass which is very much of a particular era, the model's long-since discontinued, and is becoming collectable & sought-after enough to command increasingly high prices. This is true of other Japanese-made instruments from the 70s & 80s. This doesn't exactly put them in the same ballpark as pre-CBS Fenders, for example - and I doubt they ever will be - but I don't think the words "vintage" & "rare" necessarily imply enormous value, just scarcity & a degree of collectability. For the record, the vintagest & rarest bass I own is one of these: A Ned Callan from about 1972. I have no idea what it's worth - this one being cradled by The Ox is the only other one I've ever seen & I don't even know a model name/number for it. Mine's branded as CMI - Cleartone Musical Instruments, who sourced from Ned Callan (really luthier Peter Cook) before they started importing JapCrap. I really like old basses. Jon.

That body's like a less radical [url="http://web.onetel.com/~hairymattp/bass_pics/vester3_small.jpg"]Vester Argus[/url]. Shame the pics aren't a bit better - looks interesting. Jon.

[quote name='thebeat' post='264988' date='Aug 18 2008, 10:06 PM']I might be wrong here, but i'm almost sure that i've read on the Rickresource forums that Jetglos have a blue basecoat?[/quote] I stand corrected if so! Still think it's pricey, though. J.

Firstly, I think that's an awful lot for a refin'd late 70s 4001. If you look around you can pick up a new or recent 4003 for less, and I don't think there's anything particularly collectable about that vintage. I don't think a factory finish Jetglo would have blue underneath, so I think you can be 99% sure it's a refin. Ironic, I think blue (Azureglo?) would be a much more unusual & potentially collectable colour. Rick serial numbers are on the jack plate - they are not obvious to decode - make a note of it & type it into RIC's serial decoder on their website: [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/service_serials.asp"]http://www.rickenbacker.com/service_serials.asp[/url] If you are interested in this bass - or any other Rick, I'd strongly advise signing up to www.rickresource.com - incredibly knowledgeable bunch of people, I've found them to be very friendly & welcoming, and I collect JapCrap Rick copies! RR is also probably the best place for tracking down s/h Ricks in the US, if you decided to import one. Jon.

[quote name='NeonMig' post='264470' date='Aug 18 2008, 12:35 PM']And now they're about to be sued as well. Rickenbacker really goes over the top with such matters.[/quote] Rickenbacker doesn't really have a lot of luck in enforcing their trademark ownership anywhere outside the US, actually. That's probably OK because the only reason they have to do this is the way trademarking works over there - a mark owner (RIC, in this case) has to be seen [i]actively[/i] kicking the arse of every infringer - if they don't, they lose the exclusive right to use the trademark. Hence they [i]have[/i] to go after Ebay auctions & US based importers of copies - if they didn't then any bugger would be able to legally make & sell Rick copies. This is exactly why there are a million different Fender/Gibson knockoffs (usually apart from the headstocks - which [i]are[/i] protected trademarks) but comparatively few Ricks. Ebay auctions in the UK & elsewhere get pulled down because Ebay's a US company, and would suffer the Wrath Of RIC if they didn't. There's probably not a lot RIC can do beyond blow hot air & chuck out cease & desists to other overseas infringers, because international law is different to US & the process would be long & very expensive for a small business like RIC. What they do is probably enough, though. Given that Rickenbacker has stayed small & family-owned, and they sell a unique & well-made niche product - and still remain [i]fairly[/i] competitively-priced, compared to other US-made instruments, I think it's overall a good thing they've hung onto their trademarks so far. Even though John Hall seems to be an arrogant, hostile cock. Jon.

I think it's a really striking looking one-off / custom type bass - it just [i]really[/i] annoys me when people try & pass something like this off as something it blatantly isn't. Jon.

[quote name='joegarcia' post='264024' date='Aug 17 2008, 05:26 PM']Just made an offer on the Gordon Smith. Means I'll have to sell one of my beloved basses but I reckon I'll get more use out of the Gordon Smith... Hopefully.[/quote] Aaaaaand - sold to the cell-shaded man with the moustache & biceps! Be sure & post lots of pics when it arrives! What will you be selling to compensate? Give you a tenner for the Joodee P. J.

That chrome trc is very like the ones we find on old JapCrap Fender copies. Apart from that, there's a zero-fret, & the headstock looks like it [i]might[/i] be made of that odd strip-ply stuff used on early orientals. I'll reserve judgement until Wayne gets better pics - but there were a few odd Vox-branded things around, so anything's possible... Jon.