Bassassin

I've actually got a few contemporary Arias (as opposed to the "proper" 70s & 80s JapCrap ones) and if mine are anything to go by - they're unfairly overlooked. This is an Aria STB-GT: [attachment=10708:stbgtfull.jpg] It might just be a piece of wood that makes noise - but it's a pretty damn :brow: one - in my opinion! I've also got an acoustic bass & a PE-series g*it*r, all of them are well-made, very nice to play, and sound good too. That said - you can't argue with SXes for quality per quid, from what I've read about 'em. Jon.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='237514' date='Jul 11 2008, 06:45 PM']is it me or is it just ...... Odd..... :wacko:[/quote] It's [i]special[/i]. I think this guy sold (or at least, listed) something similar a little while back. I remember the err, daubs on the headstock. Jon.

I've noticed it it on a few no-name 70s P copies, as well as some early pre copy-era JapCraps. It's on these old Arias: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catalogs/75_aria/75_aria_catalog_pg1.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catal...og_pg1.jpg.html[/url] These pre-date Matsumoku's known involvement with the brand, so it's not clear who exactly made them! I'll do a bit of digging & see if I can find a P with this adjuster from a known brand/builder. £60? Steal. J.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='236876' date='Jul 10 2008, 09:00 PM']Ibanez? How many of those were badgeless then? Out of interest how much is it worth?[/quote] JapCrap in-joke, NP. Every Japanese bass or guitar ever to appear on Ebay, or anywhere else, is an Ibanez, made in the famous Ibanez factory. Really, there's no such thing as a badgeless Ibanez - there can't be, because Ibanez [b]is[/b] only a badge. It's a brand name, owned by Hoshino Gakki, a trading company which contracts various factories to make Ibanez-branded instruments. Anyroad up, that's a lovely-looking P, could be a Fujigen (Fujigen Gakki was the factory which made Ibanez in the 70s - amongst many other brands) but the odd skinny neckplate & that style of truss adjuster makes me think not... I can't quite tell from the pic - but is the neck made from 3 pieces of maple? If so, that's a common construction technique on some better-quality JapCrap. From the pics, I wouldn't want to hazard a guess at a maker (they all look the same!) but there might be some clues on the hardware & electronics, if you took it to bits. Mind me asking how much you paid for it? J.

Crack Converters can be surprisingly reasonable - a while back, one by me had a Satellite (similar ilk of crap to Hondo) J copy up at £50 - I tried it & one of the pickups was dead, I asked if they'd knock a bit off (expecting a tenner, at best) and walked out with it for £25! It was just a dry joint on a pot, as well... If the neck on that Hondo was irreparably screwed - ie not fixable with truss adjustments or shimming - then you're better off shot of it. Jon.

[quote name='madiccy' post='235638' date='Jul 9 2008, 12:27 PM']Ahhh Could Be...Thanks I Paid £20 for it.[/quote] It's not home-built. It's a Shaftesbury, made in Italia by Eko: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/html/general/shaftesbury.html"]http://www.fetishguitars.com/html/general/shaftesbury.html[/url] It's had a refin - which I'd try & remove, if it was mine. Which, regrettably, it's not - unless you'd take £25 for it! BTW welcome to BC, Iccy. Jon.

Blimey - one I missed! I'd go for it if it doesn't attract last-minute bids, probably make a decent project. I'm 99% sure it's not an Avon - most of them - and every Avon J I've seen - had a metal headstock badge - if this had had one, there would be holes where it was pinned on. There's no MIJ on the neckplate - it was possibly a Satellite, or from the same source. Six & half-a-dozen, really, the quality will be comparable. Good luck! J.

That'll be an Avon (brand) from Rose-Morris (importer/distributor & huge London music shop). A lot of sellers aren't very bright. I think I've seen the one you mean - EB-0 medium scale, hard case, still got its ashtray on. I had an identical bass (as far as I can tell from Mr Numpty's crap pics) with a different brand name, & it was OK - very, very limited bridge, single coil pup posing as a mudbucker, ply body, decent neck. It did sound quite authentic, despite the pickup only being a single. I didn't mod mine - sold it on when I got bored - which didn't take long... I also made a significant profit - which is worth bearing in mind before you do anything to modify old JapCrap - some people do collect this stuff & will very often pay more than you might expect... J.

[quote name='Dave Dubya' post='234676' date='Jul 8 2008, 01:11 AM']So...Avon basses - are they really Jap "crap" and a waste of money? I'm looking at this at the moment for a build project and, as long it stays fairly cheap, I'm might bid.[/quote] Is it a particular one or just an Avon in general? Avon was generally the cheaper end of the market - the brand was owned by Rose-Morris, who also had the Shaftesbury brand. Shaftesburys tended to be higher-end copies - but having said that, I've seen some later Avons which were very, very nice - for example a Gibson Marauder g*it*r copy which was near-identical to the real thing, played & sounded lovely. However some of the earlier ones were pretty cheap & cheerful - the EB basses & J basses will tend to have ply bodies & not-great pups & hardware. That said, a truly rubbish neck seems to be very uncommon on any JapCrap - this is probably because the really unplayable ones have long since gone off to that great landfill in the sky... I'd say, by all means grab it if you can get it cheap enough - the great thing about JapCrap is its resellability, if it's not what you're after. J.

[quote name='Sibob' post='235134' date='Jul 8 2008, 05:39 PM']kneck?? You've been looking at these types of listings too long Jon Si[/quote] Sorry about that - obviously I meant to say "arm". J.

It actually looks like a 70s JapCrap P neck to me - looks like the sort of wide, originally chrome trc you often find on these. Obviously, now painted one of the "colours that you see". The seller's also got a set of old JapCrap-stylee tuners on as well, probably from this kneck, sorry, [i]shaft[/i]. Useful for spares. If you're me. :ph34r: J.

We've had the Kneck, the Arm, and even the Handle - but now, the fountainhead of linguitstic invention that is Ebay brings you... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Guitar-Shaft_W0QQitemZ370067002291QQihZ024QQcategoryZ42455"][b]The Bass Guitar Shaft[/b][/url] Jon.

Unfortunately my hands are on the wrong way for this - and I'm a little too poor... However, looking at his other & previous listings, this guy looks like potentially a good option for anyone after a new Rick at a more sensible price - like this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170212377613"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170212377613[/url] That went for about £500 off list price - and the two he's got up at the moment have full-width inlays, a vintage feature only reintroduced a couple of months ago. Jon.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='234219' date='Jul 7 2008, 03:29 PM']I was offered it for £40 but declined..[/quote] That was silly! I would've given you a ton for it! J.

[quote name='nick' post='234055' date='Jul 7 2008, 12:10 PM']Very tempted, but just bought a Yamaha SBV500, which sort of covers Jazz bass needs. Otherwise I probably would. I think Mayas generally made cracking good basses.[/quote] I have an SBV too - and they are great basses, as well as being real head-turners. The Maya's good for what it is - but obviously a lot of the appeal of the early JapCrap is more its collectability & curiosity value, rather than its practicality - and this one is a bit idiosyncratic! J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='233776' date='Jul 6 2008, 09:29 PM']A slightly more convincing 'Faker: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Beatles-Paul-McCartney-Bass-For-Vox-1960s-style_W0QQitemZ290243805763QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item290243805763&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C65%3A10&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Beatles-Paul-McCartn...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote] I[i] thought[/i] that bizarre item title seemed familiar: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-60s-Paul-McCartney-Beatles-Bass-Guitar-For-Vox_W0QQitemZ300216908861"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-60s-Paul-McC...emZ300216908861[/url] Different seller & not an attempt to spoof the first ad - this bass looks like it was probably a Shaftesbury, once upon a time. The Fresher's interesting, never seen a bolt-on before. Although despite being "in fantastic shape" it does look a bit like it's been flung out a window. J.

[quote name='nick' post='233753' date='Jul 6 2008, 08:37 PM']Nice looking Maya Jazz - love 'em myself [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maya-bass-Jazz-copy-Japan-vintage-70s-MIJ-Japanese-NR_W0QQitemZ120279610122QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maya-bass-Jazz-copy-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] Go on, make us an offer... J.

Bigger pic - actually the background off Norm's Myspace - the design looks like it incorporates part of the Bass Centre logo - this is probably a prototype of the one they sell. Jon.

Don't care whether they're Fakers or not - that second one with the MM type 'Bucker is [i]gorgeous[/i]. :wub: J.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='232868' date='Jul 4 2008, 06:42 PM']Obviously made by the same people who make the acrylic basses for [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WESLEY-CLEAR-BLUE-ACRYLIC-4-STRING-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ300231059037QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4713QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262"]Wesley[/url].[/quote] Like this 5er: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18465"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18465[/url] Not terrific resale value, then... :ph34r: Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='233255' date='Jul 5 2008, 06:03 PM']Nah. I might of had a pop at the sub 50 mark if I'd been prepared enough but to tell you the truth I forgot all about it until <1 min so I just watched it end. Which ain't a bad thing as it still leaves me in the running for some weekend nuptials that would have undoubtedly been denied had I bought yet another bass. [/quote] Got to get your priorities right occasionally... J.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='233243' date='Jul 5 2008, 05:17 PM']It went from a stable 41 to 69 in the last few seconds. [/quote]Wasn't you, was it? J.

Hi John - you're dead on the money about Antorias. For a bit of general reading about the brand (and a lot of wild speculation!) do a search for the brand at [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum"]http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum[/url] - there is a lot of interest in the brand there, because basically the Antoria range - right down to catalogue numbers - was identical to its Ibanez equivalent, at least at the point when the brand was owned by JT Coppock. It seems that Hoshino Gakki, the distributor which owns the Ibanez brand, also sold rebranded Fujigen guitars to other distributors, including Coppocks. The Antoria range isn't identical to Ibanez - there are no Rickenfakers, for example, but there are equivalents to some of the more esoteric Ibby designs, like the Custom Agent LPs and the Black Eagle bass. There are also some strange hybrid Antorias - including Ibanez Artist types, but with Custom Agent headstocks, which have no Ibanez equivalent. The Antoria brand outlived JT Coppock - when that company closed the brand changed hands, and these later Antorias were Korean-built. Decent quality, easily recognisable by garish paint jobs & plain, triangular headstocks on the Gibson copies. These aren't collectable in the same way as the Fujigen Antorias are. Anyway, dunno if you wanted a history lesson! Do you have any pics of the Antoria you're interested in? If so, IDing it should be pretty straightforward, also how much are you thinking of paying? Antoria LPs are fairly common and there are usually a couple on Ebay at any one time. And yes - they'll be identical again to their equivalent Greco (this is complicated a bit by the fact Greco sourced through Aria and Fujigen simultaneously) and the exhaustive & occasionally accurate potted history of JapCrap is in development - like so much else in my life! Jon.

Greg's Down Under, I think - and $150 Australian is about £70, I think, so a Squier Affinity's probably a bit more. Quality control's the big problem with the really budget end of the market - pot luck whether you get a straight neck with a decent fret job or one like a broken fire escape. This bass looks OK to me - it looks broadly like an Ibanex SRX knockoff - although thinking about that, a secondhand SRX200 would probably be in a similar price range, and these are generally regarded as good first basses, and are well put-together for the money. Greg - if you consider secondhand, there will be a lot more choice available. Do you have car boot sales in Oz? I picked up an old but perfectly playable bass for £12 at my local booter at the weekend - my partner has a friend whose son wants to take up the bass, and with a bit of a clean & a set of strings, this will be ideal. If you picked up a "project" bass, not only would you save a lot of money, but you could use it to learn about the nuts & bolts of how it works & setting it up, etc - and there's plenty of help & advice available here. Jon.

They are pretty heavy - when I got mine, it was the heaviest bass I'd owned (since eclipsed by the Rickenbugger!) and it's very nice to play - the reason I bought it. Well, that's what I told myself at the time... The fact of the matter is that mine's been in its case since I moved last August - I found that using it with the setup & effects I use live, it's very, very prone to feedback, so I don't gig it. Because of the metal body construction, it's naturally very bright, the hollow body makes it highly resonant too - so add a little bit of overdrive (and I really don't use much!) and the damn thing squeals like a piggy. Basically I took mine to bits to see if there would be any way of deadening the resonance - to find it's already packed with foam. The scratchplate on mine tends to rattle too, so my intention was to put something under its edges to rectify that. It is a back-burner project at the moment - I'd love to make it giggable, simply because it's a stunning-looking bass, but these days I'm spoilt for choice, what with all my cheap JapCrap tat, so it's not currently a priority! J.