Bassassin

I'm an absolute sucker for a bit of black pearl - looks as good on your Lakky as it does on my 70s JapCrap Jazz. Jon.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='219088' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:37 AM']Rose Morris [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROSE-MORRIS-70s-80s-JAZZ-COPY-AVON_W0QQitemZ150259313752QQihZ005QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROSE-MORRIS-70s-80s-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Westone Headless [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/westone-headless-bass_W0QQitemZ190229679149QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/westone-headless-bas...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Reminiscent of my columbus, but not sure what it is. Bet Jon does.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-1960s-BASS-GUITAR-SG-MADE-IN-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ130230921974QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-1960s-BASS-G...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] That Avon/ RM Jazz is a weirdo with those little Tele pickups - you can tell it would have had ashtrays on it! This is, interestingly, a re-branded Maya, from the Rokkomann factory. A bit low-end, but will likely have a decent enough neck, if it's not shagged after 30 years of abuse. The SG/EB type bass is another of these very early mystery basses - they come up quite often, nobody in JapCrapCollectorLand actually knows what they are. There's a BCer who recently got one off a bloke down the pub: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18646"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18646[/url] So yes - it's one of them, with replacement pickups & the nice metallic red paint ripped off. See the link for a full explanation of how little I know about them! The Westy Super Headless is now long-gone - these are very, very rare & can reach silly prices. Chances are someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse - and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else selling it, with a silly BIN in a week or two... :ph34r: No - it [b]wasn't[/b] me. J.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='219092' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:50 AM']...headstock give a subtle nod to early Aria Pro II models. P[/quote] That same basic shape appears on loads of post-copy era Matsumoku brands - I guess that's that H. Noble fella for you! J.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='218911' date='Jun 14 2008, 05:27 PM']Is it just me or hasn't there been a decent Rickenbugger on ebay for weeks?[/quote] You're right - been about 6 weeks since I saw anything that wasn't junk, or spare parts, or both. They're like buses, though, there'll probably be 4 along at once... J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='218869' date='Jun 14 2008, 03:32 PM']True [/quote] Amen, Brother Darxide! J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='218688' date='Jun 14 2008, 07:49 AM']Well it's close enough - Teisco purchased Kay in the late 60's. I used to have a Kay branded Teisco from about 1969.[/quote] Not sure how that worked. Teisco was bought out by Kawai in 1967, Kawai are still going strong (keyboards mostly) these days. Kay was originally an American manufacturer, which went out of business in 1969 - the brand has subsequently appeared on guitars from pretty much anywhere that made cheap instruments - Japan, Korea, Taiwan, East Germany and probably many others. I'd guess it's had a variety of owners in the last 40-odd years (still going now, producing cheapo Fender copies - and reissues of the old 50s & 60s US designs!) and there's every likelihood some instruments came from Kawai/Teisco at one point. However, these Rickensh!tters (love that! ) are 70s Littlewoods Catalogue Taiwanese trash - & sod all to do with Teisco. Probably. J.

That's the Ibby Jetking, isn't it? Great-looking basses & there's been a fair bit of interest around the place - most recently in this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19631"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19631[/url] Which also includes a review from a member who's got one. Jon.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='218471' date='Jun 13 2008, 05:40 PM']The most unconvincing one I've seen yet [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACK-BASS-GUITAR-RICKY-COPY_W0QQitemZ300233448095QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Rickensh*tt*r[/url][/quote] That's a Kay - that's what the £49 neck & body would have been once. There are a lot of these around still - which suggests to me they don't even burn well. J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='218469' date='Jun 13 2008, 05:39 PM']Maybe h'e getting mixed up with a Ripper.[/quote] More like an excercise in creative keyword spamming. Anyway - nice early 80s Matsumoku-built JapCrap, and Vantages aren't too common in the UK. This will be closely comparable to yer Westone Thunders in terms of build & playability. This makes the start price a bit silly tbh - I doubt it'll attract many bids. Jon.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='217892' date='Jun 12 2008, 08:04 PM']How anyone can call them "Jap Crap", is beyond me, they look amazing.[/quote] 'Cos "JapCrap" is a joke - not a value judgement! By the same logic - Shuker, Status, Wal etc = BritSh!t, Fodera, Alembic, Pedulla etc = YankW@nk, and pretty much everything else half-decent = KoreaDiarrhoea. I [i]love[/i] Japanese basses. J.

[url="http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/item/204678/Musical-Instruments/RICKEN-BACKER-QUITAR/"]http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/item/20467...-BACKER-QUITAR/[/url] If this is in decent nick, £799's a good price considering new ones appear to be twice that on the Bay these days. If they're flogging it for that, makes you wonder how much they gave to the [s]thieving pikey crack-monkey[/s] sorry, [i]previous owner[/i] they got it from? Jon.

[quote name='Machines' post='217361' date='Jun 12 2008, 08:47 AM']Went for £385 in the end... not too bad but lower than it would have been a year ago.[/quote] Also lower than it would have been if he hadn't had an off-puttingly high start price, and slightly OTT postage. 99p, no reserve ftw. J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='217677' date='Jun 12 2008, 03:24 PM']Teisco project, £49 BIN! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Short-Scale-Bass-Body-Neck-Oddball-Shape_W0QQitemZ140240823456QQihZ004QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Short-Scale-B...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote]That's a Kay, not a Teisco - Teisco never made copies. Might be a laugh if it was £20, but pushing £70 delivered is a bit OTT for that, I think... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280235434510"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280235434510[/url] That tailpiece isn't a real Rickenbacker part - real ones have squared-off string holes. Ironically I bought one last week that was listed as a copy & it turned out to be a vintage Rick part. The copies are much better made - sorry, RickFans. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rickenbacker-MOP-pickguard-for-4003-NOS_W0QQitemZ280235427926"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rickenbacker-MOP-pic...emZ280235427926[/url] The pearl scratchpate's quite cool - but sadly useless to most Rickenfaker owners - the copies nearly all have the smaller gap between the neck pup & fretboard - this has the later 1" gap. God, I'm such an anorak... J.

[quote name='BOD2' post='216865' date='Jun 11 2008, 02:00 PM']How exactly did you clean the metal parts ? Presumably in cleaning the metal parts, some of the plating will have been removed. Does this mean these parts will corrode and discolour quickly again ?[/quote] What's particularly interesting on this bass, is a lot of the crap on the metalwork was a deposit which could just be scraped away. The plating underneath a lot of it looks fine and possibly the only part which might deteriorate is the bridge pickup surround. However, despite the surface rust, it's not down to bare metal & there's no point where the plating's actually peeling - it just looks slightly dulled. I'm down to significant amounts of bare metal on the tailpiece - but that'll just be going in the spares box, now I've got the genuine Rick part to replace it with. Like I said, a lot of the oxidation-type deposits I could just scrape off - much of it with my thumbnail! More stubborn stuff, like the surface rust on the steel bits, surrendered to a Dremel - type tool with a soft wire brush attachment - with very little effort. I'm quite confident that the plating's pretty much intact - I've had a reasonable amount of experience [s]tarting up tat[/s] restoring vintage hardware, and it generally ends up pretty presentable with a bit of care & elbow grease. Glad the pics are working now Paul - & the bass is a beauty under the crap, can't wait to get it playable! J.

Excellent! Lovely bass - and quite restrained for an Atlansia. Point of interest for JapCrap geeks - Atlansia was founded by Nobuaki Hayashi - and if you ever look at an 80s Matsumoku Aria Pro SB bass - he's the "H. Noble" whose name's on the headstock! And here's what he's up to these days: [url="http://www.atlansia.jp/BASS.NEW.HTML"]http://www.atlansia.jp/BASS.NEW.HTML[/url] Jon.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='217680' date='Jun 12 2008, 03:29 PM']Columbus P: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Columbus-Fender-P-Bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ330243676950QQihZ014QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Columbus-Fende...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] Again - shockingly expensive, particularly considering it's not original & you'd need to remove all the crap he's slapped over it. But better than this scam: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120271715980"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=120271715980[/url] Modern Chinese cheapo with a few Ebay Ibanez transfers on it. Avoid. I've politely pointed out the scammer's "error" and he has no intention of changing his description. Lazy f***wit didn't even bother to put an authentic type logo on it. J.

I do like those. That background hurts, though... Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='217334' date='Jun 12 2008, 02:10 AM']198* Aria Pro II TSB-550 It's very shiny. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pre-87-Aria-Matsumoku-Through-Neck-Bass-MIJ-Awesome_W0QQitemZ200225810489QQihZ010QQcategoryZ112668QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]linky[/url][/quote] Very nice - you don't see too many of them. Very expensive, too at £400!! Wonder why he says it's an SB-R60 in the text? J.

[quote name='Buzz' post='216844' date='Jun 11 2008, 01:31 PM']Jon, is the binding on the body covered by the laquer from the body? If it is, and the neck binding isn't, that could explain why if it's had a reaction to the laquer. Eitherway, that neck loves lovely, just like glass.[/quote] It is - but it's the whole thing's lacquered, and I'd assume all been done at the same time. Maybe the body binding material's different to the neck & it's that that's reacted. I quite like it anyway, so I don't mind! J.

Eh up! Can never have enough JapCrap on BC! I think yours is very likely our first Atlansia - looking forward to seeing some pics in the gear porn section! See you in the JapCrap Spotting thread! Jon.

[quote name='neepheid' post='216636' date='Jun 11 2008, 09:28 AM']Damn right it shouldn't be there long. I've no problem with people selling Rick copy stuff, but I've got a problem with people passing copy stuff off as the original.[/quote] Likewise - but he might just be ignorant. The listing's now saying he's been told it's from a 4080 twin-neck, which was bolt-on. It's a Mat/Aria neck, no doubt: the fretboard's too dark for a Rick, the truss adjusters are allen key barrels, not nuts, the inlays are too pearlised (Rick ones are usually poured, not cut from sheet), skunk stripe looks too wide. And so on. Interesting he says the tuners "HAVE A STAMPED MARK ON THEM WITH USA ON IT" - if they're real Grovers, they'd definitely be worth a bob or ten, copy ones are completely blank. But I really, really doubt it. I've asked for clearer pics. As for the other one - very poor pic, this is a butchered MIJ copy and I've never, [i]ever[/i] seen pine used in the construction of a JapCrap guitar - and the through-neck construction here indicates this was a high-end copy. It's completely ravaged, though - the seller says the fingerboard's narrower than the neck. That's because the binding's been ripped off, as it has from the body - if it's a Kasuga, as I suspect, it would have had checkerboard. Anyhoo, I've messaged the guy to see if he'll post - £50 for good parts & firewood sounds OK to me...

Matsumoku bolt-neck - errr... neck: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BASS-GUITAR-NECK_W0QQitemZ220244694450"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BA...emZ220244694450[/url] Doubt it'll be there long. J.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='216472' date='Jun 10 2008, 10:38 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Frakenstein-Of-A-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ270245275832QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Someone buy this and put it out of its misery![/url][/quote] Worth it for the parts - if it was local to me, I'd 'ave it. Not sure - but I think that might've been a neck-through Kasuga. Once upon a time. J.

[quote name='Musky' post='215127' date='Jun 8 2008, 09:48 PM']According to [url="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=190270840&imageID=7377123"]this page[/url] (you'll need to be logged in to a myspace account to see it) it's an SC II-B. Matsumoku made a lot of Epihones, and by the sound of the "three piece maple neck" this is one of them. No doubt Jon (Bassassin) will know a thing or two about these.[/quote] Wish I did! I can't really add much - it's Matsumoku, late 70s & I've had the raging GAS for one ever since one turned up on US Ebay about a year ago... Has the same "wavy" Grover copy tuners as Matsumoku Rickenfakers - in fact it's the only other bass I've seen them on. Bodger - if you ever decide to sell, drop us a PM... Jon.