Bassassin

It's "no longer available for sale". Like I said - Hmmm. J.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='208683' date='May 29 2008, 10:56 AM']Mind you - and this is true - for ages when I was a kid I thought Israel had a King called King Born because they made us sing 'born is the king of Israel' at school.[/quote] Not "[i]Our Father, who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name[/i]"? "Eye-ban-ezz" appears to be the most common pronunciation - anyone want to try going into a guitar shop & asking about an Eee-ban-yeth, just for a laugh? Hartke - I have no idea, I'd assume because it looks like it has a Germanic origin, that it might be "Hart-kuh" - but it's probably not! Anyone noticed some people say "Rickenbocker", or "Rickenbarker"? Weird. And one that's always confused me is Tokai. "Toe-kay"? "Tok-eye"? However you try & say it, it sounds wrong. Academic, because if Ebay has its way with the evolution of spelling it'll soon be "Tokia". Jon.

From what I've read the only way to fix it - if it's slight enough - is to remove the frets & plane the board flat, re-shape it & then refret it. I've heard about necks being clamped straight & then heated, don't know if that would work. Jon.

Wish it was just a bit nearer, I'd go check it out. Very small pic, taken from an odd angle, though. Hmmmmmmmmm. Jon.

Norty norty, very norty... John Hall's gassing up the Hunter/Killers as I type... J.

Metal's a big part of my background & musical taste, & is a significant influence on my band - but I wouldn't define myself as a metal bassist. Funny, that. Jon.

[quote name='Jonny Walker' post='208405' date='May 28 2008, 09:37 PM']Maybe originally but JC's lines are allot more complex than they used to be (not a bad thing) not sure that Paul D'Amour could cope with the new stuff.[/quote] Certainly Tool's music's a lot more complex these days & I suppose Justin basically played D'Amour's bass parts on [i]Aenima[/i] - most of that album was written & demoed before he joined. I do think that has sort of established JC's playing style - and also his writing style on [i]10,000 Days[/i]. His playing's great - entirely appropriate for Tool. J.

+1's for Geddy, Entwhistle, Cass Lewis ([i]awesome[/i] player), Geezer for "proper" metal, Lemmy - [i]so[/i] much more than just bass playing though! A big personal favourite - Dennis Dunaway from the original Alice Cooper group, one of the most inventive & versatile pick players I've ever heard. Currently I really like Martin Mendez from Opeth - very adventurous & melodic player, always tasteful & never inappropriate. Also Colin Edwin from Porcupine Tree - solid, versatile & sometimes a little bit surprising. This is starting to sound like wine-tasting comments! Justin Chancellor's good - but he does play very, very like his predecessor, Paul D'Amour. He didn't play much like that in his previous band, Peach. Jon.

[quote name='Higgie' post='207939' date='May 28 2008, 11:46 AM']Picken-Axer [/quote] Pickenhacker, surely! J.

My back hurts just looking at them... Jon.

[quote name='stewblack' post='207830' date='May 28 2008, 09:45 AM']The frets are put in ok though? Just need dressing, or is there a problem with how they sit in the neck?[/quote] It looks like a fairly tidy job to me - the wood's fine, some of the fret ends are a bit ragged & some frets are very slightly too short. They all seem to be seated OK - maybe a couple are a bit proud. I will admit to being slightly out of my depth here - I'm fine doing setups & adjustments when there aren't any actual problems (or they are slight, bodge-able ones!) but I have zero experience with jobs like re-fretting & dressing. J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='207540' date='May 27 2008, 08:19 PM']Was going to keep this to myself, but I missed the refret the first time I read it [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-copy-bass-Japan-vintage-70s-Maya-Cimar-Columbus_W0QQitemZ120265872960QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-copy-bass-Japan...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] That's mine. A real pity about the frets, because it's a lovely-looking & decent-sounding thing otherwise. And no - I [i]didn't[/i] do the refret! Jon.

[quote name='double dave' post='207194' date='May 27 2008, 01:11 PM']I Have a particulary rare Hofner 500/1 with 'level frets' which apartently, according to Hofner amongst others, was made like that but is a rarity.[/quote] For a lined fretless board, I really like that. Have you got a pic of the whole bass? J.

I think I can help... I made my own for my Kasuga Rickenbugger: A kindly Rick-owning BCer sent me a clear, top-down photo of the real thing, which I fiddled with & edited until I had this: [attachment=9076:cropx1.jpg] Through trial & error (and a bit of actual measuring!) I worked out the appropriate dimensions for my headstock - then I used my graphics prog (I used Paint Shop Pro but any image app should do) to print it at the size I required. I then used the printout to draw a template on a bit of 3mm Perspex, which I cut to the appropriate shape with a jigsaw. Perspex is pretty brittle, but cuts, sands & polishes really easily so it was quite straightforward to get a good result. I imagine the same thing done with scratchplate plastic would be easier still. J.

[quote name='Zerofret' post='206857' date='May 26 2008, 09:31 PM']Thanks for the info Jon. My eBay username isn't the same as my Basschat name so there's someone else out there masquerading as yours truly - it's not just the guitars that are fakes! I hear that the Kays are pretty darn bad. Well this one is worse than that but for all of that, it has something. Even with its complete dullness and lack of everything you'd want in a bass guitar with no sustain to speak of and damped to high heaven, I'm still determined to play it live. Got to go, the nurse is here with the medicine. Steve[/quote] I must admit I'm a sucker for borderline-unplayable weirdos myself occasionally - if one of these came my way, it would be a challenge to try & get it playable & gig it! I do quite like the pickups. Kinda relieved you're not the Ebay Zerofret - although he's pretty straight-up & seems fairly knowledgeable about JapCrap! J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='206128' date='May 25 2008, 07:48 PM']If you click on the Mad dog link, they are selling them for £180[/quote] They pop up from time to time (with a different brand) through one of the German Ebay sellers - they're about £140 delivered, if I remember right. J.

Hi Steve - your bass is a Kay KB-24. If you go over to the "Marketplace" section, there's a Ebay sub-forum, wherein you'll find a thread dedicated to Rickenbacker copies in all their bizarre & wonderful forms - and the occasional Kay does pop up. Also - unless your username's a coincidence, there are one or two auctions in there you might find familar! Jon.

Well, call me shallow, but for something that looks like that for £200, I'd live with a slightly mismatched control cover! Looking at the pup routs, any jaggedness I can see looks more like a poorly resized & compressed jpeg, rather than the actual wood. I'd really like to see one of these in real life - if the £200 it sold for is representative of market price, then I'd guess it's a slightly norty Korean or Chinese-made Marleaux knock off. [b]Edit[/b]: Found the "manufacturer" - it's listed at €449: [url="http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-instruments_de.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/hk-instruments.de/Products/NewBass4"]http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-ins...oducts/NewBass4[/url] Just for fun, here's their bass range: [url="http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-instruments_de.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/hk-instruments.de/Categories/E-B%C3%A4sse"]http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-ins...es/E-B%C3%A4sse[/url] J.

Never seen or heard of them before, but bloody hell - what a stunner for 200 notes. Jon.

Nah - Otep's a different band - not very Swedish or proggy! I saw them at Ozzfest in 2002, liked them enough to get their album & EP. Otep Shamaya's a pretty impressive frontwoman. Good to know they're still going, haven't checked out the new stuff yet, I'm assuming it's a bit different - their older material was good, but pretty much of its era. Jon.

[quote name='SJA' post='206056' date='May 25 2008, 05:28 PM']AKA. Wesley Europa.[/quote] Indeed. In fact in a fit of debatable self distraction I bought one of these a couple of years back - it's a lot of bass for the £100 I paid for it. The Rick comparison ends with the body shape (& that's not [i]quite[/i] right), the headstock's vile and the back & neck are painted with a very thin coat of matt black paint, which pretty much comes off on your clothes! Mine has a less than perfect fret job (needs levelling, rough ends) but for a budget bass it's pretty sexy - through neck, 3-band active EQ, flamed (real) maple top etc. I don't think the pups on mine are quite so enormous, though! Jon.

Looks like a lined fretless, although I have seen frets that have been ground level with the wood, so only the tang of the fret (the bit bashed into the board) remains. I'd think that the seller just isn't very knowledgeable & is describing the bass in the best way they can... Jon.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='205769' date='May 24 2008, 11:49 PM']A Westone frenzy going on at the moment:[/quote] Missed this one! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WESTONE-THUNDER-III-ACTIVE-BASS-BLACK_W0QQitemZ280228946790"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WESTONE-THUNDER-III-...emZ280228946790[/url] J.

A Westone frenzy going on at the moment: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220237999474"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220237999474[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190224255310"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=190224255310[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220238644021"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220238644021[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290233216571"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=290233216571[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280229650821"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280229650821[/url] Plus a Washburn Bantam headless: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260243882234"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=260243882234[/url] Plus a couple of Aria left-hookers, a Laser (seller seems confused about the difference between right & left!): [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320253823443"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320253823443[/url] And a TSB Standard: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290231812474"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=290231812474[/url] J.