Bassassin

The Maya Wreckenbacker's "no longer for sale". Someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse, then. J.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='170380' date='Apr 5 2008, 06:50 PM']Chuckle. Surely you mean Brit School [/quote] I was speaking in general & non-specific terms, but yes, that's precisely what I mean. J.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='170261' date='Apr 5 2008, 02:19 PM']Surely you agree that specialists are entitled to discuss specifics, on a site for specialists, its not like we are asking the public to read through reams of basschattery. The only other thing I would say is that the playing [i]is[/i] the music.[/quote] Well, of course - that's why I said it's understandable. As far as your second point's concerned - that's an interesting discussion in itself. I think my perspective would be that the [i]song[/i] is the music, and it's the playing which makes or breaks the song. Using the show's examples, the Only Ones performed their own material badly - reducing songs which are regarded by some as classics of their era to cringeworthy rubbish. Estelle's bassist arguably compromised his singer & band's performance with unnecessary & inappropriate showboating. I could be bitchy & suggest that Adele's performance demonstrated the idea that technical ability & tasteful playing cannot raise production-line stage school me-too blandness above what it actually is. But I won't. J.

Very cool - I knew there was a double neck but never seen one before. Too bad he'll be keeping it at that price. Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' post='170085' date='Apr 5 2008, 12:35 AM']What I don't understand with all this going on about his chops is that no-one seems to have noticed that the songs were utter, utter sh*te. What f***ing depressingly bad music there was for almost the entirety of the Friday night programme. James Taylor - great. Mike Trovey (?) - didn't know when to stop developing a theme and move on to the next one. Only Ones - crap performance of pretty decent material (the guitarist was particularly bad). Black Kids were like Waterboys colliding with Human League rather messily. Adele - Vicki Pollard. Estelle - anonymous formulaic crap.[/quote] I agree wholeheartedly. Generic, manufactured tripe and embarassing, tragic old sods. Wish I'd watched the Tuesday show, it would have been over quicker (but I was rehearsing! ). It's funny, but I suppose understandable, that on a muso forum like this one, the interest & debate concerns the [i]playing[/i] rather than the [i]music[/i] - which to my ears was slop-shovelling tedium from all concerned. Most of the last series of [i]Later[/i] struck me this way, & it's sad that this seems to be the series' blueprint - a few flavour-of-the-moment chart botherers & NME darlings, a "heritage" act & one of Jools' R&B mates for him to jam with. I expect I'll still watch it every week anyway, tho. Jon.

James Hetfield from Metallica previously played bass & sang in a band called Syrinx - a Rush tribute, believe it or not. Classic rock midget Ronnie James Dio played bass in his first band, The Vegas Kings. In 1957! Star Trek actor Michael Dorn is a bassist when he's not being a Klingon! Jon.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='167948' date='Apr 1 2008, 09:14 PM']*sob* [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-El-Maya-bass-guitar-spares-or-repair-Japan_W0QQitemZ190211503237QQihZ009QQcategoryZ41439QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-El-Maya-bass...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] Wreckenbacker! Wtf happened to that? They got the wrong bass - it would have been less tragic if it happened to this one: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=35004326409"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...tem=35004326409[/url] J.

A 70s copy brand which was unusual in not being Japanese - Ghersons were in fact Italian: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/index/gherson.html"]http://www.fetishguitars.com/index/gherson.html[/url] I've seen a couple of Gherson J copies go through the bay, but never seen one in the flesh. Any danger of posting some pics of your dad's old bass? Jon.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='166653' date='Mar 31 2008, 12:01 AM']also i like the colour name of that ric [/quote]There's a stock Rick colour called Montezuma Brown - it's not their most popular finish & is frequently referred to as "Sh!tGlo" - maybe that's what the seller meant... Jon.

Does it absolutely have to say "Fender" on it? If not: [url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products/pro_eb_stb_exo_4.html"]http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products..._stb_exo_4.html[/url] [url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products/pro_eb_stb_gt_4.html"]http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/03_products...b_stb_gt_4.html[/url] Jon.

Interesting, that. Westone's only a brand name, & according to the Westone.info site has been used on "guitars and basses made under the Westone name in China or Korea since the late 1990s, which all seem to be copies of other makes". So I'm guessing that's what this thing is. The listing's a cock-up, and the title & description pertain to an Eko MM copy, elsewhere in the seller's listings, which fits the above description pretty well too. I think you'll find a half-decent MM copy for a bit less than 200 sovs - and it's worth bearing in mind that there were, as far as I know, no JapCrap Ray copies - the Ray was launched at the point when the Jap builders were moving towards original designs - and getting legal grief from pissed-off American corporations. The seller's other listings are faintly interesting to anyone with a soft spot for the obscure & oriental - but the definition of "Japanese" here seems to be anywhere east of Berlin... And yes - Thunders are very good. Jon.

I think he's being quite upfront about this tbh - that's why it's "spares or repair". Bet it's got no MOT, either. J.

A string-cleaning gizmo called a "Swipe" - it does actually work, but it don't do nowt a rag won't do. Best bit is I got it for nothing by making an "ah - Swipe!" type p!ss poor pun.... Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' post='165012' date='Mar 28 2008, 03:00 AM']Is that hideous scratchplate actually what they looked like? And that dreadful uncontiguous heel? What a f***ing awful bass. And that's before someone started delicately modifying it.[/quote] Yes - that's pretty much what the first 4000 series Ricks were like, different timber I think for the 1950s ones. It does look crude compared to the later 4001, but it's worth remembering this was the first-ever through-neck bass, which makes it pretty damn revolutionary for the mid 50s. I suppose I see this more as an historical artefact, rather than an actual useable musical instrument! Edit: Rick catalogue from 1957 - first year these were available: [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/images/catalogs/cf57-6.jpg"]http://www.rickenbacker.com/images/catalogs/cf57-6.jpg[/url] J.

Funnily enough there's a fair bit of skinny-stringed JapCrap knocking around my gaff: Westbury Standard Hohner/Moridaira Washburn Wing knock-off Unidentifiable very old SG copy Ibanez Artist 2601 acoustic Matsumoku set-neck LP copy Home-made headless guitar - formerly a Columbus SG There's some Korea Diarrhoea too: Aria Pro PE Series - 2x P90s, Bigsby & glitter Hohner electro-acoustic And a Hohner Revelation "Eurofighter" SuperStrat. :ph34r: And there have been many, many, many others... Jon.

Not sure they'll get 10k for it, but this is a seriously rare bass. It does appear to be original, although it's been "4001'd" at some point - hence the trench warfare under the scratchplate! Good thing whoever did this didn't use the original plate for the modification. The seller's probably using this one, for sale at Gruhn's Guitars in the US, as a reference for their pricing: [url="http://www.gruhn.com/photo/BM2655.jpg"]http://www.gruhn.com/photo/BM2655.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.gruhn.com/photo/BM2655b.jpg"]http://www.gruhn.com/photo/BM2655b.jpg[/url] That one's $20000 - so considering the usual discrepancy between US & UK prices, the Ebay one doesn't seem quite as err.. [i]surprising[/i]. Jon.

[quote name='chrisAngryman' post='163775' date='Mar 26 2008, 02:25 PM']i have a cmi ricky copy i bought it about 11 years ago and used to sound pretty good, it got water damaged a few years back and one of the pickups doesn't work but could easily be resurected. if i can answer any questions on the subject let me know[/quote] Pisser about the water damage - is there any output from the pickup? Anyway, do you have any pics of your CMI you could post? If it's the same as the Ebay one I'll have plenty of questions! J.

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='162825' date='Mar 24 2008, 08:33 PM']If this a Fender, then I am er ...not very observant. Is it JapCrap? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FENDER-PRECISION-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ170203854716QQihZ007QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FENDER-PRECISION-BAS...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] 99% sure it's JapCrap, 100% it's not a Fender! Most likely a 70s JapCrap jazz neck bunged onto a P bod of uncertain origin - plus a decent set of tuners, either Schaller M4S or Grover Titans, pup might even be a Dimarzio or Schaller by the looks. Actually looks like the makings of a tidy project. Bit too dear - and too distant - for a cheapskate like me, though. J.

Copy-era Eko electrics - and particularly basses - aren't particularly common, it's really hard to second-guess how much someone might want to pay for one. As for ID, the same thing applies - but fortunately there are a bunch of catalogue scans on this site: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com"]http://www.fetishguitars.com[/url] Do you have any bigger/clearer pics? Jon.

[quote name='barneythedog' post='162739' date='Mar 24 2008, 05:43 PM']Oooh - now THAT was a first. I just showed my wife that Tokai and said if that's how much they fetch then I'm thinking of selling mine, and she said "no, you can't, I like that one". Do you think that means I'm ok to buy another? [/quote] Why stop at one? They're clearly an investment! J.

[quote name='Musky' post='162748' date='Mar 24 2008, 05:58 PM']Can't help with either the TR or outputs, but I've seen a CMI rick with a maple neck. I don't think too many rickenfakers had maple necks, so it might narrow things down a little.[/quote] You'd be surprised! My Rickenbugger - made by Kasuga - has a maple board (they also did it with black inlays too), I've seen Electra branded copies from three different makers (I know a guy in the US who collects them!) with maple necks - these are Fujigen, Matsumoku & Kasuga. I've also seen a surprisingly nice Hondo, all maple (not ply for a change) with a maple board, black binding, inlays & scratchplate! I'd actually say most of the factories made a maple one at one point or another. CMI is tricky - they didn't source from a particular factory - the very first CMI instruments were British - rebranded Ned Callans, made by Peter Cook. These were all original-ish designs & weren't available for long. They definitely sourced Jap copies from Moridaira (6-bolt necks) & Rokkomann, and I think some were Fujigen. It was doubtless down to who was offering the best deal at the time - I've seen a bolt-neck CMI Rick copy I'm sure is a Matsumoku. I'm confused by this bass, though, the seller hasn't answered my questions, so I'm stumped! I'd guess Fujigen - but would expect to see checker binding. Tuners, bridge pup & scratchplate are wrong for a Matsumoku or a Rokkomann - although they could have been changed. The wild card here is that it might not even be JapCrap - those Brazilian Gianninis are a lot like this... J.

[quote name='nick' post='162425' date='Mar 23 2008, 10:59 PM']It is Jap, but definitely not crap![/quote] Remember it's all JapCrap, in the sense that US Fenders or Rickenbackers are YankW@nk and Wals & Status are BritSh!t... J.

Much less corporate, & not just concerned with instruments that feature in this year's catalogue: [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum"]http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum[/url] Could do with a few more bassists. Jon.

That's probably a pretty fair price for a good condition 70s Birch 4001 - but despite what he says, the guy selling it is, ever-so-slightly, a guitar dealer... Jon.