Bassassin

Definitely a suss looking duplicate listing - but the real mystery's how the fark I missed such a glowing example of JapCrap absurdity! I had one of them, way back. Jon.

Anyway, this one is old & Japanese - original-style 1980 Ibanez Blazer, with single humbucker & headstock the same as my Cimar project, high start price, but a 3-day listing might mean it doesn't attract many bids: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190189859101"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=190189859101[/url] Aria Pro Laser Heritage - quite uncommon, looks OK, neck pup not working: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160198084723"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=160198084723[/url] Satellite P copy, back for about the 3rd time, and still far too dear: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280191724955"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280191724955[/url] J.

I played the Indie at Music Live '06 - it was, for the money, complete rubbish. It felt cheap & tacky, if it had been £120, no problem but £500 was a complete pisstake. I also met & chatted to "Mr Indie Guitars" about it & he was really quite cynical, basically saying it's half the price of a real one, so people will buy it anyway despite it being cheap & nasty. He also had no idea about RIC's design trademarks & their aggressive protection thereof. The fact it no longer seems to be part of the Indie range would suggest he's found out. The Rockinbetter does seem to be connected to Tokai, but doesn't seem to be in their catalogues at all. It looks a little more authentic than the Indie, it has the correct headstock & I think is neck-through. There's also a copy made by Shine, which sometimes pops up on Euro Ebay branded as Johnson. Apart from having a not very Rickish headstock, it's probably the most accurate, having a big Rick type tailpiece/bridge, convincing looking bridge pup cover & surround, and is fitted with Seymour Duncan's Rick upgrade pickups. None of them look the part as well as a 70s JapCrap effort, and are all likely to be dearer too. J

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='118493' date='Jan 11 2008, 01:19 PM']...it appears to have the wrong saddles on the bridge. He was challenged about this previously, and posted his (incredibly arrogant) responses on the listing. Then, it magically disappeared and was relisted without the questions. Nice one, Tune-o-matic...[/quote] This is the seller that our pal with the refin'd 74 Jazz is having "issues" with, isn't it? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190188059301"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=190188059301[/url] Right or wrong saddles, the bridge alignment looks way out, anyway. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='118430' date='Jan 11 2008, 11:39 AM']*** PEDANT ALERT *** He actually says "old [i]style[/i]", so that may just be a cheap modern Chinese P-bass with a plasticky finish.[/quote] Yep - that's why I said "[i]might[/i] be old & Japanese"! J.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='118277' date='Jan 11 2008, 12:16 AM']And wasn't someone looking for a [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SG-EB3-Japanese-Vintage-Copy-Bass-with-Slotted-Peghead_W0QQitemZ250203577391"]long-scale EB3[/url]?[/quote] That's the same as the Ibanez I mentioned when he asked - from Fujigen, April 1976. Looks very tidy. A few more from the last few days: Aria Pro Cardinal, pretty blue, £125 BIN: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230211275155"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=230211275155[/url] Washburn Force 40, through-neck, active, built at Matsumoku, made out of sex & I want it: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230210696530"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=230210696530[/url] Aria SB1000: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220190697343"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220190697343[/url] Westone Thunder 1, x2: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300188320690"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300188320690[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180204462563"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=180204462563[/url] And just to prove it's not all Matsumokus today, a real oddity from Fujigen - an Ibanez Axstar: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200191052260"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=200191052260[/url] And a no name, no packdrill P copy, might be old & Japanese, but is, apparently, [i]fibreglass[/i]. Wuh? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270202350054"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=270202350054[/url] J.

[quote name='Musky' post='118248' date='Jan 10 2008, 11:23 PM']Does this mean both of us were right, or we were both wrong? [/quote] Both. And that Rickenbackers are beyond the understanding of mere mortals. J.

4001S: [url="http://www.nationwideguitars.com/79_4001S.html"]http://www.nationwideguitars.com/79_4001S.html[/url] 4000: [url="http://www.rickbeat.com/modelslibrary/4000/4000.htm"]http://www.rickbeat.com/modelslibrary/4000/4000.htm[/url] I'd like to see a pic of the rout - if he doesn't know his Ricks he might well assume the wiring channel was a home job. J.

I don't think it's a 4000. It should have a through neck. I think the set neck was the 4001S. He's either a bit dim or he's at it. Jon.

That's great! Sticky back plastic? J.

A brief but nonetheless decisive update to JapCrap Resus. Today I put the thing together, minus electronics, to see if it will go. May I present The Hollow Bass: I rebuilt the bridge with the brass saddles from my CSL's original bridge (which I replaced with a Schaller 3-D) - the pictures I've found of other Cimar PJs seem to have these. The tuners have been stripped, cleaned, greased & rebuilt. I tightened the truss rod to compensate for string tension, bolted the bits together & stuck a set of cheapo strings on. And I'm keeping it. It played great with no real attempts to set it up at all - it will need a few tweaks, but the neck's sweet - almost identical in feel to my CSL Jazz. Stringing up has indicated a couple of jobs that need doing - just like the CSL when I got it, the bridge is slightly misaligned, and will need to be shifted floorwards by a couple of mil. The nut slots seem to be cut unnaturally close together, and the E string slot's a bit worn, (although the string still sits correctly) so this may be an excuse for a brass nut to match the saddles. To get a proper setup I'll have to shim the neck & maybe give the rod another little tweak, and also the saddles are a bit tight in the bridge, so a little bit of filing may be in order. I'm swapping the Schaller pup for Burpster's Ibby Blazer pickup - this is probably the same as the original unit from this bass. Bob's going to get the Schaller rewound, if it needs it. I'm still undecided as to what to do about the scratchplate - although I'm leaning towards a cheap tort P-alike, just to get the bass up & running. I'll be binning the old pots & wiring, and going for 2x V & T stack pots. It'll also need new screws for pups & scratchplate. However, I'm painfully skint for the next week or so, so I'll be occupying my spare time trying to restore a bit of gloss to the body lacquer. And that's about it! J.

[quote name='16Again' post='115412' date='Jan 7 2008, 01:37 PM'][/quote] H/H VS Bassamp combo! I had one just like that - loved the way the front panel glowed green in the dark! Really will have to take some pics of my 80s disasters for this thread. Jon.

Late to the Geek Party! Spinynorman's right about this one - bottom line really is it's a collector's bass now - whether or not it plays well, it won't depreciate in value - all the time you don't mod it, mess with it or do anything that you can't chage back if/when you sell it on. Good value? Well, like I said, it probably won't lose you money, & if you hang on to it for a couple of years, it'll likely make a few quid. Even better if it turns out it plays & sounds good & you like it. History stuff: these basses were made in the 70s by a factory called Fujigen Gakki. They are best-known for building Ibanez "lawsuit" guitars & basses, but like all the Jap factories back then, built to order for anyone, and also to budget - they weren't all great instruments, and some were better than others. It seems that the Antoria & Ibanez ranges were largely identical, seemingly because the instruments were stock factory designs. There were differences in the ranges - I don't think Antoria sold any Rick bass copies, for example. Antoria copies are much more common than Ibanez in the UK - two reasons - mainly because they were much cheaper, but also because of the proliferation of importers' own brands here. Even Ibanez's UK importer, Charles Summerfield Ltd, had their own CSL copy brand - also sourced from Fujigen. It wasn't until the advent of good quality & affordable original designs, in the late 70s & early 80s, that the "name" Japanese brands like Aria, Yamaha & Ibanez really started to break into the UK market. The Antoria brand itself dates back to the 60s and has had various owners - I don't know if JHS ever owned it, but at the time of the "Copy Wars" it was owned by J.T. Coppock Ltd, of Leeds. In the early 80s the brand passed to a company called JL Music, and they sourced Korean-made guitars, rather than Japanese - by this point, the likes of Fujigen were turning out high-quality original designs & building MIJ Fenders. Korean Antorias turn up occasionally on Ebay, mostly generic-looking Gibson & Fender copies, identifiable by lurid sunburst paintjobs & triangular-looking headstocks. Seems they're not bad quality, but not "proper" JapCrap. The Antoria brand has recently been revived yet again, and funnily enough - appears on a Korean-made range of Gibson & Fender Looky-likeys: [url="http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Antoria__l--en__p--project_2__k--245__f--1"]http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Antoria__...2__k--245__f--1[/url] And they even do a Jazz copy. Lucky us. Jon.

Shame - but needs must, I guess. Any idea who bought it? there are some serious/completist Ibanez collectors from Germany who post on the ICW forum - a southpaw 2389B would be right up their street! J.

If I add my newly-acquired Cimar JapCrap project, that's 1195. [b]ALL YOUR BASS ARE BELONG TO US!!![/b] ...sorry. Jon.

Hope it goes to someone on here. I wish I could but I need to sell, rather than buy right now. Black & red binding. Black [i]and[/i] red. None More Eighties. J.

Nice one - great bit of research & a fascinating article. I want a copy of the [i]History Of Electric Guitars[/i] book mentioned there! You ought to be careful though Musky - you'll end up as sad as me... J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='114580' date='Jan 6 2008, 11:08 AM']Why did the lacquered body have the control panel routed out, whereas the waxed body doesn't? Wouldn't that be a problem for a home-builder? (As you can guess, I have zero experience of this sort of thing.)[/quote] The waxed one has a rear rout, for rear-mounting controls. You'd just have to drill for whatever arrangement of pots you wanted to use. The lacquered one's just [i]stunning[/i]. J.

[quote name='paul, the' post='114513' date='Jan 6 2008, 01:59 AM']This thread is turning out to be unexpectedly amusing 'UNKNOWN SOLDIER' Thought I'd try again: Did any of the Japanese makes do a nice looking and sounding (long-scale) EB-3 copy in mahogany?[/quote] Yep - Ibanez 2354LB - the "L" is the long scale version. These were an early Fujigen factory design, so will be out under different brands too, likely Greco & Antoria. I think these had a slotted headstock. 1972 catalogue: [url="http://www.ibanez.ru/info/catalog/1972/09.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.ru/info/catalog/1972/09.jpg[/url] There will be others from other factories too - they were copies, after all. J.