Bassassin

[quote name='Buzz' post='86282' date='Nov 9 2007, 09:41 PM']Daft question, but what "brands" are the best for Rick copies, ie, the most authentic and sturdy? I hear: shaftesbury, hondo, aria, kay and ibanez bounded around alot. I'm possibly looking into possibly getting some jap-crap ricalike, so I'm trying to get clued up.[/quote] Really, these things are so scarce & often so overpriced when you do find them, it's not very realistic to be specific about what brand you want. The brands you listed are the same ones in the title of the last Ebay listing on this thread - out of them, Kay didn't make a Rick copy per se - it was a trashy Taiwanese plywood medium-scale catalogue bass, and not worth considering as a serious instrument. Ibanez copies are for the most part, very unauthentic - they have EB-0 type mudbuckers, and could never sound like a Rick in a million years. Nonetheless, they're beautiful instruments, but the brand does mean they're very expensive. Hondos were mostly made in Korea in the 70s - and the quality was some way behind the better Japanese instruments. Plywood body & cheaper hardware means they're a bit cheap & cheerful - some would say cheap & nasty. The upside is they're not quite as overpriced. Shaftesbury was a UK importer brand, and as a result are a bit more readily available. Quality seems to be OK, and build & components quite authentic. They are neck-through, as are some of the Ibanezes, and unfortunately, both brands have a tendency to be constructed with an unadjustable high action, because of the neck set. Arias are generally good quality - and generally pretty much absent from the UK market, because of the predominance of importers' own brands in the UK in the 70s. However, basses from the same factory (Matsumoku) were sold under a variety of other names here, including Arbiter & CMI. Very few of the well-known brands - including Ibanez - actually produced their own instruments - production was tendered out to various factories. Matsumoku, Fujigen Gakki, Kasuga, Rokkoman & various others all made Rickenbacker bass copies which were sold worldwide under hundreds of different brands. Additionally, Rick copies were made in Italy, Brazil, the former Czechoslovakia, and right here in the UK. It's worth considering that Rick copies, because of their scarcity, can sometimes fetch insanely high prices for what they are. Ebay listings usually get removed, but if they go through, prices exceeding £500 are far from unheard of. This is patently ludicrous, when you consider that a genuine Rickenbacker can sell for around £600 outside of Ebay. Jon.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='85808' date='Nov 9 2007, 10:11 AM']Now if I mix your two together Jon, I'd have the Kawasaki z1000 orange sparkle that I quite like... but in transparent.[/quote] I was drooling over that at the Scottish bike show a couple of years back - in real life, the colour's actually remarkably close to my EDA! I think transparent orange sparkle is [i]definitely[/i] the way forward... J.

Nah. This is the sort of thing you want! My tasteful & understated Ibanez EDA900: [attachment=3396:eda900.jpg] And something I recently picked up at a car boot, for a fiver: [attachment=3397:hondo.jpg] Jon.

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='85749' date='Nov 9 2007, 12:24 AM']...anyone remember these? I had a fretted model but moved it on! Very good build quality! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fretless-short-scale-thru-neck-Japanese-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ270185136852QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fretless-short-scale...1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fretless-short-scale...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/url] Mine was certainly a long scale bass - hard to tell from these shots but it actually looks like a long scale job! Perhaps its slightly detuned, hence lighter tension on the strings. Nick[/quote] Good spot - certainly looks full-scale to me - the bridge would be further forward otherwise. I remember these from back in the day - 1980, these appeared, and they cost a mere £99 in my local music shop. At the time it was quite amazing that such well-made & good looking instruments would be branded "Satellite"! The price is why we can be absolutely certain they weren't Matsumokus, or anything else Japanese. Mats of an equivalent build cost about 3 times that amount back then - the Japanese builders were moving out of the cheapo market, and those instruments were starting to be predominantly sourced from the Korean factories. Top of the pile in Korea was Cort - and I'm 99% sure that's what this is. And speaking of Cort, here's a slightly less salubrious product from the same era - this is similar to their early "X-Guitar" model - an X-Bass perhaps, easily identified buy the pretend through-neck transfer on the body: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140177213589"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=140177213589[/url] Considering the condition, it's ridiculously overpriced - I wouldn't pay more than about £25 for something that would need as much work as that. The proper neck-through version of this often appears branded as Kay in the UK (another nightmare brand trying to go upmarket ) - in fact I have one on the slab, down in the lab right at the moment... Keeping it Korean, here's another horrorshow brand aiming for higher things - a mid-80s Hondo original design, coming on like a cross between an EB-0 and a P: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190171886502"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=190171886502[/url] J.

Bit quiet down here, isn't it? Anyway, after what seems like[i] weeks[/i] of fruitless waiting - here's a peculiarity with an identity crisis which goes well beyond the schizophrenic item title: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300169558939"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300169558939[/url] Replacement neck? Where on Urf does one source a bolt-on replacement neck for a Rick copy? Wish his pictures were a little better/more comprehensive - but I can say with absolute certainty that in no way, shape or form is any part of that bass an Ibanez. J.

£5? You need to ask? As for what it is, generic old P copy, more likely Korean than Japanese. Makes me think of those old Marlins from the 80s - some were OK, some were bloody awful - probably depending on the quality of the driftwood that washed up that morning. They had a skunk stripe - even the crap ones. Interesting bridge - doubt it's a replacement, but it would have to be moved, which isn't a major job. Wonder if the bridge is brass? Pickup might be a DiMarzio but I doubt it - the rest of the bass looks too cheap & cheerful. For a fiver, it's worth it for curiosity's sake - or quick & dirty profiteering! The body's plainly been beaten to feck & back but a good stripdown, clean & setup would make a massive difference. If the body's solid timber (unlikely, IMO) then it might strip back nicely, if you can be bothered taking the time. Even if it's not worth hanging on to, stuff like this can fetch about £60 - £80 on Ebay, with a good pitch. Jon.

That's such a gorgeous little bass. I'd definitely gig with one. Too bad my daughter's a g*it*rist. Where did I go wrong? Jon.

Blimey - never seen one of those before! Looks lovely - especially for £65. Nice one. It does bear a little resemblance to a thing called a Quest Manhattan. These were Matsumokus, Quest being a sub-brand of Vantage. They had a similar Rick-ish top horn & the same sort of offset body - but realistically, the resemblance is likely coincidental. There are some pics here: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/vantage/catalogs/atak-manhattan/pg5.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/vantage/ca...hattan/pg5.html[/url] Anyway, does it have any identifying marks/numbers/words, other than the name? It might be possible to determine a manufacturer, or its age. Doctor_of_the_bass - really glad someone on here snapped that up - it took an effort of will for me not to bid, even though i'm the world's worst fretless player! Looking forward to some nice pics of that one (& its white fretted counterpart!) in Bass Porn. Anyway - to business. A few more for your edification: A somewhat modded Ibanez Roadstar RB630, tidy looking de-fret, runs out at 10am tomorrow & still at £60. Although the price is being held down somewhat by the utterly ludicrous £30 postage. Will they never learn? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170164774017"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170164774017[/url] A surprisingly similar (in some ways, at least) de-fretted Roadstar RB630. Bids starting at £250 and an undisclosed reserve. Will they never learn? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110189004249"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=110189004249[/url] Another nice old Matsumoku - an Aria Pro Laser Heritage. At least I assume that's what's under all that mess. Nice to see sellers make an [i]effort[/i], innit? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220169558323"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220169558323[/url] And next a few P copies, starting with a Maya: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230188596021"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=230188596021[/url] A Satellite which won't get any bids: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280170418088"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280170418088[/url] A Kay ten-ton plank of death: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160177868564"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=160177868564[/url] Some Jazzes: here's a rarity - A Daion Jazz copy, sunburst/maple/black blocks, missing a scratchplate. Currently at a paltry £50. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110190019515"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=110190019515[/url] A Satellite, with a Firepower pickup. Whatever that is: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320179199398"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320179199398[/url] And finally (probably shouldn't post it here, but wtf) for the first time in ages - a Rick copy, with a massive identity crisis: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300169558939"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300169558939[/url] More soon. J.

[quote name='paul, the' post='84676' date='Nov 6 2007, 11:21 PM']There's a couple of 'Fenix' basses for sale near me. Any experience anyone?[/quote] No personal experience, but they have a good reputation. The Fenix brand was built by Young Chang in Korea, alongside some very similar Squiers they were building for Fender. Understandably, Fender got a bit pissed by this & shut down the Fenix brand, which I guess makes them latter day "lawsuit" instruments. As a result, they can fetch some not bad prices on Ebay, and by all accounts are pretty decent instruments. Edit: A couple of Fenixes on t'Bay at the mo: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fenix-Precision-Style-Bass-Guitar-Maple-Neck_W0QQitemZ180175371966"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fenix-Precision-Styl...emZ180175371966[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/fenix-bass-jazz-copy_W0QQitemZ140176464179QQihZ004"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/fenix-bass-jazz-copy...6464179QQihZ004[/url] King Tut - sounds like a good score on the Asama (which according to one website, means "Fat Bottom" in Japanese! ) & looking forward to seeing some pics. J.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='83629' date='Nov 4 2007, 06:51 PM']Nor really bass related but a complete blast and IMO the future of live electronic improvisational music... [url="http://www.global.yamaha.com/tenori-on/"]TENORI-ON[/url][/quote] Looked like a brilliant toy - did you take one home? I bought nothing of any consequence - some cheapo strings & some mic clips. Had been hoping for a deal on a Zoom H4. Jon.

Anyway - moving swiftly along.... Early 80s Washburn Force 42 headless/fretless, very unusual natural finish - they're usually black, covering up the trademark Matsumoku neck through & all that [i]wood[/i]. Gorgeous or what? Also, not attracting much attention, so some lucky barsteward might get it for a ton: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250182363856"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250182363856[/url] Nice looking sunburst JapCrappy P copy, I'd say unbranded, with a sticker someone's stuck on the headstock. Upside down. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200169233127"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=200169233127[/url] Similarly tidy-looking natural P, little to go on, and the seller says "i no nothink about guitars" Is he from Barthelona? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220167234021"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220167234021[/url] And an Antoria Jazz. Some of you may know that 70s Antorias were exactly the same - down to the model number - as the equivalent Ibanezes of the era. This is a 2376, likely from around 1975, missing its ashtrays & thumbrest, but otherwise looks fine. High start price (£100) is putting off early bids, but it's easily worth that, so well worth a look. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220167018638"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220167018638[/url] J.

[quote name='pete.young' post='83125' date='Nov 3 2007, 01:20 PM']Hey Jon, What do you make of this: Grantson (Maya) EBO ?? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Grantson-Maya-EB-0-SG-bass-copy-70s-vintage-Japan-MIJ_W0QQitemZ120176176731QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Grantson-Maya-EB-0-S...1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Grantson-Maya-EB-0-S...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/url][/quote] Sorry about the late reply - been down to Brum for Music Live. Suffice to say I believe every word the seller said about that one. J.

[quote name='Machines' post='82645' date='Nov 2 2007, 08:11 AM']Oh the bitter irony.[/quote] I take it you're being similarly bitterly ironic? Otherwise I'm wasting my shining wit. Or something like that... BTW I personally wouldn't know a 67 from a 75 Jazz if I was laterally rectally probed by two of them strapped together in the shape of a Maltese cross. Just reportin' like. J.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='81991' date='Oct 31 2007, 10:43 PM']A rare bird - Aria's version of the Steinberger [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-2-Headless-Bass-Black-with-Hard-Case_W0QQitemZ260174464491QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]The Wedge[/url][/quote] I have never seen one of those before, outside of a catalogue! That's bizarre - and somehow very, very wrong. Wish I could afford it. J.

[quote name='King Tut' post='82023' date='Nov 1 2007, 12:37 AM']Anybody heard of an 'Asama'? There's one in my local crack converters - original body shape - looks like mahogany, and a P pckup with maple board - The neck is a bit bowed - but should tweak out OK - very unique looking bass! Tempted![/quote] Asama are best-known for their range of guitars & basses with built-in effects & electronics - I remember seeing an Asama Jazz like this on German Ebay, and a Google image search turns up effects-laden LP & Strat copies. The [i]Blue Book[/i] says this: [quote]Instruments previously built in Japan during the early 1980s. Guitars with this trademark are generally medium to good quality copies of American design as well as some original designs.[/quote] Anyway, the Crack Converters bass certainly sounds interesting - how much are they asking? Do you think they'd break your legs if you went back with a camera & got a picture? J.

[quote name='Stewart' post='82013' date='Nov 1 2007, 12:17 AM']That'll be any Ibanez SR/SRX (or of course a DWB3, like the one I have up for sale )[/quote] +1 on Ibby SoundGear necks - I played an SR800 for years, neck like a matchstick! I have pretty big hands & lately have gravitated towards wider fingerboards, though. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-67-Custom-FENDER-Electric-Base-Guitar-PLEASE-LOOK_W0QQitemZ250182292502"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-67-Custom-FENDE...emZ250182292502[/url] Quite a common speling misteak on Ebay, this one, and it always lowers the number of views an auction gets. Worth bearing in mind that once a bid's placed, the seller can't edit the auction title. I've mailed him to find out what the reserve is. Jon.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='81998' date='Oct 31 2007, 11:10 PM']It shouldn't really make 2 figures, but I guess some people may see it as a kitch wall decoration. I remember them being sold new in woolies for about £25 in the 70s. They were cheap crappy beginners instuments that well-meaning parents bought for their offspring in the same way argos sell their bottom of the range cheapies these days.[/quote] Nevertheless: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1960S-1970S-KAY-SHORT-SCALE-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ120172094704"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1960S-1970S-KAY-SHOR...emZ120172094704[/url] Actually, I think that's the same model as the one Lovedub's looking at - the blue's probably [s]emulsion[/s] a refin. J.

[quote name='lovedub' post='81993' date='Oct 31 2007, 10:53 PM']I was just wondering if it had any "collectable" value.[/quote] Depends what you can get it for - it probably wouldn't make 3 figures on Ebay. J.

[quote name='lovedub' post='81988' date='Oct 31 2007, 10:33 PM']Well done, Sherlock [/quote] No worries, I'm not interested in it - I'd only buy something like that if it turned up at a car boot - and you don't go car bootin' with more than a tenner in your pocket, do you? J.

[quote name='lovedub' post='81970' date='Oct 31 2007, 09:51 PM']I know the guy who's got it. He's intends to sell it. Don't know whether or not to buy it[/quote] I've just (coincidentally) spotted it on Gumtree - so you'd better be quick! J.

Paul's right - you can see the Kay logo on the scratchplate. Kays were made all over the place, originally in the US, but subsequently in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and the former East Germany! This one looks Japanese, if so it probably came from the Teisco/Kawai factory, some time in the 1960s. As musical instruments, most 60s/70s Kays re-define "crap", but for reasons beyond my comprehension, are becoming worryingly collectable. Do you own it / are you considering buying it? Jon.

Apropos of nothing - the all red Ricky was called the RedNeck. It would be nothing but vicious & baseless stereotyping of the worst possible kind to suggest it was named after the inhabitants of Rickenbacker's official forum. Jon.

I've got a few! About 10 years or so ago I had a real "thing" for Ibby Soundgears - I have 2 SR800s, fretted & fretless, and I loved the skinny necks, light weight, sound, look etc. More recently I got an EDA900, same neck profile but just weird (mostly in a good way) otherwise. I'm currently having a more "traditional" phase, and I have a 1982 Roadster 924 (as played by Steve bleedin' 'Arris) which has a much more substantial & Precision-like neck, is beautifully made and is quite lovely - except it weighs a ton! I've also got an Ibanez Precision copy, from about 1974, very, very rare so I'm a bit reticent about gigging it. More for the "collection" then, I guess. My main bass isn't an Ibanez, it's a 1980 CSL Jazz, but it was built in the same factory as all of the above - apart from the EDA, which was built in Korea, by Cort, like most middle & high-end Ibbys these days. Jon.

For general bits 'n bobs (ie not the important stuff) [url="http://www.axesrus.com"]http://www.axesrus.com[/url] are pretty good, free post as well. Although their website's a mess. Jon.