Bassassin

I'm not Bill Beard but I looked, 'cos I had a B20 years ago. Brass bogseat saddles.... Jon.

That looks excellent - I'll be moving to a new place in a couple of weeks & the basement is going to be the band's rehearsal room & recording studio - what's more I've already been offered my first commercial recording job, even before I've moved in! Jon.

Very interesting watch - but that's not [i]all[/i] his basses though. They don't mention the fact he's playing the Rick again on this tour. Jon.

[quote name='nick' post='38607' date='Jul 29 2007, 08:25 PM']That makes two of us. I used to have a V-S Bassamp head, the one with 'valve sound' switch. Brilliant amp, underated IMHO. Why did I get rid of it(?!) [/quote] Same here, my first "real" amp in the early 80s was a VS Bassamp 1x15 combo. Got rid of mine because it developed a fault in the VS module which made it distort horribly all the time - which was apparently a common problem. There was even a mod (published in [i]International Musician & Recording World[/i] mag - who else remembers that? ) to bypass the VS unit - didn't work for me. I somehow managed to trade my dodgy H/H VS in for a Session 4x10 combo - the poor man's Trace Elliot - in the mid/late 80s! Jon.

Interesting - that hardware on such an ineptly cobbled together piece of junk. I bet the fretboard's off the same donor Status. Jon.

As far as its aesthetics are concerned - leave it! it's a 20-odd year old, well worn bass & that's its life written all over it. You should see the state of my old CSL Jazz, it looks like it's been played to hell & back in its 27 years & looks fantastic, to my eyes. Buckle rash looks better than gaffa tape! For the strap button, I'd recommend using cocktail sticks & a bit of epoxy - the good thing about cocktail sticks is that they're pointed & will fit screwholes better than a matchstick, and you can use several to fill bigger holes. The tuner's probably taken a knock at some point, which has either bent or loosened the retaining hoops which hold the threaded part of the key, or slightly bent the backplate. You might find if you take it off & dismantle it, you'll be able to bend it back into shape so it holds tune better. I think if the bass sounds fine with the EMGs, leave them - looks like the main work will be the frets. Jon.

I was watching that too, was playing last night & forgot all about it... Might be JapCrap but I'd guess late 70s/early 80s Korean. Not a Marlin, I think - no fish at the 12th fret, and Marlins had more Fender-like headstocks than this thing. I think that at nearly £50 delivered it was a bit dear to be a worthwhile beater project - particularly considering the neck might be dubious & it's not complete. You wouldn't pay more than £20 for that at a car boot. Jon.

Both of them will have been built in the same factory. Does the no-name bass have anything on it at all, country of manufacture or a serial number, perhaps? Jon.

[quote name='nick' post='36105' date='Jul 23 2007, 08:24 PM']Is it really superior to Ibanez, & Kasuga? Come on (?!)[/quote] It's a more accurate copy. Wouldn't fool anyone who knew real Ricks for one minute though. None of them would. J.

Sonycom - feel free to give me a slap for being pedantic, but unless your bass is some sort of mobile phone hybrid, it'll be a [b]Tokai[/b]. Jon.

Both. Practicing at home, 99.9% fingers, playing with my band, about 75% pick. Jon.

[quote name='neepheid' post='35816' date='Jul 23 2007, 10:13 AM']Someone knows what they're doing - chopping the headstock off the top of the photograph.[/quote] Up to a point - if the Rick Police see it, it'll still go, because it's a copy of a copyright design. Putting a fake nameplate on it brands him a total w@nker, in my unprejudiced opinion. J.

Look - there goes a Giannini, all pikeyed up for FleaBay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140140873142&rd=1&rd=1"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1[/url] Look familiar? It should do - it was sold by our very own Psychoandy, to our very own Vmaxblues, who Ebayed it to the above gentleman a few weeks back, for £250. Wish I'd bought it meself now. It deserves better! J.

FreakBass hell - I'd buy that for a tenner! Does "looks like rubbish" translate as "looks like an oriental mass-produced instrument"? Because that's what it looks like to me. K-Tone will be a brand name thought up by whoever's comissioned/imported these - it's not a manufacturer. If it plays like sh!te then at less than £150 delivered, it likely won't break the bank to get a setup done, similarly if it sounds crap, a better pup wouldn't be unreasonable. Hardware looks OK to me. Really, apart from the styling, it's a generic budget bass, probably made in China & probably not as crap quality as you might imagine. As far as the design's concerned - yes, it's a Ritter Jupiter knockoff (of sorts) and that's copyright theft just like any other copy of an original design. However, Ritter's low-profile & niche enough that it's hard to see that the likes of this would constitute any threat to their market! Jon.

[quote name='barneythedog' post='35011' date='Jul 20 2007, 11:04 PM']Ibanez copy [url="http://cgi.ebay.fr/vintage-Ibanez-lawsuit-bass_W0QQitemZ150141789546QQihZ005QQcategoryZ92204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVwItem"]here[/url][/quote] The link's coming up "page inaccessible". Is it the same one Jihemt's mate's selling? Post #95. J.

Actually I think the £95 one from Germany looks pretty damn good for the money! J.

[quote name='stewblack' post='34940' date='Jul 20 2007, 08:50 PM']have we had this yet? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DC-Montana-77-Bass-Guitar-Fender-Gibson-picks_W0QQitemZ200129377544QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Montana Ricish![/url] Actually, on reflection, it's not very Ric really is it ?[/quote] I refer my learned friend to the existing DC Montana thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3046"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3046[/url] And do a Google image search for "Warwick Fortress One Flashback" and find out what the DC Montana 77 (RRP £1299 - ) [i]really[/i] owes its unique design inspiration to. :ph34r: Still - it proves one thing - Warwick did once, and once only, make a good-looking bass. J.

[quote name='paul, the' post='34951' date='Jul 20 2007, 09:24 PM']How much will it cost to keep you quiet if an Aria Pro Jazz come up on Ebay? No. Seriously.[/quote] Is this a purely theoretical Aria Pro Jazz or has my JapCrapSense temporarily deserted me? Seriously? I'll be as quiet as a wee church mouse. [i]If [/i]I like the look of it.... J.

[quote name='MB1' post='34913' date='Jul 20 2007, 08:11 PM']MB1. Apparently the factory make furniture these days.A friend has a westone stool.ARIA cheap? have you seen how much they wanted for the John Taylor sb reissue?,could have bought you a sack of westones, or some new kitchen furniture at least![/quote] Matsumoku's as dead & gone as Westone! After they stopped guitar production, it was sold to Singer - the sewing machine manufacturer. They went bust & the factory building apparently burned down a few years later. I doubt your friend's stool has any connection to the guitar brand. Most Aria & Aria Pro models now are made in Korea, China & other bargain-basement production facilities - the brand's lost all its hard won prestige and really does cater to the bottom end of the market with mostly low-spec copies & derivatives. However, as I said, there are still some high-end Japanese made models - but when was the last time you saw a "name" musician playing one? Like you said yourself, back in the day, SB basses were the pro's choice. Not quite sure what went wrong... J.

The reality is that Arias & Westones were built in the same factory, side-by-side, with the same workmanship & materials, & often the same hardware. This is also true of Washburn (MIJ ones, at least) Westbury, Vantage, Univox, Electra, some Greco models & a whole load of importers' rebrands, all of which came from Matsumoku between about 1975 & 1987. It's definitely true that Aria & Aria Pro II were regarded as "prestige" brands & Westone was aimed at a different market. Sad fact is, though, Westone's dead & gone now & Aria, although there are still some high-end models, is a pretty cheap & tacky brand these days by comparison to the early 80s. And all that old Matsumoku Japcrap's quality & collectable, whatever the brand! J.

[quote name='MB1' post='34728' date='Jul 20 2007, 03:24 PM']MB1. Bassasin. You just mentioned Aria and W*****E in the same sentence,wash out your mouth sir![/quote] Hmmm. Is there an issue, perhaps something dark in your past, that prompts this sudden aversive reaction? Seriously, nowt wrong with Westones. If the Thunder III was good enough for King Thumb.... J.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='34449' date='Jul 20 2007, 07:22 AM']Also worth a look is a very nice [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160139258664&rd=1&rd=1"][b]RSB Deluxe[/b][/url] in metallic red. No reserve, hard case & tuner.[/quote] I'd be seriously interested in this if it wasn't pick up only, and dahn sarf in da Medwaii Tahns, innit. I've actually got the same bass in blue/black sunburst, lovely, had it from new, but retired for the last 10 years or so due to a badly twisted neck. Ironically, I wanted the red finish but was dissuaded by an evil girlfriend. :ph34r: Not a bass, but there's a Mat-era Aria Pro Cardinal g*t*r with a BIN of £95 - which is frankly silly considering the prices Matsumokus are starting to fetch: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-ARIA-PRO-CARDINAL-SERIES-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ300131243324QQihZ020QQcategoryZ112668QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-ARIA-PRO-CAR...oQQcmdZViewItem[/url] The "damage" he talks about looks like fairly typical neck pocket lacquer cracking, unlikely to be structural & easy to patch up with a bit of superglue. Worth a look if anyone fancies a cheap vintage g*it*r or fancies a bit of instant Ebay profiteering! Bloodaxe - d'you want to keep this thread strictly Aria or are you cool about other Matsumoku basses being posted in here? I've seen a few very nice & rather interesting Westones lately... Jon.