Bassassin

Blimey! It's about bleedin' time!! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140158495838"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=140158495838[/url] Very interesting twin-truss rod bolt neck, not too daft BIN. Don't think it's a Kasuga, I'd say Matsumoku or associated brand, but those rods are odd! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300151446067"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300151446067[/url] Oh, here we go. An "Ibanez". From the 60s. Of course, in the halcyon days of the 60s, Japan was one big Ibanez factory. It's probably a Shaftesbury or somesuch, from the mid 70s. Black finish may not be original, I've only ever seen Fujigen-built Jap copies in black - and they never, ever used those crappy tuners on their Rickalikes. It'll get pulled before it sells, anyway. Jon.

Excellent score, Mr Jack - cheapest vintage Ibanez ever (apart from that LP I missed!) and by a bizarre coincidence, these are being discussed over on the Ibanez Collectors site: [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/messages/13/1002432.html?1189615287"]http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/mes...html?1189615287[/url] Interesting snippet of info about Tetsu Yamauchi & his involvement with the design, too. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='59811' date='Sep 13 2007, 12:22 PM']I'm thinking of bidding for this one. If any other BC type also wants to bid, please send me a PM first so we don't end up bidding each other out of sight.[/quote] £113? J.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='59992' date='Sep 13 2007, 05:25 PM']What colour is your Talbo Bass and is it the one with the aluminium body or just the wooden bodied one? Any chance of posting some pics I can drool over... Thanks[/quote] It is the aluminium (nickel-plated, I think) one. Tokai made some wooden Talbo guitars, but as far as I know, the basses are/were all aluminium - some were painted, for reasons I'm unclear about. I really will have to sort out some decent pics of the thing, this is all I have atm: It's a stunning thing to look at & play sitting 'round the house - but live I've found it incredibly microphonic - I tend to use quite middly/trebly tones & sometimes distortion, which at gig volume makes it squeal like a piggy! There's actually one (not mine!) on Ebay right now: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tokai-Talbo-Aluminium-Body-Bass-Guitar-Sale-MG_W0QQitemZ250162820562"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tokai-Talbo-Aluminiu...emZ250162820562[/url] J.

21 - sort of: CSL Custom Jazz copy Ibanez P copy Kasuga Rickenbugger Ibanez RS924 Roadster Aria STB-GT Ibanez EDA900 Ibanez SR800 Aria Pro II RSB Deluxe II Peavey C5 Yamaha SBV500 Tokai Talbo Wesley Europa Hohner B2A Franconia Jazz copy* No-name (possibly Kay) P copy* Ibanez SR800FL* Marlin P/J copy* Gibson Grabber copy* Project Jazz Project WTF Project Junkenstein* Those marked with an * are "passing through". But sometimes they do seem to pass through awfully slowly! The 3 projects are more just necks, bodies & boxes of bits - what they lack is time, obviously - and the SR800 that's not "passing through" is now officially my daughter's - waiting for the day she stops messing round with 6-stringed toys and keyboards. I live in eternal hope she'll come to her senses, one day... Jon.

S'pose I have to do this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-KAY-RIKCENBACKER-COPY-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ150160898551"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-KAY-RIKCENBA...emZ150160898551[/url] Although it's really pushing it to call these bits of crap "Rikcenbacker (sic) Copies". I'm inclined to think any vague similarities are just a mistake. But this'll make you laugh: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1960s-70s-Bass-Guitar-Cool-Retro-Look_W0QQitemZ140155768276"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1960s-70s-Bass-...emZ140155768276[/url] ...and: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1960s-70s-Bass-Guitar-Cool-Retro-Look-Number-Two_W0QQitemZ140155769422"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-1960s-70s-Bass-...emZ140155769422[/url] Or not. J.

[quote name='paul, the' post='59320' date='Sep 12 2007, 03:24 PM']Someone ought to be punched for that headstock logo.[/quote] Err... Why? J.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-IBANEZ-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ320157189523"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-IBA...emZ320157189523[/url] I've never seen one of these before - Ibanez Precision copy with P/J pups & maple board/pearl block inlays. Non-serial neckplate dates it to 1975 or earlier. It's been slightly modded - the pups are non-original (think they're Reflex Reds), it's had an additional volume or tone control added, and (annoyingly) the output's been moved to the side of the body. Anyroad up, it's an Ibanez 2369B-W, which first popped up around '73 or '74: [url="http://www.ibanez.ru/info/catalog/1974-2/09.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.ru/info/catalog/1974-2/09.jpg[/url] And at the moment it's at a massive £51, on a 3-day listing, with 2 days left to run. So someone buy it, OK? Cos I can't! Jon.

Interesting they didn't mention the Dresden Dolls - about the only bass-free band I've heard that [i]wouldn't[/i] sound immensely better if they had one! But they don't have - or need - a guitarist, either. Jon.

Doesn't float my boat aesthetically, but it's a huge mistake to make assumptions about cheap instruments because they're cheap. It's surprisingly uncommon to find any budget instrument with a ply construction these days - in fact the branded cheapos - Epiphone & Peavey for example, are more prone to being ply than unbranded, probably Chinese stuff such as this. Realistically, if the body & neck are decent, the generic components mean it would be eminently upgradeable. For my sins, I admit I'm rather taken by this, from the same seller: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260156407782"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=260156407782[/url] Jon.

BC member Deksawyer is selling a lefty Ibanez 2389 4003 copy: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5282"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5282[/url] These are rare as rocking horse gonads, and becoming exceptionally collectable as well as being excellent instruments in their own right. Left-hand examples are practically unheard of. This particular model is the later, more accurate 4003 replica, with proper Hi-Gain neck pickup & the wide gap between pickup & neck - earlier Ibanez copies were quite inaccurate, with big chromed Gibson-type humbuckers. This version retains the checked binding of the earlier ones. If you did go for something like this, remember they're collectable vintage, so it's best not to make any modifications you can't change back if you want to sell it. And just DON'T put a fake Rick logo on it, OK? Jon.

Good advice from Ped - cardboard bass boxes can usually be picked up for nowt from your local instrument emporium - they just chuck 'em away anyway. I usually use lots & lots of bubble wrap, I also have some laminate flooring boards which can be cut to length & taped to the bass to reinforce the neck. A good idea is to remove a bolt-on neck (make sure your buyer's OK with this first!) & make a smaller, harder-to-smash package. Jon.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='54767' date='Sep 3 2007, 03:12 PM']I wonder whats happened to Bassassin, shame if we don't see him again. perhaps he's on a world tour [/quote] [quote name='Happy Jack' post='54844' date='Sep 3 2007, 05:22 PM']Well, he finished moving house two weeks ago. So that gives us a number of potential scenarios:[list]He's about to return from a well-earned holiday. He's now down to the last 17 tea-chests. He vanished into the undergrowth at the end of the garden clutching a B&Q strimmer a week ago, and hasn't been seen since. His wife buried him under the new patio and is waiting for the concrete to go off. [/list]Place your bets ...[/quote] Aw, I'm touched you're so concerned about me! There's some truth to a few of those potential scenarios, although regrettably no World Tour just yet! However you can blame the retards, idiots & lazy, cynical liars at Virgin media for much of my absence - no internet for a fortnight & still no phone, the amount of time spent sitting around waiting for equipment/engineers who didn't turn up, and then being lied to repeatedly whilst running up insane mobile bills.... Anyway - enough! If I actually had a patio, they'd be bloody under it!! So anyway, it doesn't look like I've missed a great deal of Rickenbuggery, during my absence! Has the Great Mr Hall finally put a stop to it all? J.

What's a k'neck? And for £30 it's presumably being delivered by gold-plated fairy chariot. What a k'nob. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='45558' date='Aug 15 2007, 12:37 AM']Blink and you'll miss it ...[/quote] Blink. Gone. That's what I get for wasting my time moving house. £750? Anyway, the Hondo with no bridge or knobs has returned - yours for £300 delivered: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250155066168"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250155066168[/url] Don't all rush at once. J.

One of my earliest influences, & still one of my favourite players. Great melodic sense, scarily precise right-hand (plectrum) technique, and those basslines - [i]Halo Of Flies, Billion $ Babies, Blue Turk, Gutter Cat[/i]... Genius. Jon.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='42253' date='Aug 7 2007, 12:01 AM']Here's what looks like a bolt-neck, mono output Matsumoku (with wavy Grover copies & toaster), looks in very nice nick as far as one can tell, and is listed in such a way as to be completely missed by anyone searching specifically for Rick copies: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160145049318&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...bayphotohosting[/url][/quote] Sold for £160 - an absolute steal, by the looks of it. Wasn't one of you lot, was it? I was at rehearsal otherwise I might well have had a punt myself. J.

I don't think it looks that bad, either. The worst thing is the fact it plainly doesn't fit. The Warwick Fortress Flashback had a scratchplate as standard, despite what the guy from Warwick USA allegedly said: Jon.

Interesting. The [url="http://www.warwickbass.com.au/history/historywarwick25.htm"]Australian Warwick site[/url] mentions the "TV" model as being shown at Warwick's debut at the Frankfurt music show - but I can't find any other mention of it apart from that, and this Ebay listing. The bass is pretty anodyne-looking and if genuine, doesn't really hint at the kind of work the company would become known for. Having said that, according to the Australian site, the range at the time comprised this, plus a Steinberger-influenced headless design & a Jazz - which doesn't suggest they started with a particularly individualistic approach. I do find it odd that there's no real record of their early instruments. Jon.

Genuine or not, you see the zero-feedback & £520 start price & automatically think SCAMMER!!! even before you see how the bass is in another country & he doesn't have PayPal. [i]Not[/i] a good start! Jon.

I'm in the middle of moving house, so not much time or money for Fringey antics this year - however, just back from seeing Amanda Palmer at the Spiegeltent tonight - absolutely stunning. No bass, just 1 girl & 2 pianos, but do check her out if you get the chance - the woman's a genius. I also have tickets for Guy Pratt week after next, & hoping to be able to get to see Fuerzabruta a bit later - looks quite unlike anything I've seen before. And tomorrow I will spend in front of the music stage on the Meadows, with enough alcohol to be oblivious to the inevitable rain! Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='44011' date='Aug 10 2007, 10:04 PM']In full-on IT Luddite mode, I'll try Neepheid's advice: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230158553163"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=230158553163[/url] If that works, you should be looking at a Tokai in Spain. Yes YES [b]YES[/b]! Nice one Neepheid.[/quote] Not sure what this is - but as far as I know, Tokai never made a 4001 copy in the "lawsuit" days. Judging from the bridge & tuners, I think this is modern, probably one of these "Rockinbetter" things the Bass Centre sells for as much as a second hand real one! J.

[quote name='nick' post='43664' date='Aug 10 2007, 10:52 AM']Bit of a project this one, across the 'pond' Unfortunately seller wont despatch overseas. Still may be of interest to any stateside brethren of the Rickenfaker pursuasion: [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/SET-Neck-1970s-Japan-STEREO-Copy-BASS-Electric-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ150149812438QQihZ005QQcategoryZ2385QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZwItem"]http://cgi.ebay.com/SET-Neck-1970s-Japan-S...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Item No. 150149812438 Cheers[/quote] Very interesting, that one. Looks to me like an early Fuji Gen, basically the same as the through-neck Ibanezes. There's not much left electronically that's original - the scratchplate, electronics & pickups have all been changed. This would have originally had chrome Mudbuckers (you can see the big rout in the pic with the plate off) but the scratchplate & pickup have been replaced with a proper Rick type one & hi-gain neck pup. The small chrome neck pup surround has been swapped for a proper one - and you can see a Jazz pup peeking out from under the cover! It also seems to have terminal tail-lift. Definitely needs a Hipshot. This might well have been branded as an Electra originally - they sourced Rick copies from FujiGen, Matsumoku and Kasuga, and seemed to be prone to unusual colour combinations - like the very odd rosewood board with black blocks on this one. A guy I know in the states collects Electra Rickalikes - I'll find out if he's seen this one. J.

Look (or rather, don't) - it's an Invisible Hondo. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hondo-2-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ120149946821QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZiewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hondo-2-Bass-Guitar_...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Item no. 120149946821 I guess the seller thinks we already know what it looks like - and maybe he's right. Beat-up plywood trash in pinky-yellow PukeGlo? J.

Here's the item no. for that bit of firewood: 180147499247 That's our loony mate from Germany, must have to pay hundreds every week in Ebay listing fees! He's also got this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4000-BASS-OLDIE_W0QQitemZ180147218899QQihZ008QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4000-BA...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Item no. 180147218899 Very rare single pickup 4000 - which somebody's already made over with Hondo & Shaftie components, by the sounds of it! Personally I'm quite happy to see real Ricks listed in this topic - it would probably help it stay a bit more active. I think there was more general discussion of Ricks & fakes in here when it on the Bass Guitars board. J.