Bassassin

Agreed - in different ways they were the scene's breakthrough bands. However I was a Sounds reader pre-NWOBHM and I'd say the catalyst for the entire scene was a Geoff Barton review of a gig (not sure but probably at the Soho Soundhouse), featuring Maiden, Angel Witch and (I think) Samson. I'm pretty sure that review was where the term itself was coined. At the time Barton was pretty much the sole champion of metal in the otherwise agonisingly hip UK music press, and if you were in any way interested in the denim & leather side of music - as a fan or as a musician - Sounds was what you read. Sounds, and Radio 1's Friday Rock Show (TV on the radio!) became the focus of grassroots-level metal bands all over the UK and the coverage that Barton & Tommy Vance gave those bands created a UK-wide movement, of sorts. Bands like UFO, Priest, & Motorhead tend to get lumped in with the scene but weren't really part of it, although Motorhead's success & industry-outsider attitude made them seem closer to the grassroots bands. I was a fan as well as trying to get a band together at the time, in 1980 when the scene was properly happening it definitely felt like something you could be part of.

Thanks - and great detective work! For anyone with a passing interest in this stuff, the 'sold' gallery at https://best-vintage-guitars.de/sold.html is a great resource for comparisons, ID and (usually) accurate basic age/manufacturer info. The galleries for individual instruments are stunningly detailed too - an indispensible bookmark if you have any interest in old MIK/MIJ stuff.

One of those basses I always liked the look of but never got around to picking one up. Now I really wish I had - before MIJ/80s stuff became sought after these were going for under £100, like most other headless types. I think Westone was, initially at least, a Matsumoku house-brand, so good quality was pretty much guaranteed. One day I'd still like a Rail, Super Headless, Thunder II/III, Quantum...

Only two - bass & guitar - with anything approximating competence, and that's debatable. I can drum a bit, enough to work out parts that (I hope) sound like what a proper drummer would do. If I had time/opportunity/motivation I could probably get to a gig-able standard. Been noodling around on keyboards a bit recently for a recording project, first time in a lot of years, can still just about manage a simple right-hand melody & single note left. Helps if it's in C or Am, and I'd hardly call it 'playing'!

Who's going to tell him? (I am also the owner of a Kasuga.)

Forty Six & 2, from Ænima. Lovely, straightforward bass part - and who doesn't like a bit of genetic mutation before teatime?

The one I'd grab in a fire is this: It's a 1980-ish MIJ Jazz copy, branded CSL. This was a £60 pawn shop find which I'd intended to clean up, restring & flip for £100 profit, if I was lucky. Looked like this when I brought it home: When I sat down, tuned it up & played it, unmatching 20-year-old dead stings & all, I couldn't put it down. Simply the nicest bass I've ever played. I've had it around 17 years now and it's evolved to the point everything's changed apart from the neck, body & tuners. I have a frankly silly number of basses but it's my go-to, feels more 'right' than anything else I've ever played.

The best, and funniest musical comedy act I ever saw was the Doug Anthony All Stars. This is very, very NSFW and I very much hope the spoiler tag works...

As has been said, it's an East German Musima. These are pretty decent, some nice components including Gotoh tuners. The early Marlin brand Ps were Musimas, before manufacture went to Korea & quality went down the toilet.

Looks like an Alperious pickguard on that. Not something you'd put on - or at least, leave on - a knockoff. https://www.alperious.com/

Re-imagine it as Achy Breaky Neck? 😁

I know a bit but I can't guarantee it'll clarify much! The J copy's Korean & made by Samick The identifiers are the square heel, pressed backplate tuners & narrow unstamped neckplate, which aren't features you'll find on an MIJ Jazz. The control cover's a bit of an odd shape but don't remember seeing that before, actually looks like a home-made replacement. The pickups are the same design as the MIJ Maxons but either copies or (more likely) licensed. They'll be plain on the back, rather than embossed & date-stamped, and in my experience a fair bit hotter than the Maxon versions. Despite the 8 poles, these are single-coil units. Here's a very similar Hondo-branded 70s Samick J copy. Most of the details are identical. The P's a bit more tricky. I have frequently bemoaned the fact that the more accurate the copy, the harder it is to pin an ID on - and this is a perfect example. Give it a brand name and we might have a bit more to go on, but no-names are a right bugger! The neckplate with its lower-half stamp was consistently used by Fujigen, but occasionally by Kasuga & Moridaira on later instruments. There's also an as-yet unidentified manufacturer of various nice quality off-brands that used these. Any pics of the back of the headstock? Would be interested in seeing the tuners. I'm tempted to cop right out and pin this one on Matsumoto Gakki Seizou Kumiai, AKA the Matsumoto Musical Instrument Manufacturer's Association, a loose alliance of smaller woodshops & parts manufacturers who broadly collaborated building off-brand & unbranded low & midrange instruments. But that would be basically saying "dunno, mate". Did I mention that I probably wouldn't be much help?

There's something magnificently and indisputably Glaswegian about the fact the fretless version's called the 'Nofretiti'!

I do like that. That would look great sat next to this:

The reshaped 50s P style is a big improvement. Seriously considering taking a hacksaw to my V7.

Compared to most of the rest of the thread - my very modest Sire V7: I might be alone here but I love the look of that lined maple board. 😍

A year later, one out of five ain't bad under the circumstances: Yes, I do expect some appreciation for the thematically appropriate background! And what a lovely little bass it is - cheers @PaulS! Lack of car boots during the pandemic mean the quest for £30 Westones & Statii (stranger things have happened) has been a non-starter, but I got as far as buying hardware for the Faker conversion before sub-zero temperatures, apathy & weapons-grade self-pity conspired to keep me out of the garage. Soon though. Maybe.

Wouldn't mind a look at that - any danger you could upload the images direct to BC, @SurroundedByManatees?

It's an Odyssey, this double A logo appears to have been used on the revised range of basses & guitars made by Attila Balogh. No idea if there's any significance to the AA or if it was just a pleasingly symmetrical design.

Mine's pretty small - about 3m x 3m (10 x10 or so in Brexits) and contains quite a lot of stuff. Windows 10-based system running Reaper with a Behringer UMC404 interface & X-Touch control surface. Actually, quite a bit of Behringer stuff... Including a few in cases & out of sight, there are 15 basses & 8 guitars squeezed in here, as well as gawd alone knows what else. The bookshelves are temporary but indefinite migrants from another room being redecorated - needs a carpet fitted, which is a bit tricky right now, so the shelves ain't going anywhere fast. When we first moved here 7 years ago, this room was actually used as a full practice area as well as recording studio. Our previous place had had a massive basement where we rehearsed & recorded (prone to flooding during heavy rain, leading to it being named The Diluvian Room) so with a bit of sensible scaling down, electronic kit & everything going through the mixer of my old Korg D1600, we managed this for a few months, until the drummer eventually got bored & wandered off, shortly followed by the guitarist. As they do: Unsurprisingly, this became known as The No-Room - which has sort of stuck. When the kit went it was nice to be able to breathe for a bit, and not just because of the absence of Drummer Sweat. But as you can see, volume of stuff always expands to fill the available space.

I have a Zephyr C5 through-neck 5er, which I got just before the Grind range was launched in the early 00s, genuinely can't remember exactly when! I think these were Korean-made but I don't have any date info - unhelpfully, mine doesn't have a serial number. The Grinds would have changed over the years but the first ones were very similar to the Zephyrs, lacking the bubinga body veneers and with an ugly front body slap contour, below the fretboard heel. My C5's a very nice bass, well put together & playable (if you don't mind narrow spacing on a 5) but something of a boat-anchor weightwise. Always found the passive soapbars a bit weak, if I ever used it for more than noodling at home, I'd probably want to upgrade to something a bit beefier.

Apart from the ruined finish & janky-looking headstock that's quite cool. Oh - and the price, an enterprising bodger could knock that up as a bitsa for under £300, no sweat. And route the pickups a bit better.

Having actually been bothered to look at the pics, I'm confident that no-one will either be surprised (or care!) that I think I know what this was. Before it was a bitsa with a cheapo Chinese neck, crappy tuners & Ebay knockoff sticker, it was an Italian-made Melody 5000. Check out the oddly bulbous lower horn, square truss access & skinny neckplate: https://best-vintage-guitars.de/melody_precision_bass_italy.html Ashytrays aren't standard & f*** knows what's under them - although 'demarzios' weren't standard on either Ibanez or Melody P copies. I suppose the body grain's quite nice though. A decent Melody 5000 would probably be £100-£150. Seen a few with split bodies/necks so likely that's the case here.

Agreed. Free to use (although you can oay a small fee) great sounds & good standard patterns - and you can program your own parts in your DAW's MIDI editor.