Bassassin

New Headless Birthday Bass Day! Thanks to the sterling collaborative efforts of @Paul S and my lovely partner, I got this for me birfday! It's a Riverhead Unicorn RUB1090, from 1985-ish. I've wanted one of these since I tried one at the old Bass Centre in Wapping in 1985, and sadly found myself unequal to the £500 price tag! They don't turn up too often & I've missed out on one or two, including this one when it first came up a few months ago. Happily Paul gave me first refusal - and a great excuse to get it at no personal expense! So everyone's a winner! This is in nice condition for a 35-ish year old bass. A lot of these are pretty tatty, seemingly the factory finish wasn't too durable, but this has had a decent refin at some point, over the original matt black. The hardware's in near-new condition, which I'm surprised & very pleased about - many of these have corroded-looking metal parts. There's a little bit of fretwear, mostly under the E & A around the first 5 frets or so. A fret level/dress would help but I don't know if I'll bother - Paul's strung it with flats & the slight acoustic rattle doesn't seem to be audible when plugged in. Actually this is the first time I've had flats on a fretted bass in about 15 years & I'm surprised how well they work on this! Through my little Yamaha THR10 it sounds nice & full, with a bit of a Jazz growl to it. Pickups are passive single coils & fairly close to J positioning. First impressions are that it's a bit nicer to play than my Hohner B2A or Cort Space headlesses - the chunky pickups provide a more natural feeling hand/thumb position and the narrow (39mm nut) but fairly deep neck makes it feel pretty substantial. Very early impressions, I may try a bit of recording with it over the next few days. On the whole, I'm chuffed to bits!

I like the design a lot, but I really struggle with the wonky curve of the horn/bow. Looks like it's been leant against a hot radiator all afternoon.

It's certainly interesting but, erm, maybe trying a bit too hard...

I've certainly seen a P copy with that style of Ibanez sticker on before, might've been the same one, but not necessarily. This looks like a recent-ish cheapo P knockoff, or maybe a bitsa - it has a truss cutout on the scratchplate but clearly adjusts at the head, so maybe a modern neck on an older body. Overpriced by £200, anyway.

4.4kg/9.7lbs, according to my digital luggage/bass weighy device. So not exactly lightweight but not quite a Peavey T40.

This was posted in another thread: Want one now.

Will weigh mine when I get a minute.

Basslab L-Bow? Bleedin' German, innit? Forrin muck wiv a stupid name, bin stuck in Calais for a month stuffed in a container wiv a load of them French Muslamic immigrants an' some blue passports from Poland. Call that sovrinty??? That do?

Rare enough that I've never seen one outside a catalogue before. But oddly, not so rare that there's not another one on the same listing page! Fretless P/J natural finish Some interesting stuff turning up on Japanese Ebay lately!

Looks to me like the threaded inserts have been removed & filler or maybe bits of dowel put in the holes. You'd maybe have to remove the inserts to fit a BBOT bridge if they stood proud from the body. I think I'm right that a BBOT's more similar to an original Grabber bridge than a 3-point anyway. It's more the horrible refin that would've put me off this, rather than the bridge. And if it does have neck problems, it's not worth any £160.

Considering the condition, I'd say that's about right. If I'd been selling it in that state I'd think £150 would be a bit optimistic.

Would like to see some pics of that. As far as I'm aware the 80s Hohners had a fold-out leg rest & conventional strap buttons, and a standard jack & seperate XLR on the lower body edge. At least, my 1985 first run Hohner B2A does. Is yours definitely a Hohner? In fairness, the Interceptors are ever-so-slightly Marmite, and possibly not the most graceful 80s MIJ interpretation of the headless aesthetic! However they're incredibly rare, so I'd rather like to have one standing in the corner. Possibly behind a bookcase. In other news, I have a hint of a reason to think that on Tuesday - which is my birthday - I might find myself finally in possession of a slightly more symmetrical, some might say elegant, example of mid '80s Japanese headless luthiery. More news when it becomes available...

Somehow these have gone right under my radar. Always drooled a bit over the high-end PRS basses, so both of the SEs are right up my street. Obviously I have no need for one, but if a s/h Kingfisher came up at silly price...

I had no idea. Unsurprising in a way - BMWs (particularly their bikes) can be a bit Marmite. I liked the design a lot when they first appeared but find them a bit bland now. And once you see the bogseat, it's hard to see anything else. Only ever played two - one at the old MusicLive show & another in a shop - both were horribly badly set up & they just left a bad impression.

Whatever's comfortable for you & suits your playing style.

Nice that, will have to pick up one of these one day. Aesthetically this was a very common style in the late 80s/early 90s.Can't be sure but I think it was the Tune Bass Maniac range that kicked the trend off, the Nanyos & Ibby SRs coming shortly after, and most other manufacturers having a version. What's interesting (to the likes of me, anyway) is that the Ibanez evolved pretty directly from the Musician models - the SR body shape first appeared on the 1986 MC2924 - which apart from the headstock & chunky neck looks a lot like the high-end, through neck Soundgears. I'd quite like one of them. Or a neck-through SR.

These are more common branded Avon in the UK - in fact I don't think I've seen a Cimar before. A bit different, typically natural finish/maple fretboard. I had an Avon - it was very good & an accurate copy, as far as I could tell. This one's a bit bashed up, swapped bridge & missing an original tuner - but still has the original slidey pickup. My old one:

Always had a bit of GAS for one of those. Never had a P/P bass in fact, but always had a sneaking suspicion it might turn out to be the answer to a question I've never actually asked.

Pretty sure it's not. I think it's a US importer brand that has a bit of distribution. They do have a reputation for being excellent for the money - it's likely they come from the same manufacturers as other budget-but-good brands like Harley Benton and J&D.

About £300 over the odds - and that's not even factoring in probable contamination from filthy bedclothes & a manky foot. 🤢

I have one of these, lined maple fingerboard. It looks stunning and is lovely to play. Unfortunately mine is an absolute boat anchor, it weighs a ton and is sit-down only! May not be true for all of them but I think they have a reputation for being a bit beefy.

Opeth. If I remember, main man Mikael Akerfeldt joined as a bassist, before becoming guitarist/frontman/composer.

Sell about 10 basses I never play. Actually play my lovely Sire fretless, rather than just looking at it hanging on the wall. Too bad this doesn't look like it's going to be the year for resolutions

I'm sure £900 could buy you one that didn't have a p!ss poor Halfords rattlecan finish & hadn't been used for banging fence posts in.