Bassassin

Doesn't look like the mods are recent so presumably it's stable. Odd decision though, the rest of the work looks very competently done. You'd think some sort of individual ball-end retainer adjacent to the tuners would seem more sensible. On the whole I think it's an interesting, and well executed mod.

It's well known that Hondo started fitting DiMarzios to some models in the late 70s/early 80s, in an attempt to place the brand a bit more upmarket. That's why these instruments are well-made MIJ basses, rather than the largely rather shoddy Samick-built MIK low-end stuff Hondo's better known for. Anyway - don't listen to me - it says so in the catalogue! "Model H1015 with a DiMarzio Model P (TM) Bass Pickup". Says that right above the big DiMarzio logo! As far as this one's concerned, they're covered with stickers but if you view the pic full-size you can see the cream covers & hex poles. The quickest & easiest way to verify is to try an allen key in a pole piece - DiMarzios are imperial so a metric key will not fit. Some MIJ pickups from this era look a lot like DiMarzios (as do Schallers) but those will have metric sized poles.

It's a Hondo Professional H1015, from about 1980. Made in Japan, probably Matsumoku (might say on the neckplate), unless it's been abused, will be a very nice bass. As a bonus it looks like it still has its original DiMarzio Model P pickup, with a bit of fake stickyback plastic carbon fibre stuck on top of it.

If we're getting proper esoteric, professional cyclists Daniel Oss & Jack Bauer both play bass.

On their site they call the timber "Caroline wood" - no idea what that means, and Google's no help for obvious reasons! Is that a type of pine? Everything else they do seems to be the usual hardwoods used in instrument building - maple, mahogany, alder, ash, basswood etc. Would seem really odd they'd use pine for just one instrument, particularly when it's built with a set maple neck & maple top - you'd think mixing hardwoods & softwoods like that might make it more unstable. Apropos of nothing, or at least nothing relevant to Fakers, I'm not sure why pine isn't often used in guitar building - seems the first Fender Esquires & Broadcasters had pine bodies.

Just remembered - that little Hammond guy from old Top Gear. Great taste in basses but must have killed his poor little shouders - he looks in pain!

@barrycreed No need to be coy talking about Fakers, whatever the brand. You can say "Rockinbetter" here, look - I just said it. Rockinbetter. Said it again. Just don't say they're anything to do with Tokai, because they're not. Talk about them, post pics of them, describe them - just don't try to sell them or post links to sales. Best place for unlimited discourse is, of course, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/78514186083/

Well there's an odd coincidence - a friend of mine has just been on FB to post some rather gorgeous artwork he's just finished: Can I recommend Mr Sam Hayles to anyone looking for album art, web design, promo materials etc? Ridiculously talented fellow, a lovely human being - and his dad used to be in Hawkwind.

Metallica's James Hetfield played bass & sang in a band called Syrinx. Yes - it was Rush covers. Opeth guitarist/vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt originally joined the band as a bass player. I'm sure I read somewhere that Bruce Springsteen was gigging as bassist in a heavy rock band immediately before he was signed by Columbia.

It's actually easier to look at it and go "no, Yamaha & Ibanez never sold anything remotely like this piece of broken tat". Quicker, too.

Apart from the heel-adjust truss rod, and, erm, modifications, I'd say that's it.

That's funny - there was a post on here last week, someone wondering if they should buy this: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/429286-what-make-is-this/ Never spotted this on Ebay, but it's neither Yam nor Ibby, just some generic cheapo P/J that some idiot's brutalised with power tools. The inlays are curious but something - maybe the overall condition and wilful mutilation it's suffered - sort of make them scream "stickers".

Just checked out the seller's current listings - a neck like the OP's is exactly what I've been after for a J build I've been wanting to do for ages. Even been toying with the idea of using a L/H neck for a reversed headstock - and they do have one. Unfortunately they are a little more expensive now - £78.88 delivered.

I've encountered these, as will be of immense surprise to precisely nobody. They appear to belong to a small but curious sub-category of 80s MIJ instruments - copies of original Japanese guitars & basses. And obviously this is an Ibanez Blazer copy. Despite what the seller says they're not from the "Ibanez factory", and beyond cosmetic appearances, are different & lower budget than the originals. This is madly overpriced - £425 would be pretty stupid money for a real Blazer. It is sort of cool though - I've never seen a factory fretless Jarock before, and they did come in nice sparkly colours; I was outbid on a glitter pink one a while back - I was out at £70. Apropos of nothing, if anyone's interested, these were also sold (in the US, I'd guess) under the Madeira name - which was a licensed sub-brand of Guild.

Would've served him right if it had done that!

Generic formerly-white PJ bass that someone has attacked with power tools.

A long time ago, I said this: "A gentleman is a man who can play slap bass. And doesn't." I take some (negligible) pride in having seen that repeated, uncredited, elsewhere on several occasions. I don't hate slap, but I'm in a position - probably not a unique one - to appreciate that what I said is correct. I know this because I can't play slap (at least, not very well), but spent a lot of years in my 20s trying to shoehorn it into any & every available song, irrespective of whether it was appropriate or not. And given my musical bag's tended to be rock, metal & prog, it was largely very, very inappropriate. Fortunately it was just a phase, one I think I got past when I spent a few years not playing in bands & concentrating on solo writing & recording, which I think (or hope!) helped me get some insight into what worked & what didn't. I haven't slapped a bass with any degree of seriousness in probably 25 years or so - apart, perhaps when that nice Mr Wooten's double thumbing technique became a thing. That was interesting to dissect and learn, up to a point, particularly to find it was largely just playing percussive up/down strokes (ooer Mrs) with the thumb, much like a meat plectrum. One thing did serve as a reminder why I stopped slapping, and this helps keep me on the straight & narrow. About 10 or so years ago, my then band used to organise the live music at a local community festival. One of the bands we put on had sent in a good demo of well-written and competently performed indie pop - think somewhere between Coldplay & Travis, but maybe a bit less whiny. The demo gave no clue to the fact that live, their bassist crammed absolutely every 4-chord strummy ode to bedsit heartbreak with relentless, clattering, pokkata-pokkata-boinkity-boinkity-pokkata-pokkata-BOINK. I was just thinking - bloody hell, that used to be me - and then he started doing that thing of launching the bass (a Stingray, naturally) so it spun around his back on its strap. If I'd had the presence of mind to record it & put it on Youtube, I swear it would still be getting hits & being shared on drumming forums to this day.

I hoped that was the case! Can never tell though, they've been depressingly & increasingly popular since Load. I remember a mate who'd been a big fan since Kill 'Em All days coming back from seeing them on that tour ranting "They should just call themselves 'Licker' - 'cos they're not f**king metal any more!"

Thread needs to be renamed "What's your personal favourite album by (insert artist here). I say this simply because so many of the recommendations are so very, very wrong!

What - so unless you have a specially calibrated tuner, you couldn't correctly tune a guitar fitted with this anyway? I've wondered about it myself but am tending to concur with @ead .

I've had residual Status GAS since playing a mate's S2000 in 1985. This really isn't helping!

Both sound good to me, both identifiably "P". As likely to be inherent differences in strings/pickups as anything else.

Only just seen this thread - IMO good call not to buy the (somewhat overpriced) Greco because you'd probably have been sorely disappointed if you wanted it to sound like a proper 60s Hofner. The pickps, despite appearances, are single-coil Maxons, exactly the same as these: These are quite bright-sounding pickups, used in many early 70s MIJ basses (intended to be hidden under covers) and can sound quite authentic in Jazz or Rickenbacker copies - less so in other basses. Much as I love the old MIJ stuff, that Squier's a great choice - and a bargain!