Bassassin

I've found RM small package deliveries seem to be all over the place. Ordered something from Ebay a month or so back, didn't turn up so after 3 weeks I chased it up, and received a refund. Item turned up a couple of days later. Seems to have settled into a pattern of pretty much everything being 5-10 days late, doesn't bother me as long as stuff turns up eventually. I should point out to everyone talking about using ParcelForce for basses - unless their T&Cs have changed recently, their insurance does not cover musical instruments. They will cheerfully sell you upgraded cover - but instruments are specifically excepted items in the small print.

Nine hundred quid? Nine hundred quid for some cheapsh!t Tele parts artlessly bodged onto a knackered old bat that was probably a fiver out of a charity shop? Amazing. Hope it sells.

You can buy tuners - sorry, turners - like that brand new on Ebay for a tenner. Abandoned "projects" like this always amaze me from the perspective that they can progress so far before the person finally realises they lack any of the necessary ability, understanding, competence, skill, or any grasp of basic proportions and aesthetics. Or, evidently, any appropriate tools or materials. Or presumably even one of those free paper tape measures from Ikea. I'm finding the back view a little upsetting. It's been nailed together, hasn't it? With actual nails.

For help with model ID, I can point you towards Fernandes' catalogue archive. There's a lot to go through... http://www.fernandes.co.jp/catalog/ Unless the model number's on the instrument, then the ID's pretty speculative, and for several reasons (pickup position, dot board, no rear ashtray holes) I'm pretty sure it's nothing like as early as 1975. Fernandes, like most Japanese home-market brands, have model numbers reflecting the original RRP in yen, eg an FJB-80 cost 80,000 yen. So if prices increase, model numbers change in relation. Weird, I know. Anyway I'm sort-of inclined to think this might be a later bass, maybe an 80s or 90s RJB series. But I'm no expert on these. Ferrnandes is a brand I've had very little to do with, being predominantly home-market, they don't turn up too often & I've never owned one - but I would say £225 equivalent for that appears ridiculous from a UK perspective. They're replica-standard instruments, incredibly high-quality, and I would speculate that's close to 1/3 what you'd pay at home, if it's in good order. So if it sounds like I'm basically saying buy it, then I probably am...

My studio desk is an old Ikea desk called a Jerker. Which isn't funny. Not at all. Not even remotely.

Exactly what I thought, for 40-odd years.

£435??? Paid £50 for mine... Although apparently the new price was £389, and there aren't exactly many of them around. There are some folk on an FB Aria group who might be interested though.

I've got a few. Yamaha SG1500, 1984. Such a stupidly high-end, pro-standard guitar I feel a total fraud every time I pick it up. However I wanted one of these literally for decades and was finally in a position to indulge myself a year or two back. Westbury Standard, approx 1981. Had this 15 years or so, unfortunately can't justify keeping it now I have the Yam. Looking for a good home... Squier Strat, MIJ E-serial, '86-ish. Outrageous car boot find. Fenix ST-20M Not-A-Rebadged-Squier-Honest-M'Lud. Proving all the best Strats are car boot finds. Actually plays better than the E-serial, but sounds very different due to its mini-humbuckers. Hohner Revelation RTX - a bit of an early 90s weirdo - the so-called "Eurofighter" guitar: German brand, body & neck from the Czech Republic, British pickups/electronics, German & British hardware, assembled in Wales. Incomprehensible passive electronics, very good for metal, currently serving as MIDI controller 'cos I ain't no keyboard player. Aria Pro II PE DCW-T, 1998, one of only 100 imported to the UK. For all your sparkly, Bigsby-y, P90-y needs. J&D Thinline Tele copy. My proper midlife crisis guitar - found myself having weird, inexplicable hankerings for a Tele, despite having spent my life considering them old geezers' meat & potatoes pub-rock guitars. Always had a sneaking liking for Thinlines (designed by ex-Rickenbacker designer Roger Rossmeisl) and couldn't justify spending much on a whim. This was £113 brand new - should be junk for that money but it's lovely, genuinely can't put it down. Turns out you can buy the same guitar with F style head & Tokai logo, for three times the price. I have a few others, a couple of acoustics and a few projects but these are the ones that get regular-ish use.

Not necessarily - it will entail repositioning the bridge somewhat, so it should work if there's enough room - ie no annoying pickup stuck where you need the bridge to go. Unfortunately by the looks of it, that might be the case with the HH4's bridge pickup. In the event it's possible, because the bridge placement will be changed in relation to the pickups it will sound quite different to the longscale bass.

A healthy dose of Servisol lubricated switch cleaner has revived dozens of scratchy old pots on instruments I've worked on. As long as they work to an extent beforehand and aren't mechanically damaged, it will get rid of most unwanted crackles & buzzes. Cheap stuff so it doesn't hurt to have a can sitting around in case you need it.

Beware the curse...

80s Yamaha. Had a BB400S with the same bridge.

That is interesting. '74 (not '73) from the pickup codes, but the 80s Yamaha BB bridge & defret does make me wonder how authentic the rest of it is. Never seen anything like this before but Tokai (if it really is one) is a fairly unknown quantity in their early 70s days - a small factory largely supplying a domestic market, and very little surviving literature to ID instruments from. Better-known after their Gibson replicas started being exported in the mid 70s and took off dramatically. Anyway, wouldn't mind seeing this in bits. Might not be all it seems. Link for anyone who wants to see bigger pics: https://reverb.com/item/33193153-super-rare-first-models-matsumoku-tokai-tele-bass-1973-wine-red-maxon-pickups-fretlees

All the best knobs are stacked! Starts here for me, predictably enough in Japan - my Aria Pro RSB Deluxe II, owned from new: Supremely logical & versatile passive control setup, apart from the IMO redundant seletor switch. A blend pot would make more sense. And my somewhat customised '80 MIJ Jazz with a pre-wired control plate I blagged cheap off Ebay. Again the stacks make sense for maximising the versatility of a passive bass, as well as looking better than v/v/t. The pickups are twin-coil DiMarzios and I've toyed with the idea of phase switching like the Aria - but the bass sounds great as it is & I couldn't bring myself to drill holes in it.

You'll probably be unsurprised that I've encountered these. There were several, including the skinny stringers. Japanese-made (possibly Teisco Gakki or Sakai Mokko), early 70s, US market:

That's lovely. Always had a bit of GAS for a through-neck Thunder.

I would expect it'd be remarkably similar - Fernandes (like Ibanez) is a brand rather than a manufacturer. Kawai Gakki was apparently one of the manufacturers they contracted out to. There - saved you two grand!

Really hope there's a lawyer's letter in the post.

I'm not 100% convinced that the double neck's not a bass & a guitar that have been (very meticulously) laminated into a single instrument. Looks bang-on from the front but the positioning of the battery covers on the rear is very odd & makes no sense if the instrument had been manufactured as a twin-neck from the ground up. I'm inclined to think the centre section could have originally been the upper body wing of the guitar.

NO SANDMAN! was definitely a thing in the early 90s.

Back on topic - Status did make (mid late 80s) a range of basses with a graphite neck and composite/resin body, not sure whether these were set or bolt neck. Anyone remember the name of these? Can't see the neck/body join on the OP's pic, so could this be one of those with a black body?

For fear of dragging the thread OT, I don't think they can be. MIJ Washboards were initially made by a small-ish bespoke manufacturer called Yamaki, and later by Chushin, who were a huge concern responsible for many of the various Japanese guitars around in the 70s & 80s, across the full spectrum of quality. Both factories made the well-known MIJ Washburn stuff - the Wings, Stage, Force etc ranges but production went to Korea about the time the fashion turned towards pointy SuperStrat types - probaly around '85/6. The S1000 Status basses appeared in '88 as far as I know & ran until the early 90s. By this point quality was no indication of country of manufacture as the Korean factories were capable of producing absolutely top of the line stuff, as they still do. It's possible that these models alone were sourced to a Japanese factory but I think it's fairly unlikely. It's a shame there's not too much info or many pics around of the Washburns - a manufacturing sticker or a serial number might confirm one way or the other. Anyway - as you were!

Flattered by your confidence - but I know next to nowt about Statii, them bein' BritSh!t an' all - I don't even think the licensed Washburns were Japanese... That said, I did look & think "S2000" - my mate had one back in the day and I did briefly plot to murder him so I could steal it.

Could be your lucky day then...