Bassassin

That's an S. D. Curlee. It's probably (as they're more common) a licensed Hondo (probably Korean) version, but could be a US original, as they were aesthetically very close. I don't know them well enough to tell off the top of my head. Either way, very cool and rare as hen's teeth!

Seem to remember the fee for each certificate being about £50 - admittedly that was when this first became relevant & I was trying to estimate full cost of a potential Japanese import at the time. It's likely the export certificate fee differs between countries. Hopefully it shouldn't matter for much longer - apparently the revised proposal was due to be considered in May, and if agreed, enacted 90 days later. Can't find any info on what the outcome was, though.

Which is fine, as long as that happens - if it doesn't, customs will confiscate the instrument and destroy it, and the buyer will be unlikely to be entitled to a refund. I've heard enough horror stories to be wary - and even if the documentation is obtained, it's not cheap, it'd likely add another £100 or so to the cost of this bass. I think CITES regs as applied to instruments is up for review at some point soon but until then, personally I'd avoid rosewood.

He is a visitor from a Time Before Shims.

Likely it's the standard unit - lots of early 80s MIJ stuff (including Westone) had DiM copies with hex poles. Easy way to check is whether the poles are metric or imperial. There were Schaller hex-pole pickups too - had a dud one in a used bass a few years back.

Very, very pretty. This might be of interest: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Bass-Guitars/4713/m.html?item=202609398256&_ssn=swingshop Downside with the green quilty one is that the fretboard looks very like rosewood, and it doesn't say it's not, so CITES would be a concern. Quite glad I'm not prone to impulse purchases because this is making me come over all impulsey...

It's a very nice example and looks in superb condition for its age. Leaving aside the spurious sleb connection, this is a passive MC824, not the active (and higher value) MC924, so on that basis it's not exactly a fantastic bargain - we had one for sale on BC last year for around £300. The condition of this one, and the attendant JJ tat (I suppose) probably adds a couple of hundred to that. The asking price of £800+ delivered for this is a bit eye-watering, particularly considering that won't include CITES paperwork, without which it'll be confiscated and destroyed by UK customs...

Buy it. Lots of reasons, primarily - you wanted it enough to bid on it. You got a bargain, it's gorgeous, you might surprise yourself & really take to a 6, and if not you will easily be able to get your money back, might even make a small profit. Just pay the dude & post the NBD thread already!

I think you'd be wrong, considering it's fitted with a Schaller 3D bridge that would be at least £60 new. Westone Thunder 1A body & electronics means it's £100+ worth of parts, even if the neck's junk.

To be honest, at first I saw the "scratchplate" and thought, OK, the lad's doing his bit for the planet, that's one takeaway lid that's not going in a landfill. But then I saw this: Oh god... 🤢

You'll know by this time next week. Looks lovely right now though.

This is interesting. The reason they've done this is that pickups that would actually fit will be tricky to come by. It's an early 70s MIJ jazz copy (Matsumoku, if you care) which pre-dates the existence/availability of accurate copies of J-type units. Can't be sure but this probably had chrome covered 8-pole Maxons, like these: Or possibly like this: Various inaccurate types of pickups were used on early 70s J copies, as they all would've been sold with ashtray covers - the lowest-end MIJ Jazzes had little chrome units under the covers, the same as those fitted to Telecaster copies. This might be a cool restoration or project, if it stays cheap, but would require some modification to fit standard J pickups.

That's because for a long time, the Basses For Sale folder has been populated by a lot of high-end sellers who likely make their living this way, and for whom the subscription fee makes sense. Don't think I'm alone in thinking a separate folder for basses of £1000 & over might help to democratise the For Sale listings.

Just racking my brains over this - didn't a batch of NOS Hayman necks come up comparitively recently, like within the last 5 years or so? I remember the headstocks drilled for the (absent) clear insert badge. Might have to use the "search" function... Edit - just did a search and I might just be hallucinating, unless it's longer ago than I thought - search results didn't go much further back than 2014.

Giving myself a brisk slapping for not having noticed the F-holes & not registering having seen that bridge before - which I have. Best of luck if you have a punt!

It's an odd bitsa - the neck & tuners are from an old MIJ bass, I'm guessing a shortscale EB0 copy, likely Matsumoku trom the trc shape. The body, and I think, the bridge, are home-made and the pickups & surrounds are the same as those used on Italian-made Melody EB copies. The cracking to the finish is similar to damp damage but possibly the result of applying finish over very unseasoned wood - there's no evidence I can see on the neck. I had an old Watkins Rapier guitar with very similar finish issues - turned out that was common to many of them, the result of a thick, plasticky poly lacquer on top of untreated wood. Probably worth about £30 for some interesting parts that would stay in the spares box for ever...

I like that. Body could be a bit more sculpted perhaps, but looks like someone's made a serious attempt at a decent quality midrange headless.

Gorgeous - Precisions don't come much better-looking than that - or better made, considering the era.

Don't really know the values of properly old Ricks like this but £4K seems wildly OTT considering it's a borderline resto project. To add to the list, replacement pickup (looks like a modern hi-gain or a copy) screwed directly into the wood at the bottom of the route looks dodgy, considering how thin the bodies of these are, and the scratchplate's a new-looking replacement - should be plexi like the original trc. Fwiw I think the flat-key Grovers are legit - as far as I know these pre-date the more common wavy variety, and are a sight more rare. No idea where you'd get ferrules, though...

100% Matsumoku - the "Steel Adjustable Neck" plate was exclusive to that manufacturer. Diamond was an Aria (Shiro Arai Co) sub-brand, the pin-badge on @Did's guitar is widely found on late 60s/early 70s examples. Worth mentioning that like most Japanese brands from this era, Aria was never a manufacturer, only a brand, and although the vast majority were Matsumoku products, they weren't exclusive - examples made by Kasuga Gakki & Fujigen have turned up, although they're uncommon. To further complicate things it's not unusual that different factories would make different parts - a neck from one builder, body from another, hardware & electronics outsourced, and everything assembled in another workshop. There's reason to suspect that some MIJ guitars were even shipped as components to Korea, and assembled there, to dodge local tax regulations. It's a proper can of worms...

Ah - so my entire life is the aftermath of porn indulgence? Actually that explains a lot...

Wouldn't want JH to feel he had a wasted journey, so I do hope the sound guy & his dog will feel sufficiently charitable to appear duly appreciative.