Bassassin

Doesn't look like it is, though - a lot of these marks look like the bass has been abused and battered - the cracking around the control area looks like it's the result of an impact, as do the big fractures on the back near the bases of top & bottom horns. Pretty confident there's wood damage there. In the unlikely event it's not been kicked half to death the only thing I can think of that would result in this sort of cracking would be use of inadequately seasoned wood, which over the years has expanded or contracted under what looks like very thick poly lacquer. Either way, it's enormously overpriced.

Digital game sales massively outstrip physical copies these days - in fact Microsoft has recently launched a digital-only version of its current XBox & it's expected that other manufacturers will follow suit with the next console generation. The industry in general is very much in favour of moving towards digital-only, for various reasons, not least of which is the elimination of the secondhand market & retail discounts, which clearly only apply to physical product. The music business unfortunately remained stuck in the 20th century while the world moved on & has failed to capitalise on any of the potentials the digital market might have offered.

If my experience of "rock" was limited to the sort of slobbering, 4-chord badboy-wannabe, smackhead-chic moronic cliche garbage that seems to have typified Mr Gillespie's contribution to the genre, then I think I'd be inclined to agree with him wholeheartedly. It's probably not unreasonable to assume that this is what informs his opinion in the first place. I'm no expert (and neither am I a hater) but rap, grime & drill are all sub-genres of hip hop, which is a musical genre whose origins can be traced back to the early 70s. As somebody currently quietly despairing at the ravages of time and encroaching decrepitude, I take a little personal comfort & reassurance knowing that the pioneers of what's apparently the cutting edge of contemporary musical culture (according to Bobby G) must all have their bus passes by now...

These tuners were really common on Japanese basses from the 70s and early 80s, sets & individuals turn up on Ebay from time to time, I've even seen a couple of OEM sets in their original Gotoh packaging. They did come with two different sized backplates - the ones on your Epi are the smaller type. Some Korean basses had identical-looking tuners but these have chromed plastic buttons instead of the cast metal originals - these break quite easily so it's worth making sure what you're getting! If you don't need them to be the original style but just fit the original holes, these look like they might do - but measure up first: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-a-side-Vintage-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Tuners-No15/132288733875

Yep, always fancied a Rail. And a Quantum - should've picked them up a few years back when you'd get change from £200 for both...

Would appear that answers the question posed by the OP. He's still The Boss. And he's coming.

If it's bridge/tuner parts you're looking for, I think these are an exact copy of the Steinberger licensed units used by Hohner. Little bit cheaper too. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-4-String-Electric-Bass-Tailpiece-Bridge-System-for-Headless-Bass-Accs/282265918865

These are cool, always had a bit of GAS for one. Very uncommon though. But - how much??? That's twice what I expected it to be!

Hard to say for several reasons - Greco is a Japanese domestic brand and has never been officially exported anywhere. Also Greco Fakers were around for a very long time, so there will be a lot of model variations - they first appeared in Greco catalogues in around 1972 and were still available as late as 1997. This means that there will be plenty of used examples in Japan, where I don't think RIC are as proactive with copies as elsewhere. However this means that prices are going to be subject to big shipping costs, import duties and CITES. That said, dunno why it would have to be a Greco, as Greco, like most Japanese brands, has never been a manufacturer. Early Greco catalogues show both Fujigen & Matsumoku Fakers (they sourced from both factories) and subsequently they moved exclusively to Fujigen, and for various reasons I'm inclined to think that's where all subsequent ones came from. So, since Mat & Fgn built Fakers with lots of different names, maybe get one of those instead, as it's the same thing.

Nothing special - the oil was applied direct from the can to the bare, sanded wood (mahogany) using a microfibre cloth. I took my time - 10+ coats, one per day, then sanding the second-last coat before applying a very light final layer. Apart from using a cloth for application, pretty much the same technique I'd use for varnishing timber around the house. It didn't need any subsequent treatment - the gloss is maybe a consequence of using so many coats, the reason I did that was to let the finish build up in the very coarse grain of the wood.

No experience of Tru-oil but this is Danish oil (more coats than I can remember) on my Ibby SR500: Very happy it turned out a lot glossier than I expected. Me like shiny thing.

@NikNik - in fairness to Prowla, he does own several MIJ and MIK Fakers as well as his Ricks so his opinion is pretty objective. Despite him being a proper Rickenbacker fanboy!

Never mind the lack of markings - that looks 100% like a Matsumoku 3-point to me. Original on my Mat-built Westbury:

Genuinely curious about this. I do come from the perspective of not being a Rick owner & not being able to A/B a 4001/4003 with a 4004 - but do they sound broadly the same then? I've spent enough time around Rick players & fans to know that the alchemy claimed as the constituents of the classic Rick tones is a combination of the various idiosyncracies of the instrument - the single-coil hi-gains, the way they're mounted, the .0047 capacitor, even the much debated & much maligned hollow tailpiece. The 4004 has humbuckers directy mounted to the timber and a high-mass Schaller bridge - I don't know if it has the bass cut cap but I'd assume it doesn't. You'd think it would have a lot of inherent tonal difference purely based on the nuts & bolts of its components & build. Strange story about the 4002 @NikNik, I never saw these on Ebay! Wonder if there will be a 4002 reissue after all, if JH's really gone...

I love the look & willingness to modernise of the 4004 - but that stuck in the 60s pickup positioning makes no sense to me. 4004 with 4002 pickup positioning? Or why not a 4002 reissue? Wonder why that's never happened.

If I didn't already have a (seemingly permanently delayed) SB B&G project, I'd be very interested - looks like everything's there, and it just needs a bit of sanding and a few coats of Danish oil to finish it. Think I'd move the output back to the proper position though Not sure if the pickup's original (in which case it may have failed, as mine has) or if it's a Rautia replica - these are £100+ on their own.

Actuall the more I cogitate on the Harley/Rickenbacker parallels, the more persuaded I am. In fact I think they should emulate HD and give all their basses names that sound like gay porn stars - V Rod Muscle, Fat Boy, Softail Slim, Bad Boy, Street Rod, Street Bob - and his good buddy Fat Bob...

Well, of course you can, now. When Uncle Leo was conceptualising cheap mass-production basses & guitars, there wasn't a range of necks. Just the one. With his choice of radius.

That's what Harley riders tell themselves anyway. Repeatedly, I'd imagine. Riders of other motorcycles may take a different view.

Over the decades Glastonbury has gradually transitioned from awful hippy dismalness to trendy hipster dismalness. Aside from the fact I despise festivals, I've never been remotely tempted either by the lineups or the event itself. Although I understand French brutalists Gojira are on this year - possibly the only band I'd actually bother watching since Tool played it in '94.

This, in theory, is of course true. However it's interesting how uncommon it actually is to see such bespoke bridges. And, thinking about it, curious that Leo Fender (whose entire ethos was about simple mass-production of electric guitars) specified fully adjustable bridges on the majority of his designs. You'd think a radius-matched tune-o-matic type would have been perfectly practical & more economical.

It might quell the author's conscience a little to remember that purchasing a vintage 4001 such as this is a Hall-guilt free undertaking. Back when checkerboard 4001s (with crushed pearl FWIs & gap tooth bridge, of course!) were being made, little Johnny Hall would've still been in the back yard with his GI Joes, & half a gallon of gas siphoned out of Papa F.C's Studebaker, playing My Lai.

Depending on the component & how much physical contact it has, you can get decent results from rattlecan paint: This got cleaned up to remove the corrosion & the pitting from the plating, surface roughened to key it, coat of grey metal primer then satin black: Did this 8 or 9 years ago, still looks as good now - although if I played with a pick & rested my hand on it, I don't think it would be too durable.

Got a Hipshot on my Kasuga Faker - does everything right that the Rick unit does wrong. Intonation, individual string height, string spacing, no rattly mutes (ironically meaning you can palm-mute while using a pick) - and as a bonus it doesn't bend! Only downside - mine is the brass version and it weighs six metric tonnes. If I was buying another I'd go for an ally one.