Bassassin

Update on my finish issue - as @Woodinblack suggested, they asked for pics, which I've submitted. Very hopeful they'll offer a swap for an unaffected one rather than a discount, as I think this is a result of applying paint & lacquer to unseasoned or damp timber, and I think it could well get worse over time: Really hope they don't try & fob me off over this.

Now you're talking! OK - it's not a through-neck. But I'm willing to make exceptions. BTW @mangotango and @Donnyboy -

I was about to tell you that you'd just got Bargain Of The Decade there, but just a close second, by the looks! Have to say I'm really pleased it's gone to someone who wants to own/use it rather than a grubby gyppo who'd just flip it for a 50% markup. Like me. Think I paid about £120 for an SQ on Ebay, about 10 years ago - it arrived damaged (scratchplate bashed in) and needed a lot of cleaning, buffing out scratches & gouges and fettling to get it right. I'd still say that was the best P I ever owned, and had a simply gorgeous burst finish over beautiful book-matched timber. I sold that because basically that was a big part of how I was making a living back then, buying & selling old MIJ basses & guitars. Always regretted it a bit. Speaking (loosely) of car boot bargains, around the same time I picked up a mid-80s E-serial Squier Strat at my local boot, for £75. As with the SQ, it needed a lot of TLC to make it nice. I had every intemtion of flipping that one, too, but made the mistake of recording with it - it's the most gloriously Stratty-sounding Strat I've come across. I've tried to sell it a few times since - but can't bring myself to do it! As I type this, it's hanging on the wall next to me, probably feeling smug.

Bugger - already boxed it up! I'd consider accepting a discount, depending how much they'd knock off, it's not terrible, just not new-bass perfect. I do have slight concern it might get worse though, if it's a result of unseasoned wood. Perhaps I've been spoiled by recently buying the world's cheapest brand-new thinline Tele copy and it being utterly flawless. The V7 was three times the price!

Thomann. It's not scratched - I think it's probably a flaw in the finishing process. Could imagine it's the result of the coloured (metallic red) coat being applied over not properly seasoned wood. There are no cracks in the top clearcoat, but very obvious ridges/ripples from the imperfections underneath. Anyway, I want to do an exchange if possible, rather than just return for a refund & buy another. If this is a dodgy batch I don't want to risk another with the same issue so would hope they'll check it first. However - emailed them this afternoon & got a very prompt response saying my mail had been forwarded to Customer Services. Who haven't contacted me yet.

Well - it popped through the letterbox this morning. And it's going straight back. The body's covered with marks that look like cracks in the coloured paint underneath the lacquer - looks quite similar to a finish cracked by exposure to damp, only beneath the clear coat. This would be fine on a discounted b-stock bass but I'm a bit disappointed to find it on a full-price bass. It's really obvious & you'd think anyone giving it a cursory glance would notice. Thomann apparently give each instrument a check-over & setup before despatch. Made the mistake of tuning it up & giving it a quick (unplugged) play & it's otherwise lovely. Just my luck if I get a replacement with a perfect finish & a neck like a corkscrew!

Got to say, having looked at the big pics - that looks very tidy for its age. Don't think I've seen a cleaner one.

Never seen a de-fretted neck where the lines weren't pretty obvious. Also can't imagine a top-end de-fret would be a great deal less expensive than a decent replacement.

@Low End Bee's right, it's an ET-280. These were made by Matsumoku in the early/mid 70s, & the same basses turn up with a 4-a-side headstock, branded as Aria. Reasonably good-quality & fairly collectable, serial numbers appear to be random - and Guitar Dater inevitably gets vintage MIJ stuff wrong, anyway! http://matsumoku.org/models/epiphone/catalogs/1974/pg5.html

If you're after an unlined neck, you might be better looking for an aftermarket Fender-licensed replacement. De-fretting a neck will result in a lined board, no matter how good a job it is.

The knobs themselves appear to have been pulled off a 1980s hi-fi. Not sure what's meant to be wrong with the neck bolts, apart from the overkill - I assume they're allen-head machine screws attaching to threaded inserts in the neck. I think Allprats or somewhere like that sell these for modifying standard Fender type screw/plate fittings. I'd guess the odd bolt layout is because he originally intended to shave down & shape that very square/sharp-cornered back of the pocket, but then couldn't be ar$ed.

I could live with the inlays & the spalted top on the J/J. Wouldn't want that hardware or pickup placement, though.

@Tvrtastic - great work & much, much better. Still think you sould go Full Tele though!

Amazingly I've never seen these before, considering how long I've been trawling Ebay. Can only assume the placement of the decimal point might be influencing my search results! I'ved always wondered why I'd never seen any J-based neck-throughs, considering several Japanese manufacturers made P-derived versions in the late 70s & early 80s. If these were MIJ and about £4500 cheaper, I'd be all over them!

Since this discussion has moved on - my Abba tribute band is called AbbaRation. We combine the genius of Sweden's two foremost musical exports, by performing the songs of Abba in the style of late 90s Opeth. This is (almost) true - I've spent many an hour enthusiastically discussing this idea with a like-minded drummer friend. It will happen, one day...

1 - The fact that unlike most other knocked-it-up-in-the-shed home-made basses, the body looks like it's been designed, rather than just chewed up and gobbed out. 2 - The headstock is utterly incongrous and not a single element of its design has any had consideration for actual functionality. Which is properly hilarious.

Looks the part from what I know. It's a strange reflection on something-or-other that the only thing that arouses suspicion, is the fact you'd expect it to be closer to twice that price. And I imagine in a few weeks it'll be back - at twice that price.

Actually the opposite - this is a first-gen Hohner B2A from 1985 & that's the hardware the early ones had. It originally had the "Licensed By Steinberger" script paint-stamped on the top plate. I think the versions with the lettering cast into the metal were a couple of years later. I also have a Cort headless with the same bridge as this.

They did up their game in the early 80s, sexy Cort-built through-neck basses & guitars, pretty close to good MIJ level. Bit late by then, though.

So - all bass guitars are therefore Tutmarc Audiovox copies, and there's nothing else. Not only the first fretted electric bass, but also had a neck-through construction. Q, E, and a smugly pedantic D.

Been & gawn & done it, ain't I? Trigger pulled. Quite excited now...

See my previous post, and also:

Are you trying to suggest this isn't a naturally occurring tonal variation? I could be pedantic and point out that black & white are not in fact colours, they are the absence of colour - but y'know - that's just not my style at all.

Careful...