Bassassin

I think that's a 1983 4003, (possibly a 4003SB) with a plethora of replaced & bodged parts. The additional bridge screws are consistent with this era of 4003. I know my Fakers pretty well, my Ricks a only little less well, and this is no Faker I've ever seen. 100% worth acquiring and restoring, imo. Edit: pic of heel-adjust headstock end in this TB thread.

Years & years ago an ex (who was presumably sick of listening to me hammering away at my bass) treated me to a cheap flatback octave mandola. Took a while to get my head around the tuned-in-fifths thing and I eventually got a convncing semblance of a tune or two out of it - but it turned out I don't have an Inner Folkie, really. Fun but limited for me - and it ended up in the loft, where at some point something heavy fell on it, breaking the neck. I did glue it up but never got around to re-stringing it, although I imagine it's still playable. Wherever it is now.

Doesn't even look remotely like timber - pretty sure that's MDF of some sort. Did Fender Japan use MDF?

Fair point - it's unclear when the very first Fakers appeared but the presence of the skunk stripe precludes '71 - I hadn't been clear about the Rick timeline before. Lots of (un)educated guesswork's involved in trying to date old MIJ stuff because there are no reliable records beyond a few catalogues & those instruments which have dateable components. It's a very cool bass but I'm not volunteering to drop £825 on it just so I can pop a pickup out to see the serial! @prowla - my dream Rick right there, you lucky barsteward, you!

RSB Standard: http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/catalogs/1984late/pg9.html Serial number will be dateable but I'd guess '82 - '84 because I don't think these were around later than that. Definitely MIJ and a Matsumoku build. Nice bass!

It's a lot for a copy but alarmingly this is only £100 or so over what these tend to be advertised for privately. The Ibanez factor is a big deal because of the "lawsuit" mythology and the misguided assumption they were somehow better than other 70s copy brands. Both pickups on this are single-coil Maxons - I had the same set on an Antoria EB copy & they sounded pretty decent togenther. Output can be variable though, I think the pair I had read around 6k, but I have one of the small 8-pole units on my bitsa Faker (The Frankenbugger!) and that one sticks out nearly 12k. Something worth knowing if you have a bass with these - they have accurate date codes stamped on the backs, which is useful as most MIJ copies don't have an s/n. Interesting (to some) detail about that Ibanez, seller says 1974 but I'd say earlier, '71 or '72 - if you look at the tailpiece, it has square holes - these were very early MIJ versions, and like the old gap-tooth Rick ones, were solid rather than hollow, so no tail-lift with these. Only ever seen them on very early Fujigen Fakers. Are either of you, erm, out? Well - I'll be around in a mo - hang on while I grab my crowbar...

Out of those I'd go for the Shafty - these are excellent basses & the only obvious deviation from the original appearance is the tuners, which are generic closed-back Gotohs, used on millions of 70s MIJ basses. Re Ibanez - these were Fujigen builds (very good quality) but typically not very accurate. Fujigen Fakers pre-date the availability of accurate pickups, so for some reason Gibson-style units were used, including a massive single-coil in a mudbucker case on the through-necks. The design did change around 1976 to use accurate Maxon-made Rick type pickups & hardware but most don't have these. You'll also pay a premium for the Ibanez brand, same thing with Greco (most of which were also Fujigen) but less obtainable due to being a Japan home market brand & never officially sold in the UK. Shaftesburys typically sell for a good bit less than many other neck-throughs and are much more common - the same bass also turns up branded as CMI, Cimar, Arbiter & several other names, and are very solidly built. The Matsumoku through-necks are beautiful, incredibly accurate and unfortunately the ones most prone to neck-lift issues, because of the unusually thin body, pickup route position & dual truss rod routing. I own one which has this problem & wouldn't recommend a purchase unless you can get a good hands-on look at it first. Unfortunately I didn't have that opportunity - mine came from California via the RickResource forum, after its owner discovered it had been masquerading (quite convincingly) as a 1974 4001 for several decades... There are stunning MIJ Fakers from various other brands/factories - Kasuga, Yamaki, Fernandes etc but all ridiculously rare and pretty unlikely to come up for sale under current circumstances.

Spoken like a true Rick fanboy! FWIW given unlimited cash I would love to own a '72-ish 4001 in age-darkened Fireglo, with checked binding, full-width crushed pearl inlays, explodey wavy Grovers & all the bells & whistles! However as it stands I'm happy with my 3 MIJ Fakers and a couple of more recent projects - one of which might well end up headless... Could argue all day about the merits of original Rick designs (and the many improvements that Japanese manufacturers made!) - but you'll agree there's nowt to be gained - however you made a point which did make me think. Both Ricks & certain Fakers can be prone to neck-lift, which as you say is largely a consequence of the pre-1975 neck pickup route position. The only Fakers I've seen which have this are the twin truss basses made by Matsumoku - never seen it on a through-neck single rod copy. Would seem apparent that the big route needed for twin rods weakens the structure at this point - never thought of that before!

What I said was Can't actually "demonstrate" - but the evidence is that 70s Ricks are prone to brittle finishes which can crack & flake as they deteriorate, neck problems due to the primitive design & function of the truss rods, delamination because of the type of adhesives used, warping at the neck/body junction (admittedly some Fakers do this too - it's a design fault), exploding Grover tuners, tail lift... MIJ Fakers were built using modern manufacturing techniques, materials & components like standard adjustable truss rods (usually just the one), poly finishes etc. If they display age-related issues it tends to be a consequence of the design rather than the build. Re Chickenbackers - I don't think anyone regards these as anything other than budget copies - some may be decent enough quality, but none of them are replica-standard - and I guarantee that in 30 years time, absolutely no-one will ever be surprised to discover their 2018 Rickenbacker is really a Chinese Faker!

Just catching up on this thread so sorry for the late reply. In the 70s, Rickenbacker - like all of the "big brands" - didn't take the issue of (mostly) Japanese copies seriously. This is how Fender lost what slim claim to trade dress ownership they had - and what led to the establishment of Fender Japan - and it's why Gibson finally clutched the last straw of threatening late legal action against Ibanez' brand owners. Rickenbacker was - and still is - a much more niche brand, and a far more minor player, and I think never construed Fakers as a threat back in the day. What's interesting, and relevant, is that the modern Rickenbacker International Corporation (RIC) was set up in the mid 80s by John Hall, when he took over the business - if I remember, prior to that Rickenbacker was two separate companies, one handling manufacture & the other distribution (I think that was a common US business model in the early 20th century) which were wound up when Hall took over. So, RIC is a fairly young company & didn't actually exist at the time of the original 70s Fakers - you'll find this interesting: Registered RIC Trademarks So - RIC didn't legally own the registered trademark to any of their designs & trade dress before 1999. Anyone who wanted to take on JH over the sale of a verifiable 1970s Faker - and had the will & cash to go the distance - would very probably be able to hand him his well-padded ar$e. As would Hoshino Gakki, owner of the Ibanez brand, or Kanda Shokai, owner of the Greco brand, as both could demonstrate that they were selling instruments with these designs - and bearing their own brand names - back in 1972, long before RIC existed. The same would be true of John Birch guitars, who sold a Rick-based design continuously from the early 70s up until about 2000 or so. The reality is that despite the stature of the name, RIC is actually a small, family-owned business (owned outright by JH and his Mrs) and don't really have the financial heft to do much more than send C&D letters, and let their CEO prowl around the Internet personally barking at people who infringe his IP. Can't help wondering how the US' current economic situation, alongside the reputation for shoddy quality and abysmal customer service RIC is getting, will play out for them. Not a fan of the man, or "real" Ricks, tbh, but would be a shame to see them go. Any reason why you wouldn't want a 70s MIJ copy? Some of these are near-indistinguishable from the real thing and certainly better-made than 70s-era Rickenbackers. Apropos of nothing I suspect RIC is well aware that licensed Chinese/Korean Ricks would kill off their US business - the rabid RIC fanbase would consider it a massive un-American sellout/betrayal, and everyone else would choose the cheaper & inevitably better made Licensed Faker over a real one! Talk about rocks & hard places...

Very impressive - particularly the vocal, which with Rush is arguably the hardest thing to emulate. Used to do this song with my covers duo (programmed drums/keys) years ago - it was one of the only Rush tracks I had the vocal range to sing, despite me sounding nowt like Ol' Bignose. Will be interesting to see how this chap gets on with the err, squeakier stuff!

Re Aria & APII - it's worth pointing out that while these brands were predominantly made by Matsumoku, they were not exclusive.There are 100% verified examples of Aria & Pro II copy-era guitars made by both Fujigen and Kasuga, so it's entirely reasonable to assume the same was true of basses. This is one of the reasons that trying to ID from details can be a minefield. To complicate things further, there's also evidence of collaborative manufacture - bodies from one workshop, necks from another. It's also starting to be understood that some manufacturers exported finished components to Korea for assembly, as a sort of export duty avoidance loophole. Trying to get a handle on 70s MIJ production is a nightmare!

Just about - the lawsuit that never happened didn't happen in June '77!

You'd hope so. There are separate fees/documentation for export & import, so anyone sourcing from Japan needs to be confident that the seller will sort out their end.

The s/n is almost certainly April 1977 - it looks like the same format used by Fujigen (letter is the month, first two digits the year, remainder the production number) and this is one of several different formats Matsumoku used. I'd say it's quite unusual for a Matsumoku to sold unbranded, certainly a late 70s example, so I wouldn't be surprised if at some point it's had a brand name removed. Anyone's guess what that might have been though, and tbh it's not important - like all the Japanese factories, Matsumoku sold to numerous importers who would all use their own brands. Hope you can get some pics, would like to see this one.

Be very, very careful with anything involving rosewood or any other species covered by CITES. The paperwork is expensive & complicated and unless done fully & correctly, the instrument will be confiscated and destroyed. And you won't get a refund.

I quite like a chunky & over-engineered bridge. My personal favourite is the Schaller 3D - I think they look great and you can make very precise string spacing adjustments. Do they sound any better? Do they 'eck as like. I'm sure I remember back in the mists of time, someone posted an A/B comparison between a standard bridge & a Badass II on the same bass, same strings & setup - and the BAII was noticeably flatter & duller sounding.

Yep - Musima, those were. They made some of the 80s Marlins too. Same type of truss adjuster appears on a fair few low-end Korean & earlyJapanese instruments, along with other eminently sensible but uncommon features such as zero-frets.

It was actually this thread which motivated me to post this: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/327234-nbd-1976-greco-precision-bass/ @umcoo picked up a '76 Greco P from Japan for about £200 inc import duties etc - a minor project but a ridiculous bargain. The thread turned into a love-in for quality MIJ P copies. I wouldn't swap my 1980-ish Daion P, or my CSL Jazz for anything with a "proper" badge on the headstock.

Hey Brian - haven't got a spare, but as far as I know the current Epiphone type should be a drop-in fit, Chinese sellers on Ebay do them for about £20 or so. Of course if you're feeling flush (& if you reckon the Columbus deseves it!) there are nice Babicz & Hipshot upgrades knocking about. Had the bending problem myself on a Westbury Track 2 - looked like years of string tension got the better of it!

I sent him a link to pics of an identical Columbus - he also messaged me back saying he'll re-list it. Because Grecos were anything but low - end. From the mid 70s onward they were replica-standard, and the instruments that convinced Fender to set up Fender Japan - in partnership with Greco's brand owner. It's widely held that the last-run Greco Fender copies from 1982 were sold badged as Fender & Squier JVs - which are nudging at 4 figures these days. A good late 70s/80s Greco could easily be a £400 - £500 bass these days.

I see you know not of what you speak.

We're all pretty familiar with cheapo Fender copies turning up with wrinkly, badly positioned and frequently incorrect Fender logos slapped on the headstock - this is a new one on me: a low/midrange 70s MIJ Jazz (almost certainly originally a Columbus) that's had its logo blatantly sanded off and a Greco decal slapped over the top. I didn't even know fake Greco logos existed! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Made-In-japan-70s-Jazz-Greco-Electric-bass-needs-attention-Project-Relic-MIJ/323345538867 Don't be fooled - this is entirely different to any Greco Jazz copy, if you know these instruments, not a product of either of the factories (Fujigen & Matsumoku) who built Grecos in the 70s. This bass is identical to the Columbus J copies that still turn up regularly and that many of us will have had experience of - OK but not great - and not the quality, or value of genuine Greco equivalents. Will fire the seller a message to point out what it's not - but I daresay they're quite aware already.

Plss, p!ss, p|ss. Piece of fosters.

Not sure. Probably around £375 or so. Never seen another one the same & that makes me a little bit uncertain!