Antoria PJ Maple Fretless For Sale or Trade

[Delberthot]

I've only just bought this but I've decided that I think that's me finished with fretless basses for the forseeable future.

This is an Antoria bass and is Fujigen Gakki made, which are the magic words apparently, in 1977. Bassassasin is your man if you want more information on these. This is my first foray into Japcrap which is a bit of a misnomer in this case as it is a very solid bass.

I've always wanted a maple fretless and this one's a cracker. Its had what looks like a Di Marzio J pickup added. It has the 4 wires, hex pole pieces and the pat applied for sticker on the underside. The J pickup has a higher output than the P so you may want to adjust the pickup height or change the P for another Di Marzio or something with a similar output.

I am puzzled what the body wood is, probably alder or similar but in the control cavity it looks like mahogany which I doubt, probably just years of use or some mystic force. The J pickup route has been done very well like it was done by someone who knows what they were doing, so clearly not me then

I've spent a few days replacing the electronics and giving it a good clean to remove 33 years of funky deposits - don't get me wrong, the bass is still funky and looks like a well played bass. I've also fitted brand new strings, I just need to adjust the intonation and action and it'll be ready to go.

Some of the laquer on the maple board has worn through and the bass is covered in what I'd call natural dings from years of use.







The porn thread can be viewed here:


[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=102079&st=0&gopid=952758&#entry952758"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry952758[/url]

It comes with a hard case made in England by the Freestyle Case Company if that means anything to you and all the catches, hinges and handle work

I didn't pay a lot for this in the grand sense of the word so I'm not going to rip anyone off on here, Ebay yes but here no so it could be all yours for £160 which will include shipping to mainland UK. I have plenty of cardboard to fire around the the case so I'm not going to be charging you to pack it.

I [u][b]may[/b][/u] be interested in trades but would prefer a straight sale

Edited September 15, 2010 by Delberthot

[Delberthot]

now for sale but may consider trades

Edited September 11, 2010 by Delberthot

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Ah, it's this bass again! I saw this on ebay, was very tempted...Unforunately no funds to buy it with, but if I sell my 5string before this goes then expect a PM from me!

Couple of things have come to mind...What's up with the finish? The burst doesn't cover the forearm contour, and it's not got a red part under where the pickguard was...Is this a refinish thing? Also, will a fender pickguard fit it? I'd definitely need to put a guard on it, cover up the finish a bit

Thanks
Jack.

Edited September 12, 2010 by SignsOfDelirium_bassist

[Delberthot]

I'm not sure about the finish - as you say there's no burst where the scratchplate would be but they probably didn't bother as they thought no one would see that part of the body anyway. There's no burst over the forearm contour probably to make it easier to paint or something.

Its definitely not a refinish.

The neck at the body end is about 3mm narrower than a Fender one so if you fit a scratchplate, there will be a small gap either side of it.

[Happy Jack]

I'll just point out that the neck has the same "fret end" markers as had my old Ibanez 2369B ( [url="http://tinypic.com/a/z8zs/3"]http://tinypic.com/a/z8zs/3[/url] ), which I found so useful that I had the same thing done to two other fretless necks (e.g. [url="http://tinypic.com/a/1iww5/3"]http://tinypic.com/a/1iww5/3[/url] ). I suspect that my Ibanez came from the same production line as this Antoria.

When you're playing a bass like this, you glance down at the neck and you see ... frets. Instant confidence boost, and you quickly forget that you're playing a (gulp) fretless.

As far as the audience is concerned, you're playing an unlined fretless, live on stage and without a safety net. Wow - he's good.

[Delberthot]

Ah, so you think they actually came from the factory like this?

I thought someone had painted them on

[Delberthot]

Here are another couple of pics





You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to photograph this bass properly. In the flesh it looks absolutely amazing but its really hard to capture the sunburst finish.

I forgot to add, I have currently fitted the original jazz pickup cover and covers on the precision pickup that hide the poles but can do any combination of originals on both, as they are in the pictures or black with exposed poles on both

[Happy Jack]

Nope - they're not painted. They're slivers of plastic, inset into the side of the fretboard.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='953402' date='Sep 12 2010, 10:57 AM']I'm not sure about the finish - as you say there's no burst where the scratchplate would be but they probably didn't bother as they thought no one would see that part of the body anyway.[/quote]

I should also mention that the same was true of my Ibanez.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='953412' date='Sep 12 2010, 11:09 AM']I'll just point out that the neck has the same "fret end" markers as had my old Ibanez 2369B ( [url="http://tinypic.com/a/z8zs/3"]http://tinypic.com/a/z8zs/3[/url] ), which I found so useful that I had the same thing done to two other fretless necks (e.g. [url="http://tinypic.com/a/1iww5/3"]http://tinypic.com/a/1iww5/3[/url] ). I suspect that my Ibanez came from the same production line as this Antoria.[/quote]
It is an Antoria 2367B - these were identical to the equivalent Ibanez basses, as they were from the same Fujigen Gakki (not Matsumoku) model range, even down to the catalogue numbers. The finish is original, this type of spray pattern appears on many sunburst finish instruments, regardless of era & country of manufacture. Body construction on this is mahogany sandwich, possibly butcher block, with birch front & back veneers. This construction accounts for the black oversprays on the contours, to conceal the lamination.

This is slightly later than your Ibby, Jack - by this point Fujigen neck construction had evolved somewhat, so there's no longer a truss cover & Gibson-type nut, there's heel-end adjustment & an authentic Fender style nut. The fretboard's still separate, but the neck's a single piece rather than the 3-piece quarter-sawn laminate on the older Fujigens.

I'm 99.9% certain the J-pup route is a modification but it looks like it's been well done.

Jon.

[Delberthot]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='953479' date='Sep 12 2010, 12:37 PM']It is an Antoria 2367B - these were identical to the equivalent Ibanez basses, as they were from the same [u][b]Fujigen Gakki[/b][/u] (not Matsumoku) model range, even down to the catalogue numbers. The finish is original, this type of spray pattern appears on many sunburst finish instruments, regardless of era & country of manufacture. Body construction on this is mahogany sandwich, possibly butcher block, with birch front & back veneers. This construction accounts for the black oversprays on the contours, to conceal the lamination.[/quote]


Always get those two mixed up - amended now

So I was right, it is mahogany! I didn't think it was but what you've said about the laminate top and back makes sense cos the figuring in the wood doesn't tie in with mahogany so that makes perfect sense.

After assembling the bass yesterday I fired on one of my favourite fretless songs - Boy in the Bubble by Paul Simon and it does a fantastic job of nailing that sound.

Edited September 12, 2010 by Delberthot

[Delberthot]

Page 2 already bumpola

[Delberthot]

It seems that most of us are skint at the minute so I'd posibly be interested in trades.

Haven't got a clue what for but you can always try me.

[Delberthot]

back to the top

[Delberthot]

I've now bought another bass so I'm accepting offers of a sensible nature

[Delberthot]

The bass owes me £150 so I've reduced the overall price to £160 which will include shipping to mainland UK.

This is the absolute lowest I can go so I would need payment to be made by bank transfer or cash on collection to avoid any charges.

If collecting, its yours for £150

[Delberthot]

from the top of page 1 to page 2 in 7 and a half hours. lots of activity going on today

I just thought I'd clarify something as I hadn't thought about it before - the neck is 4mm narrower at the heel than a standard Fender neck so it wouldn't be just a matter of swapping necks but then, why would you want to lose that wonderful maple growl?

Also means that its a tad slimmer for smaller or more nimble fingers