Annoying Twit Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I've no idea how much this worth, or whether it's a collector's item as the seller seems to think. But, I post it here on the off-chance that it's a good buy. It's certainly not something you see on ebay every day. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Uber-Rare-Pro-Martin-Through-neck-Bass-Made-in-Japan-70s-80s-/331160139431?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4d1aaeb6a7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Rebranded Kasuga Scorpion, like the one here: http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/kasuga/198x/p4.html Quite a few Kasugas appeared with this "Pro Martin" brand. I seriously doubt it's officially connected to Martin Guitars, but what's interesting is that Martin contracted Kasuga Gakki to build their Sigma range from the early 70s onward - in fact I think the first examples carried the Martin branding. I suspect "Pro Martin" was a sort of sneaky re-badged sideline, in the same way Korean manufacturer Young Chang sold Fenix-branded Fender copies which were identical to the Squiers they were building under contract. Anyway I think it's probably a pretty good buy at that price, it will be exceptionally good quality, and I doubt there are many others in the UK with that, or any other brand name. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 I much prefer the darker finishes on the Kasugas on your document. All of them look pretty nice to me, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1395613952' post='2404465'] I much prefer the darker finishes on the Kasugas on your document. All of them look pretty nice to me, though. [/quote] That being the case, maybe you'll prefer this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251499401197"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251499401197[/url] Pro Martin brand again, starting at £150 and that's an absolute stunner. I strongly suspect that's a DiMarzio Model P in there as well. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 Very, very, nice. But I have no budget for instruments right now, and a fretless is a higher priority than a fretted 4 right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 I'm in the same position as you, financially - I'd love to buy this just to sit and gawp at it! According to that old Kasuga catalogue I linked to, there is a (lined) fretless version. If the recent appearance of these two very uncommon basses within a few weeks has established a pattern, we can probably expect the fretless to be along sometime in the first week of May. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I know you probably won't like this but... if I had the money I'd buy this and chuck in the Alembic pickups that are for sale on this very forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Will it actually sound any different from a Precision? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 (edited) The listing says that both of the knobs appear to be tone knobs. That makes it a little bit different, but makes me wonder if the electrics are original. It looks a whole lot better (IMHO) than the vast majority of generic precision basses. Edited April 9, 2014 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Probably sounds quite a lot like a P - one of the reasons I'm not (very) interested... The phase switch & odd wiring should help make it more versatile though. If it is original wiring (which I doubt), a translation of the text accompanying the identical Kasuga SCB-1200 in the catalogue would prove enlightening. Mr Twit? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1397063748' post='2420313'] Probably sounds quite a lot like a P - one of the reasons I'm not (very) interested... The phase switch & odd wiring should help make it more versatile though. If it is original wiring (which I doubt), a translation of the text accompanying the identical Kasuga SCB-1200 in the catalogue would prove enlightening. Mr Twit? J. [/quote] The advert says that it has three controls, seemingly all labelled in English but in the Katakana alphabet. One is a volume, and one is a tone. The other is labelled something like 'paraphase' (it reads more like 'paraphrase', but that doesn't make much sense in the context of a bass guitar). So, I presume that's a series/parallel switch as that does make sense. Not two tone controls at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thanks for that, no surprise it's a modification. Wonder what it sounds like with that strange wiring? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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