jonmohajer1 Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 (edited) Embarrassingly I really don't know much about this bass. I bought it used less than six months ago, and the dealer wasn't sure what company made this bass, but he said he was fairly certain that it was made in Japan in the 70s "most probably in the Matsumoku or Fujigen factory". I paid £350 for it a few months ago, which was a relatively low price (next to the certified "Greco" 70s Ric copy that I was assured was of equal quality he sold a week earlier) but the price was taking into account the odd scratch and need for a set-up on my bass. It's a lovely bass to play, although I only ended up using it for a couple of shows because the long-scale neck was just too much work compared to my little Aria CSB300 bass. I feel like a goon that I can't give a better detailed description. The tuners are not "Ric" style, but I have seen other 70s Japanese Ric copy basses with this same style. The guy I bought it from did say that he had a hunch that it was an Ibanez, and he is pretty knowledgeable about this era guitar (this his website, by the way: www.myspace.com/uitastudio). I'd like £300 for it, as I haven't used it much at all since I bought it, plus I cleaned it up a bit & put new strings on it. I never got around to getting it set-up professionally though, but it still sounds & plays great and the intonation is perfect. The G string sounds like it is a little too narrow for the saddle, it kind vibrates against the sides of it. I'm sure this could be sorted out easily (it's probably only because I use light guage (.40) strings). It really isn't that noticeable of a problem at all. Here are some pictures anyway: [attachment=12244:DSCN2277.JPG] [attachment=12245:DSCN2270.JPG] [attachment=12246:DSCN2278.JPG] [attachment=12247:DSCN2279.JPG] [attachment=12248:DSCN2281.JPG] [attachment=12249:DSCN2282.JPG] edit: Despite this bass having the two output jacks, only one is actually wired up. Edited August 21, 2008 by jonmohajer1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noirpunk Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I'd put my neck out and suggest that it may be a Fresher. I've got one of the bolt on models and the hardware looks similar, especially the one jack wiring. Probably one of the later set neck models. good luck with the sale anyway, it looks a corker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 (edited) Not a Matsumoku or Fujigen, and probably not a Fresher, because the brand is virtually unknown in the UK. The wiring is probably a modification (on both basses mentioned) - it's unlikely it would come out of the factory like that. And I'm sorry but it's absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Ibanez - apart from in the sense that pretty much anyone trying to sell an unbranded 70s Japanese copy will swear blind it's an Ibanez. It's not. It was probably born wearing a Shaftesbury logo, and was - [i]possibly[/i] - made at the Maya/Rokkomann factory in Kobe. Maya is the only brand with a known provenance that I've seen with this hardware configuration & neck-through construction - but there were almost certainly others the same that aren't identified yet - all the hardware is very generic (and accurate, apart from the tuners) & appears on various brands. The tuners are a style that turn up on all sorts of Japanese basses from the very early 70s to the mid 80s, and later even appear on some Korean instruments. These were even used on UK-made Shergolds! The scratchplate's not original (neither are the speed knobs!) the original would have been solid or translucent white - but this does look great in my opinion, in fact all in all it's a great looking bass, that's a stunning bit of birdseye in the neck. I'd guess that your G-string vibration is down to a couple of things - the saddle slots have been filed out to get the action low (being a through-neck, you can't do any shimming on these) and the back of the tailpiece - in very authentic Rickenbacker style - has lifted under years of string tension, meaning there's going to be very little break angle over the bridge. Probably the best all round fix would be a replacement bridge - a Hipshot might even allow the action to go lower. Overall, a very nice bass at a reasonable price - which unfortunately I can't afford! Any chance you'd do a straight swap for this? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23341"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23341[/url] Jon. Edited August 16, 2008 by Bassassin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonmohajer1 Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 Wow, thanks alot for the information, that's a great help! Your bass looks lovely, but I could really do with the cash seeing as I'm moving house in a just over a month. The £300 is by all means negotiable though, so send me a PM if you manage to get the asking price for your bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I might do that - although realistically I can do without buying any more basses - particularly Ricky copies, as I already have two! I think they're like Pokemon, though - gotta catch 'em all... J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 And lovely jeans, boxers and is that a white sock I see? Looks like you came in fast and dropped your kacks in a hurry..... Have a bump for a lovely bass. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonmohajer1 Posted August 17, 2008 Author Share Posted August 17, 2008 Haha. Those aren't my boxers, they're just the lining of the jeans pocket, honest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonmohajer1 Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Bump, I've put it on eBay now. Anyone want to take bets on how long it'll last before it gets removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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