Bassassin Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 23 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: Oh I did say some, but my beautifully finished 'made in Japan' (genuine) Fender Performer probably came out of the Tokai factory in 1987 along with many other 'real' Fenders... Nope - it was made by Fujigen Gakki - as were all MIJ - labelled Fenders & Squiers. Interestingly the (much) later CIJs were made by Dyna Gakki & Tokai. You'll have to content yourself with it being made by the same factory that made Ibanez & most Grecos. Greco being the brand that made Fender go "Oh sh!t, the Japanese do this better than us!" 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I tried out an Epiphone Les Paul SL today - a bit disappointing, sounded good (vicious tone control cut volume by about 4/5ths!) but felt crude. Surprising sound for such tiny pickups - they look like the one on my Rocket mandolin! I reckon you could set it up nicely though. For £89(!) you get a much better guitar than what went for an equivalent price or more in the 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 8 hours ago, NikNik said: Ahh..... Jimmy Grant's shop in Tollcross. He did have some good kit there. Indeed, I bought my first expensive bass from that shop, an Odyssey B100WS, just like the attached. Bought it on tick - £600!! I flogged it in '86 when the mortgage rate started to rocket and if anyone knows of its whereabouts, I'd love to buy it back. I spotted it, briefly, in 1999, and it had seen a bit of abuse but I began to hanker after it. So, bass sleuths, get your gumshoes on...... Calling @FlatEric - Eric has two Odysseys, no idea if one of 'em's your old one but I bet he wouldn't sell it! Been trying for years to persuade him to part with one... Back (almost) on topic - did anyone else know there was a Japanese copy of the Odyssey, made by Moridaira? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 1 hour ago, Bassassin said: Calling @FlatEric - Eric has two Odysseys, no idea if one of 'em's your old one but I bet he wouldn't sell it! Been trying for years to persuade him to part with one... Back (almost) on topic - did anyone else know there was a Japanese copy of the Odyssey, made by Moridaira? Thx, Jon. Not looking to hassle anyone, anyway. A copy? Never knew of an Odyssey copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 2 hours ago, NikNik said: Thx, Jon. Not looking to hassle anyone, anyway. A copy? Never knew of an Odyssey copy. A bit of an Oddity then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: I tried out an Epiphone Les Paul SL today - a bit disappointing, sounded good (vicious tone control cut volume by about 4/5ths!) but felt crude. Surprising sound for such tiny pickups - they look like the one on my Rocket mandolin! I reckon you could set it up nicely though. For £89(!) you get a much better guitar than what went for an equivalent price or more in the 70s. Couldn't agree more - I recently came down with midlife crisis GAS for a Tele. Always had a soft spot for thinlines, and found a pretty-looking example by J&D, for £115: Lovely little thing, immaculately put together, plays near-perfectly out of the box, sounds the part, solid hardware. Sure it could be improved with better pickups & electronics, maybe a 6-saddle or compensated bridge - but you'd probably end up spending nearly what it already cost for pretty negligible improvements. Quite incredible that an instrument of this quality can be so inexpensive - in 1978, when I bought my awful Grant, according to the Inflation Calculator site, £115 would be equivalent to £28.67. And my £59 Grant, in today's money, is £236. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 15 hours ago, Bassassin said: THIS IS THE SAME AS MY OTHER ONE!! : ) The copy has to be the ultimate tribute to Atilla Balogh - I have never seen this before - amazing that they took inspiration from a low volume maker, based on Granville Island, Vancouver and built their take on it. Would really love to see one. . . anyone out there?? : ) Cheers. : ) Calling @FlatEric - Eric has two Odysseys, no idea if one of 'em's your old one but I bet he wouldn't sell it! Been trying for years to persuade him to part with one... Back (almost) on topic - did anyone else know there was a Japanese copy of the Odyssey, made by Moridaira? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 16 hours ago, Bassassin said: Back (almost) on topic - did anyone else know there was a Japanese copy of the Odyssey, made by Moridaira? From the same factory that made the Greco GOB Basses? Seems to share quite a few styling features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 5 hours ago, BigRedX said: From the same factory that made the Greco GOB Basses? Seems to share quite a few styling features. Actually no - the GOBs would have been Fujigen, same factory that did Ibanez & later, MIJ Fenders. The GOBs always struck me as being a variation on the Ibanez Musician design. Crossover between 70s & 80s Greco & Ibanez models & designs was quite common, as they shared the same manufacturer. 5 hours ago, FlatEric said: THIS IS THE SAME AS MY OTHER ONE!! : ) The copy has to be the ultimate tribute to Atilla Balogh - I have never seen this before - amazing that they took inspiration from a low volume maker, based on Granville Island, Vancouver and built their take on it. Would really love to see one. . . anyone out there?? : ) Cheers. : ) Fight you for it! I've only ever seen these pics, which turned up on a FB group devoted to Moridaira instruments. There are also pics of a guitar version - both of them sold under Moridaira's high-end HS Anderson sub-brand: The bass has a model number - HS-OSBii - on its 24th fret inlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 So, pardon my ignorance, and double pardon me for hijacking the thread slightly, but what is an Odyssey and whom is Atilla Balough? And what is that Japanese copy? They might well be the coolest things I have ever seen.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Atilla Balogh was a Canadian luthier & part of Odyssey Guitars. His basses & guitars were made in the late 70s/early 80s, in fairly small quantities, but had international distribution. http://jedistar.com/odyssey/ The fact that Grant's in Edinburgh sold them (which I didn't know) helps explain how a tatty example of an Odyssey guitar turned up on Edinburgh Gumtree a few years ago, for £25. The seller thought it was "some cheap Japanese thing". I missed it. The MIJ Odyssey copy was made by Moridaira Gakki, a manufacturer whose house-brand was the fairly well known Morris brand, but who also built 70s/early 80s Hohners, Lotus (in the US) and HS Anderson, amongst others. They're best known for making Prince's Hohner-branded MadCat Telecaster copy. I suspect the Odyssey copies are rarer than the real things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikNik Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 On 06/03/2019 at 17:17, Bassassin said: Calling @FlatEric - Eric has two Odysseys, no idea if one of 'em's your old one but I bet he wouldn't sell it! Been trying for years to persuade him to part with one... It may be enough, for now, to see if @FlatEric has a BW1000S and I can either spot that it's mine or mollycoddle myself into thinking it is and be content with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I used to work for Jimmy in the mid 80s and he imported a lot of stuff directly from the manufacturers, both high end - Oddysey, Alembic, Martin, Gurian - and lower end like the Grant branded guitars. Before then, back in the mid 70's I recall a guitar review in International Musician magazine of a Grant Telecaster copy which the reviewer (a noted London based luthier, Stephen Delft) proclaimed that it was in every respect as good as the equivalent Fender offering. They flew out the door after that. So not all Grants were pants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 On 05/03/2019 at 14:36, Stub Mandrel said: Also see https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kay-K2-T-Vintage-Guitar/264225371338?hash=item3d850f34ca:g:58sAAOSwAEFcWWCi:rk:10:pf:0 " I have seen that these guitars sell for £250-£300. No silly offers please " I have seen Kays going for silly money, with people saying 'rare kay guitar' - yes, the reason they are rare is that most people burned them as soon as they got a proper guitar! Over a tenner for sentimental value to hang on the wall is daft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.png.2aeeb9e9e90642a325b65837d1710302.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.