Chris Dow Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Hi Going through some old slides recently and found this pic of myself many years ago (1970's roughly). Can anyone identify this bass, It's not a Gibson EB-O as I could not have afforded a Gibson at the time. I am convinced it was a Yamaha copy of an EB-O but cannot find any record of a Yamaha bass matching this. I doubt if it was an Epiphone and I can't match that pickguard shape near the volume knob anywhere on the internet. Did Yamaha make copies of Gibson basses? Any information much appreciated. Cheers and Thanks I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 (edited) The scratch plate suggests 70's Jedson to me. The machine heads and Pickup cover also look Jedson-esque. That'd be my guess! I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come along and confirm what it is. Edited August 11, 2020 by binky_bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Dow Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 Cheers for that, I'm nearly a 100% sure it's not a Jedson, pity the head stock wasn't in pic. Just annoying me in my twilight years. Thanks for input though, most welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Avon Sg? Antoria SG? Ibanez SG? Not a mega clear photo - if it’s Japanese/Korean in origin, @Bassassin will be able to ID it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Avon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Antoria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Ibanez (pretty much the same as Antoria) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Chris Dow said: ...Can anyone identify this bass... Ask Peter Hook, his first bass, with Joy Division, was this Gibson EB-0 replica (£35...). Recently sold for £11,000, I think. Any joy..? Edited August 11, 2020 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Topic merged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 @Dad3353 think that was an Eko? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 My first bass was an Avon SG and it was uniquely awful. And it cost about £35 at the time. Did the trick though, I suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 I have played similar bolt-on Aria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 As was the trend at the time, when I got my first "proper" bass, I decided to turn the Avon into a fretless. I was astonished to find that the black fingerboard was in fact a maple one dyed and the actual neck was made of many thin laminates- very much like the neck on a Kubicki Ex-Factor if you've ever seen one of those. Very strange. I also can't remember where it went or what happened to it. This age thing is very annoying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Dow Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 Thanks Douglas and all for that, I still think it was a Yamaha copy or an Ibanez could be possible. The pickguard is identical to the Peter Hook bass in pic. Just bugging me in my latter years, I remember all my basses and always thought that one was a Yamaha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 7 minutes ago, Chris Dow said: Thanks Douglas and all for that, I still think it was a Yamaha copy or an Ibanez could be possible. The pickguard is identical to the Peter Hook bass in pic. Just bugging me in my latter years, I remember all my basses and always thought that one was a Yamaha. Yamaha SB-35 is the only remotely SG shaped bass Yamaha have done...doesn’t seem to fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atsampson Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 This one and this one both have lots of matching details, including the zero fret. Those are both Zentas which is another importer brand like Jedson... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 5 minutes ago, atsampson said: This one and this one both have lots of matching details, including the zero fret. Those are both Zentas which is another importer brand like Jedson... They look like the perfect crossover of the eko and the Ibanez/Antoria. Looks like a winner. Zenta basses often turn up with various brands...was “yamano” one of them, rather than Yamaha....I’m off to google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Hmm. Yamano seems to be a shop/distributor in Japan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 (edited) Yamato...doesn’t seem exactly like the picture. Will keep looking. Edited August 11, 2020 by AndyTravis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Well...google Yamato and lots of Zenta looking things (mainly guitars) and there are lots of hallmarks and features which match up. Lots of crossover and distributor branded instruments made by the same factory. So...not a Yamaha, maybe a lesser spotted Yamato/Zenta crossover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 All these brand names are only names & nothing to do with who made it. Might not even have had a headstock brand, many budget instruments from the 70s didn't. However it's 99.9% MIJ (fractional possibility it's Korean or Taiwanese but I doubt, it and it's absolutely not an Eko!) and does look closest to Hooky's old EB copy & the 2 Zenta-branded basses - main clues are the shape of the scratchplate & trc. The same designs did appear on basses branded Jedson, possibly made by Sakai Mokko or Teisco Gakki, (which is a different Teisco to the one most people have heard of) but otherwise they're very different: The scratchplate & trc might put Sakai/Teisco Gakki in the frame but isn't enough for a positive ID. I don't have any pics of an identical bass (and the guitar versions are more common) but I'll have a dig around & see what I can find out. The Zenta name doesn't offer much of a clue, the brand was a John Hornby Skewes budget range & the Zenta literature I have shows 2 EB style basses, both identical to Korean-made Hondos & lacking the distinctive details of this bass. The business model back then was often to source the best deal on any generic instrument, so suppliers & instruments would change depending on what was available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Dow Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Thanks Douglas and all for that, I still think it was a Yamaha copy or an Ibanez could be possible. The pickguard is identical to the Peter Hook bass in pic. Just bugging me in my latter years, I remember all my basses and always thought that one was a Yamaha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Dow Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Going to search some old photos and see if any other pics turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, AndyTravis said: Yamaha SB-35 is the only remotely SG shaped bass Yamaha have done...doesn’t seem to fit? That was mine. Serious seller's remorse. Edited August 12, 2020 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Dow Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Cheers You are not alone Iv'e had many sellers remorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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