Vintage MIJ (formerly J@pCr@p) Spotting

[Bassassin]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='598417' date='Sep 14 2009, 05:11 PM']Have we seen this before?

[url="http://"http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westbury-Track-2-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Japan-Matsumoku_W0QQitemZ250497369466"]Westbury Track 2[/url][/quote]
He's had that up a couple of times with no joy. Looks like a bargain compared with this one:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westbury-Track-2-Bass-70s-Vint-BLACK-w-original-case_W0QQitemZ320423943523"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westbury-Track-2-Bas...emZ320423943523[/url]

However this one was £61 delivered:

[attachment=32846:track2full.jpg]

They're good but I'm not convinced they're £400 good!

J.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='nick' post='590769' date='Sep 5 2009, 04:19 PM']It's an old Tokai. From that period they're great guitars & certainly comparable to the good examples of U.S. originals. I've seen Tokais, along with Fernandes,Burny,Greco etc of that vintage go for more, & sometimes less. That price isn't that excessive IMO.[/quote]

there was an old tokai p bass from the eighties in my local music shop a while back. Similar price. I was interested as heard so many good things about them, tried it and underwealmed by the feel of the thing. The neck wasn't that nice. (I'm comparing it to my JV P) I was quite surprised, I went in with lowish expectations and expected to be surprised with an excelent bass. I wasnt!

[velvetkevorkian]

[url="http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/53/45293153.html"]Old Ibanez[/url] on Gumtree Glasgow...

[Musky]

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='599235' date='Sep 15 2009, 02:14 PM'][url="http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/53/45293153.html"]Old Ibanez[/url] on Gumtree Glasgow...[/quote]

Nice, but it's a guitar! Though thanks for posting anyway, as I hadn't realised the Talmans were recreations of 60's instruments.

One for those in London - [url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/99/45499699.html"]http://www.gumtree.com/london/99/45499699.html[/url]

A Westone Quantum. A bit pricey, though I know there are a few people that would like to get their hands on one.

[velvetkevorkian]

True- felt strangely compelled to post it though.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Musky' post='599268' date='Sep 15 2009, 02:36 PM']Nice, but it's a guitar! Though thanks for posting anyway, as I hadn't realised the Talmans were recreations of 60's instruments.[/quote]
Me neither - and as far as I can tell neither do the posters on the Ibanez Collectors World board.

Whatever it is, it's not a "60s Talman" because there's no such thing. If it's a 60s guitar at all, then it's whatever model the Talmans were inspired by, much like the current Jet Kings, but more likely it's a very "tired" 90s Talman. The pictures are so awful it's impossible to tell much beyond the basic shape.

Over at ICW they reckon the Talman is derived from Hoshino's Starfield models. They'd probably call this an "Imaginez".

J.

[Musky]

An Aria CSB300 looking unloved at £90. Though that might have something to do with the P pickup and collection only...

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-Cardinal-Series-BASS-GUITAR-with-hard-case_W0QQitemZ170381723854"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-Cardinal-Se...emZ170381723854[/url]

[nick]

Not mine, but exactly the same - nice looking [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Blazer-bass-1981-Supergrass-Mick-Quinn_W0QQitemZ190340450105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c512cc739"]Ibby Blazer[/url].

[Bassassin]

[quote name='nick' post='626504' date='Oct 14 2009, 10:36 PM']Not mine, but exactly the same - nice looking [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Blazer-bass-1981-Supergrass-Mick-Quinn_W0QQitemZ190340450105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c512cc739"]Ibby Blazer[/url].[/quote]
Lovely grain on that Blazer - but that's got 2 bids at £350? Incredible.

J.

[Jono Bolton]

Anyone know anything about this [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Craftsman-Precision-Bass-Guitar-Japanese-Lawsuit-NR_W0QQitemZ120478339348QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1c0d119114"]Craftsman P Bass[/url]?

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Jono Bolton' post='627192' date='Oct 15 2009, 06:22 PM']Anyone know anything about this [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Craftsman-Precision-Bass-Guitar-Japanese-Lawsuit-NR_W0QQitemZ120478339348QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1c0d119114"]Craftsman P Bass[/url]?[/quote]
Not without playing it or taking it to bits, but it looks to be a nice mid 70s JapCrap P. I've seen a couple of Craftsman-brand JapCraps come up over the last few years, but I don't know anything about the brand or who made them.

One thing - despite what the seller says, it isn't solid wood. Worst case scenario is that it's ply, if you're lucky it'll be butcher-block, or a sandwich with front & back veneers. The telltale big black oversprays on the contours are a dead giveaway.

The only other issue is a dodgy nut - this bass would have had a Gibson-type rather than the Fender style someone's bodged onto it. Simple job to sort that if you don't like the way it looks.

I'd say the £99 BIN isn't unreasonable.

Jon.

[Ou7shined]

IMO it's too dear or rather "not economically viable". I think the mess around that nut as it is now couldn't really be considered mojo and would have to be sorted.
The bodge behind the nut (looks like they've glued in a bit of pine dowel) wouldn't be too hard to rectify if you knew what you were doing and had a bit of maple to put back but the mess between the nut and fret 1 (best case scenario - finish was chipped and they removed it) would put me off. Chances are you'd never get that looking right again unless you're a mad arse like me and prepared to strip and redo a large portion of the neck and try to blend in to match the aged finish.

As always Jon, I bow to your undeniable expert knowledge but I feel that the BIN price is only good had it not needed surgery.
What do you think would be a good price for a near minty one?

[Bassassin]

Not sure what you think needs major work. I'd just remove the existing nut & bit of scrap wood & replace it with the right width Gibson-shape nut, which this would have had originally - there won't have been wood removed from behind the nut. I can't see any actual damage on the fingerboard side, it looks a bit dull so maybe the finish is off but I can't be sure. I certainly wouldn't consider this to be a big deal on a bass of this age/ilk, the worst problem might be that whatever cack-handed bodgster did this used superglue - in which case you'd have to be careful & patient removing the crap that's on it.

This bass in A1 condition? Probably £120 - £150, JapCrap Ps are pretty common and no-names/obscure names don't interest collectors, the way Ibanezes or Grecos & such might.

J.

[Ou7shined]

I'm not saying it needs [b]major[/b] work but I do see that the work needed to do his properly is beyond what your average guy can cope with well.
This pic needs close examination.... (sorry it gets a bit CSI here )


You can see that a chunk of headstock has been knocked out behind the nut and has been replaced with what looks like a bit of rough old pine. The join profile curves up wards not straight out the back. It is while preparing the area to be filled that the sharp edge of the fretboard that should butt tightly against the nut has been lost. I'm guessing that, in order to detract from this somewhat, is why the fretboard varnish from the nut to the 1st fret has been removed. It probably looked ok to start with but dirt has gotten into the grain now and has discoloured it. This [b]botch[/b]ery will never look like natural wear or relicing so should be sorted (subjective I know - but I couldn't live with 1 dark fret on an otherwise sweet looking neck). The repair encompasses work on the face and sides of the headstock and part of the fb also the intonation of the nut would have to be checked too. All well and good if you can do this yourself (which we can) but would it be economically viable to have someone do a job like this for you on a 100 quid bass?

IMHO.

[Bassassin]

Detective Wars is it? OK then!

You might be right but for me the pic isn't clear enough to see the damage quite as specifically. This is what I see:

It's originally been something like this:

[attachment=34585:pcopynut.jpg]

Someone's simply attempted to replace this type of nut with a standard Fender one. There's no slot for it to sit in so they've glued what looks like a roughly quartered bit of pine dowel (from an Ikea knock-up wardrobe!) behind it to hold it in place. The pic isn't clear enough to be able to see any "modification" behind the nut, but if I'm right it's unlikely. I'm not sure if it's had the lacquer removed on the 1st fret position but if so it's not been done at the same time as the "repair" - the nut's brand new but the edge of fretboard timber's darkened & a bit grimy-looking.

I think that nut's been recently bodged on just to sell the bass, & looking at it again, I don't even think it's glued in, the strings are holding it in the "slot", which is why there's a gap at the end of the board.

Anyway, I think we'll have to agree to differ over this - sensibly neither of us are considering buying it!

J.

[Musky]

Lefty [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-Cardinal-Series-Left-Handed-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ140352940642"]Aria CSB-380.[/url] I didn't even know that Aria did left handed Cardinals...

[spinynorman]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaki-Precision-Bass-Japan-1970-Fender-reblica_W0QQitemZ320441085998QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGitarren?hash=item4a9bc6f02e"]Yamaki P Bass[/url]

Looks nice. And expensive.

Edited October 27, 2009 by spinynorman

[Happy Jack]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Late-1950s-Prototype-Bass-Guitar-5-String_W0QQitemZ130340569105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1e58e74011"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Late-1950s-Prototype...=item1e58e74011[/url]

Bwahaha.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha.

OMG, LOL, somebody burn it.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='639542' date='Oct 28 2009, 10:39 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Late-1950s-Prototype-Bass-Guitar-5-String_W0QQitemZ130340569105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1e58e74011"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Late-1950s-Prototype...=item1e58e74011[/url]

Bwahaha.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha.

OMG, LOL, somebody burn it.[/quote]
Unbelievable. "It's a Burns", "it might be a Guyatone", "oh, we heard about something called a Fenton-Weill - it must be one of them".

They wrote the label wrong. POS, obviously.

Jon.

[spinynorman]

Not strictly JapCrap, a (maybe) 1980s MIK Aria Pro II TAB 60. I saw it towards the end of the auction and wasn't sure enough about it to float £300 shipped, but I think it looks really nice. Does anyone know anything about them?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130339863390&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]Aria Pro II Tab 60[/url]

[Bassassin]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='642860' date='Nov 1 2009, 09:31 PM']Not strictly JapCrap, a (maybe) 1980s MIK Aria Pro II TAB 60. I saw it towards the end of the auction and wasn't sure enough about it to float £300 shipped, but I think it looks really nice. Does anyone know anything about them?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130339863390&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]Aria Pro II Tab 60[/url][/quote]
Nice bass and worthy of inclusion in this thread, but 90s at the earliest - it has the modern "Aria" block logo. I've had a few recent Arias & Aria Pros and they're very nice, and I'd say underrated instruments.

J.

[Happy Jack]

This is very nice:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.it/1973-Bradley-Jazz-Bass-Vintage-HQ-Fender-Copy-beauty_W0QQitemZ310180950024QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBassi?hash=item483839b008"]http://cgi.ebay.it/1973-Bradley-Jazz-Bass-...=item483839b008[/url]

I've never heard of Bradley but this looks like a very competent Jazz copy. The sunburst is a bit iffy, especially on the back, but the bass certainly looks the part.

I've dealt with the vendor (Bambibau) and he's straight.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='651307' date='Nov 11 2009, 08:33 AM']This is very nice:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.it/1973-Bradley-Jazz-Bass-Vintage-HQ-Fender-Copy-beauty_W0QQitemZ310180950024QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBassi?hash=item483839b008"]http://cgi.ebay.it/1973-Bradley-Jazz-Bass-...=item483839b008[/url]

I've never heard of Bradley but this looks like a very competent Jazz copy. The sunburst is a bit iffy, especially on the back, but the bass certainly looks the part.

I've dealt with the vendor (Bambibau) and he's straight.[/quote]

Very pretty bass but that's a [b]lot[/b] of money (nearly 600 quid!) for any Japanese copy - particularly an inaccurate one from an unspecified manufacturer, with an anonymous importer brand. It's worth £200 at a push, imo.

I really can't guess who made this - I've never seen that sort of trc on a JapCrap Jazz, body is either ply or block, neck appears to be one piece with separate fretboard. Everything else looks pretty generic.

Not sure why he's comparing it to a "real" Jazz - the only thing that's better is the bridge alignment. And it's still out.

Jon.

[zbigniew]

Morris P:

[attachment=36117:DSCF0017.JPG]

I've been thinking of buying a Morris P-bass copy (see photo) here in Iceland.
I think it looks good, as far as you can tell from the bad photo that is - it's like an early 80's Fender looks wise.
I can't inspect it myself but will be asking a friend to check it out.

Can you experts tell me something more about it?

When I started playing bass in 1987 Morris was considered a really cheap and low quality brand - has that opinion changed now ?

I don't really need another maple necked p-bass though, I have a Tokai Hardpuncher ltd. ed. but I am really tempted.
The seller wants too much for it though, I would have to haggle if I'll be serious about it.

regards, z

Edited November 11, 2009 by zbigniew

[Bassassin]

[quote name='zbigniew' post='651674' date='Nov 11 2009, 02:56 PM']When I started playing bass in 1987 Morris was considered a really cheap and low quality brand - has that opinion changed now ?[/quote]

Morris is the house-brand of Moridaira, who were (and still are) better-known for acoustic guitars. They jumped on the copy bandwagon in the 70s, like many Japanese guitar makers & woodworking businesses, and like pretty much all the rest, made instruments at a variety of different quality levels.

In the late 70s & early 80s Moridaira built Hohner guitars & basses, generally these are pretty good. In fact I bought a Moridaira Hohner guitar in 1983 and it was the only guitar I used for about 20 years. I only retired it because it desperately needs a refret & I need to repair some modifications I did when I was young & stupid! Great guitar & I'd love to get it playing again.

I can't tell too much from the pic, but get your friend to try & establish whether the body's solid timber or plywood - with an old MIJ P copy that's the easiest way to tell whether it's a cheapo or not.

Jon.