Vintage MIJ (formerly J@pCr@p) Spotting

[Jerry_B]

Oh, I dunno - I've seen worse on a bass. I think the whole thing's rather nice.

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='735685' date='Feb 5 2010, 12:09 AM']Commodore Hollowbody, Hideous Headstock

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220547817090"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220547817090[/url][/quote]

It says "Gibson copy". Which Gibson bass looks like that?

[Annoying Twit]

Wow! To my eyes at least this looks <little britain voice>ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!</little britain voice> Aria Pro 2 "Super Bass". I like the shape, the grain, everything.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-pro-II-super-bass-amp-and-effects-pedal_W0QQitemZ190370865092QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c52fcdfc4"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-pro-II-super-ba...=item2c52fcdfc4[/url]

Edit: reserve a bit high for me. Not that I'm saying it isn't worth it, but I'm not ready to spend that much on an instrument. Yet?!?!?

Edited February 5, 2010 by Annoying Twit

[2x18]

Aria Cardinal 380

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-SG-Cardinal-Series_W0QQitemZ290399301582QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item439d25afce"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-SG-Cardi...=item439d25afce[/url]

[2x18]

Grantson EB2 Copy

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Rare-Gibson-EB2-Bass-Guitar-Replica-Cherry_W0QQitemZ300393688220QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item45f0dbec9c"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Rare-Gibson-...=item45f0dbec9c[/url]

[2x18]

Avon Grabber copy

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-Gibson-Grabber-Bass-Copy-MIJ-Japan_W0QQitemZ320484181010QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9e588412"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-G...=item4a9e588412[/url]

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='2x18' post='735804' date='Feb 5 2010, 08:38 AM']Avon Grabber copy

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-Gibson-Grabber-Bass-Copy-MIJ-Japan_W0QQitemZ320484181010QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9e588412"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-G...=item4a9e588412[/url][/quote]

Now that [i]is[/i] ugly. Looks like it should be launched out of a 1980's-era Battlestar Galactica mothership

[warwickhunt]

This is a long shot and there may not be a simple answer but...

My very first bass was a short scale Gibson 'SG' EB? style jap cr4p bass. I have a very hazy recollection of it; it may have been NT rather than BO and it was period correct red stain mahogany with appropriate 2 aside headstock, but is there a likely candidate for what it may have been? If anyone has pics of any likely candidates I'd love to see, as it may trigger my memory as to the make. I might then try and track one down for old times sake.

As I say, it's a long shot!

[numptydumpty]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Avon-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ280459121924QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item414caa9504"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Avon-bass-guitar_W0Q...=item414caa9504[/url]

missed this one

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='2x18' post='735804' date='Feb 5 2010, 08:38 AM']Avon Grabber copy

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-Gibson-Grabber-Bass-Copy-MIJ-Japan_W0QQitemZ320484181010QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9e588412"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Avon-G...=item4a9e588412[/url][/quote]
[quote name='numptydumpty' post='736485' date='Feb 5 2010, 06:05 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Avon-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ280459121924QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item414caa9504"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Avon-bass-guitar_W0Q...=item414caa9504[/url]

missed this one[/quote]


It's the same one.

[numptydumpty]

some profit .£30 to £225 if it sells

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='numptydumpty' post='736683' date='Feb 5 2010, 09:29 PM']some profit .£30 to £225 if it sells[/quote]
Yep, not a bad mark up for just sticking a speed knob on.

[Bassassin]

That's the same bass as the one I had (not the same same - but you know what I mean) and to be honest I picked mine up for £50 delivered, did the usual strip, clean, polish & setup, kept it for a couple of months until I satisfied myself I didn't get on with it & wouldn't gig it - then 'Bayed it at 99p, no reserve. I think I got £185.

If I'd seen this one at £30 I would have been all over it - and probably ended up doing the same thing. These are really good, accurate & well-made copies of the real deal - in fact put a Gibson neckplate, trc & transfer on it & most people would be hard-pressed to spot the knockoff. Apart from EvilLordJuju.

J.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='736483' date='Feb 5 2010, 06:04 PM']This is a long shot and there may not be a simple answer but...

My very first bass was a short scale Gibson 'SG' EB? style jap cr4p bass. I have a very hazy recollection of it; it may have been NT rather than BO and it was period correct red stain mahogany with appropriate 2 aside headstock, but is there a likely candidate for what it may have been? If anyone has pics of any likely candidates I'd love to see, as it may trigger my memory as to the make. I might then try and track one down for old times sake.

As I say, it's a long shot! [/quote]

Did it have a brand name? Not very many of them were set-neck so if it definitely was, that would probably narrow it down a lot.

The problem is that there were literally dozens of different brands & factories all copying the same instrument - and being copies they all tend to look pretty similar!

J.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='736860' date='Feb 6 2010, 12:38 AM']Did it have a brand name? Not very many of them were set-neck so if it definitely was, that would probably narrow it down a lot.

The problem is that there were literally dozens of different brands & factories all copying the same instrument - and being copies they all tend to look pretty similar!

J.[/quote]

That's where my quest fails me; I was hoping that seeing a couple of headstocks with names on might jog my memory but alas off the top of my head I can't recall. The set-neck isn't even a definite but I seem to recall that at the time I decided not to refinish the bass (as I did the short scale Jazz I subsequently got), so I'm assuming it was because the neck was fixed. Don't worry about it I just wondered if there was a resource/website that might show some of the copy basses from this period (which would have been the mid 70's as I recall getting it around 78 and it wasn't beaten up).

[Bassassin]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='736923' date='Feb 6 2010, 07:50 AM']That's where my quest fails me; I was hoping that seeing a couple of headstocks with names on might jog my memory but alas off the top of my head I can't recall. The set-neck isn't even a definite but I seem to recall that at the time I decided not to refinish the bass (as I did the short scale Jazz I subsequently got), so I'm assuming it was because the neck was fixed. Don't worry about it I just wondered if there was a resource/website that might show some of the copy basses from this period (which would have been the mid 70's as I recall getting it around 78 and it wasn't beaten up).[/quote]
There's no one resource for old JapCrap basses (not yet - haven't got around to building that website!) but there are lots of pics out there & quite a few catalogue shots. I've only had one EB0 copy, which was this:

[attachment=41894:front.jpg][attachment=41895:headf.jpg]
[attachment=41896:headb.jpg][attachment=41897:back.jpg]

This is a fairly typical low/mid quality example - bolt neck, ply body, pretend mudbucker (there's a little single coil hiding in there). The brand itself is fairly uncommon, though and the exact same bass was sold with a variety of different names.

Can you remember any of the hardware details? These also appear with two pickups & 2x V & T controls, 3-point bridges, bridge ashtrays, block markers or offset dots etc.

A list of names might help jog your memory:

Columbus, Grant, Grantson, Avon, CMI, CSL, Sumbro, Zenta, Antoria, Jedson, Arbiter, Shaftesbury, Eros, Kimbara, Sakai, Saxon, Pearl, Cimar, Hohner, JooDee, Hondo, Kasuga, Maya, Aria, Aria Pro II, Ibanez, Tokai.

These were all brands available in the UK (about half of these are UK importers' own brands) and this is far from a complete list. Many, many more existed outside the UK but could have found their way here, and lots of imported guitars were sold unbranded - so yours might never have had a name in the first place.

To muddy the waters even further, the 70s copies weren't all from the Far East - Italian brands Melody & Gherson are often mistaken for JapCrap, & some of the early UK - branded copies were built by Eko. There were some nice German Hoyer copies but these were a bit more individual than the run-of-the-mill JapCrap - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=71718"]and we have 2 of 'em in this very parish[/url].

It might be an idea to start a thread about this somewhere more visible - this is a pretty dusty & out-of-the-way corner of BC!

Anyway - I'll see if I can find a few more pics of different varieties of EB copy.

J.

[Ancient Mariner]

I had an Avon badged version of that ^ in red in the late 70s. Came with flats on, and the expression mudbucker covered the tone very accurately. PX'd for a guitar and no regrets.

[Mr. Foxen]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westone-Thunder-I-A-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ280461651836QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item414cd12f7c"]Thunder 1A with soapbar variant. Also appears to be broken in half and taped back together.[/url]

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='737280' date='Feb 6 2010, 03:08 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westone-Thunder-I-A-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ280461651836QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item414cd12f7c"]Thunder 1A with soapbar variant. Also appears to be broken in half and taped back together.[/url][/quote]

His pet wildebeest's been chewing on the headstock as well, by the looks.

J.

[Musky]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='735685' date='Feb 5 2010, 12:09 AM']Commodore Hollowbody, Hideous Headstock

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220547817090"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220547817090[/url][/quote]

No bids?

I would have been all over that if I seen it before the auction finished. Mind you, the girlfriend would have probably been all over me if I'd bought it, and not in a good way.

[nick]

[quote name='Musky' post='737502' date='Feb 6 2010, 06:44 PM']No bids?

I would have been all over that if I seen it before the auction finished. Mind you, the girlfriend would have probably been all over me if I'd bought it, and not in a good way. [/quote]

I've got one of those, albeit with a more tasteful headstock & in red/black sunburst.
It's a cracking bass, wish I'd seen that listing.

[Jerry_B]

Yes, it is very tasty.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Musky' post='737502' date='Feb 6 2010, 06:44 PM']No bids?

I would have been all over that if I seen it before the auction finished. Mind you, the girlfriend would have probably been all over me if I'd bought it, and not in a good way. [/quote]

It's presumably been cancelled by the seller - no way would that have got no bids. He's either had an offer he can't refuse or chickened out of the 99p start.

That's a nice old early Matsumoku, probably late 60s, these strange headstocks pre-date the open-book type.

J.

[Jerry_B]

If it goes back on sale I might be tempted...

[Ancient Mariner]

El Maya here for £200 with only an hour or so on it:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130363782064&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url]

I'd absolutely love it (had an El Maya guitar in the early 80s and it was fantastic) but no mun mun right now.