bassaussie

JP used to make guitars and basses a few years back. I got to try a few out, and to be 100% honest, they weren't quite as good as the pictures might indicate. I don't want to be too critical, as there's bugger all choice for custom guitars in Portugal, but I felt there was a lack of attention to detail with the basses I tried. That was quite a few years back, though (at least 4 or more), so maybe he's got a few more tricks up his sleeve these days.

The double ball strings are much easier to change - I can change my Steinberger in about 3 or 4 minutes. Having said that, in a crunch, I've used normal strings, and they're not that much more difficult. It's still a lot easier than restringing a normal bass. Biggest problem with DBE strings is thé limited range available. I've ended up sticking with GHS strings, purely because I like the gauge (40,58,80,102), and they sound good enough (although not perfect).

[quote name='mathewsanchez' post='424066' date='Mar 3 2009, 01:59 PM']It makes you think though. If it's so realistic a fake that an expert believes it's genuine, then to you it is genuine, therefore there being no real problem (well... theoretically).[/quote] Absolutely! And no one knows any the wiser until it shows up on the Antique Road Show!

Could be that the high bidder wasn't in the UK, and the seller specifically wanted a UK sale. Another possibility was that the high bidder had bad feedback, or even no feedback.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='423195' date='Mar 2 2009, 02:53 PM']Fair enough, I thought the consensus was that it was built from 70's parts but I've been reading a few different relic threads on different forums and could be getting in a mucking fuddle. [/quote] Yeah, fair enough. Look, I have no specific information on this bass, although my gut feeling is that it's completely bogus. However, there's long been stories about a cottage industry in Asia that makes vintage replicas and attempts to get them into circulation on the vintage market. Remember, as bassplayers, we see the occasional instrument getting into the 10K region, but if you're talking guitars, it's quite easy to find vintage instruments that are worth 50K, 100K and more. With those sorts of values floating around, there are going to be people tempted to make something that can be passed off for a vintage instrument. Like anything, there will be different levels of perfection provided - some will create instruments that even the experts have trouble deciding upon, others will put up half-*ssed efforts that can fool enough people on Ebay to get a result, and then there are others that are painfully obvious. I'd put the bass in question in that middle bracket - it's got enough "right" about it to fool people who haven't done enough homework. While people may scream and shout about this kind of fradulent behaviour, it's no different to what's gone on in antique markets for years and years. Take antique furniture, for example, there's so many forgeries around it's not funny, and the reason there are is because there's a market for it. It's just another example of caveat emptor.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='422977' date='Mar 2 2009, 11:47 AM']Out of interest, how much could he of got for it if it hadn't been relic-a-tized and he'd told the truth about the origin of all the parts?[/quote] It depends on what that origin actually is. Considering the fact that this seller also has links to Asian guitar manufacturers, there's a chance than the whole thing is bogus. So - what's an SX bass worth these days?

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='421985' date='Feb 28 2009, 09:19 PM']pegs definitely re-issue - worm and cogs too 'busy'-originals are more 'spare' in that department (does that make sense?).[/quote] I think you're talking about the "ratio" of the machineheads - too many windings. And yes, you're 100% correct. I was reading a thread recently about this dealer - he claims to be in Australia, but he's actually in one of the south-east Asian countries (I can't recall whether it was Indonesia, Malaysia or what). You can take what you like from that - there's certainly no reason that a vintage Fender can't be located in one of those countries, however, why claim to be in one place when you're actually somewhere else? And, sure enough - my trusty friend "Google" has given me an Indonesian community page about Erikguitars. [url="http://www.kaskus.us/member.php?u=161772"]http://www.kaskus.us/member.php?u=161772[/url]

Cort did something like this with a Precision bass back in the 80s. I found this link fairly easily, so I'm sure a Google search would pull up more results. [url="http://www.bass-guitar-museum.com/bass-10842-Cort-Steinberger-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Parts-Repair"]http://www.bass-guitar-museum.com/bass-108...ar-Parts-Repair[/url] They also did a guitar based on a Strat body. I don't think either was a huge success, but it shows that the idea has certainly been around for a while. I own an original Steinberger, and I used to gig with one some years back, and while the small body comes across as being quite convenient, I have to admit that it's not the most comfortable shape to get along with, even with the body contour plate that's attached to the back. With that in mind, I could see why someone would like to have the convenience of a headless design combined with a more traditional (and I think more comfortable) body shape.

I like that the name can be spelled "BasicLok" or "BasikLok" - at least according to his ad!! He's gonna have to make a call on that when he patents this great invention!

[quote name='BassBod' post='361360' date='Dec 22 2008, 09:19 PM']Second vote for Saitenkatalog - they used to be fair bit cheaper (£17 a set) and I've found their service to be very good. Pickup some Thomastik superalloys while you're at it - my second fav string, like a cross between a DR Sunbeam and a Roto...[/quote] That probably comes down to the exchange rate - in Euros, their prices are still pretty much the same as they've been for a couple of years.

This is a German mob that I've used a few times in the past. They're quite good, I just don't know how the exchange rate will work out for you. [url="http://saitenkatalog.de/shop1/index.php?cPath=397_66_295&sort=products_sort_order&osCsid=qu48gpen9ub29nus6as1dd3goj1r1hno&filter_id=51"]Saitenkatalog[/url]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='356852' date='Dec 17 2008, 01:24 PM']I didn't mean there's anything wrong with left handed players or left handed instruments. To a right handed player who has a few Fenders it looks so damn odd. It shouts 'ringer' subliminally. Sure I'm not alone there.[/quote] No, I realise that - I was just having a laugh!! I'll be the first to admit that I hate watching left handed players, as it just looks so awkward. Always makes me think back to what it must've been like when Hendrix turned up. All the guitar greats probably heard him on record, and thought "my God, how does he do that", but probably thought they could go to a gig and cop a few licks, only to discover they'd need a full length mirror as well to try and decipher his playing!!!

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='356800' date='Dec 17 2008, 12:35 PM']I think many folk find that a left handed Fender automatically looks 'wrong' to us.[/quote] Oh ....... if that's the case, then yes, I totally agree!!!! [quote name='Dr.Dave' post='356800' date='Dec 17 2008, 12:35 PM']From the pics it's the block markers that concern me - they look plain wrong.[/quote] [quote name='budget bassist' post='356808' date='Dec 17 2008, 12:44 PM']looks fake to me, those block inlays look way too wide[/quote] I don't know - I've got a '76 Jazz bass sitting right in front of me, and the blocks on it look like the ones in the auction. I've also got a '66 Jazz with blocks, and I can't see a huge amount of variation with it either. I think you need to take into account the awful defretting job that's been done on the neck in the auction, it's really torn the fretboard up. I guess if I did have a question, it would be about the block marker at the 3rd fret, but that may just be the photo which is distorting the view.

Here's some examples of left handed basses from the same era. These are all taken from www.gbase.com , which is a central database of vintage dealers. [url="http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetails.aspx?Item=1589898"]1978 Precision - 1[/url] [url="http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetails.aspx?Item=1589893"]1977 Precision fretless[/url] [url="http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetails.aspx?Item=1589896"]1978 Precision - 2[/url] Contrast the logos with some earlier attempts [url="http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetails.aspx?Item=1852331"]1971 Precision[/url] [url="http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetails.aspx?Item=1610520"]1968 Telecaster[/url]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='356742' date='Dec 17 2008, 11:47 AM']Yes. FWIW, at a glance, I think it's legit. It seems to have something done to it during the defret which has chipped the rosewood off past the nut, but without seeing it.. who knows? Right. If you'll forgive me for a moment: [RANT /ON] This is where I get a teeny bit riled. A couple of people here have probably contacted the seller to suggest he's a scammer / idiot / both. You *must* be sure of the facts before you do something like that. [RANT /OFF][/quote] I'm with you, I think it's legit. It's a classic example of a Jazz neck being paired with a Precision body. There's obviously been a bit of work done on the neck, and maybe a few parts are changed on the body, but the finish itself looks fine, very typical for the period. If the logo is what's causing concern, then you guys need to look into how Fender applied logos to left handed instruments (not you WoT). As for the way the seller has identified the bass, sure, he's got it wrong, but I've seen countless examples of this on Ebay, where a neck gets matched to a different body (usually a Jazz to a Precision, or vice versa) and the seller, who doesn't know a huge amount about Fender instruments, just assumes that he's got a Jazz or a Precision. I tend to think what WoT has said here is correct. It's good that people are trying to watch out for scammers, but you need to know your facts before you start going after people. I saw something like this escalate out of control on another forum (a now defunct American one), and I'd hate to see that happen here.

[quote name='Beedster' post='351770' date='Dec 11 2008, 02:59 PM']Welcome to BC Shonks. Good to have another pre-EB Stingray owner here. Will you do us all a favour and leave the ebay seller negative feedback. It has been pretty much demonstrated above that he was not a naive guy who perhaps had a crap bass dumped on him without his knowledge, but a cynic who knew exactly what he was doing and that what he was selling was a fake. If buyers do not leave negative feedback, people like him get away with it and do it again and again. He cannot leave you neagtive as new ebay rules prohibit sellers leaving retaliatory negative feedback to buyers. Chris[/quote] Excellent suggestion Chris. Why people are under the impression that outright fraud and theft should be forgiven is beyond me.

It's interesting what responses you get from Google searches. For example, if I search on maxehooperjrsq , I get 2 pages of hits [url="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=maxehooperjrsq&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq="]Google hits for maxehooperjrsq[/url] Interestingly enough, on the 2nd page, there's a reference to a Musicman Style Bass Guitar, auction number #140241787683, bought from allison130265 on 19 July 2008 for £51. And sure enough, that number matches feedback on maxehooperjrsq history, and also on allison130265. [url="http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&ftab=AllFeedback&userid=allison130265&iid=-1&de=off&items=25&interval=0&page=2"]Feedback for allison130265[/url] [url="http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=maxehooperjrsq&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true"]Feedback for maxehooperjrsq[/url] I'm sure a bit more digging will find a cached version of the auction somewhere. Nice guy.

Great finish. Is that Olympic White, Arctic White, Blonde or another variation of, um ...... white?