Bassassin

US copyright/trade dress protection legislation's not strictly enforceable outside of the US. Certainly not in China!

Hmm. I did wonder, in the event the bass turned out to be MIJ, if "K" might indicate Kasuga, in the same way that later Fujigen-built Ibanezes have an "F" prefix. I would expect there to be an MIJ stamp or sticker somewhere on the bass if that was the case. I'm a bit of a Kasuga anorak & have never heard any suggestion that they built for Washburn - although I wouldn't rule it out, particularly for short-run, high-end models. I should say that it's verified info from people who have probably forgotten twice as much as I know, that Matsumoku never built any MIJ Washburns - in the late 70s & early 80s they were Yamaki Gakki builds, and subsequently, after Yamaki closed (around '83) production went to Chushin Gakki and continued there until about 1986, when records of Japanese Washburn manufacture stop. Matsumoku closed in 1987.

I'd be pretty confident that the "8" puts the bass at '88, which is certainly consistent with the aesthetic - and what I know of the model era. Not sure about the "K" prefix - it's almost certainly a factory designation but without a confirmed country of manufacture it's back to guessing again. By that point MIK quality was easily on a par with Japan, so no clues there!

As Frankensteins go, I like that a lot. Mostly from an aesthetic perspective, never mind the provenance of the bits.

It's a stunner alright! I'm aware of this model - and also aware that the through-neck Chicagos are rare & people sometimes ask silly money when they do come up. However, I don't have a lot of knowledge about post - '85-ish Washies & there doesn't seem to be much info out there. Like a lot of previously MIJ brands, most production went to Korea to keep costs down, so unless there's anything on the bass (country of manufacture, serial number) to ID it then I'll be guessing!

When it's a P-rick? Sorry - as you were...

I knew it was him before I saw the seller ID!

That very bass is for sale quite locally: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/314726-£400-1980s-washburn-b20-sunburst-pj-bass/ I had one of these in 1981 when I was very young & things like taste & neckdive were of no consequence to me. Neither was boutique-level build quality or the likelihood of it becoming spectacularly rare - so I flogged it & bought an Aria RSB Deluxe, which was more suited to the bad Mark King impressions I was preoccupied by at the time. I still think it's cool in its way but I think it'd need to be the (even rarer) 8-string version before I'd be tempted.

And sold for £181. Outrageous bargain, it's pretty much unplayed by the looks of it.

To me this ably demonstrates why the bass guitar is not a solo instrument - or if you're going to be picky/pedantic, as I'm sure someone will, an instrument on which solos are performed. No matter how refined, meticulous, accurate and controlled the techique is, the actual noise the instrument produces is pretty unpleasant.

Had a tiny bit of GAS for an IGB for a while - I'll take 5 at £25 a pop - cheers! Can't shed a great deal of light on this - my Aria Awareness is peripheral to my MIJ fixation & this one, as it says, is Korean. MIJ IGBs are like hen's teeth. BUT - as far as I know, the S prefix should indicate Samick as the manufacturer - and a quick Goog suggests that this is probably from May 1996: http://samick.wikia.com/wiki/Serial_Numbers Hope this helps.

Fairly recent brand revival - but looks pretty good for £60! They were probably £200-odd new.

Same factory. These are very closely related to the early Musicians. Gorgeous - looks lush. Chapeau!

It's an actual thing: Travelcaster There are basses too, but they're just... wrong.

Thread needs an 8-minute song inspired by an H G Wells story:

One day I'm going to get a cheap Strat & take a bandsaw to it!

Thank you - but I never cease to be dismayed by how I can retain such a lot of inconsequential guff, while at the same time knowing absolutely nothing of any actual value or use to anyone! Possible - once the Japanese really started to find their groove, the "big" names did start to get worried. The copy era roughly covers the years between 1970ish and around 1978 - and the Norlin/Elger spat brought that to a close. It's worth being aware that this was strictly only for export and Tokai, Fujigen, Matsumoku, Kasuga, Chushin & all the other Japanese factories carried on producing the same, unmodified copies for the domestic market. In 1982, when Fender Japan was set up, the Japanese partner company was Kanda Shokai, owner of Greco. One of the conditions of the deal was that Kanda should drop Fender copies from the Greco line. I do know that Fender challenged a few brands over logos that bore a similarity to their own - that may well have included Tokai, considering the font style they used in the late 70s/early 80s. Gibson also had a run-in with Tokai - quite justifiably, because initially their Love Rock guitars did actually say "Les Paul" on the head!

Don't know about the white plug - the closest I've been to a real one of these was a Strat copy at a car boot that was too much of a wreck to justify the £30 they wanted! Lawsuits, then - with a large side-order of elephantine pedantry. Well - you did ask! No-one would (or should) have had a word with Mr Indabass above for describing a 70s copy as "Lawsuit era". However the only instruments that were ever actually threatened with legal actions at that time were Ibanez-branded Gibson copies. In 1977, Norlin,the parent company of Gibson at the time, sent a letter of intended legal action to Elger Hohsino (the US operation of Hoshino Gakki, the company which owns the Ibanez brand) regarding their use of the "open book" headstock shape on Ibanez guitars, claiming a violation of their trademark design. However, a year earlier, Hoshino had already modified the headstock profile to be similar (not identical) to a Guild shape - so no legal action ever took place. Despite the shrieking claims of a hundred thousand Ebay sellers, no other manufacturer either took or threatened legal action over the design of any of the Japanese or Korean copies from the 70s or early 80s - they weren't taken seriously enough for them to bother. Norlin's action however did prompt Japanese manufacturers to voluntarily change the designs of copy instruments, and ultimately move their output towards the higher-end, originals market. Wake up at the back, there!

Not sure they realistically make more than £150-odd on Ebay - the last 2 I watched went for £111 & £121 respectively. Still, £70 is a bit of a steal for this - never mind the scuffs, it still has all its original knobs & no broken toggles - amazing! If I didn't have a house full of projects I'd probably be all over this.

Cheers! Definitely a score for £40 - and yes, a lot more of an oddity thay your average 70s P copy!

I've seen a few of these before - they also turn up occasionally badged as Marlin (remember them?) with that fish on the 12th fret - although most Marlins were Korean plywood & a bit duff. The Musimas are quite interesting - there are Strats as well, which are often assumed to be MIJ. The facts that many are unbranded, and that Musima used Japanese made hardware understandably fuels this. Check out the tuners on the P - very nice torque-adjustable Gotohs.

Easy. Musima, made behind the Iron Curtain in the old DDR: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-and-Rare-1980s-MUSIMA-Action-Bass-P-bass-DDR-Japan-/253386997413 NEXT!

So you've heard it all, have you?

I you proceed - as I do - from the perspective that broadly speaking, the use of "tonewoods" in an electrically amplified instrument is a pointless load of old testicles, then anything rigid, resonant and workable is fair game. I have an aluminium bodied Tokai Talbo, an acrylic bodied P, and a luthite-bodied Ibanez EDA900. Which was indeed made by Cort. I've also had a Squier VMJ fretless with an ebonol fingerboard. Although ebonol is, oddly enough, compressed, bonded paper. I've also had various plywood & MDF-bodied cheapo guitars & always felt that any real deficiencies were in the build & components rather than the material. I do like wood but it's from an aesthetic perspective rather than any idea that it's intrinsically a better construction material, and I'm a sucker for a synthesis of wood & alternative materials - always loved the original graphite & wood Vigiers & Statuses - and what about this?