Bassassin

Hohner Arbor fretless with same bridge & square heel: You see these on a few early 80s MIKs, and oddly, on Yamaki-built MIJ Washburns. Odd things went on between Japanese & Korean factories in the 80s.

It's an early 80s Hohner, made by Cort in Korea. Up to about '81 or '82 Hohners were Japanese, made by Moridaira, but manufacture of these types of instrument moved to Korea in the late 70s/early 80s due to rising production costs in Japan, and the move by the Japanese guitar industry towards higher-end original designs. This bass probably pre-dates the mid 80s Hohner Professional range by a couple of years. Always liked the bog-seat saddles & abalone inlays on the MIK Hohners.

Think I've seen guitars like this before, but not a bass. I quite like weird but this wouldn't get on my list.

Translation doesn't mention material, just refers to body & neck being "one piece". I assumed it was timber based on the fancy top but with the rest painted black it could well be moulded composite - which obviously would make it less prone to distorting. It does have that wonky, hand-carved look to it though - you'd think a manufactured instrument might look a little less like something a dog deposited outside your gate.

Interesting and well-executed, if not particularly aesthetically pleasing, imo. If that's really 30+ years old though, it's hard to imagine that string tension won't have played havoc with neck/body alignment & likely led to all manner of warping or twisting.

Saw Norwegian black metallists Enslaved the other night, supporting Opeth - their bassist/frontman was playing an EB-3! Any other examples of incongruous basses in extreme metal contexts?

Don't think so - the bridge position looks correct for 34".

Noted.

Still there? Amazing if so. If this turns out to be an E or A serial (IMO looks like it could be either) then it'll be an awesome bass for £100. Or if you're an unprincipled gyppo, a potential £250-ish profit.

Like them both a lot. An awful lot. Only problems for me are i) the Fender sticker on the end and ii) the association with that smug git and his dismal band. Oh, and how much?

There was a BC member who gigged with one of these, posted the pics to prove it. Can't quite remember who, was a few years back. Anyway:

On the other hand Glen Matlock was a pretty damn good player. And Steve Jones (who played bass on most of NMTB) was absolutely rock-solid. Sid was never a musician and was never meant to be. When I heard that album, aged 15, I'd never heard anything like it. I may never have thought about playing music myself if it hadn't been for the DIY ethos of the bands that came out of Punk. Pretty groundbreaking to me & millions of other kids who suddenly realised they could be in bands too.

Very much depends what you mean by "greatest". If you grew up with this stuff (as I did) you know the impact they had on the music scene at the time - many of the other bands in the list would never have existed/had careers without the influence of the Pistols! They weren't virtuosos but anyone with a pair of ears knows the "couldn't play their instruments" line was, to coin a phrase, bollocks. And (speaking as an unrepentant prog rocker) great rock music isn't about technical ability!

Very nice - resisted the temptation to grab this one myself! I had a fretless BB400S, aside from the obvious it's hard to see what the difference between the 300 & 400 actually is. Mine had a chunkier bridge, I think. Can't offer anything factual about the serial (mine had a 4-letter prefix & 3 numbers) but I think all the different formats exist because Yamaha contracted several different factories to make the same models. That being the case, it's possible (probable, depending on the factory) your serial might use a standard format. Many 80s MIJ numbers use the first or second digits to indicate year of manufacture - meaning yours could either be '81 or '84. Pretty sure BB300s would have been around in both years.

The "Geneva" sticker on the back might be a clue - they were 90s Aberdeen indie/alt rock band, made a couple of albums for Suede's label in the Britpop era. Met them briefly in a Glasgow studio in 1995 or 6 - think they were recording their debut album, can't remember if the bassist had a T-40 though!

Ridiculous bargain, they can go for nearly twice that these days. Has the original case too. I'd grab that, if I were you.

I've played Blanket On The Ground. There. I said it. I've finally admitted it. Do I feel unburdened by this confession? Strangely, no - the recollection just takes me back to that dark, shameful night, and somehow revives and revitalises the humiliation, the stigma, and makes it all real again. No matter that it took place many years ago, in a frankly terrifying pub in the east end of Glasgow, and that it was a necessary act of self-debasement if we were to leave with teeth and gear intact, limbs unbroken and bodies unstabbed. Should I have been the stronger man, and taken the kicking, the glassing? I just don't know - some scars heal, others, it seems, do not.

Just stunning. Would look fabulous next to:

Some very, very odd inclusions on a list that should be entitled "guitar bands" rather than "rock". Anyway. One omission, and I'm amazed no-one else appears to have mentioned them considering the seismic impact they had on British music. No Sex Pistols. Come on.

That's grim, particularly if it's from a proper luthier. Looks like garden-shed wonkiness on steroids to me.

Having been moaning a bit in TheGreek's thread in Off Topic, I'm happy to say it's much more stable & running much faster for me this morning. However - tagging other users (@ + username) doesn't appear to be working.

Pics are pre-update so I can't see them unfortunately - any chance of re-posting them, @ricksterphil ? Morris is house-brand of Japanese manufacturer Moridaira, who are probably best known for making Prince's Hohner MadCat Telecaster copy. I think the Hurricanes were early 80s but they're not all that common so that's all I know! £50 is a total steal for any decent MIJ bass from that era, though.

[quote name='Mickeyboro' timestamp='1509880511' post='3402235'] Never mind the bass, where do I get the Pacamac? [/quote] From the '80s. When I saw The Armoury Show, Jobson came on stage in an anorak, with a plastic bag on his head. For a bet.

The Kays will be horrible plywood Taiwanese rubbish. The Guya is MIJ, better quality and also has some collectability value. Any of the modern basses however will be a more functional, useable musical instrument. There's been a vast improvement in the quality of budget-end instruments since the 70s!

I know a guy who has one. Don't think he's selling though. I've had GAS for one since seeing The Armoury Show in 1985!