Bassassin

These are the kinds of parties bassists never get invited to.

Force 4 - Force 8 had a bound body with bookmatched top & maple board. I know because I have slightly uncomfortable GAS for one. Classy, understated thing this one - love that shape.

[quote name='SICbass' timestamp='1504443397' post='3364856'] Over a grand is a bit steep for a JV isn't it? [/quote] Without a JV serial neckplate it kind of isn't a JV. Done a fair bit of reading about 80s Squiers & the early days of Fender Japan under Kanda Shokai and never heard the slightest mention of a brass non-serial neckplate option. Hmmm indeed.

That got spotted in Ebay Corner a few days ago: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/7473-japcrap-spotting/page__view__findpost__p__3362167"]http://basschat.co.u...ost__p__3362167[/url] Not MIJ but I do like the starry, starry neck.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1504111552' post='3362782'] I met Nick Beggs in the queue to get into a Frank Zappa movie at the Prince Charles Cinema. His first sentence to me contained the word "willy" [/quote] I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to reprimand the lovely Mr Beggs for his role in influencing me to play hamfisted, inept & inappropriate slap lines on numerous unsuspecting songs in the early/mid 80s. He seemed quite amused but disappointingly didn't mention willies.

Now here's an interesting one - 1986 Ibanez Proline PL5050: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ibanez-PL5050-Bass-Guitar-86-Jap-FujiGen-Made/122661478487"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ibanez-PL5050-Bass-Guitar-86-Jap-FujiGen-Made/122661478487[/url] Essentially the debut of what would go on to be the SoundGear series. Very reasonable price for such a rarity, and in great condition by the looks. Shame (or lucky escape?) he won't post.

Just read the Ebay T&Cs, and it's now a requirement that anyone who wishes to sell through the site must be a compulsive liar.

Cheapo Korean, but I'd probably dump £50 on that for the star inlays, if it was near me! Always thought "Starforce" gets confused with "Starfield" - which was made by Fujigen for Hoshino. Starfield apparently being pretty much a translation of Hoshino.

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1504088641' post='3362554'] Interesting. If it doesn't say MIJ, I'd guess it's really Chinese made... not that that's necessarily bad. [/quote] Little gold sticker on the heel that you can't quite read looks a lot more like "China" than "Japan". [url="https://postimg.org/image/yysth1x2d/"][/url] So, very, very expensive, IMO - certainly compared to this: [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbp90bk_shortscale_ebass.htm"]https://www.thomann....scale_ebass.htm[/url]

[quote name='Lightlyseared' timestamp='1503954944' post='3361855'] Greco made an Iceman shaped 5 called the Mirage, they show up on Ishibashi and other Japanese sites now and then. [/quote] Would expect Greco Mirages to be a lot less common than Ibby Icemen (Icemans?) as Greco is technically a Japan-only brand. The original Iceman & Mirage guitars from the late 70s are the same instruments - a Fujigen Gakki build (and possibly design) sold as both Ibanez and Greco - and probably a few other names as well, back then. Always fancied an Iceman bass.

Bit of an odd one - for me as my thing's typically prog & metal, and also as it's an acoustic cover by an act who aren't "serious" musicians. Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony Allstars' cover of Hunters & Collectors "Throw Your Arms Around Me". Just gorgeous. [media]http://youtu.be/-j0g2oG_w2g[/media]

Odd - I was only thinking about them yesterday & wondering/hoping they might do something like this. Clearly it's only rumours at the moment but I'd love to see them release new post-Rush stuff, & tour - hopefully in much smaller venues - with a full band. Make a proper break from their old way of working.

Very pretty! Not quite red enough to be the Cursed Red Rick Of Doom - but be careful, anyway.

Kind of like it - anything that's not stylistically a bloody P or J derivative feels like a breath of fresh air, though! Design-wise it's a bit almost/not quite - the basic shape is nice but the slabbiness of it is at odds with what I think is trying to be a fairly modern-looking bass. Slim it down a bit & contour it and it would look more balanced (and probably be more comfortable) without losing its non-reverse T-Bird influence. The headstock's a bit nasty & the scratchplate looks like an afterthought/offcut, but I really like the offset inlays. Not a big fan of the colours but they probably (the blue, at least) look better in real life.

So - someone, somewhere (at the time of posting) is willing to pay at least £55 for a cardoard box with a stick poking out of it? ....... ....... ....... I have cardboard boxes! I have sticks! *runs off to start business*

Not looked in a while but I think when they come up on BC, they often go for a fair bit less than the start on this. Looks in nice order though.

[quote name='Mastodon2' timestamp='1503247120' post='3356668'] The split of opinion on this sort of thing always amuses me - "It's too complicated, he's overplaying" vs the "It's too simple, he should spice it up a bit". [/quote] That's not really the split in this thread though. While this sort of thing's neither what I play, or listen to - as a piece of music it's pleasant,, the band are great musicians & there's some lovely playing going on all round. I just don't understand why the guitarist's playing a bass!

Defret - doubt a maple lined fretless neck would have such pale inlays, also the side dots are mid-position, not aligned wth the lines. Looks like a very tidy job though.

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1503178771' post='3356308'] Seriously wondering why on earth he bothered playing that on a bass. Big Box Jazzer material if I ever heard it. [/quote] Sort of agree. Unremarkable (ie stuff I could play!) guitar solos, for some reason played on a bass.

[quote name='KK Jale' timestamp='1503067149' post='3355490'] I'm going to bid 1976 (for production basses, at least) with this Ibanez... [url="http://imgur.com/YSkLhOs"][/url] [/quote] Was going to post this. These are associated with Free/Faces geezer Tetsu Yamauchi - I've read (unconfirmed) that he was involved in its development & it's often regarded as an unofficial signature model by MIJ geeks. The earliest known appearance of this bass (with pearl blocks) is a [url="http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/catalog/1974-2/09.jpg"]1974 catalogue[/url].

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1503031637' post='3355144'] "it's rubbish" IS a critique of it's condition, what else could it be, sheesh now you tell me what I mean? the dude asked for opinions, I gave mine. You gave yours. Why attack me? [/quote] I'm not "attacking you", am I? You expressed an opinion about the bass 100% bleedin' obviously based on the assumption that it was a cheap, badly-made and unplayable piece of rubbish. Me & six other people who replied have owned or had experience of these instruments and actually know otherwise. I'm also enough of a sad geek that I know a bit of stuff about the manufacturer and the instrument range. Even if you were in some incoherently cryptic way attempting to discuss the condition of the bass (which you clearly weren't), your comments would make no sense - the bass itself is a bit beat-up but appears to be fine, apart from needing a new nut, a set of strings and (maybe) a £10 set of tuners.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1502983048' post='3354863'] I wasn't insulting the brand, moreso the number of things wrong with that particlular one, like the tuners and all the dings and the nut. [/quote] With all necessary respect, this is what you said: [quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1502943376' post='3354517'] it's rubbish and will greatly hinder your playing. Go buy an SX or Squier for less than $200 Euros DO NOT THROW MONEY AT THAT POS [/quote] That is not a critique of the condition of the instrument. There's currently a l/h Fenix Jazz on Ebay for £259, and another on one of the FB gear groups (can't remember which) for £250, so I may have underestimated a tad.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1502943376' post='3354517'] thank him for the gift, then throw it in the bin it's rubbish and will greatly hinder your playing. Go buy an SX or Squier for less than $200 Euros DO NOT THROW MONEY AT THAT POS [/quote] Ignore Mr Bazztard - he seems to like to dismiss/insult instruments he knows little or nothing about. Young-Chang is an interesting manufacturer and the history of Fenix instruments is similarly interesting. In the late 80s, Fender moved production of Squier guitars & basses to Korea - Young-Chang was one of the factories contracted to build them. Young-Chang Squiers were nice quality instruments (I once had a very nice Y-C Bullet), but simultaneously Young-Chang began retailing many of the same instruments (with a few cosmetic & hardware changes/upgrades) branded as Fenix, for lower RRPs. They were quite flagrant in doing this - even referencing Squier in their marketing materials - and eventually lost the Squier business and were later subject to legal action from Fender over the use of the Fenix, brand, which was considered to be intended to be similar to Fender. These days these instruments are becoming quite rare and borderline collectable, likely due to the "lawsuit" cachet. Not worth a huge amount (up to a couple of hundred quid or so for a vgc example) but interesting & good quality. For more info about this bass, an ID for it, and advice over what to do with it, have a chat with these nice people: [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/128212226340/"]FB Fenix Owners Group[/url] Fwiw I have a Fenix ST-20 Strat copy - it's a lovely, well-made & incredibly playable guitar. I also have an 80s MIJ E-serial Squier Strat. The Fenix is better.

[quote name='PawelG' timestamp='1502701200' post='3352898'] And the neck looks mint too. Odd. [/quote] So it does - never noticed! Make that "horrid bashed-up half-arsed fakey relic job", then

Lovely finish, IMO completely ruined by horrid bashed-up fakey relic job. So unnecessary.