Bassassin

And they're Les Paul copies. Apparently. Anyway, never encountered Orlando before (I'd say not a UK brand) and this is actually fairly interesting. I'm about 99.9% certain the bass is a Kasuga, making it a lot more interesting than the plethora of plywood Chushin rebrands that most old EB clones are. It's likely a pretty decent bass, too. J.

Someone on the [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum/"]Ibanez Collector's World[/url] board restored one of these with very similar damage a few years ago - I think he shaped a piece of maple to replace the missing bit. Jon.

Looks like one of David Konig's Retrovibes to me. Is it completely unrouted? I'd like to do something 4002 or 4004-ish with one of these. Jon.

Interesting, quite like the look... but that's a [i]lot[/i] of money for a Les Paul copy with bit of metal stuck on the front. Jon.

[quote]...and it is easy to flip it.[/quote] Well - he's confident, I'll say that for him. Jon.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1452948526' post='2954949'] Where's Bassassin when you need him? [/quote] Off being unhelpful elsewhere! Anyroad up, It's broadly similar to one o' these: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/bass/a-100_200.html"]http://www.matsumoku.../a-100_200.html[/url] However - because these were sold under the Aria name it doesn't follow that it's either a Matsumoku, or even any good. Or even MIJ (although I think this one is). There were various different versions of this design seemingly from several different factories sold through the 70s & early 80s, later ones being Korean-made. If it has "Steel Adjustable Neck" on the neckplate, that would confirm it as a Matsumoku, otherwise there's no real way of IDing or dating it, apart from in the broadest terms. Still kinda cool, though... Jon.

Sitting here looking at an Ibby SR500 which I've just rescued. Mine's one of the earlier, Korean-made examples & the spec sheet tells me it has US-made Bart MK1s, and Bart three-band pre. It seems the current SR500s still have the same setup, but no longer US-made, if that counts for anything. Not played it in anger yet but it does sound lovely, and seems very versatile. If you get on with a very skinny neck, I'd definitely recommend an SR - very light & comfortable, and tend to come up at good prices. Jon.

I had one of these a while back. The pickups used on these basses are the same ones the Japanese manufacturer (Chushin Gakki, likely) put in their Tele copies - they're not a specific bass pickup. One of he pickups on mine was dud, I simply took the coil out of a cheapo Tele pickup (which was slightly smaller) and popped it into the case from the Avon. It didn't exactly sound awesome - but then, neither did the original! If I was going to hot-rod one of these to use as a gigging bass, I'd probably consider a pair of Artec mini bass humbuckers: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Artec-Mini-Humbucker-Violin-Bass-Bridge-Pickup-Chrome-/371531876119"]http://www.ebay.co.u...e-/371531876119[/url] You'd need to modify the scratchplate/bridge pup surround but I think they'd fit the body routing. They are 4 conductor so you could wire them with push/pull pots for single coil/out-of-phase options. Jon.

Too half-arsed and lazy to even take out the ferrules... Jon.

Not got a problem with tributes, really. Would struggle to think of a band I'd be interested in doing a trib to, admittedly. Never gone out of my way to see a tribute band either, but have managed to inadvertantly catch a few. Those I've seen seen seemed to broadly divide between stunningly, disturbingly accurate and utterly, tragically embarrassing. Jon.

[quote name='Vinny' timestamp='1452840862' post='2953904'] But does it have as dubious a label as this one? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BadAax-4-String-Headless-Bass-Guitar-/231810901633?hash=item35f901a681:g:-XAAAOSwKtlWlBEh"]http://www.ebay.co.u...XAAAOSwKtlWlBEh[/url] Looks a lot like a B2 to my eyes. [/quote] It's close but not quite a B2. It has a set neck & conventional soapbars - B2s have through necks & guitar-type pickups. This looks the same, as far as I remember, as a German brand that was on Ebay a few years back selling B2-alikes. Can't recall the name, I think it was 2 initials. They even did a twin neck version. J.

The cheap hardware would suggest Hondo (or a differently badged version of the same bass) to me. The Kramers I've seen had Schaller tuners & bridge. Jon.

Well, that's incomprehensible. Pretty rare bass in the UK but I can't imagine why he thinks it's worth that much. Also why he's claiming it's 1976 (it's a lot earlier, likely pre '71-ish) and why he's referencing Framus. Then again, I've never understood why people selling stuff so often can't be arsed to do even the most cursory research. And then assume no-one else does, either. Jon.

I'm surprised no-one's suggested something from the Ibanez SR range. In essence very similar to the Bass Collections, but a lot easier to find because they're still manufactured and remain very popular. Even the low-end of the range (SR300 etc) are very highly regarded, well-made instruments with good quality & versatile active electronics. SRs also feature very thin, narrow necks, which might be suited to someone more used to a guitar. I'm quite biased at the moment, having previously owned 2 SRs (which I sold & regretted) and recently picked up another - which was a total bargain. €350 should buy a new SR300 if you shop around - or a used, good condition SR500, with better build/electronics & Bartolini pickups. Jon.

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1452025289' post='2945708'] Judging by this pic it seems as if he's a bike 'improver' as well, checkout that sidecar! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-AES-820-custom-soapbar-Humbucker-on-pro-set-up-/191764351167?hash=item2ca60bc8bf:g:37sAAOSwgQ9Vzkac"]http://www.ebay.co.u...7sAAOSwgQ9Vzkac[/url] [/quote] Bloody hell. Most "creative" use for the front end of a MiG 15 I've ever seen. And now I can't unsee it. Jon.

I don't like any of those songs (don't hate them either, haven't heard several of them anyway) - but good grief, what a useless, gargantuan buttock the person who wrote that is. Jon.

It's a tatty Korean-made Hondo, nothing to do with Aria - and will get pulled, like they all do. Jon.

Not really, probably because there aren't enough names in the world. The exceptions are two of my MIJ Rick copies - the Kasuga is the Rickenbugger, while another is a bitsa which I put together from parts scavenged from various dead basses, and is (predictably) The Frankenbugger. Jon.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1451847199' post='2944001'] Haha You presumably only play headless Steinberger type basses Jon, in the interest of losing unnecessary wood [/quote] I have got two Steiny-type headlesses, now you come to mention it... I have a massive soft spot for Ibby SRs, had a fretted & fretless pair of SR800s in the early 90s, sold them a few years back & regretted it. Recently got a fixer-upper SR500 which I gave a Danish oil refin over Xmas - it's currently hanging by my desk drying, & I keep being struck by what a good looking bass it is every time it catches my eye... and then I see [i]this[/i] thing... J.

No. The original SR is an elegant & lightweight design and all this does is add 2lbs of unnecessary wood, and make it pig-ugly. Horrid. Jon.

It's always the money these hamfisted, artless chimps expect for this sort of misbegotten garbage that amazes me. £450? He couldn't even be arsed to buy 2x2 tuners for it. Jon.