Bassassin

I'd like one - but not for £320! That's about twice what one of these should reasonably go for. Jon.

That's interesting, not many of these in the UK. This is MIJ, shield-shaped neckplate possibly suggests Zen-on. Jon.

We've practiced drummer-less loads, using pre-programmed drum tracks. Even played a couple of gigs like that a long time ago, while we were between "meat" drummers. Jon.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1433873087' post='2794774'] Bad man that I am...sorry [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guitar-Bridge-for-Headless-Bass-/311363305520?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_205&hash=item487eb30030"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item487eb30030[/url] [/quote] That looks like a clone of the Steinberger-licensed ones used by Hohner & Cort. Wonder if Kiwi's still got any of those Moses necks he was trying to punt? J.

I would expect in this instance, [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/chguitars?_trksid=p2047675.l2563"]CH Guitars[/url] (the seller) ordered them from their supplier. They probably sat in a drawer or on a shelf for a few years, & got a bit knocked around whilst failing to sell at full price. I've had a good few bits & pieces from CH over the years, generally well-priced & decent quality. If I'd seen the Steiny bridges before they all sold, I might well have grabbed one. Just in case... Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1433794362' post='2794087'] And as it's transparent, it doesn't look like a well known brand of bass guitar. Neat. [/quote] What doesn't? [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1433716567' post='2793409'] I hate LEDs... I suppose I could pull the batteries. [/quote] I expect they're switchable. I'd like them better if they changed colour... J.

The absurd & shouty spiel does open by saying [b]PLEASE DON'T BUY THIS GUITAR![/b] Which is eminently sensible advice that I have no qualms whatsoever about following. Jon.

It has LEDs too. Could it get any cooler? German luthier called [url="http://www.fmw-guitars.de/script/about.php"]FMW Guitars[/url], if anyone's interested. Other styles are available... J.

I like the finish. The white plate looks cheapo on that, though. What's interesting is that I didn't know this was a Fender finish - but I'm familiar with seeing this idea used on various Corts from the same era: Really like the 3 tone PRS style. Jon.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1433626442' post='2792674'] Should you even use the words 'cool' and 'acrylic' in the same sentence? [/quote] Yes. J.

The Aria & the rebrands (Arbiter & CMI were brands owned by UK importers) will have been exactly the same bass. Unfortunately once the original TRC's gone, there's no way of telling which was which. So you might as well go with Aria! If you don't mind a bit of boring & time-consuming work, you might be able to remove the spray paint with T-Cut. I've done this on a bass before, took off a matt black topcoat & grey primer to find the original transparent tobbacco burst intact underneath. It took ages, though. J.

Twin truss rods & bolt-neck means it's almost certainly a 70s Matsumoku build, meaning Aria, Arbiter, CMI etc. If the neckplate is stamped "Steel Adjustable Neck", that confirms it as Matsumoku. If not, then I don't know & would like to see some pics. J.

Forum rules mean I can't link to it, but there's a John Birch on Ebay now, looks similar to the green one above. Bids starting at £1495. J.

Seller is geographically challenged - it's a Czech-made Jolana Kolorbas. Lots of Jolanas seem to turn up in the UK - wonder if they were officially imported at some point? Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1433488608' post='2791407'] Were Shaftesbury made in the Matsumoku factory? I thought that some of them were rebranded Ibanez, possibly made in Fujigen? (Apart from the Rick copies which were probably made in the same unknown factory as my Cimar, I think). [/quote] This one's a Matsumoku - "Steel Adjustable Neck" plate & offset position dots are a 100% ID. Shaftesbury was Rose-Morris' top-tier brand & I think they sourced from various different suppliers, eg the early Rick-ish semi copies were mostly made by Eko in Italy but there are also some Teisco/Guya-looking MIJs, and there are various UK-made Ned Callans that turn up branded Shaftesbury. So I'd be surprised if there weren't a few Fujigen Shaftys around but most of the LP guitar copies seem to be Matsumoku. Regarding the 4001 copies, still no confirmed factory for these but on the vintage MIJ forums & FB groups, Chushin Gakki has become a catch-all culprit for most of the "unidentifiables" - including the Rick copies. Personally I'm not at all sure about this, particularly since you see Shaftesbury Fakers with major differences. J.

This sort of thing is going to happen if you buy/sell/trade much. The likelihood is that if you got what you know to be a fair trade value for your bass, but the person you traded with saw it as an opportunity to profiteer, chances are they'll end up more regretful than you. Good luck to them if they get what they're asking - but chances are they won't. Back in January I did a FB trade, swapping a very nice '70s MIJ Jazz copy for a beat-up Aria SB-Elite B&G. I'd been intending to sell the J on here for maybe about £150 - I thought a fair price for a very nice bass which was actually a bitsa made from period-correct components most of which I got through BC anyway. Anyway I'd intended to give the guy the bass + cash to be negotiated when we met - but he was happy with a straight swap. And so was I... The Jazz reappeared a couple of weeks later with a sale/trade value of £300-ish & has subsequently been circulated around the FB group at incrementally decreasing values. Last I saw it some moron had buchered the maple/black blocks neck by de-fretting it and sanding the fingerboard. Tragic because it was a nice vintage neck with excellent frets & it played beautifully. That hurt a bit - but then again, not my problem any more. I also sold a pretty but rubbish old Hohner bass on Ebay about a year ago, got about £70 for it. A week later it was back for £250 BIN, re-using my pics and with a pack of lies instead of an honest description. It didn't sell, I got bored watching it after 4 increasingly desperate re-lists & assume the guy ended up chucking it on the fire, where it belonged. Jon.

I'd never seen one of these until one came up about a year back - I think until then the speculation had been that Matsumoku never made an LP bass. Wonder if this is the same one? Rare or not, £284 is probably twice what it should cost. J.

[quote name='Mike' timestamp='1433363925' post='2790528'] Thanks for the headsup! [/quote] It's also on Ebay - on its third re-list: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EKO-BX7-1983-Custom-made-thru-neck-fretless-Bass-guitar-Made-in-Italy-/261908860495?"]http://www.ebay.co.u...-/261908860495?[/url] Jon.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1433321574' post='2790000'] Is it just me or do those pickups look slightly misaligned? [/quote] Agree with that. The bridge on this one looks like the licensed type used on Hohner Jacks & B2s, and isn't the same as the kit one. Jon.

If it's not a Satellite, it is identical to the ones that were sold branded as Satellite, and was made on the same production line. Probably well worth the £50 someone just paid for it though. Jon.

The makers of this bass posted it on a local FB muso group I use, mostly just to get reactions & feedback. This was my "assessment": [i]Aesthetically I love it - I'm a sucker for a see-through bass, but from a player's perspective I have a few misgivings about the practicality of the design & the pickup & switching choices. A bass is usually a pretty heavy instrument, and lots of hard edges & protruding fasteners might make this pretty uncomfortable to play over a long gig - the 4 sharp ridges where a forearm chamfer would be on a solid body look particularly eye-watering! Not at all convinced by the Strat-type pickup layout & switching - on the whole a pickup selector is pretty much useless on a bass, the facility to blend pickups (either individual volumes or a pan pot) is far more flexible. I'd be inclined to go for a 2 pickup arrangement with pan pot. And some LEDs. Lots of LEDs.[/i] Well, it's just a giant Strat really, innit? Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1433187712' post='2788757'] Pretty sure this is a Satellite, though the bridge is the same used on Yamaki-made basses (were Satellites made there?) [/quote] No chance! Satellites, including these through-necks, were MIK cheapos through & through. I suspect the bridge design is a copy, pics aren't too clear but I think the saddles on this will be chromed rather than the brass used on Yamaki builds. Korean cheapo or not, this would likely be a good score at £50. As I type, it has 5 mins left & no bids... J.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1433136440' post='2788078'] The tuner/tail piece unit photo is upside down. If you look at the body there is a step in the bridge rout,flip the tail piece and no doubt there'll be saddles on top. [/quote] You're quite right! No wonder it looks a bit steampunk! J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1433092055' post='2787750'] @Bassassasin - I've looked carefully, and I can't see what is missing. Unless it's a control cavity cover. What is it? And why are there two neck plates? [/quote] What's missing is an actual bridge. The pics show a tuner/tailpiece assembly which clearly has a section where a separate bridge unit should fit: I think it's likely that this is just a mistake with the pics, but I'd certainly want to see it properly if I was buying one. J.

JBs aren't straight copies, more "inspired by". They're high-end, hand-made basses and if you can find one, will cost around you'd pay for the real thing. A few random examples: These were made from the 70s onwards in a variety of different configurations, They were still being sold as recently as the early 00s, although AFAIK John Hall has made them go away now. J.