Bassassin

Geek corner - these come up with a variety of different brands, lots of them are Arbiter in the UK, and also Aria: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catalogs/75_aria/75_aria_catalog_pg1.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku...og_pg1.jpg.html[/url] There's also a bass version. Despite looking like as Meddle almost poetically says, "the cheap bastardly love child of a Mustang and SG", they're actually straight & fairly representative copies of Gibson's budget Kalamazoo KG-1 or KG-2, depending on the number of pickups. Don't say you never learn nothin' 'round here. Anyway yeah, the one JJW linked to has had a really bad experience with a hacksaw. Jon.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1431549405' post='2772580'] I wonder how much an ordinary original aria model with be? [/quote] Got mine in a straight swap for a (very nice) 70s MIJ Jazz copy, which probably owed me about £55 tops. This may not be typical. Jon.

That's the same bass, 99.9% certain. And the one option I didn't consider - a quite amazing restoration. I've been blown away by the quality of some of Dale Fortune's work before on the RickResource board - cheers for unearthing the pics. Wish I could afford to go. Maybe they'll get a second wind & come over here after all - I won't even complain about Geddy's peculiar yodelling! J.

Back when I lived down south, there was a band on the Kent circuit called Uncle Lumpy & The Fish Doctors. Which is either genius or ludicrous. About 15 years ago I played in a rock covers duo called Hideous Things - which I might have actually suggested myself... Didn't do us any harm, we were stupidly busy for a couple of years. Jon.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1431258177' post='2769268'] Double double necks, does that mean they're doing 'Xanadu'? [/quote] Can't answer that, if this thread's going to stay spoiler-free... J.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1431215278' post='2768964'] Both using doublenecks.[/quote] Now this is interesting, if you're a spotter like me: It's one of 3 things - a Rickenbacker one-off, a Rickenbacker Geddy Lee Sig prototype, or (shock, horror!) a COPY!!! Proper Rick tailpiece (as never before seen on a bass played by Geddy), full-width inlays, wavy Grovers, gold scratchplates, looks like bolt-on or set necks - & I bet it's got checked binding. Proper early 70s tribute, that is. This, more than anything else, makes me a little sad they ain't coming over here. Jon.

So... Anyone else come in here expecting another R*ck*nb*ck*r thread? Jon.

If I'm not mistaken, that's a bitsa made from an Ibanez Roadstar (RB920?), de-fretted P-type neck & a bunch of bits of substantially lesser quality than the original Ibby parts. Each to their own...

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1430924883' post='2766024'] Wasn't he still using primarily a P bass on the first album? I love his tone/playing on that one too! Not sure if he'd switched to the Rick by the time this recording was made - but his tone is [i][b]huge[/b][/i] on here... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0D3gqBO6yk"]http://www.youtube....h?v=_0D3gqBO6yk[/url] [/quote] It's a P on the first album, he bought a Rick when that album got distribution in the US & they started getting paid! Then he did this to it... [sharedmedia=core:attachments:45167] J.

Camac is a brand that comes up from time to time on the vintage MIJ boards & discussion groups - there's often an assumption that "affordable" 70s & 80s neck-through builds are by definition Japanese or Korean. This is largely true but the late-period Italian-made Ekos like the BX basses are the exception. According to the Fetishguitars.com site (which concerns itself predominantly with vintage Italian instruments & is only sporadically in English!) [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/eko/eko-the-final-years/eko-camac/"]Eko did indeed build for Camac[/url], and these are clear variations on the BX bass design. I think the similarity between Camac headstocks & Matsumoku is either coincidental or just plain copying. After a bit of digging, I'm confident your bass is an Eko product - some of the Camacs have identical inlays, 5-piece necks, headstocks, & tail cuts. I can't make up my mind though whether it's a different Recanti-made off-brand, or if it's a Camac that's been reshaped & modified. Looking at the Camac/BX body, I think that's possible, so that's what I'm leaning towards right now. Apropos of nothing, there's an Eko BX (probaly a Brandoni bitsa) on Ebay right now - [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261874822456"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261874822456[/url] J.

Very pretty! Now, if that had blocks... Jon.

I agree - it's a typical Matsumoku headstock shape, but that's where the similarities end. It's a unique-looking bass & I'd very much like to see bigger/clearer/more detailed pics. Jon.

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1430778573' post='2764565'] While we're on the subject of possible Mat made basses, does anyone know if these were made by them: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Bass-Guitar-Hondo-70s-80s-/121638951728"]http://www.ebay.co.u...s-/121638951728[/url] I see them quite often, and they look like an earlier incarnation of the Westone Thunder and Aria SB style basses. [/quote] Some of these have turned up with "Matsumoku" stamped neckplates, so evidently they were! The design echoes several 1980-ish Mat basses, all featuring symmetrical body, bolt neck, P pickup (frequently a DiMarzio) & a 3-point bridge. Washburn Scavenger, Westbury Track 2, Vantage VS & probably a few I can't remember. [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430760117' post='2764355'] Concerning SB-ELT and SB-R80, they are very similar looking instruments. After some googling, I think the gold truss rod cover indicates an SB-ELT, does it not? [/quote] Sort of. I recently acquired a Matsumoku SB Elite Black & Gold, which should have a brass trc - mine doesn't but that's another story. So after consulting [url="http://gfyfe.com/aria.htm"]Graeme Fyfe's SB page[/url] we can conclude that Matsumoku SB Elites & post-Mat SB-ELTs have gold coloured trcs, whereas SB-Rs don't. It looks like SB-Rs were just re-designated as SB Elites from about '83, and the only difference is the brass cover, then post Mat, they became SB-ELTs. J.,

Not certain but I think it's a de-fretted SB-R80. J.

This bass is a Korean-made shortscale Jazz copy, probably late 70s. It's pretty low-end, expect a ply body, poor frets & nothing much in the way of tone. I had a similar one to this branded Franconia, but for basses of this era no name on the headstock means it's not "an" anything. These would have been sold with various different names as well as unbranded like this one. It's likely to be a bit rubbish, I wouldn't recommend paying more than about £40 for something like this. Jon.

If you have a heat gun, that might help unfreeze it. When it's in the vice, obviously! J.

WD40 is penetrating oil. If there's enough thread sticking out, you could perhaps file flats either side & get an adjustable spanner on it. J.

Nice little piece, but it does echo with the sound of salesmen, just a bit. Jon.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430589249' post='2762950'] Poles that are wider spaced? Sorry j, you lost me! [/quote] These Artecs are intended (I guess) for something like a Hofner violin bass, which has pretty narrow string spacing, so they have pole pieces which are pretty close together compared with the old Maxons. I just thought that it would be best to choose the one which has slightly wider spacing - ie the bridge unit - so it would be a bit closer to the original. Shouldn't make a lot of difference in practice though. Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1430530442' post='2762418'] A friend of mine sold an almost identical Speed Triple known as Natalie - it was one of the two bikes that Ms Imbruglia rode in "Johnny English". That wouldn't happen to be her, would it? [/quote] No, unfortunately mine's only famous on BC! The Johnny English S3s were the 01-onward models which has different bodywork & a slightly uprated motor, mine's the earlier version which is basically a detuned Daytona T595 with the fairing kicked off. I do remember a couple of years back, a guy on Triumph Torque was selling an S3 that he reckoned was the Johnny English bike. He'd replaced all the bodywork with black (sexual insecurity must be a terrible thing) and was selling the "Nuclear Red" bits separately. J.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430563661' post='2762614'] So that's a tick for the thumb rest being close to the original! As for the bridge cover, the paintwork is unflawed all around the bridge so I'm not sure if it ever had a cover or that Maude's reconditioning was so well done that they really where covered over. [/quote] A Fujigen J copy of this vintage would have had a full-size bridge ashtray - absolutely no doubt. Those Artec pickups sare pretty low output for humbuckers - about 8.5k, so one of those probably wouldn't overpower the original. If you go for one, the bridge position should have poles that are wider spaced. J.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1430500594' post='2762138'] Phonetically they're identical... unless you pronounce it SKWEE-ER. [/quote] Although I have no problem pronouncing it correctly, I always read it as "Squeer". How queer! J.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1430496671' post='2762096'] Fixed, eBay stylee [/quote] Depressingly, that's about 90% BC-stylee 'n all. Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1430465353' post='2761595'] Jon - I'm loving seeing your more extreme tastes in basses but it's the bike that caught my eye. . . . . . VERY nice indeed! [/quote] It is quite magnificent, isn't it! I'm sufficiently shallow to be incredibly pleased to have found a bass to match (well, almost) my bike. Makes it even better that it's a Rickenfaker. J.

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430429111' post='2761466'] The fingerboard seems solid on this one. The bridge cover is a short one again, why do so few of them have the original shape pickup/bridge cover? [/quote] I'd presume because most bassists took them off as soon as they got the bass home form the shop! No idea what that cover's from, something beginning with "v" perhaps! I've lost count of the number of 70s MIJ basses & guitars I've had - but never had a fretboard fall off! I'm inclined to think if a bass has lasted 40 years and the board hasn't dropped off, it's probably not going to! J.