Bassassin

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430384640' post='2760806'] I wonder what price the seller paid for the original. [/quote] 175 quid, if he bought it from Thomann. J.

Read a bit about this a few weeks back, the most concrete info I could find is that the partnership between Fender & Kanda Shokai, which constitutes Fender Japan, had come to an end. This doesn't preclude future Japan-made Fenders but means the name Fender Japan may no longer be used, and that production will probably move elsewhere, since Kanda owns the Dyna Gakki factory. Arguably the Dyna & Tokai-made CIJs never had the class of Fujigen-era MIJs anyway. Jon.

New, it would have had a full-size J cover over the bridge, which woud cover the pickup - which is likely why they initially used these pickups, rather than tooling up to make accurate copies. As I mentioned, this bass is identical to its Ibanez counterpart, so new it would have looked like this; These catalogues used Fujigen factory stock shots, hence no brand on the headstock. If there was a '72 Antoria catalogue, it would have used the same pics. Anecdotally the model numbers were the same also. Jon.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1430243144' post='2759448'] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Extremely-Rare-Semi-Acoustic-Custom-Electric-bass-/261866171240?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cf870ab68"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3cf870ab68[/url] Is this bass a Harley Benton? I think it is [/quote] It certainly is. And has been subject to plenty of well-earned ridicule on the FB Rickenfakers group. Jon.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1430232878' post='2759265'] How good are Retrovibes? What's it sound like? What's it like to play? [/quote] It's not bad. Haven't had the chance to give it a proper setup & fettling (in fact I currently don't have a useable workspace), so I'm playing it out of the box at the moment. The neck's nice - fairly broad but quite shallow with a flat-ish radius, it's well-balanced & comfortable on a strap, unlike a real Rick it's got a very welcome forearm contour & a bit of a gut-cut. It's pretty light too, compared with some of my deadweights. Fret work's spot-on, nice & smooth with no sharp edges. There's zero relief in the neck which means there's a tiny bit of buzzing around the 3rd/4th frets on the E & A, but plugged in, I'm not hearing it. I do need to tweak the string height down a bit - played it at practice tonight & it was quite hard work on some of the busier songs. Sound-wise, it's loud with masses of low-end, I ended up soloing the bridge pickup & boosting mids to get it to cut through properly. I think I'll re-wire it with push-pots to get proper single-coil switching - I don't think the T-40 wiring's working exactly how it should. Might go for a single volume & pickup pan pot - I've never seen the point of a 3-way selector switch on a bass. So I'm really happy with it - it's pretty damn good as it is, but has the potential to be great. And realistically, just look at it - even if it played like a turd, I'd love it. J.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1430248036' post='2759538'] There's someone on the Glasgow / Edinburgh / Central Scotland Facebook music gear group selling a sunburst one for £120. No idea if that's a realistic value. [/quote] That's my old one. I traded it for an Aria Pro SB-R Black & Gold. It's worth more than £120, imo. J.

[quote name='Matt Turner' timestamp='1430228495' post='2759188'] You want to install a Precision Bass pickguard onto a Jazz Bass? You know that the pickups are different shapes right? Minimum you would have to cut the P-Bass pickguard. Why not buy the Jazz bass pickguard in the colour you want? I just bought a new Jazz bass pickguard from The Music Trading Company through Amazon. Arrived after 3 days, perfect fit. cheers, Matt [/quote] He wants a Jazz plate cut for a P pickup! Jon.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1430228726' post='2759193'] I've got an old Wilson guitar with the 'zero fret' and I've always thought "what a good idea" no more fannying around cutting the nut to exactley the right depth, I've often wondered why it's not more widely used. [/quote] Exactly. I do my own set-ups, including fret levelling & dressing - the biggest pain in the arse is accurately cutting nut slots. Use a zero-fret and the nut just becomes a string guide. I'm not even convinced Warwick's adjustable nuts have any real advantage over it. J.

Doesn't make the slightest difference what it's made of as long as it's fitted & cut properly. Logically a zero-fret in front of the nut is a far more sensible idea - but that just ain't fashionable. Jon.

I've got two that don't work, which ain't much help! I'd suggest the [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/55074615631/"]Vintage Japanese Guitar Fanclub[/url] group on FB. No guarantee that someone will have one, but some of those guys have been collecting MIJ stuff for 40 years & have very deep spares boxes. J.

PB551. Only less yellow. J.

Serial's consistent with mid-80s MIJ, which is what it looks like to me. Jon.

Original Maxon pickups are quite hard to find, not having been made for 40-odd years, but occasionally they do come up. Alternatively an Artec mini humbucker like this should fit: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Artec-Mini-Humbucker-Violin-Bass-Pickup-Chrome/151278941934"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Artec-Mini-Humbucker-Violin-Bass-Pickup-Chrome/151278941934[/url] Not sure how pole spacing & output would work, but it's a 4-wire so it'll do single-coil. J.

Nice example - I've had a few of these. Sorry to tell you Avons weren't Fujigen builds - there's no confirmation of exactly who did make them, but Chushin Gakki's a possibility. Judging from the neck - round-end fretboard, inlays up to the 17th, fairly high heel - I'd say it's early 70s, possibly 72/3. Those traits disappeared when copies got more accurate. Jon.

Sometimes these pickups don't have date stamps, I don't think it necessarily means they're earlier than dated ones. I'd still place the bass at 72/3 based on the other features I mentioned. [quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1430151813' post='2758429'] My old man has an Antoria Les Paul, I read up on them once and supposedly they were owned by Ibanez. [/quote] Not sure where you read that. Antoria's a British brand which has changed hands a number of times over the years, but has always been owned by UK distributors - I believe it currently belongs to Tim Gentle Music. Anyway at that time it was owned by J.T. Coppock Ltd of Leeds, who sourced instruments from Fujigen Gakki. Ibanez is a brand name owned by Hoshino Gakki Ten - they also sourced their 70s copy-era instruments from Fujigen, which means that some models are identical to Antoria apart from the brand name. There's absolutely no other connection. [quote name='Maude' timestamp='1430170988' post='2758694'] Coldflows, I'm sure that's my old Antoria! [/quote] Bloody hell - amazing coincidence of the week! That explains the unusual finish & the dodgy pickup! J.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1430136908' post='2758242'] There was a 3TSB Antoria with these p/ups on evilbay recently. I'm sure bassassasin will be along shortly to shed light on this murky corner! [/quote] These pickups are Maxon single-coils, they appeared on loads of early MIJ basses (even Ibby Rick Fakers had 'em) before 70s copies started getting accurate. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:69930] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:61017] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:61019] If there's a code on the back, this can be used to date the pickup, and will also give you an approximate date for the bass. Pre-76 Antoria basses (made by Fujigen Gakki) didn't have serial numbers, so it's hard to date them otherwise. This bass is pretty interesting - it looks like an early example - I'd guess 72/73, based on the chrome trc and inlays to 17th position - but I've never before seen an Antoria or any other Fujigen J copy with a solid finish & matching headstock. The fact there's a correct & authentic abalone logo on the head strongly suggests it's not a refin. Value - not sure. A good, clean & original early Antoria J might get around £175 - £225 or so if you're lucky - but if you can find a keen collector, this odd finish might fetch a bit more. Jon.

Got a can of Servisol Super 10 sitting right here on my desk - great stuff. Don't use WD40 on pots. Or bike chains. Jon.

No, no, yes? 1 - 99% it'll be a Satellite, Memphis was a US importer rebrand of the same thing. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:53548] 2 - 1980. I can say this with some certainty because I am an old sod & remember seeing/trying these in my local shop in that very year. They cost £99, which was (even back in the olden days) a total steal for a not too badly-made through-neck. However I was young & poor, and (at the time!) a snobby little brand-Nazi who wouldn't have been seen dead playing anything with "Satellite" on the end. I got over that & had one of these a few years back. They're OK but not great, Korean-made (none of the Satellite/Kay/Hondo stuff like this was MIJ) and mine weighed a ton. The wood under the stain & heavy lacquer was like random offcuts with lots of filler in the various cracks & holes, the bridge on mine had been routed (badly) about 5mm into the body to make it playable. They weren't necessarily all like that (QC on cheapos was abysmal back then) but I wouldn't recommend paying more than about £120 max for one of these, and I'd want a proper look at it first. J.

Another (probably) Yamaki-built P: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/70s-Daion-P-bass-Electric-Bass-Guitar-/321738204750"]http://www.ebay.co.u...r-/321738204750[/url] Looks like typical mid-70s build - butcherblock (maybe even ply) body, Gibson-type nut, glued-on fretboard. Not in original condition (new electronics) so the price is somewhat optimistic, I'd say. And speaking of optimistic pricing: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WASHBURN-VULTURE-RARE-1982-SB40-VINTAGE-BASS-GUITAR-/191566993186"]http://www.ebay.co.u...R-/191566993186[/url] In fairness, I'd love to see this sell for £450 - I have one exactly the same and it's an extremely rare and wonderful bass, if & if pricing for these matched the Aria Pro SBs from the same factory & era, that'd be a bargain. This is the only one of these I've seen, apart from my own. J.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1430127631' post='2758123'] Do left handed Dekos ever appear? I'm after a left handed neck as a donor to a project. Seems like a cheap way of getting a reasonable neck... [/quote] [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430031660' post='2757171'] DEKOS! [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_20_sb_lh_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d..._sb_lh_deko.htm[/url] Left handed Jazz bass. EDIT: Gone. [/quote] I suppose you might be taking a chance that there aren't neck issues - but most seem to have been fine. Jon.

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1430054963' post='2757486'] I don't like the look of those Badass ones either. [/quote] Shame - got one in my parts box that I don't want either! I'm a big Schaller 3D fan - but you do have to drill new holes for them. The Gotoh hi-mass thing's a good choice, quite sympathetic to the BBOT design but less, well, rubbish. J.

Lovely classic 70s MIJ Jazz. Probably a Fujigen build if it's '77. Glad you're going to swap the hardware back to chrome - will you use a BBOT, or go for an "upgrade"? Jon.

For the record the Joodee isn't a Fujigen - it's a Yamaki build, which is (arguably!) better from a geek perspective. Wish Ebay sellers wouldn't just bullsh!t when they don't know what they're talking about. Shame the original truss adjustment's gone. The Westy's wildly overpriced, considering it's not even in playable condition. That would be dear for an immaculate one, mind. J.

I wouldn't accept that on a brand-new, £700 bass. Not for a poxy £50 off. Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1429885218' post='2756000'] What were you doing in my back garden? [/quote] Stealing pics of your bass, it would seem! Zephyr/C5 are the same thing according to the tag mine had on it when I bought it, presumably the 4-string's a C4. Really must dig mine out & stick some new strings on it. J.