Bassassin

Bb is like that guy who doesn't say very much but when they do it's usually interesting. And a little bit weird. I find when I'm messing around with an idea around Am or C, no matter what I do, F will always manage to ebow its way in. Jon.

What worked for me was to cunningly start a band with my partner, which means any extravagant & unnecessary bass & gear purchase can easily be spun as being essential for the furtherance of our mutual musical ambitions. In the unlikely event of this tactic failing (which hasn't happened yet) my fallback position will be to point out the number of sound modules, wind synthesizers, random incomprehensible percussion instruments, vocal processors, microphones, stands, megaphones, and other unidentified items of musical esoterica she has accumulated, and which is largely occupied by dust-collecting. And the shoes. Many, many shoes. The staggering success of this tactic has contributed to my currently owning some 30 functioning basses & guitars, and probably about 10 "ongoing" (more like abandoned) projects, as well as 4 bass amps, 3 guitar amps, recording gear, and god-knows-how-many effects units Someone, somewhere along the line, might have made a mistake. Jon.

I'd like to hope that being pre-JH era, that's both OK to link to, and OK for me to say it's bloody lovely. I do like solid colour Ricks with black binding. Jon.

Yes - that's the original bridge. Considering it's restored (scratchplate, probably pickup, looks like a refin too) it's definitely a bit steep. I have the P/J version of this that I'll be moving on soon, similarly a restoration, and I won't be selling mine for that much. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:63117] I do like the El Maya but I already have too many P-type basses I never play & don't need another, no matter how many innocent coffee-tables died to make it! J.

That El Maya's pretty gorgeous, if you've got a thing for hippy sandwich stripy wood, like wot I do. That was listed a few days ago, and I'm surprised it's taken this long to appear on here. Anyone going to take a punt? J.

I'm pretty certain 99.999% of people have no idea who Rush are, and a good proportion of those who do couldn't name, never mind recognise their drummer! The only people likely to recognise Peart are Rush fans, and he's made it abundantly clear for decades how he feels about fan interaction, so the majority should know to steer clear. Obviously there will be exceptions, but one can't help getting the impression that the armed bodyguard/hired "travelling companion" thing is a faintly scary overreaction. Although I do wonder if he's made a rod for his own back. The "I'm a private person, you don't know me, you don't have any right to approach me, leave me alone" thing is massively at odds with a man who in the last 15 or so years has published a seemingly interminable series of books, in which he's revealed uncomfortably intimate details of numerous aspects of his personal life. I wonder who he thinks reads these books other than the more obsessive Rush fans, such as those who might imagine that they feel they know him because of who he is to them? For the record the only reason I've read any of his books is because I've been given them by people who thought, being a fan I'd be interested. J.

That could almost be cool, if it wasn't for the B&Q emulsion paintjob. Jon.

Black Eagle reissue! Talman basses! Oh, and that Volvo, or Vulva or whatever it's called... Jon.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1422194863' post='2669679'] That's a bit OTT mate. If he doesn't want or need a fan to say that to his face, that's fine with me. [/quote] Me too. But it's the need for an armed bodyguard that I find OTT... J.

Pretty generic 70s starter bass, my very first one wasn't too different. This is Korean rather than MIJ I think, plain neckplates are quite uncommon on Japanese basses, also the mahogany neck & that square pickup design are Korean traits. Quite cute, but I wouldn't... Jon.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1422175195' post='2669383'] If you read any of Neil's travelling books he makes it quite plain that his job is as a professional musician... [/quote] OK, maybe "despise" was an overly-strong word, but having read a couple of his books I also know that he tours (& travels in his spare time) in the company of a hired armed bodyguard, whose sole purpose is to protect Peart from the attentions of any member of the public who might happen to recognise him and say hello. So if you wanted to take a moment to, say, politely thank a musician for his craft and the enjoyment & long-lasting influence that music had had on your life and on your world-view, you might be put off a little by the prospect of being manhandled away by a 6'5" ex-marine shoving a Glock in your face. Happily I'm far too reserved to consider doing any such thing, anyway... J.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1422131748' post='2669141'] The obvious reasons were the fact it was the first bass, not because of the quality [/quote] [pedant] [url="http://www.vintageguitar.com/1782/audiovox-736/"]Wasn't.[/url] [/pedant] J.

I'd think the most obvious thing (beyond the quality of the basic timber) would be standard of construction, fretting, finishing etc. Not that I'm a particular advocate of megabucks expensive botique coffee-tables, mind, lots of modern mass-produced "budget" instruments are great quality for the money. Which makes me interested - what are these £100 through-neck kits of which you speak? Jon.

It does have that look of having sat under a leaky sump for a week. Jon.

Hmm. Wouldn't be surprised if we've seen the last of them. Peart's repeatedly said how much he hates touring, and he's frequently made it clear that he despises his audience. It's not like they need the money. I don't expect they'll come back to the UK, and if they do it'll be a few shows in London & f*** the rest of us. After this tour I'd be surprised if they don't knock it on the head - they've always said that if a band doesn't gig it's not really a band, & that's why they continue to tour. Glad I saw them on the Clockwork Angels stint - definitely the best Rush gig I've seen since Hold Your Fire in '88, and playing the best album they've made since then. J.

I've had a lot of MIJ basses (including licensed Fender products), and the only non-metric allen screws I've ever encounterted have been the pole pieces in the DiMarzio pickups fitted as standard to many early 80s instruments. Jon.

What happens if I say I think The Wreckers is a dreary dirge, and YYZ - particularly that "diddle-diddle-diddle-doo-doo" main riff - is just plain w@nky? *starts running* J.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1421936530' post='2666788'] Put a shirt on. [/quote] A black one. Death's heads optional. Jon.

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1421936093' post='2666781'] Here's one from the Basschat archives to show you what it should look like [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/159514-aria-pro-ii-sb600-1985-blacknatural-l225/"]http://basschat.co.u...cknatural-l225/[/url] [/quote] Oooh - wonder if Noel's still got that one? I've got serious SB/SB-R GAS & this ain't helping... J.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1421936044' post='2666779'] Look at Tracey Emin. It's very hard to remain apathetic. [/quote] Very good parallel, actually - I really like Ms Emin's work. But you have to see a lot more than the Unmade Bed to really have any idea what she's about. J.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1421934208' post='2666742'] Surely it's the same with any band - if you don't like what you've heard, you're probably not going to feel compelled to investigate further. [/quote] True, but you wouldn't normally hold & express vitriolic opinions just 'cos it wasn't your thing! There's always seemed to be something about Rush... J.

That is an amazing car boot find. Never seen that finish before. There's info & pics on the SB600 (and all the rest) on Graeme Fyfe's resource: http://gfyfe.com/aria.htm Can't see the same finish as yours though but it appears on some of the other models. Jon.

Go to your local Aldi/Lidl/cheapo supermarket of your choice & get 4 or 5 of the heavy-duty fruit & veg boxes they'll have stacked up ready to chuck out. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:59500] While you're there, pick up a £5 hot-melt glue gun which you can then use to stick the boxes together around the bass/case/model of Notre Dame Catherdral made from matchsticks that you intend to post. When you're done, you can test the durability of the packaging by flinging it out of an upstairs window - it will be fine. I've posted basses & guitars packaged like this for years, they've survived ParcelFarce, trips to Australia & even Hermes intact. Jon.

I'm not interested in defending them, trying to convert anyone, or getting into verbal scraps, but I do find it funny how some things never seem to change. I've been a Rush fan since 1980, and they've always been a band that attracts sneery put-downs & scathing criticism from people whose admission, when pressed, is that they've never actually listened to them, but they just don't like "that sort of thing". "That sort of thing" apears to be obvious technical competence, songs that often do not adhere to traditional structures, extended compositions and lyrics that aspire to discuss topics outwith the normal fare of rock & pop. For me, I think they've been incredibly uneven over the years, and have made easily as much downright bloody awful music as that which is inspiring, uplifting & magical - but I think that's part of their appeal & probably many other fans would agree. They are a band which has managed to succeed commercially on its own terms, not that of the music business, and their many failed experiments & musical car-crashes have been as public as their successes. They're not the reason I picked up a bass (JJ Burnel has full responsibility for that) but they're the reason I wanted to be a good musician, compose original material & challenge myself. And speaking as a spectacularly unsuccessful musician (in a commercial sense at least) they are probably still why I've never given up playing music I actually give a sh!t about. Jon.

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1421791519' post='2665169'] Bassasin will doubtless be along before too long, [/quote] And I'll say the same as I said on the Facebook Fakers group! Which is basically what Musky just said: Not Matsumoku or any of the "big name" MIJ builders, but these are great, well-made & very authentic basses. However we don't yet know enough about the Japanese factories of the era to really have a clue who made these. They are head & shoulders above any of the current crop of "Chickenbackers" though, which includes the Rockinbetter. I will point out (before anyone else does) that there is no connection at all between Rockinbetter & Tokai Gakki. I mentioned the Shaftesbury-branded basses on FB - this isn't similar, it's the exact same instrument with a different brand name - likewise the CMI, Cimar, JHS etc versions, I think it's pretty evident they all came from the same factory. This happens all the time with vintage MIJ stuff - eg. identical Les Paul copies turn up branded Columbus, Avon, Saxon, Maya, Sumbro, Grant etc. Like the Fakers, these all have details indicating they're from the same origin. These brand names on MIJ copies are very seldom anything to do with the factory that made them. Importers would order batches of instruments built to their own choice of specs & brand name, and often they would source from several different factories, probably based on the deals available at the time. This means that the "Strings" name probably can't tell us anything about the origin of the bass - and having never seen this brand before, I'm quite inclined to think the bass has made its way from overseas, likely continental Europe. "Strings" isn't connected to any of the other brands mentioned, it will just be a name used by whoever imported/distributed it - in fact a number of names, such as Grant & Sumbro, were really just local music shops' own brands. Jon. Edit - beat me to it, Musky!