Bassassin

Unfortunately a lot of the info on that page is outdated and downright wrong - it's been a bone of contention/irritation in the various vintage MIJ communities for years, & unfortunately whoever put it together hasn't updated it to reflect emerging facts & knowledge.

Same seller ( as the T2) has a Thunder 1A. £80 start: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234930320720 That 2xP is right up my street, but unfortunately collection only from Oxford is actually nowhere near my street.

"Abandoned due to lack of time"? It'd take 20 minutes to nail that together.

The seller's been trying to punt this for a while. Got discussed elsewhere - this was a 1981 Aria Pro RB700N (a properly rare set-neck 4001S clone) which the guy imported from a dealer in Australia & proceeded to 'modify' into this (IMO) fanboy junk. It had been a very well-preserved example - original case, tags & case-candy dating it to 1981 in the Japanese Showa calendar - but the orignal parts went in the bin & it got a respray & full makeover with Rickenbacker components. Which is a crime against vintage instruments and must've cost him an absolute fortune. And if you think £1000's a lot for a Faker, this earlier listing for it might raise an eyebrow... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-Pro-II-Prog-Rock-Copy-Tribute-Bass-Guitar-1970s-/255898424226

Doesn't beat the Thunder 1 guitar I picked up for £5 at the car boot - but that's definitely the sort of bargain you don't tend to see much any more.

Ta! Late to this party but I'm not much cop on 60s MIJ so can't really add much off the top of my head - however, I can do research while I pretend to be working! A quick flick through Frank Meyers' History Of Japanese Electric Guitars (AKA the 60s MIJ Bible) shows a sunburst version of this bass branded Ibanez, in a US importer's catalogue from 1966. A bit of scratting through my links turns up the same catalogue scan. Not a great pic but clearly identifiable: According the the learned Mr Meyers these were some of the last guitars to have been made by Ibanez brand owner Hoshino Gakki before they partnered with Fujigen for guitar manufacture. Hoshino owned (and still does AFAIK) the Tama factory which at the time produced guitars as well as drums. So it's a 1966-ish Tama-built Hoshino, if Frank Meyers' book's accurate. Aside from the finish there are a couple of differences - obviously the tuners (which may not be the originals on @Mark Elliott's bass) but more interestingly the control layout - just 3 knobs (at a guess v/v/t) on the Ibanez. Ibanez & Antoria are often conflated & many identical & near-identical instruments were sold under both brands. It's known that 60s/70s Antoria brand owner J.T. Coppock Ltd imported from Hoshino, which owns the Ibanez brand, so it's interesting to see one going back to the mid 60s & digging up a bit of history. Ibanez variants are usually more common than Antoria, because those sold to a global market rather than just UK, but I can't find another example of this model 498 other than the catalogue scan. So it looks like it's probably a very, very rare bass.

I'd pay a tenner for that old 70s DiMarzio bridge. As a paperweight.

Terribly sad news, Pulp were the one band from that 90s scene I really enjoyed. RIP.

100% real. No Fakers ever accurately copied the inlay material, that's always a dead giveaway. The elongated string holes on the tailpiece are another Rick identifier. I think this is mid/late 70s from the Hi-Gain pickup & black ferrules - full width inlays were discontinued in 1972 & reappeared on the 4003 in the mid '00s. Even if it's stolen, the seller's just robbed themselves. Look forward to seeing this pop back up with a £2000+ price tag. ...it's what I'd do...

Never seen one before & don't think I've heard of Synsonics but the details (tuners, headstock shape, neckplate style etc) say it's Korean, early 80s & made by Samick. Close relation of stuff branded Hondo from the same era. Cute little thing!

These were weird plasic bodied things, if I remember. I recall a local Crack Converters having a red & yellow one in the window for ages. Was tempted because it was dirt-cheap but obviously not tempted enough! Not sure but Mavericks might've been related.

Cheers - much better pic, didn't dig enough to find it. Ibanez introduced serial numbers in late 1975 & the pics of your singer's bass don't show a serial - on a set or through-neck instrument it should be stamped into the wood on the back of the headstock, so unless the number's not showing on the pic, that would date the bass to '75 at the latest. Ibanez/Fujigen used Maxon pickups and these usually have dateable serial numbers, which is useful on the pre-serial instuments - however I haven't seen these codes on P or J units so it's possible they may have been from a different supplier. Might be worth having a look, though.

I think it's a butchered Ibanez Blazer or Roadstar II RB630. The only original parts are the neck, body & neckplate, which dates the remains to January 1983. I get the impression whoever did this probably didn't have the original parts. It's still sh!t, though.

Made by Fujigen Gakki, model number 2387, the set-neck P/J version is referred to as 'Custom' in the only catalogue I can find it in - Fujigen model number conventions suggest it's likely the proper designation's 2387B/DX. http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/file.php_n=1974-2&p=&y=1974.html Looks like there's no serial number which means it's pre 1976, and a quick look in the catalogues suggest this version appeared around 1974. There may be dateable codes on the pickups or possibly stamped on the back of the scratchplate but '74/5 seems likely. Interestingly these pre-date actual Gibson Flying V basses by 9 or 10 years. I think these are pretty rare - I suspect a lot of people on the Ibanez Vintage Guitars FB group would like to see it, and might well want to buy it off you.

Black, black scratchplate & cream covers. Proper 70s rock monster look.

Let's not overlook his towering genius as both songwriter and performer. Warning: if you have any insecurity around your own abilities - don't watch this!

I've washered a few metric rods and it tends to be the outer diameter that's tricky. Having a garage full of random bike bits, I found caliper brake shoe washers to be a good fit. Don't know the size offhand but I'll measure one up tomorrow.

That's a stunning Rick, always liked the black hardware/binding combination & it looks great with the blue. Tuner's an easy fix if you're careful. If you have access to a bench vice, remove the tuner from the bass and clamp the leaf in the vice. Protecting the finish, perhaps with a piece of thin card, would be a good idea. You'll be able to hold the tuner body and bend it straight. Don't worry, it won't break! If you don't have a vice, an adjustable spanner will do the same. I'd still recommend removing it from the bass. The string mute is adjustable, the screws should lower the foam away from the strings. Having said that, it does look as though someone might have put an extra bit inside the mute assembly - if so you should be able to just pull it free, no need to cut anything. Rickenbacker truss rods (even on 4003 models) can be temperamental things, hopefully one of our Rick specialists will be along in a minute!

What's interesting (to me, anyway!) is that the near-identical Shaftesbury versions were Italian & made by Eko. https://reverb.com/uk/item/4524297-shaftesbury-telecaster-bass-early-seventies-butterscotch

This is interesting - it turned up on the FB Westbury group a week or so ago. It's someone's £10 (or thereabouts) car boot find, & appears to be a Track 4 which has been re-shaped for upper fret access, repainted & had a bodge defret. The reshaping's been nicely done to maintain the German carve, but the blue Dulux & hack defret are probably later. It also seems to have an additional microswitch, no idea why, should be v/t, selector & 2x series/parallel. As a cheap car boot blag it'd be worth sorting out & getting re-fretted - the Track 4 was the top of the line Westbury bass and good condition examples go for decent money - but Ebay being Ebay it could get silly.

I think you should go full Type O with that. 🤘

Early 70s MIJ no-name Tele type. Not an Ibanez (although they did do similar basses) & looks to be the same as the ones that come up with names like Columbus & Grant. Looks like the same bass as this one in our own @FlatEric's blog: http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2010/11/columbus-telecaster-bass.html

I've built/assembled/constructed tons of guitars & basses. Obtain the necessary bits, nail them together, some mild fettling might occasionally be required. However I lack the necessary skills (or time & motivation to learn them) to actually make/create a functioning musical instrument from scratch. Projects like my headless Rickish mess and, for example, @Andyjr1515's incredible Psilos bass are on completely different planets. I am in both awe and envy of the creativity displayed in BC's' Build Diaries folder.

First slap line I ever learned to play - or at least tried. I might have to accept I was playing it spectacularly wrong...