Bassassin

Quick heads-up for a nice-looking [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260737267600"]Matsumoku-built Kimbara Jazz copy[/url], rosewood board/pearl blocks, running out at 8.30 pm tonight. Currently £87 and hasn't had much attention, had my eye on this but unforseen circumstances mean I'm out! Could well be a bargain, & Kimbara Jazzers already have the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=68935&view=findpost&p=994038"]BC Seal Of Approval[/url]. J.

I don't have an Auntie Sue & have no particular interest in one as I don't really have much use for Precisions. I also haven't had the opportunity to try one. I'm perfectly happy though to accept that these are well-made, solid basses, constructed from decent materials & with a similarly decent off-the-peg specification. They might need a setup, but as I implied in my previous post - any new mass-produced bass, regardless of price bracket is likely to need some work to make it play at its best. As I always try & point out when these spurious, fatuous & bigoted you-get-what-you-pay-for rants come up, the biggest issue with the low-end is quality control - dodgy workmanship & inferior materials are undeniably more common, but the feedback from the numerous SR buyers suggests that these are largely pretty consistent. I don't know what factory these are sourced from but I'd be perfectly prepared to accept they come off the same production line as other, more "respectably" badged budget basses. A lot of people are buying them as the basis for a project but that's the case with a lot of stuff on BC - an awful lot of us are modders & tinkerers to start with and a decent bass this cheap is perfect project material. Plenty of other people are happy with the basses as they come - a setup & some decent strings results in a useable, playable and giggable bass that you don't need to worry about when you take it out - and for sixty quid that is a [i]phenomenal[/i] bargain. Jon.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1133917' date='Feb 20 2011, 12:22 AM']Not sure it would fix that - the bar is just held against the back of the bridge by the pull of the strings.[/quote] Wouldn't help one as far-gone as mine was, but if a bridge could be straightened, the bar would take & distribute the string tension & stop it happening again. I'm convinced that's why there's one one on this Westy. J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1133873' date='Feb 19 2011, 11:15 PM']I thought I wouldn't be able to check into this thread until tomorrow. [b]Bassassin[/b] I don't have any Fenders, sorry.[/quote] I didn't assume you did - it was a metaphorical "your" £800 Fender, just like the one you mentioned. Did you read beyond the confusing part? J.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1133741' date='Feb 19 2011, 07:45 PM']Fixed that for ya [/quote] [attachment=72711:fenderbloke.jpg] I'm looking but I'm not seeing a sombrero or a poncho... J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1132482' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:29 PM']I am so pissed off that Fender have the gaul to charge me £800 or whatever for a complete rip-off when I can get it for £60. It's not fair, I tell you.[/quote] You should be pissed off - if you are paying £800 for a mass-produced Precision, you are being ripped off - unless you find it a a hugely necessary part of owning a bass to be paying through the nose for a logo, a sticker saying "Made In USA" and for the wages of an American bloke who expects a decent pay packet. And yes - why shouldn't a Ryder P copy, if it's competently manufactured & assembled (which by all accounts the majority of them seem to be) and well set-up (which your £800 US Precision probably won't be, out of the box) play every bit as well as a "prestige" brand instrument? They're just wood & wire, after all, and in the case of any P bass, whatever the sticker says & wherever it's made, incredibly simplistic wood & wire. Jon.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1133005' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:51 AM']EDIT: Just noticed he's using strings with no silks, so it probably makes bugger all difference, or, as you suggest, is holding the bridge together.[/quote] Whatever else these are sold for, it's holding the bridge together, no question. This was mine when I got it - I've seen a lot of these & this is quite typical: [attachment=72631:trackbridge.jpg] Obviously, I had to replace it! The spacer bar idea does look like a workable fix if the bridge is deformed but not actually cracked, like mine. Definitely a fair bit cheaper than a new replacement 3-point bridge. J.

And if I haven't made it clear enough - [b]this is not an Ibanez[/b], or anything else vintage & MIJ. Absolutely not. In fact it's a lot more likely to be something modern, like a Westfield he's picked up for £20 from the local car boot then burned & smashed around in the name of "relic-ing". The tuners he's selling as [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-MACHINE-HEADS-TRUE-70S-RELICS-/160546648800"]true 70s relics[/url] are identical to a set of OK-quality budget modern ones I have on my see-through P project, only his have got filth all over them. Jon.

Have a word with [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=3436"]Prosebass[/url] on here - he builds lightweight shortscale basses. Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1132600' date='Feb 18 2011, 07:02 PM']Check out BORIS/boris [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170605251651&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en"]This looks like a reasonable set of parts.[/url][/quote] Italian-made Melody, that P. These have a 3-piece laminated neck - which is presumably where the split's occurred. Theoretically it might be possible to slacken the truss rod & then glue/clamp it, if it al still lines up properly. Oli - interesting you mention BORIS/boris, came across them on the soundtrack of a film called Elements Of Control a few weeks ago - didn't think too much of the film, but did decide I should listen to more Japanese bands. J.

Before you do anything - check your string spacing and fretboard width at the heel. These weird old JapCraps tend to have very narrow string spacing & you may end up with strings hanging over the fretboard edges. All of these modern bridges will tend to have 19mm spacing centre-to-centre, I'll bet yours is a fair bit less. And I'll do that Jedson catalogue scan soon - honest! Jon.

I'd take it a bit further & have it semi-hollow with an f-hole, Tele Thinline stylee. Think I'd want a lighter wood top (to go with the maple board I'd have) & a cream pearl scratchplate. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1130539' date='Feb 17 2011, 06:27 AM']CMI Twin neck guitar/bass. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-CMI-Twin-Neck-Guitar-Bass-/190502332079?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c5ad2e6af"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-CMI-Twin-Neck-Gu...=item2c5ad2e6af[/url] Rarity value, maybe. But I don't personally think this is worth £400.[/quote] It would probably fetch that in slightly better/more original condition - and possibly with a more marketable brand than CMI. This is a Matsumoku, not a Fujigen as he implies - check the Steel Adjustable Neck plates & headstock/trc shapes. I'd be a whole lot more interested in this sort of thing if they'd done twin bass necks - can't imagine anything more pointless than a bass/guitar like this. Unless you're playing Peaches... J.

Definitely would - that's just the sort of skewed take on traditional designs that appeals to me. Maple/pearl blocks on mine, though. Jon.

Well amazingly enough Mr Pikeyguitars was unable to furnish me with a direct link to the one for sale on BC! (I was half-expecting it to be the one I bought here about 7 years ago! ) but gave me a link to a picture of an "identical" Ibanez P somewhere on the web. And do you know what - if you removed the neck from the Ibby, swapped the scratchplate & pups for cheap recent ones, tied a rope to it, tied the other end to the back bumper of your car & dragged the body up & down the A1 a couple of times, then poured petrol on it & set fire to it & let it burn for 20 minutes... ...it would still look f@ck-all like the piece of crap he's trying to punt. J.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1130068' date='Feb 16 2011, 07:01 PM']I was tempted then went and bought a Warwick :S[/quote] The Taste Police have been notified and are on their way. J.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1129646' date='Feb 16 2011, 01:55 PM']You got one too? Did anyone NOT buy one? [/quote] Me. Keep buying/building Ps which are naff-all use to me. Can't say I wasn't tempted, though. Jon.