Bassassin

[quote name='FlatEric' post='1101715' date='Jan 25 2011, 08:04 AM']Mmm, bit of a tease!! Let's see the whole thing, then!! [/quote] Aha - might have guessed that would pique your curiosity, Mr Flat! Very regrettably - not mine, this one turned up on US Ebay a couple of years ago & is only the second example I've seen. In fact it might've been the same one twice. It's a Matsumoku, like the much more common Epi Scroll guitars. Here's the head - featuring the same MIJ Wavy Grover copies that Mat Rick copies have: [attachment=69936:32a1_3.JPG] Well - most of them. I have a late 70s Rosetti catalogue which features the Scroll guitars, but no bass - it's quite possible they were never imported here. Moving along, personally I'd say any thread called "Obscure Vintage Basses" would benefit from some Attila Balogh Odyssey action, know wot I mean, squire? J.

For a thread entitled "Obscure Vintage Basses" this is displaying a singular lack of obscure vintage bass content! I'll give you the Hag, sort of, but no Fender Precision, even one painted SnotBurst, in any sense qualifies as obscure! So, have an Epiphone Scroll to chew on: [attachment=69929:372d_3.JPG] Now go post something [b]interesting![/b] Jon.

[quote name='tauzero' post='1100777' date='Jan 24 2011, 01:49 PM']I imagine I'd be hung drawn and quartered by certain BC members for what I did to my 1970s P - Di Marzio pickup, homebuilt active preamp (with attendant routing under scratchplate) and modified scratchplate with a brass control plate section equivalent to the chrome section of a Jazz.[/quote] Not me. Back in the 70s & 80s, Fenders of this era were largely regarded as guff and were fair game - back then if it wasn't "pre-CBS" it wasn't worth a damn. Got any pics of your masterpiece? J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1100360' date='Jan 24 2011, 02:12 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDO-II-BASS-GUITAR-PROJECT-/200568583258?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb2d1b45a"]Parted out hondo.[/url][/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=119556"]This one's a much better deal[/url] - and no, it ain't the same one! J.

No hands-on personally, but a few BCers have had them and feedback's generally good. I don't think any of the modern copies are actually bad (although I did play an Indie a few years ago & it felt cheap & shoddy, for the £500 asking price) but none of them are as accurate as the better MIJ examples - pups/hardware are wrong. neck proportions are out - and the Anniversary has too many frets! J.

[quote name='tino' post='1099523' date='Jan 23 2011, 12:16 PM']I feel they were trying to evade copyright and as such these should possibly not be Fakers but a very good bass in their own right,I liked the MB it was a lot more transparent than the similar looking Gibson product....I am actually regretting selling mine in favour of keeping my Maya Telecaster bass......so much so that Im on the hunt for another Ibby,but good unabused examples are thin on the ground of late.... T [/quote] You're never bloody happy are you! Took you ages to sell that (would've had it myself if I'd had the money - or you'd let me have it cheap!) and now you want another one... Fact is with these, they were - as far as I can make out - the first JapCrap Fakers on the market - probably around 1971 - which is why they had the full-width inlays & checked binding, both pre '72 Rickenbacker features. The mudbucker lookalikes (actually single-coils in big cases) were probably just what the factory had available when they tooled up the first production run. Fujigen (who made Ibanez) used Maxon pups in most things and at that point there wouldn't have been any proper Rick copy electronics available - or other hardware, for that matter, in fact the very early Fujigen 4001 copies had massive solid-cast tailpieces, more like the very early Rick ones than the subsequent hollow ones. Anyway, they continued building them like this for about 5 years, but revised the design around 1976 to have "correct" 4001-type pups & small inlays. They still kept the checker binding, though. Ones like this are less common because Ibanez withdrew from selling copies around 1978 so the accurate Ibby Fakers were only around for a year or two. Anyway, you do realise if one of these comes up cheap, you'll have a scrap on your hands! J.

[quote name='tino' post='1099346' date='Jan 23 2011, 09:35 AM']Keep your eye out for a mid 70's Ibanez copy....none better[/quote] Apart from the Matsumokus, the Kasugas, the Shaftesburys (dunno who made them!) the Kawai/Fernandes... Tino, the mid-70s Ibbys are gorgeous, but they were single most inaccurate MIJ Faker ever! Gibson-type Mudbuckers? Greenman555 - what bad stuff have you heard about the Retrovibes? I'm seriously considering a red one, & all the guys on here that have had 'em are full of praise. J.

The first 2 Stranglers albums were as rough & ready as you get - I very much doubt they were bothered about tuning to concert pitch so I imagine the line starts on D - either open or A string, 5th fret. I pretty much learned to play the bass by playing along to Rattus Norvegicus in my bedroom when I was 16, and I didn't have to re-tune for the other songs, the patterns all seemed quite logical, well - as far as I remember. Jon.

I'm not entirely convinced it's a Jolana or one of the dozens of other Eastern European brands, but if it is, it might well be on here: [url="http://www.cheesyguitars.com/guitars.html"]http://www.cheesyguitars.com/guitars.html[/url] I'm inclined to think it's home-made, or at least something that's been massively modified. Are there any other pics? Jon.

Mix & match finish hardware always looks sh!t. Besides, gold = tasteless, tacky & just plain naff anyway. Jon.

That is simply spectacular - and pretty much - no, [i]precisely[/i] - my GAS fantasy Victory. I really will have to come round, tie you up & nick it. Jon.

[quote name='fatback' post='1096619' date='Jan 20 2011, 06:01 PM']111779 [/quote]Cheers - but unfortunately mine's nothing like that! KPQL029. Another very faint back of the headstock one - the Q might be an O or a zero, the zero might be an O. What the hell were Yamaha on? J.

[quote name='razze06' post='1097146' date='Jan 21 2011, 09:44 AM']There's a good one in edinburgh, on queen street. Unfortunately, they seem to do the reasearch and know how much thin gs are worth.[/quote] Not always! Ibanez Musician (guitar) for £95? Also got my CSL JapCrap J there for £60. And a Cimar Jazz for £75... Last year they had a cheesy Chinese fake Les Paul Supreme in the window for about £1200 - it was there for a while. It's always worth a look in there, one way or the other. Jon.

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1096914' date='Jan 20 2011, 10:23 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SG-Kay-Teisco-1960s-Vintage-Japanese-Bass-WOW-/260721278263?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cb432fd37"]SG Kay/Teisco[/url][/quote] Kay, yes - Teisco/Japanese - no. Taiwanese rubbish, personally I've never seen a confirmed MIJ Kay. J.

It's JapCrap - [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-BASS-ELCTRIC-GUITAR-SPARE-PARTS-REPAIR-/370476120706"]one of these, in fact[/url]. Realistically, that one's even funnier. Jon.

It's not well-done but I've seen far worse. In 1998 there were probably a lot of people still under the impression that 70s Fenders were a bit ropey, and weren't worth keeping pristine. Then along came Ebay to put them all straight. Jon.

Both. Played with a pick for 25-odd years before deciding I really ought to brush up on finger technique. Now it's mostly fingers - about 95% probably so I suppose that constitutes a preference. That's not to say I think either's "better" - I would say each has different strengths and weaknesses but for the most part, certainly in the context of what I play they are pretty much interchangeable. Jon.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1095985' date='Jan 20 2011, 09:06 AM']OK, sloping back to the corner I should be in . Please tell me I'm right with Kay HideousBacker though? Karl.[/quote] You're quite right that the Jedson Tele things (made by Guyatone) were horrid! And that Kay? Taiwanese garbage, not even fit for firewood. And that includes the tuners! J.