Bassassin

I've got 3 JapCrap RickenFakers and a contemporary Rick-ish thing - and none of them get the shape quite right. You can forgive the old 70s stuff, most of this was pre-CNC (as were real Ricks, which do vary a lot!) and possibly not even copied from actual Rickenbackers - there are some bizarre stories circulating! I'm not too bothered by what I consider minor differences, certainly with the vintage Jap stuff that's part of the character and the appeal of the things. To an extent I feel the same about the Retrovibe - it's not trying to be a slavish imitation, and I definitely approve of that! J.

It is a bit podgy-looking, but I'd say the scratchplate is more wrong than the body contours - if it was a bit more symmetrical, angular & tidily-cut like the original, it would improve the whole look. However, I'll forgive the Retrovibe a lot, if it's red with black binding and costs £260. If I do get one it'll get black hardware (including aluminium Hipshot bridge), re-cut or replaced scratchplate & a black surround for the bridge pup. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-CSB-300-Bass-Vintage-1980s-Made-Japan-/260734191411"]Aria CSB300 Cardinal, £99 BIN[/url] Which is a bit of a barg. If you go for it, please don't try & flog it to me for twice what you paid for it, OK? J.

[quote name='bumnote' post='1119284' date='Feb 7 2011, 07:07 PM'][url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitars/pid20206/cid560/bass-collection-californian-bass-in-cherry.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitars/pi...s-in-cherry.asp[/url] I see Andertons are offering a bass collection rick copy[/quote] This appears to be the exact same bass as the Rockinbetter copy, which is considerably cheaper. Retrovibe FTW though - I do like these... J.

Black? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bling-Custom-Jazz-Bass-PUP-cover-and-bridge-kit-BLUE-/370412811025"]Pah.[/url] Worth checking some of his [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Als-Music-Source/Bass-Bling-Hardware-/_i.html?_fsub=1159174017&_sid=138752747&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322"]other items[/url] too... Jon.

One from Saturday, almost looking like I know what I'm doing. First time out for the Washburn Vulture II: [attachment=71524:uttercock.jpg] Thoroughly nice to play it is, too. Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1118775' date='Feb 7 2011, 12:14 PM']Well there's no reserve so it MAY go for less than the £200 he bought it for.......DON'T BID! Let me have it for £90!!!! hehehe[/quote] No problem, I won't be bidding on this one. Way too many basses at the moment! J.

[quote name='Soloshchenko' post='1118831' date='Feb 7 2011, 12:57 PM']I suppose that's sometimes the problem with 70s stuff. Over the course of 30 plus years they must find their way into the hands of a fair few idiots.[/quote] Happens a lot. These things - and JapCrap in general - were regarded as cheap rubbish for years, they still are by many people. On the whole they won't have been treated with a lot of respect for the last 35 years, many of them have just been trashed & ended up chucked in a skip. That's the main reason why they're pretty rare these days. J.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1118580' date='Feb 7 2011, 08:13 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vantage-VP-710-Bass-Matsumoku-Westone-/160542486068?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item256113ee34#ht_500wt_951"]Vantage VP-710[/url], same as one that sold here on BC a few weeks ago (don't know if it's the SAME bass though) - Will be interesting to see if it goes for as much.[/quote] Sadly it is the same one - a pity the seller chose to [s]flip it[/s] sell it on Ebay rather than here. Lovely bass, I've always fancied trying a p/p arrangement. Jon.

[quote name='Soloshchenko' post='1118299' date='Feb 6 2011, 09:24 PM']Weird, maybe an ill advised attempt to get a truss rod working? Any idea what it is Jon?[/quote] It was probably a Shaftesbury or maybe a Cimar, sorry, don't know who made these yet. My Fireglo Frankenbugger would have originally been the same as this - it's very good. The truss on these adjusts with a nut rather than the usual allen key - my guess would be that some gimp chewed the wood out of this so they could get an adjustable spanner on the nut, rather than get the correct tool or a suitable size socket. J.

No bother Tino, I'd probably never get around to doing it. Fingers crossed you get a good price for the gear! J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1118107' date='Feb 6 2011, 07:23 PM']Like this: [/quote] That's the idea! J.

[quote name='tino' post='1117461' date='Feb 6 2011, 11:02 AM']Heres a bundle for the builders amongst you [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180622146508&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT."]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...TRK:MESELX:IT.[/url].. All gotta go. More to follow [/quote] Any danger you'd part the SX P out & flog me the neck for buttons? Doubt it but I thought I'd ask! Always fancied a L/H neck on a R/H bass - I could defret it for my "interesting" Jazz project! Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1117456' date='Feb 6 2011, 10:56 AM']Jap - but not Crap! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Ibanez-Musician-MC888-Bean-/140508137461?pt=Guitar&hash=item20b6f007f5#ht_690wt_936"]Ibanez MC888[/url] Looks quite different to the usual Musicians, really light as well![/quote] Ibby Bean Bass - think that's my favourite Musician variant. J.

[quote name='thegreenman555' post='1117536' date='Feb 6 2011, 12:16 PM']I'm told it's a MiJ .. & its heading my way! Hopefully! When it arrives in 10 days or so, i'll let you know,,[/quote] It's very probably MIJ, and might be a Kasuga - but if so, not an exact model I've seen before. Will you be up for whipping off the scratchplate & taking a few pics of pups/'tronics/body routing? Lovely bass & a great score there. J.

I can't imagine how rubbish internet porn must look on a [i]phone[/i]... I dunno, kids these days... Jon.

I've accumulated loads of basses & sold more than I own, there are no keepers here. There are some I've had for donkey's years - my twisted-necked Aria RSB Deluxe, and Hohner B2A I've had from new since the mid-80s, there are some gorgeous, rare & irreplaceable JapCraps, there are some that look like sh!t and play like a dream. But they've all got their price. Some I might have a pang of regret selling, but I still would for the right reason. I don't know what that is though, it hasn't happened yet. Jom.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' post='1116679' date='Feb 5 2011, 04:29 PM']Saw a couple of these today. I didn't know they made them! They looked the part and felt pretty nice (bit heavy, I thought, but I've only handled a couple of real ones). Are they any good? (Apologies if this has been answered before.) Guitar & Bass magazine really rate Bass Collection's Jazz and Precision copies, but I've not seen a review of these. (Why did the makers choose such a stupid brand name?)[/quote] I've not seen these before but as far as I can tell from the not-very-clear pics, they're identical to the current model of Rockinbetter, and most people who've played these rate them. Had a look and there are 2 different versions of this available on The Bass Centre's site - the only difference being that the "Plus" version apparently has checker binding - you can't tell from the rubbish pics. Both versions are [url="http://www.basscentre.com/bass-collection/BC016.html"]spectacularly[/url] and [url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/BC017.html"]ridiculously[/url] overpriced. If you're thinking of buying a Faker though - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=121489"]buy this one[/url]. If it's not already sold. J.

No idea how music retail hierarchy works really - I'd guess the dealer network is the distributor's responsibility and obviously the distributor here - Tokai UK (or whatever other trade names they might operate under) is who's supplying RockinFakers - and quite possibly blurring the lines about what they actually are. So if Tokai Gakki took any interest beyond sales figures of official product I would guess their beef would be with the distributor rather than individual dealers. Did you read any of the stuff about the "Fakai" Tokai LP clones in Canada? The story was that the Canadian importer for Tokai couldn't obtain official Tokais with the spec they required, so they bought in guitars from a Korean factory & distributed them badged as Tokai. The dealers had no reason to think they weren't what they said they were, but I don't think I ever read what the upshot was, or if Tokai Gakki themselves got involved at all. Seems the Fakais were better spec than the "real" copies. J.