Bassassin

[quote name='noelk27' post='1088839' date='Jan 14 2011, 02:08 AM']So, a bit less that what he paid for it? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290518930873"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=290518930873[/url][/quote] Excellent detective work! I think he's going to find this attempt at profiteering just a little bit less rewarding than he expected. I've swapped a couple of messages with him about this before I found out his "true identity". Might have a little innocent fun if he responds to my last one - although I doubt if he will... J.

This is the same guy selling a [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CSL-Ibanez-Original-1975-Jazz-Bass-Fujigen-MIJ-Vintage-/280615437059"]CSL Jazz copy for £445![/url] "Captain Fujigen"? Jon.

Yam copies (they did Strats & Les Pauls too) do turn up in the UK but they're very uncommon, seems they weren't imported in great numbers, if they ever were officially. That particular catalogue is from 1985 - by that point the Japanese copy market was pretty much dead in the UK for a couple of reasons. The whole mid-70s "lawsuit" thing really made the Japanese manufacturers push their original designs for export, hence we see the likes of Aria SBs, Ibanez Musicians/Blazers & Yam BBs etc appearing. At the same time production costs in Japan were rising rapidly & encouraging the move away from the budget end which MIJ copies traditionally occupied, and the low-end market was rapidly filled by the still dirt-cheap Korean copies from Cort, Samick, Young-Chang & god knows how many others. Many of the big Japanese factories carried on producing copies for the home market (many of them still do) and some manage to make their way over here. Yamahas do seem quite few & far-between, I'd say if you wanted one you'd probably be better off importing one. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1088447' date='Jan 13 2011, 07:02 PM']Nice CSL bass, shame about the price. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CSL-Ibanez-Original-1975-Jazz-Bass-Fujigen-MIJ-Vintage-/280615437059?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4155fbc303"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CSL-Ibanez-Original-...=item4155fbc303[/url][/quote] Ridiculous, ludicrous overprice - what does he think it is - a JV Squier? Anyway, apart from the finish (and the body material - this one ain't solid wood, whatever it's made from) it's the same as my CSL Jazz was before I modded it. I absolutely love the neck on mine, but wouldn't pay £445 for it! Worth mentioning that these are late 70s/early 80s, [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/51/1.jpg"]were also sold branded as Cimar[/url] and might not have been Fujigen products. I paid £60 for mine and another BCer recently PM'd me about one the same as mine (solid mahogany body) he picked up for under £100. I would think £150 - £175 would be a tiny bit more realistic for this example! J.

[quote name='silddx' post='1087051' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:59 PM']No No No No No! He's better than ever. Look at any recent live footage. Same with Alex Lifeson. I agree their recordings have been a bit dull for the last 12 or so years but as musicians they are as great as they ever were[/quote] Agree - he's still a devastatingly good player, maybe just a bit more disciplined than he was 30-odd years ago. I'm also inclined to think that if Rush wanted to write the sort of material they wrote in the late 70s/early 80s they would - but they're in it to please themselves, not certain elements of their fanbase. Despite the fact I'm not that fussed on their more recent output, this is as it should be. Personally I'm a fan of his J sound - the Steinberger & Wal didn't really suit the band IMO, a bit sterile. Live, Rush have always been raucous & a bit messy-sounding, even during the squeaky-clean Power Windows/HYF days, and I think the J brings some of this to the studio stuff. The biggest problem with their recent recorded sound is the reliance on multiple guitar tracks with way too much low-end. J.

I've seen Rush 12 times since 1981 and there has been a shocking car-crash moment in pretty much every gig. Funnily, it's one of the things I like about them. Jon.

[quote name='Mykesbass' post='1086402' date='Jan 12 2011, 08:56 AM']No, it is a mixture of science and religion! "Pythagoras was the first documented scholar to establish the notion of musical ratios, believing that music could be represented as pure mathematical ratios, which he believed were the ratios of the cosmos. The Renaissance recycled his ideas, where architects, artists, and craftsmen used these musical ratios in the built environment because they believed that, as twentieth century architecture historian Rudolf Wittkower maintains, “as man is the image of God and the proportions of his body are produced by divine will, so the proportions in architecture have to embrace and express the cosmic order, citing ideas of Pythagoras and Plato's mathematical cosmos”.[/quote] So, if one finds oneself unable to accept the possibility of the existence of storybook skyfaries, by definition one cannot be an artist? J.

I'll go with 2, 3 & 5 from ET's list - but the other 3 really are b0ll0cks, aren't they? I've often thought the only person qualified to decide what is & isn't art is the artist. But who decides who's an artist? J.

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='1086278' date='Jan 12 2011, 12:09 AM']Thought; If art is born of invention, creation, of an exploratory spirit, it would appear to belong in the philosophical realm of increasing, expanding possibilities. Therefore, to seek to define art is to attempt to place limits on something that defies limitation. Art can definately be described however. Hang on - does art have to be original to be art ?[/quote] Your first sentence could be taken as a pretty fair definition of art. Originality - depends how you define it, but I'd say it's a necessary quality. That said, there's no art - in any medium - which is free of influences. J.

Why should art need to please anyone other than the artist? J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1086244' date='Jan 11 2011, 11:30 PM']Makes you wonder why they called it the Retrovibe. Surely they should have called it the PRick.[/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=54525"]Been done.[/url] Anyway - there is a Rick copy with a "proper" P pup , the Jolana D, from mid-80s Czechoslovakia: [attachment=68537:JolanaD.jpg] I'm not ashamed to admit I have a noticeable quantity of GAS for one o' them... J.

I'd define art as an act of creative expression that exists for no reason other than as expression of creativity. By that measure some music's art, some isn't, in the same sense that some (for example) pretty pictures - or ugly ones - are art & some ain't. I consider the ugly music I create to be art. Jon.

Definitely not an Ibanez, or any other JapCrap from that era that I'm aware of. Some quite interesting details - looks like a very narrow fingerboard, almost parallel. I'd also suggest it's probably not a bolt-neck because there's little "overhang" for a neck pocket. Tuners look like Schaller M4S of Grover Titans - both were quite common on basses from this era. Strange-looking bridge - it looks very short, suggesting through-body stringing, but it's hard to tell from such a brief glimpse. Anyway, that's all apropos of nothing, dunno what it is but I suspect it's a custom job. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1085495' date='Jan 11 2011, 01:50 PM']Very nice Jedson short-scale SG at £99 BiN. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jedson-Short-Scale-Bass-Guitar-1960s-Vintage-/300514043431?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45f8086627"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jedson-Short-Scale-B...=item45f8086627[/url] I'm all bassed out at the moment, or I'd have had this like a shot.[/quote] I do like these - I have the guitar version of this & they're an interesting & quirky take on the SG/EB, pretty well-made too. I think they're quite early, '70-'72-ish, certainly pre-dating the more accurate JapCrap copies. They appear with a few different names & are most common unbranded, but for the anoraks, this one's a Jedson 4454 Scimitar. Bit of a bargain, too - the Jedson name makes it a bit more desirable than this one: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300509706599"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300509706599[/url] Although this one had a BIN of £75 - until some tit bid on it! J.

[quote name='Stag' post='1085409' date='Jan 11 2011, 12:52 PM']ME, cos its incredibly cool! Geddy-tastic! [/quote] Precisely - anyone who's mucked around playing Xanadu will understand! J.

[quote name='Stag' post='1085250' date='Jan 11 2011, 10:36 AM'][url="http://www.classifieds.co.uk/dundee/av/music/guitars/7934221/rickenbacker-4080-double-neck-bassguitar/view"]http://www.classifieds.co.uk/dundee/av/mus...bassguitar/view[/url] Very very good price for this (scammer? if it is a scam its an odd instrument to pick)... did someone here have a bite at this?[/quote] Blimey! He's presumably quite near to me (I'm in Edinburgh) and I certainly would have had a look at this if I'd seen it - this ad's from November so I imagine it's long gone. If it was legit it'd be worth selling a few body parts to get hold of one of these at that price. Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1084965' date='Jan 10 2011, 10:40 PM']...and side with Jon who is always right. [/quote] You know I'll find a way to exploit that particular error of judgement, don'cha? J.

Peavey C4 Zephyr, from what I can see. I have the 5-string and these are really rather nice passive budget versions of the Cirrus range. More & clearer pics will sort it out though. Jon.

I've changed my mind. Doesn't look like a Fender, so it must look sh!t. Baaa. J.

Nah. You can buy a bass that looks, plays & sounds pretty much identical to that for about a hundred quid. If I had £8000 to blow on a bass, I'd get my head examined. Jon.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=270&view=findpost&p=1037952"]A couple of BCers have taken the plunge with these already and first impressions look very good.[/url] If I can flog a few of my planks that aren't earning their keep, I might well treat myself to a red & black Retrovibe. Jon.

I wonder how many people are knee-jerking about the scratchplate just because it's such an unfamiliar shape? Considering that, apart from mounting the controls on this bass, it serves no purpose other than a decorative embellishment, I think as such it's a pleasing design which gives the bass some character & individuality it would otherwise lack. Likewise the headstock - it's nice to see an inline design that owes little to Fender and is - in my opinion - a more coherent & attractive shape than many other attempts. I think it would give a better impression with a less vulgar logo - but then, this is a Dean! The only design element I don't really like are the slightly swollen, bulbous horns - they give the body a sort of cartoonish aspect that doesn't really fit with any other part of the design. J.

I generally tend to gravitate towards my passive basses. This might have a lot to do with dead batteries or empty battery compartments on the active ones, though... Jon.

[quote name='gjones' post='1081961' date='Jan 8 2011, 11:56 AM']Awwww, I think we should stop crucifying the poor kid. He put it up on youtube to look cool and impress his friends at school. And we then proceed to rip him to shreds! We're better than that..............aren't we?[/quote] No. If he's going to put himself & his playing forward for public scrutiny & criticism then that's precisely what he can expect. I don't think anyone's been at all unfair, and he genuinely does look a complete knob in that hat. J.