Bassassin

[quote name='Johnston' post='1049330' date='Dec 6 2010, 02:36 PM']where as I have an email saying they are from the same factory available from Tokai UK and also on the Chinese pricelist[/quote] Is this subsequent to the discussion in the Rickenfakers thread? Annoying Twit contacted Tokai UK, who told him Rockinbetters were nothing to do with them, I think you claimed your contact had merely said they came from the same factory, rather than being an official Tokai product. Don't think you mentioned a Chinese pricelist before - is that from the manufacturing factory or Tokai? Very interesting, all this! J.

[quote name='silddx' post='1049282' date='Dec 6 2010, 02:07 PM']It looks [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-guitar-project-thru-neck-thru-body-stringing-/160515037741?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item255f711a2d"]ridiculous [/url] [/quote] It would be interesting to get a closer look at that - going by the neck inlays, it's a Cort, from around 1980. These came in a variety of peculiar designs, but I've certainly never seen a Status "inspired" one before! Wonder if it's a particularly uncommon variety, or (more likely, I think) someone's used a Cort through-neck as the basis of a Status-wannabe home-build. I don't think I'll be bidding, though! Jon.

Can I just take a moment, while there's a general atmosphere of bloodyminded intolerance here on BC, and while I'm sitting here looking at the 4 inches of f@cking snow that has fallen this morning, to point something out that bugs the living tits off me? RIC, or Ric: Acronym for Rickenbacker International Corporation, the company which manufactures Rickenbacker instruments. [b][u]Rick: Abbreviation of Rickenbacker.[/u][/b] Thanks for listening, I feel better now. As you were. Jon.

[quote name='icastle' post='1047781' date='Dec 4 2010, 09:14 PM']There are two seperate companies - Tokai China and Tokai Japan. The Futuramas are made on the Tokai China production line along with Chinese Tokai branded items which are about 1/3 the price of the Japanese ones![/quote] Is this verified? It's not simply that Tokai Gakki in Hamamatsu contract a Chinese factory to build lower-budget instruments to their specification? It would seem, for example that the Rockinbetter-branded Rick copies come from the same factory that makes MIC Tokais, but according to Tokai UK (who, one assumes, would know) they are nothing whatsoever to do with Tokai. I wouldn't have thought that Chinese Tokais have sufficient market share to warrant a dedicated manufacturing facility. Interestingly Fender Japan is a separate company from its US parent - it is run by Kanda Shokai & retailer Yamano Gakki. Kanda is owner of the Greco brand & anecdotally, the first run of MIJ Fenders were apparently re-badged Grecos. This business about the Fender Japan/Tokai contract really does sound like guff made up by some shop assistant trying to appear knowledgeable in order to flog his own-brand cheapos. CIJ Fenders are made by Dyna Gakki as well as Tokai, and I'm sure the end of a time-limited contract with one particular factory would not result in a production shortfall. The thing about Fender "forgetting to extend their copyright" is just laughable. Futurama? Leaving aside the fact that these days, all copyrights pertaining to that name are likely to be tightly-protected properties of a particular animated sci-fi comedy show, this is just part of a trend. Lately a good few old 60s/70s era brands are being dusted off & stuck on new cheapo instruments & accessories - as well as Futurama, you'll find Antoria, CSL, Westone, Vantage, Ventura, and probably a good few more, if you dig a bit. Jon.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1048830' date='Dec 5 2010, 10:26 PM']Comments gentlemen please? I feel a weakness coming on. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270675481604&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] Cheers, Karl.[/quote] In the highly unlikely event it stays anywhere near the start price, it's a decent bass. Ibanez 2388B, post 1975, can't really tell from the pics, which aren't great, but looks tidy. You can see in the reverse pic that it has a serial number, this would make itn 1975 at the very earliest - there were no serials on Ibbys prior to 75. Also it has accurate hardware and small inlays, which suggests it's probably about as late an Ibanez copy as you're likely to find. Jon.

Johnston - funnily enough [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=821"]Roman's actually a member here[/url] - when Bach first came to the attention of BC, maybe 4 years ago, he joined up & made a couple of posts. I did try & get a delivered price for one of the 4004 clones, but like you said, he's uncommunicative & I eventually gave up after asking here & trying but failing to register on the Bach site. A pity, they're a damn sight dearer now, & the pound's a lot more rubbish than it was then. Just out of curiosity, let me know if you can confirm the country of origin of these things, it would be fascinating (and pretty cool) if they were Czech - but I bet they ain't! J.

[quote name='steantval' post='1045412' date='Dec 2 2010, 06:07 PM']Elton John's, Your Song is a classic IMO, it's from the 70's and takes me back to my first job, motorcycles and a generally great time of growing up. This Ellie Goulding version is not good - what's the point? - why cover it? Ellie sounds a lot like this new breed of female vocalists that sound breathy and voices like 4 year olds. Kylie Minogue - 40 year old woman with a 4 year olds voice. Duffy - sounds like she's on helium. Proper voices like Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hind, Christine McVie, Alison Moyet, Dusty Springfield etc, take a lot of beating.[/quote] Couldn't agree more - my partner (a female singer with a very powerful set of pipes) calls them special needs/speech impediment singers. And this song in question is, surprisingly enough, a Christmas advertisement for some department store. Bill Hicks was right. J.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1045949' date='Dec 3 2010, 07:41 AM']Anyone know if there are many Manufacturers in the Chezch republic ??[/quote] I think we can be 99.9% certain Bach aren't a manufacturer. I would imagine like everyone else who would like to make money selling cheap guitars, they source from China, Indonesia, Taiwan etc. Their Rick 4004 copies are lovely. J.

A listing should always commence with the phrase "And here we have...". Any cosmetic damage must be referred to as "dings, and "dongs" or possibly "dinks" and donks" - research has shown that baby talk always makes broken sh!t seem less broken. It should then be pointed out that the dinks, dongs and chunks of missing paint and timber "do not effect the playing and sound in any way what so ever". "What so ever" should always be expressed as three separate words. If the instrument has a missing string, do not attempt to replace it. You should point out the fact that it has a missing string, but reassure your purchaser that a suitable replacement can be obtained on Ebay for a pound. The same restoration advice can be used for most other missing components, with the possible exception of the Kneck/Arm/Handle. If the Kneck/Arm/Handle is missing from the Base Guiter you wish to sell, it's appropriate to describe the remaining component as "fully loaded". J.

[quote name='apa' post='1045494' date='Dec 2 2010, 07:17 PM']I'll say what we're all thinking shall I? 50+ of us all send it the spec for our 'dream bass'. We go to one of these poor innocent and simple business men in the far east and tell them we are a prospective new international company looking to see how good they are and here is a list of samples as a tester. All done to the highest spec at £50 a throw. Now what could possibly go wrong with that plan?? Whos in? :-D A[/quote] Flaw in your plan - he ain't gonna do 50 entirely different dream basses for £50 a pop. However if 49 other people want a modernised Maton Ibis clone... J.

The vast majority of small brand names are importers' own - they simply order a batch of guitars from a factory, or through an exporter, specify models & colours, and have their own brand names put on the instruments. You've probably seen the rather sexy Retrovibe & Probass models a few BCers have been getting into - the guy who sells these appears to order small batches of instruments built to his spec and with his brand on - I have every intention of buying one of his red Rick copies - after all, when they first appeared in black or white, I did say that if there was red with black binding version, I'd have one. And lo & behold... I have been seriously thinking about experimenting with doing something similar myself, if I could verify there was a market, and if I could scrape together the capital. Anyone fancy a modernised Maton Ibis clone? Jon.

I started out with a pick, because most of the bassists I wanted to play like like were punk & HM pick thrashers. Got fascinated by slap in the early 80s, however I never mastered it to a particularly useable standard because I was always in rock bands where I had little use for it. I stayed predominantly a pick player until about 7 years ago when I decided I really should work on different techniques a bit more, and these days I'd say it's about 90% fingerstyle. There's a lot of light & shade in my band's music and I think fingers make it easier to be more versatile within the context of the same piece, and I've managed to get my technique to the point where a lot of the faster & more intricate parts actually feel better played fingerstyle. Some things still sound & feel right with a pick though. I do still muck around with some slap when there's no-one looking - but like a wise man once said (it was me, actually), a gentleman is a man who can play slap bass - but doesn't. It doesn't help that I'm quite rubbish at it, but the reality for me is that while the technique's interesting & fun, 99% sounds, well - w@nky. Double-thumbing interested me from the "how do you do that, then?" perspective so I worked on that enough to understand how it works (your thumb is a pick, basically) but not enough for the stunt-bass antics it allows, because I have no motivation to be able to play like that. Same goes for 2-handed tapping. In the context of my band's songs, I've found plenty of use for stuff like 3-finger triplet fills, plucked arpeggios using thumb & fingers, and even the occasional right-hand hammer-on but I like to think (pretend? ) it's more to do with song dynamics than being flash... Jon.

Maybe "learning the hard way not to leave your gear in a 'secure' practice room"? Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1044424' date='Dec 1 2010, 10:23 PM']Putting a Gibson logo on a bass that looks nothing like a Gibson is a good idea. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Matsumoku-Westone-Spectrum-bass-guitar-Japan-85-Black_W0QQitemZ320621800322QQcategoryZ4713QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D120654289830%252B120654289830%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5338709543184181872"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Matsumoku-Westone-Sp...709543184181872[/url][/quote] Amaze. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1044228' date='Dec 1 2010, 07:58 PM']I'm staggered that this one has made it through, given both the description and the (frankly awful) fake TRC. What's with the bridge pickup by the way? Is that really what they look like without the casing?[/quote] These strange bridge pups only appear on the Matsumoku copies - the Maxon pickups most of the others have are very accurate copies of the original Rick hi-gains. Loads of Mat basses turn up with these either swapped or not working, suggesting these were as reliable as they were attractive. Considering how well-made & accurate (particularly the through-neck) these basses were, it's hard to understand why they'd cut corners with the electronics. J.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1043660' date='Dec 1 2010, 12:19 PM']You forgot. Never measure the scale length. Give the totally length from the top of the paddle to the end of the body (do we have a better word for body yet?)[/quote] [quote name='icastle' post='1043686' date='Dec 1 2010, 12:46 PM']How about the "shovel" end? [/quote] We should really stick with terminology which is, and has been used in genuine Ebay sales. I have seen the big bit referred to as the "base" but under the circumstances (it's base guiters we're talking about) I thought it would be a bit ambiguous. I'm certain there are other terms but memory fails me. I do know the Dials are attached to that part though. Good call about the length, and it's worth remembering there are two types of base guiter - the Percussion and the Jass, and it's very important to point out what they're not: Not Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Tokia (like the phone) J.

[quote name='bosozoku' post='1043258' date='Dec 1 2010, 03:21 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1977-IBANEZ-BASS-GUITAR-JAPAN-RICKENBACKER-4001-/230557509165?pt=Guitar&hash=item35ae4c662d"]'77 Ibanez[/url] It will probably be taken down because the seller put 'Rickenbacker' in the title.[/quote] Yeah - it's a US listing so will definitely get stamped on. Very silly. J.

The joy of it is, I honestly didn't make any of them up, and I don't think it's even a complete list. In fact it's not - the Kneck/Arm can also correctly be referred to as the "Handle". How could forget that? J.

I'm not an Elton John fan, but for what it's worth I think some of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin compositions from the 70s (including Your Song) are rightly considered among the classics of the era. Ms Goulding's interpretation of this song, to my ears, is wretched. Jon.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1042903' date='Nov 30 2010, 08:37 PM']Nice! I never understand though why basses are "becoming rare and collectable"? Is someone burning a load of them? [/quote] A lot of 70s & early 80s JapCrap is pretty hard to come by these days - back then these instruments were seen by a lot of people as cheap, disposable rubbish, and it's fair to assume a lot of them were abused, trashed & just chucked away. Still millions of Thunder 1s around though! J.

If you intend to sell a musical instrument it's imperative that you convey an impression of knowledgeable authority to your potential purchaser. Make sure you Google any reference to your particular instrument, and if you get a result which includes any of your search terms, copy/paste the entire thing into your description. It doesn't matter at all if it's really not anything to do with what you're trying to sell - the thickies out there in EbayLand won't have a clue! Familiarise yourself with the correct technical terminology for the components of your item. It is a Base Guiter. The long part can be referred to as a Kneck, or alternatively, the Arm. The short strips of metal inserted transversely across the Arm/Kneck are Fretts. Some Base Guiters do not feature Fretts, these are known as Frettles Bases. The flat part at the end of the Arm/Kneck is the Paddle, and inserted into the Paddle are a number of devices which can be referred to as String Tighteners, or if you prefer, Turners. It is important that your buyers are aware of the good condition of your Base Guiter, so be sure to reassure them that it has little or no Frettware, that the Trust Rod is fully functioning, and that there are no problems with the Knut. If you feel you lack the confidence to portray yourself as the knowledgeable expert all the above will make you appear, simply say that you know nothing about guiters, but you took it to a shop, and this is what The Man In The Shop told you. This will instil absolute confidence in your customers, because everyone knows that the knowledge & experience of shop assistants is beyond question in these matters. J.

If you really, really want to grab your potential buyer's attention, don't use keywords in your title pertinent to what they might be searching for, and don't make your title a concise description of the item - just go: [b]L@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b] Jon.

Cimar was sort-of an Ibanez sub-brand, seems it was distributed by, and subsequently owned by Hoshino Gakki, owner of the Ibanez brand. Later Cimars were even badged as "Cimar By Ibanez". I won't speculate until I've seen pics of the beast, but it'll be decent - I've got a Cimar of my own and it's a very decent bass. Jon.