Bassassin

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1041890' date='Nov 30 2010, 12:52 AM']Sumbro jazz bass: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Jazz-bass-Sumbro-Fender-copy-collectable-/220703657796?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3362f68f44"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Jazz-bass-Sumbro...=item3362f68f44[/url][/quote] That looks quite tidy, definitely needs a bit of a setup, though! Shame the pics are a bit arse, would like a better look. J.

Nah - the bobbins have clearly warped & deformed, the poles (particularly on the neck pup) appear to be different heights, so presumably they're loose. No reason why they shouldn't be functional, but like you said string levels are probably all over the place. J.

Is it a Rickenbacker copy? Eh? Eh? Is it? Bleedin' chancer! J.

I've seen pups like these before on old Jap basses, but they're really not very common. I'm fairly certain the units wouldn't have had covers of their own, and the screws holding them in are the originals - there are no other holes. This is the way P90 guitar pickups are fitted, too. Remember on these old 70s Jazz copies the pickups are intended to be hidden under chrome ashtrays, as per the originals, so it's very common to find pickups that aren't copies of the originals hiding under them. On cheaper copies, small chrome Telecaster-type "lipstick" pups are common, and on slightly better ones you often find square chrome high-output singlecoils. I've seen other Matsumoku basses with pups very similar to proper J units, except the adjuster screws are at the ends, rather than the sides. As time went on, JapCrap got more authentic and pups tend to be more like the originals - although Jazz pickups with rounded ends always stayed very common. Same thing applies to P copies too - I've seen some pretty strange pickups on some of them. This is a little bit overpriced - to the tune of £75 - £100 or so. Jon.

[quote name='steverickwood' post='1040132' date='Nov 28 2010, 05:18 PM']It isn't. I'd have hoisted it as a teenager;) I think the bass I built was still there but we left in 1991. Unless this is another band you're talking about?! Hows the GK?[/quote] That was a couple of years earlier Steve, if I remember rightly. Didn't know your mum's house even had a basement, otherwise I probably would've left stuff there... With Abstract I had a 70s HH VS combo, which lit up green but only worked properly lying on its back (the amp, not me!), which I PX'd for a Session 410 Bass Compact (poor man's Trace-Elliot back then!) at Frenchy's in Duncan Road - which was run by a Mark Knopfler wannabe & amateur pornographer called Geoff - remember him? The GK's great - I really want a decent 2x10 to use with it now. Oh, and a band with some bloody gigs would be good too! J.

Just had a listen, and to me it sounds like his problem's control rather than lack of range - he can hit the notes, just not every time. He needs some lessons, and some structured practice. He does have a decent voice & the rest of the band are on the case. If you (as a band) intend gigging, you will have to learn to be very self-critical and this is as good a place as any to start. I wouldn't be too bothered about rocking the boat or denting his ego either - if you were playing bum notes in every bar, I'm sure somebody would be quick enough to point it out to you. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1039680' date='Nov 28 2010, 10:23 AM']Japanese, "steel adjustable neck", bolt on copy. Looks quite nice. Yet again a low starting price and no reserve. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rickenbacker-Bass-Japanese-Copy-/150524395000?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item230bf3fdf8"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rickenbacker-Bass-Ja...=item230bf3fdf8[/url] Surely Matsumoku with that neckplate.[/quote] It is - I told him exactly what it was & exactly how these basses can be identified - but going by his footnote it (in so many words - "some Ebayer said it might be an Aria, but who knows?") plainly wasn't what he wanted to hear. F@ck knows why I bother! Jon.

4 string, with the occasional dropped D for some songs. I do have a 5er but haven't gigged it or otherwise used it in anger - that B string just turned out to be an unusually long thumb rest. I should dig it out for a bit of a muck around, though. Certainly never considered a 6 or above, for me the extended ranges seem more geared towards solo playing & stunt-bass antics, which doesn't interest me as a player. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1039488' date='Nov 28 2010, 01:08 AM']Did you have a virtual chat with her? I have the vaguest suspicion that someone may have reported her auction. ?But I spoke to a local guitar shop, and they weren't sure if someone had reported her auction or not.[/quote] Not me, Squire. Was faintly motivated, but Captain Apathy came to call. J.

Does that Washburn look [i]familiar[/i] to anyone? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220702696780"]Kasuga Scorpion, badged as Pro Martin[/url], £50 start, secret reserve. J.

No homepage - just a blank browser window. Jon.

[quote name='KK Jale' post='1039455' date='Nov 28 2010, 12:20 AM']My old Selmer Treble & Bass. I always thought it was one grim amp, but now they're supposedly cla££ic...[/quote] Same. My first amp in 1981, £30 out a charity shop for 50w head & matching 2x12 cab - way too quiet for the band I'd just joined, I thought it was complete crap. It's still in the drummer's mum's basement, for all I know. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARIA-MATSUMOKO-BEATLES-BASS-GUITAR-/280595280839"]Very nice bolt-neck Aria[/url], looks in good order, in hard case, £300 BIN. That's good to see. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1039048' date='Nov 27 2010, 05:51 PM']That's enough to make me personally believe that the seller is deliberately out to scam people and is a nasty piece of work. I wonder what would happen if we emailed her to ask which shop inspected the bass and wasn't sure if it was a real Rickenbacker.[/quote] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Semi-Acoustic-Bass-Copy-Shaftesbury-Lawsuit-/280595675563"]Arf![/url] J.

BA2 clone in aluminium sounds interesting to me - the thing I dislike most about the original is the weight. Jon.

The bridge cover's just a Jazz one somebody's stuck on it - probably wouldn't look quite so misproportioned without it. I'd buy the neck for a s/s project, if I could have if for a tenner.The rest's pretty shonky looking. J.

I approve of this thread. Jon.

Oh, but a GUITAR SHOP - those expert arbiters of all things musical, couldn't tell whether it was a real Rickenbacker or not. So clearly, it might well be a real one! And who the hell are we, dim little amateur wannabes on a saddo forum, to even imply otherwise? Best we just shut the f@ck up then - shop assistants have spoken! So it'll be an Italian fake trc on an Italian (probably Eko) Faker? The bass actually looks in quite tidy condition. J.

[quote name='SS73' post='1037912' date='Nov 26 2010, 04:03 PM']The seller may even do a dirty on his mate[/quote] Thank you for that mental image. J.

[quote name='sprocketflup' post='1037583' date='Nov 26 2010, 11:36 AM']Might ask him if its a bolt on [/quote] Nah mate, it's in Reading. Bolton's miles away. J.

Oh no - after all that, it was all just a waste of Tim. J.

Pre-empting Big John's next price hike? Jon.