Bassassin

Just saw that myself & came here to post it. If I had a spare £900 it would be hard not to... Jon.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1005965' date='Oct 30 2010, 01:38 AM']Whether McCartney is a good bass player and whether the Beatles wrote 'good' songs is a debate so covered in tiretracks as to be virtually worthless. And, in the end, it just comes down to personal taste. The 'influence' thing is often seen as an issue of musicianship and absorption of licks, sounds, techniques. But there's so much more. * They're responsible for the idea that bands could - and [i]should [/i]- 'progress'. Before the Beatles, bands were expected to last for a couple of years or so. They'd put out pretty much the same stuff across their brief career. The fact the Beatles' fame ensured they lasted for longer required that they had to periodically re-invent themselves. Thank the Beatles for Metallica refusing to lay down and die. * The Beatles killed Tin Pan Alley. Today, everyone's a songwriter. Unfortunately. * They moved beyond the idea of the Pop album as a collection of singles and filler. They used innovative studio recording techniques to go beyond 'song capture' and into the realm of audio creativity. It is the Beatles fault that we have 96 track desks and infinite channel capacity on DAW's. To the extent that recording live to two-track is seen as wildly radical. * The Beatles acted as a bridgehead for the idea of Pop as Art. Without the Beatles, no psychedelia, no Floyd, Velvets, JAMC, Husker Du, no chinstroking rockers. Just big sh*t-eating smiles and waves to the audience. * By virtue of their ubiquity and marketability, the Beatles opened the door to Pop merchandising, tat, spin-offs, stalkers and conspiracy theories. * The Beatles absorbed and re-purposed significantly different musical forms - reggae, folk, psychedelia, blues, soul. In so doing they exposed musos and audiences alike to new sounds and textures. You could make a shaky case for the Beatles being indirectly responsible for the idea of sub-genres within pop music * Without the Beatles there would have been no 'British Invasion' and no US exposure for bands like The Stones, Animals, Yardbirds. Muddy Waters would have spent the rest of his life doing cash in hand odd jobs and Blues Rock would not have been invented, so no bent note Les Paul Marshall Stackery. * The irreverant, provocative intelligence of their public pronouncements raised the bar for musos everywhere. Simple anodyne comments like "Thanks to all our fans and my favourite colour is blue" gave way to arguments about spirituality, The Establishment, war and - er - Universal Love. Without the Beatles, no Bono, no Zappa and no Silddx. * Philip Norman makes a convincing case for The Beatles as a major component in changing attitudes to authority, morals, sex and drugs. He also blames the Beatles for today's solipsistic Entitlement culture. Without the Beatles, chavs wouldn't exist and everyone would know their place, according to Mr Norman. And he may be right. Now you could argue that lots of other people were beavering away putting this stuff together and you'd be correct. But the Beatles were the catalyst, the bridgehead and the force which propelled isolated, nascent practices and ideas into the mainstream. So you don't have to like the Beatles - I don't much - to at least tip your hat to their influence on the landscape we inhabit on a daily basis.[/quote] Wing Commander DelVar - requesting permission to copy /paste this the next time I'm on a non-musician forum & find myself embroiled in a dispute with some chundering dunderhead who insists the Beatles were "overrated", "pointless old people's music" and that "Oasis did it better". Like yourself & Mr Daz I am no fan, but it's impossible to overstate their importance & influence. Jon.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1005832' date='Oct 29 2010, 10:04 PM']Ok read what I said I said the Link is [b]they are from the same factory[/b]. Not that they are or ever were Tokai or made for tokai just that they come from the same factory as some Tokais. Add that to what else I said in the [b]PM's[/b] and you can see where people are adding the 2+2. Including the bass centre.[/quote] That sir, is a fair point, and well made. I apologise for my rampant conclusion-vaulting and will depart forthwith to stuff my gob with humble pie. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1005679' date='Oct 29 2010, 07:58 PM']I've never heard Jon being called "Wiki" before. Hey Jon, have you got a Wiki side?[/quote] Nice as pie, me. But I do appear to be a suppository of useless and frequently ill-researched & insupportable (mis)information. J.

Looks like the bass version of this piece of grot I nabbed at the car boot a couple of years back: [attachment=62517:front1.jpg] Generic catalogue crap guitar, no brand name or country of manufacture. Mine was late 60s / early 70s Korean, I'm inclined to think, actually played quite nicely & sounded OK too. Sold it for nearly £90, so there is a market for this sort of thing. Jon.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1005657' date='Oct 29 2010, 07:33 PM']Even if the Rockinbetters do come from a factory that also makes Tokai branded instruments that still doesn't make them Tokais. If Tokai wanted to release a 4001/4003 bass it would say Tokai on the TRC. I have the Tokai 2000 catalogue which shows amongst others Tokai branded versions of the 330 and 350 guitars so they have no problem making instruments the copy Rickenbacker's designs and putting the Tokai name on the TRC. However I have yet to see a 4001/4003 bass with Tokai on the TRC.[/quote] +1 to the above - Tokai is a fairly small manufacturer & brand (certainly compared to many other Japanese brands) and it's incredibly unlikely they own a Chinese factory, or have contracted a factory's entire output. Do a bit of searching on here and there are some very spurious and circumstantial connections between Tokai, Tokai copies (ie copies of Tokais!) and a Canadian brand called Dillion - who use, and presumably own the Rockinbetter name. I suspect the suggestion that Rockinbetters in the UK are Tokais is a bit of baseless (and probably quite dodgy) marketing opportunism on the behalf of the UK importer & resellers. J.

That £100 one was a serious bargain - wish I'd seen that! Jon.

[quote name='noelk27' post='1004656' date='Oct 29 2010, 01:47 AM']Matsuoka also had connections to Hoshino Gakki, manufacturing certain nylon and steel string guitars for the Ibanez and Tama brands, and given the locations of both organisations, in Nagoya, appear to have used some of the same parts suppliers (seen in the bridge assemblies and control knobs featured on Shiro SE models).[/quote] Is the bass in question from the SE range? As I said when this came up previously, [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=7473&view=findpost&p=983921"]the bridge is identical to the one on my Cimar[/url] - which is from the era when the Cimar brand was controlled by Hoshino and was marketed as an Ibanez sub-brand. Early Cimar copies are very obviously not from Fujigen, and while the later original designs seem more consistent with Fujigen, there are some curious anomalies here & there. Could it be that Cimars were simply rebranded Matsuoka products? Have to admit Matsuoka is new to me, probably because I have little knowledge of Japanese acoustic guitar manufacture - but this adds an intriguing new level of confusion to the mix! J.

[quote name='noelk27' post='1004667' date='Oct 29 2010, 02:18 AM']I viewed that Jazz copy, Jon. There was no label or other marking on it to suggest it was Aria. Also, the pickups didn't look like the Maxon type I'd have expected to see on an Aria copy.[/quote] No headstock logo? If so I'd go with your assessment that there's no reason to think it's an Aria, after all. What do you make of the Aria-branded Kasuga LP? Obviously the Ebay link's long gone but I kept some of the pics: [attachment=62492:Image4.jpg][attachment=62493:Image5.jpg] [attachment=62494:Image7.jpg][attachment=62495:Image8.jpg] Jon.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1003991' date='Oct 28 2010, 04:20 PM']I have it on good authority the Tokai link is they come from the same factory [/quote] What - Tokai Gakki in Hamamatsu? Chinny reckon. These are sod-all to do with Tokai, [b]which is why they don't say Tokai on them[/b]. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1004327' date='Oct 28 2010, 08:25 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1980s-Aria-Matsumoku-Made-Japanese-Shiro-Bass-/320609897674?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4aa5d6ccca"]Shiro Bass[/url]. Listing claims that it's Matsumoku made, but in previous threads by Jon disagree. Wherever it was made (and my money's on Jon ), I think it looks very nice. Fair bit of the right type of wear on the back though.[/quote] This is the same one that sold for £128 a couple of weeks ago: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shiro-Aria-Bass-80s-Japan-/220678047984"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shiro-Aria-Bass-80s-...n-/220678047984[/url] Seller is covering his gyppo-flip profiteering attempt by not leaving feedback - but this is the BC JapCrap Squad, sunshine, we know your type and all your little tricks. Certainly doesn't look like a Matsumoku - and tbh there's no reason why it should be. Shiro may be an Arai Co brand but they didn't exclusively use Matsumoku - Kasuga LP copies have turned up with Aria logos so there's every reason to think if this doesn't look like a Mat then likely it ain't one. J.

I've never owned MIA or MIM so can't speak from experience - but over the years I've read a lot of posts on here from people dissatisfied with their MIM and MIA Fenders, but can't remember a single one complaining about a Japanese-made J or P. Interesting, that. Jon.

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='1001866' date='Oct 26 2010, 10:56 PM']i just assumed the smiley face and the face laughing would show sarcasm in my reply. I guess it was lost in translation.[/quote] No - it was quite evident that you were being sarcastic. However it wasn't exactly clear what the sarcasm was being directed at. J.

[quote name='waldemar' post='1001913' date='Oct 27 2010, 12:00 AM']Posting some pics if any of ye are interested, although I'm sure you'd rather be looking at MM's and MIA-P's..![/quote] Not at all! Far sooner see something a bit out of the ordinary, like this. J.

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='1001685' date='Oct 26 2010, 08:35 PM']how can you say its a fake/copy with those detailed pics [/quote] Tuners are wrong, trc is a fake, fireglo colour is wrong, fretboard's too dark, the description's bullsh!t and the seller knows it. Any other questions? Don't believe me - go & give the guy £1200 for it and find out yourself. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1001797' date='Oct 26 2010, 10:01 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/yamaha-sb-2a-1967-70-bass-guitar-surf-bass-/290492766863?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item43a2b7da8f"]Think this is an old one?[/url][/quote] Yep. J.

I might aspire to a nice little semi in Dennis Duna Way, but gyppo scumbag that I am, you'll probably find me slumming it in one of the clapped-out camper vans parked up on that strip of common grassland to the east of the estate, you know - Rob Green. Jon.

[quote name='razze06' post='1001129' date='Oct 26 2010, 02:04 PM']Ah well, i texted him today, but no reply. Not a problem, let me know if you got it! I noticed the pickup was different from the catalog after I posted it, Iwonder what it sounds like with the humbucker[/quote] Marco - if you fancy it, go for it, it's not like I need any basses! Realistically I probably would tidy it up, play it for a few weeks & then sell it on. I'll mail the guy and tell him you're interested, & he'll likely text you back. J.

[quote name='razze06' post='1001094' date='Oct 26 2010, 01:30 PM'][url="http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/catalogs/Tokai-Volume1-Original-Series-catalog.pdf"]http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/catalo...ies-catalog.pdf[/url] Page 8 I may go for this...[/quote] Oops - I mailed him last night... As it happens these got discussed here a year or two ago - another BCer has one: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26861"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26861[/url] The Scumtree bass is an LBX60 with a humbucking pup (shown in the catalogue image in the thread) rather than the LBX50 on the Tokai site, which has a split coil pup. Can't see any other differences. J.

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1000925' date='Oct 26 2010, 11:01 AM']FWIW I never liked brow - he always reminded me of that annoying Monty Python sketch -nudge nudge wink wink ![/quote] That's the whole point - to me he's a 20x20 pixel Sid James! J.

He's still there: There's just no link any more. Sort it out! J.

That's a fretted/fretless twin-neck waiting to be born. Jon.

[quote name='waldemar' post='1000616' date='Oct 25 2010, 10:58 PM']That vee looks cool. After a bit more of a dig around - apparently Vulcan was a brand name (amongst others) stuck on guitars coming out of the Korean Matsumoko factory. Possibly a forerunner to the Westone brand.[/quote] Erm - there was no Korean Matsumoku factory. Matsumoku was in Matsumoto city, Japan. This is likely early 80s Korean - Japanese factories pretty much stopped making copies for export by the end of the 70s so that part of the market shifted to cheaper facilities in Korea, Taiwan etc. It's likely that Vulcan was simply the importer's choice of name and nothing to do with the factory that made it - that was the case with the vast majority of small 70s and 80s brands, and is still the case now. The neck looks quite tidy, body is almost certainly ply, though. Jon.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140469853562"]Not the Ibanez he wants it to be[/url] - which is a good thing because it's made of nicer wood & has a more attractive Fireglo than most Ibbys. Don't know what this is, ones like this turn up branded as Fernandes & Fresher, it's not clear who made them. It's also possible it's a Brazilian Giannini. I'd be a bit more worried than he is by the lacquer cracking & flaking around the neck/body join - looks to me like the body wings are de-laminating quite badly. **UPDATE** Leaning more towards Giannini (or something else non-MIJ) now after having a good look at his pics - hardware details aren't consistent with Japan: bridge holes too squared, strange elongated strap buttons - and a "StereoSound" jackplate with a very curious Rick-type serial, to start with. Also skunk-stripe and inlays look wrong... Oh, and this has been on before, back in November 2007. The neck joint wasn't quite as f@cked then... J.