Bassassin

A few months ago this factory one-off appeared in Rickenbacker's Ebay shop: [attachment=55283:front1.jpg] [attachment=55284:back1.jpg] [attachment=55285:Full.JPG] Absolute stunner in my opinion and a possible hint they might reintroduce the stripe, like they did with the full-width inlays. J.

Anyone else get the feeling all the good ones are gone? J.

[quote name='tauzero' post='909386' date='Jul 29 2010, 04:11 PM']Looks very much like an Audition/Top Twenty Woollies special from the 70s. I had solid-body and semi 6-strings, and a thoroughly decrepit solid-body 6-string is in my garage waiting for me to decide to throw it away.[/quote] It's a Teisco - you'll find it bottom left on [url="http://www.mark-cole.co.uk/teisco/bass.htm"]this page[/url]. Loads of these were sold in the UK badged as Top Twenty etc so it's almost certainly a Woolies Wonder! J.

It'll be 70s - there were no later Shaftesburys, as far as I can tell. Post some pics and I'll tell you what I know. Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='908786' date='Jul 29 2010, 12:19 AM']One day Bassassin will post a wanted ad for some part of it and I'll sell it to him for a pittance.[/quote] Gawd. I really am that tragic, aren't I? Although in my defence, I've passed up two of the guitar ones of these selling for buttons. I like to think I have some standards! Speaking of which my worst bass was my first - a short-scale comedy attempt at a Jazz, wearing a Grant badge. It had a bridge so poorly aligned the G string was off the neck above the 12th, pickups that didn't pick a great deal up & an action so high you could stick your arm under the stings. It might've been Japanese & old but it really was an irredeemable piece of sh!t that I'd gleefully hack to splinters given the chance. Or I hope I would. I Could probably give it a good setup & have it playing like a dream now. I bet I could... :ph34r: Jon.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='908375' date='Jul 28 2010, 04:24 PM']i would buy this [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=96386"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=96386[/url] you can turn the active on if you ever want it![/quote] These are great basses but the neck is absolutely [b]nothing[/b] like a Soundgear! They're also very heavy, while the two SRs I've had were featherweight. Fortunately the Ibby Soundgear range has been around for best part of 25 years and there are enough different models that it shouldn't be hard to find one with the right spec. Alternatively why not upgrade the hardware & pups on your GSR? Jon.

Probably Chinese & the sort of thing that turns up new on Ebay under a variety of different names & a BIN of £199. Whatever it is, that's a lot of bass for 50 sovs. Jon.

There's Tokais & there's Tokais. Broadly speaking, Japanese-made ones (both vintage & current) are excellent quality, sought-after & expensive, Korean/elsewhere made ones are more generic decent instruments with a Tokai badge and a less alarming price tag. Then there are ones like this: And it's very, very good. Jon.

[quote name='greenbay' post='905407' date='Jul 26 2010, 12:54 AM']you're dreaming if you think you can get a ricky bass for £600. Anyone who knows their stuff wouldn't sell one that cheap. New ones go for £1800 and the waiting list is a year. You can find old ones but not for £600. Pleasant dreams![/quote] Check the date of my post, sunshine. Bye. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='906336' date='Jul 26 2010, 09:08 PM']Ibanez Roadster, P/J. I don't know much about the Roadsters. I presume it's a very nice bass, but I think it looks a bit ugly. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-RS924-Roadster-MIJ-/200501587502?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eaed36e2e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-RS924-Roadste...=item2eaed36e2e[/url][/quote] That's our very own Mr Pablo selling that. I've got one of these, I agree they aren't the most beautiful of basses but playability, build quality & sound make up for it. Plus Steve 'Arris used to play one! They weigh a ton though. J.

[quote name='Martin E' post='904629' date='Jul 25 2010, 11:37 AM']From my age and perspective the instrument we all play and love is definitely an electric bass.[/quote] An electric bass[i] what[/i]? J.

Old early 80s Aria Pro bridge on that. Conveniently, about the only non-combustible part. Jon.

[quote name='allihts' post='902153' date='Jul 22 2010, 05:51 PM']whats wrong with calling it a bass? simples![/quote] Nothing, all the time you're speaking colloquially with other musicians. As soon as you start needing to be more specific (or you're in the company of an agonisingly pedantic git, like me) the question you may get is "a bass [i]what[/i]?" "Bass" simply refers to the instrument's tonal range, it tells you nothing about what type of instrument it is or what family of instruments it belongs to. Although it's conceptually a hybridised instrument, all it takes from the acoustic upright double bass is its number of strings and its standard tuning. In every other facet of its design and construction it is a guitar. I think it's also reasonable to assume that a guitarist would adapt to it considerably more quickly than an upright player, because there is no necessity to learn any new techniques. Guitarists, the bloody lot of us. Jon.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='901032' date='Jul 21 2010, 04:07 PM']You legend. Thanks! I was hoping it might be a £100 JapCrap oddity that nobody wants. [/quote] Unfortunately there aren't too many of them with Ibanez logos! I'd love a (cheap) Axstar! :brow: Jon.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='901905' date='Jul 22 2010, 02:00 PM']I played a Wesley about 7 years ago - had to wash my hands afterward - maybe things have improved? G.[/quote] Depends where Wesley get 'em from I suppose. I picked up one of the neckthrough active Rick things they had a few years ago when they were offloading them for £99. A few cut corners but a hell of a lot of bass for the money. Never had my hands on a Crunge though. So to speak. Jon.

No-name 70s JapCrap EB copy, doesn't look like a particularly good one, and is in a pretty abused state. Would probably fetch £120 on Ebay with enough flannel & flattering pics. Not entirely sure why being played by someone from a minor British punk band 30+ years ago suddenly makes it worth "£400 - £500". Bizarre. Jon.

[quote name='OldGit' post='901189' date='Jul 21 2010, 07:13 PM']Jon No one will think any the less of a JV jazz for having screw holes where a proper Fender pickup cover was fitted. It's not like sticking an extra thumb rest on or strap peg in the wrong place or routing it for a different bridge. In fact sell it with the covers and it will probably be worth £20 more. Oh, PS: Nice fix idea too.[/quote] I trust you noticed the " "? Thing is, KevinJazzBass asked a specific question about value, and like it or not, "collecty" people are very anal about such things & screwholes, covers, non-original parts and all that sort of thing will devalue it. That's just a symptom of the fact that these were sold as cheapos back in the day & most have been modded, trashed or worse by now. On the subject, I'm inclined to think the black undrilled scratchplate wasn't original - I think JV Jazzes would have come with drilled plates & undrilled bodies. Obviously I haven't seen 'em all (and Js seem much less common than Ps) so there might be exceptions. J.

Take off your drilled scratchplate & countersink the screwholes from the back. Then get some suitably small countersunk-headed machine screws & nuts, and attach the pup cover from behind, with the nuts on the front. This is how thumbrests were sometimes attached on JapCrap copies. You'll have to take off your strings & thread them under the cover to put it all back together. Alternatively if you don't give a sh!t about the value of your bass, do this: [quote name='OldGit' post='901019' date='Jul 21 2010, 03:53 PM']Just screw it on and don't worry.[/quote] Jon.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='899843' date='Jul 20 2010, 11:37 AM']Oh my god you encyclopaedic freak. And only £137? I could actually have one! Thank you![/quote] I'll have you know I consider that a compliment of the highest order. If I spot one I'll give you a shout. J.

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='899697' date='Jul 20 2010, 08:28 AM']Thanks Jon, I may nervously wander over there and say it came out of a box of parts from a long-lost/dead uncle or something then.[/quote] Or the ever popular "my mate bought this Faker - sorry, I meant my[i] former[/i] mate!" J.

It's one of these: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arbiter-Bass-Guitar-1970-Excellent-Condition-Retro-/230496108668"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arbiter-Bass-Guitar-...o-/230496108668[/url] JapCrap copy of the Kalamazoo mentioned earlier. There was a current auction for one as well but can't find it right now. If it turns up I'll post a link. Jon.

Looking at the pics, I'm 99.9% sure it's shonky. A 70s Rick plexi would be screened on the back, and would probably also have the model number of whatever instrument it was purloined from. The screwholes look countersunk & I've never noticed this on a real one - although I guess that could have been done later. I'm not a huge Rick expert (most of what I know derives from what you don't find on Fakers!) so my small margin of doubt would be that maybe this is from an extremely early Rick (50s/60s) and the back-printed sticker pre-dates the screenprinted trcs I've seen. But I doubt it. Rickresource is cool - just don't tell them it's off a Faker you own! Jon.

[quote name='SS73' post='898452' date='Jul 18 2010, 10:41 PM']Is that the bass in your avatar, it has the neck pup in the position of a pre 74?, nice glo though.[/quote] That looks like a 60s type scratchplate - as well as having the 1/2" gap, it goes right up to the bridge pup surround. Jon.