Bassassin

Cool looking basses. Never played one, but someone on here did have one a year or so ago - not sure but it might have been thebeat. Actually - just did a search & indeed it was: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=Search&CODE=show&searchid=fc52dec47a7485a18763e7ed83e018c0&search_in=posts&result_type=topics&highlite=%2Bhagstrom+beluga"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=Search...hagstrom+beluga[/url] He didn't keep it long... Jon.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='867487' date='Jun 14 2010, 09:35 PM']WTF? I've never before seen a fretless with a fingerboard made of faeces.[/quote] I'm so glad I wasn't eating/drinking when I read that! J.

The headstock on mine's quite wide compared to my other two Rick copies (a Matsumoku & an unidentified copy) but I suspect there was quite a lot of variation - these mid 70s basses mostly pre-date the use of CNC machinery so there will be some scope for differences. J.

[quote name='tino' post='866143' date='Jun 13 2010, 04:43 PM']Jon did the Kasuga not have 2 inputs as a Riccy,I may have missed something but does this not have a single jack?????[/quote] Mine's got one, the through-neck that the thread's about has one but the one in the catalogue has two. Seems to be quite common that copies from various manufacturers are inconsistent with the number of outputs - I've seen exactly the same thing with Fujigens and bolt-neck Matsumokus. Does your Ibby have one or two? J.

That's the article that's led to the popular Ebay myth "Kasuga, made by Tokai"! Anyway, that's the story, and I think they're the undiscovered gems of 70s MIJ guitars. Kasuga was a manufacturer in its own right - in fact the factory postal address appears on their old "K-Country" acoustic guitar catalogues & you can even find the original factory site on Google Earth! They do turn up everywhere - in the UK there are Kasuga-built guitars with the Arbiter & CMI brands, they built the Canadian Northern range (some of these are stunning) certain models from the US Electra brand, Japanese BC Rich - and I've even seen an Aria-branded Kasuga Les Paul copy, just to upset Matsumoku purists! Jon.

I'd say that if you're not going to use the neck for more than a week or so, definitely [b]do[/b] loosen the truss rod. It's designed to exert counter-pressure against string tension, remove the string tension and all it's doing is distorting the wood. I found this out to my cost - in actual fact it was a bass I bought which arrived with the neck off. It needed some restoration and for a few reasons, I didn't get around to working on it for several months. By this point the neck had developed a twist, & a hump around the 7th fret that no amount of truss tweaking would remedy. The frets had already been levelled several times so there wasn't enough metal to be able to dress any of the damage out. I had checked it when it arrived and it was fine - just some back-bow from the rod tension. Not a mistake I'll make twice. Jon.

[quote name='Musky' post='865813' date='Jun 13 2010, 11:40 AM']It has some similarities to Jon's Kasuga, so that be my guess. We'll have to wait for the man himself for a positive ID. [/quote] Well spotted Musky - that's a Kasuga copy. Mine's the bolt-neck variation, but it shares many common details: checked binding, identical hardware/electronics (apart from the tuners) and most tellingly the incredibly neat hand-routing for the 6 individual pole pieces of the Toaster pickup. Rickenbacker could learn a thing or two from this sort of attention to detail. The tuners aren't original - the through-neck Kasugas I've seen before were factory-fitted with genuine US "wavy" Grovers. Anyway, a similar bass appears in a Japanese "Heerby" catalogue, the only difference seems to be the finish & stereo outputs. Heerby was one of Kasuga Gakki's home-market brands: [url="http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/heerby/197x/index.html"]http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-a...197x/index.html[/url] The plain trc's quite interesting - most vintage Rickenfakers have had their covers swapped for pretend Rick ones, but I'd say it's possible this bass was sold unbranded, as quite a lot of 70s MIJ copies were. Tino - it's not a Fresher, but just wondering if you have any idea who made them? I don't think it was a manufacturer in its own right. Jon.

[quote name='JimD' post='864403' date='Jun 11 2010, 03:04 PM']The other choice so far is two passive Schaller JB6 bridge units. The only problem I have here, and it's very subjective, is the Schallers have polepieces and the original Westones do not. I'd like to keep flat black pickups, even though the bottom line for all this is sound.[/quote] I think it's the Schaller JBX's that are twin-coil. DiMarzio Model J's are as well - these all have exposed hex pole pieces, but I expect you could screw the poles flush with the bobbins & stick a pair of [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Pickup-Cover-Closed-Neck-Black-/130397541981"]these[/url] on. However the screening option's loads cheaper & easier so definitely try that first - and I'd [i]always[/i] recommend keeping that vintage JapCrap original! Is yours red/black like the pics? Jon.

£179??? [i]Very[/i] good deal if it's not a typo. Buy one. No - buy two! Jon.

[quote name='vmaxblues' post='863407' date='Jun 10 2010, 03:58 PM']Anyone want one? How about a nice B2A for a mere £100 + P&P (Hijacking thread)[/quote] Blimey that's a bargain. If I didn't already have one I'd buy that one. J.

[quote name='Gust0o' post='862679' date='Jun 9 2010, 10:08 PM']Wouldn't mind your opinion on a further issue. How would these have been stringed originally? Assuming a light gauge for the set neck, but flat, round or something else? Thanks for your help so far, very much appreciated at this end [/quote] Happy to help & pass around what little I know. Knowledge is power, or something. Anyway, flats, definitely. I think Entwistle popularised the use of rounds on bass & The Who weren't around when this was built. Besides, flats are typically lower tension than rounds, and on a bass with no truss rod & a delicate-looking neck/body joint, you won't want much tension! J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='862729' date='Jun 9 2010, 11:05 PM']Could this have been something at some time? Doesn't say where it's from, but does it look vaguely Matsumoku era Hondo II? Or not? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Solid-wood-thru-neck-bass-guitar-restoration-project-/170497583029?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27b272a7b5"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Solid-wood-thru-neck...=item27b272a7b5[/url][/quote] That's a Cort, Korean-made from 1980-ish, would've been branded as Kay for the UK market. Nice project, only needs pups & pots really - shame he's not posting! There's another, rather ambitiously overpriced example here: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230484531702"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=230484531702[/url] Not sure how original that one is. Nice basses if you get a good 'un - many have a high action due to a thin fretboard & chunky bridge, which can really only be sorted by recessing the bridge into the body. I had one, sounded great but was hard work because of the string height. J.

[quote name='Gust0o' post='861993' date='Jun 9 2010, 12:28 PM']This [i]is[/i] an Ibanez 1250, from 1960 or 1961. Made for Ibanez by Tokyo Sound Corp and possibly branded as Guyatone in the absense of the Ibanez badging.[/quote] There are a [i]lot[/i] of opinions knocking about on ICW, but the trouble is many of the posters over there don't know/care a great deal about brands other than Ibanez. There's no empirical evidence to connect the very early instruments to any particular factory & unearthing the history of early MIJ guitars requires a [i]much[/i] broader view & open mind than many single-brand enthusiasts have. I stand by my earlier position that while this is the same instrument as the Ibby 1250, unless it actually says Ibanez on it, or we can see that an Ibanez badge has once be on it, then it simply isn't one. Ibanez is only a brand name, and most of the 60s & 70s Ibanez models frequently turn up with various other names, or with no name, because the factories would happily sell to anyone. There's far too little information about these very old instruments to be able to connect them to one factory or brand at this point - and ironically on ICW you'll find any number of posters who (correctly!) maintain that if it doesn't say Ibanez, then it isn't one, no matter how much you might want it to be! They've even coined a name for the no-brand & other brand guitars that people frequently claim to be vintage Ibbys - "Imaginez"! Looks like I gave you the wrong URL for the Vintaxe forum - it should be: [url="http://www.vintaxe.com/boards/index.php"]http://www.vintaxe.com/boards/index.php[/url] You might get a little more insight from there, there are a lot of 60s MIJ collectors there, plus the guy who runs the site has a massive archive of vintage catalogues & frequently is able to ID & date unusual instruments. J.