Bassassin

An erm, [i]interesting[/i] fretless example, apparently by Slovenian master luthier Ignac Zaletelj: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190405207557"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=190405207557[/url] That John Shuker, he must be sweating... J.

[quote name='backwater' post='868308' date='Jun 15 2010, 07:33 PM']Well I did take a note of the serial if it would ring bells! Serial starts J85 which I assume is 1985? My conclusion that it was a 760 was purely based on 5-minutes searching on the web and finding this page : [url="http://www.ibanezwiki.com/display/CATALOG/1985+-+Ibanez+String+Instruments"]http://www.ibanezwiki.com/[/url][/quote] Not the same bass - the 750 I checked out started G84, making it July '84. The only immediate difference between the 750 & 760 is the number of frets (24 on the 760, 21 on the 750) and the pups look slightly different. I'll definitely pop in the shop sometime this week - unless someone on here buys it first! J.

[quote name='backwater' post='868041' date='Jun 15 2010, 02:45 PM']Not ebay but cash converters - I was in the store on Dalry Rd in Edinburgh and they have an Ibanez Roadstar II bass in - a websearch tells me it is an RB760BK - looks to be in fair condition, quite a few dings but looks pretty good. The price was £119 - might be a good deal for someone (the wife will kill me if I buy it!) Andy [/quote] I might pop in & have a look. Sounds like a good price, can't afford it myself, but I'd be interested to see if it turns out to be the same RD750BK I checked out for a BCer back in March. Not much difference between the 750 & 760! J.

You do see the delaminating wings thing on real Ricks - a consequence of that big route at the end of the neck & being strung with high tension rounds. I think this is why the neck pup was moved on Ricks in the mid 70s - shame the copy builders didn't do the same thing. This thing looks like a badly refinished fireglo copy (check the truss rod route) and the guy reckons the screwholes were where someone fitted a "bracket" in a failed attempt to pull the neck back. All that & it still manages to reach £245, & counting. J.

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.