Bassassin

PM'd re maple/blocks neck. Jon.

Back again thanks to non-paying Ebay scumbag! [b]Finally sold on Ebay - and he's even paid for it![/b] [u][b]Kimbara - branded Gibson L6S copy, mid-70s[/b][/u]: This is very accurate copy of Gibson's mid 70s L6S, and I'm 99.9% certain this is a Matsumoku build. Kimbara was a brand name owned by UK distributor FCN (Fletcher, Coppock & Newman) and every other Kimbara electric I've seen has been a Mat guitar. Construction of this guitar is identical to the original - sandwich body (probably Sen Ash, in this case) and a set 3-piece maple neck with a hefty volute. The "lawsuit" headstock profile & lack of serial number probably place this at 1975 or a bit earlier - the real L6S was introduced in '73 so it won't be any earlier than that! Some of you might have seen the pic I posted of this when I got it: [attachment=51307:l6sorigcond.jpg] You pretty much never see these, and I paid well over the odds, considering the condition - and was pretty dismayed when I started work. However it became a labour of love, once I started getting it clean I realised that under the paint, filth & general abuse & neglect, it was redeemable. Anyway it's respectable now and I think is a nice example of the type. This one's interesting in having a black-bound rosewood board - every other L6S copy I've seen has a maple board. There's also a curious error if you look closely - the top position marker's been incorrectly placed at the 23rd fret, as has the side marker. Because this was a fairly major renovation there are some replaced parts, and the electronics are not standard. The original L6S had complex custom-designed Bill Lawrence pickups & electronics, and copies like this would have been similar. As the "before" pic shows this had been fitted with one of its original pickups, a replacement humbucker, 3-way switch and coil tap - all of the original electronics were gone. In order to retain the original look I fitted a chrome pickup cover, and planned to wire it with a 3-way rotary switch functioning as a conventional 3-way toggle. Unfortunately ambition outstripped competence here & I was unable to find a diagram showing how to do this, and well out of my depth trying to puzzle it out myself! So presently the switch isn't part of the circuit, and it's wired like a Jazz bass - volume, volume & tone. :blush: A few other bits have been replaced. It had a very broken set of Grover Rotomatics when I got it, these have been replaced with a nice shiny set of Rotomatic copies. The back of the headstock does look a bit like a pincushion but these tuners fit the original holes (this would have had sealed Gotohs with 12 o'clock & 6 o'clock screws) and I've plugged the remainder. I also used a piece of pale wood dowel to plug the hole where the micro-switch had been - it was firmly glued in place before I discovered that clear-coat would sink into the grain & make it go orange. Bugger. A previous abuser had plainly attempted to scrape off the logo before realising it was embedded under about 2mm of poly lacquer. I've filled & polished the scratches and it looks a lot better. There's a fair bit of lacquer cracking on the guitar, particularly noticeable around the back of the headstock & neck/body joint: I was worried by this at first but absolutely none of it's structural - there is no wood damage, the neck/body joint's rock solid and there have been no repairs. The lacquer on this guitar's very, very thick and the cracking is probably more to do with wood expansion/contraction than any external stresses or impacts. Anyway this now looks good, plays very well & sounds good too.

I'm a bit gutted to have to do this because while I might be a Pikey, I'm a guitar collector geek at heart, I love these two and doubt that I will see their like again. But needs must. I can't justify having more than one 2-humbucker LP-type guitar and I'm not parting with my Westbury Standard, so these have to go. Anyway, I'd far rather sell to proper musicians than the slobbering Fleabay hordes, so here's first refusal: Part one - [u][b]Ibanez MC150DS Musician[/b][/u]: This version of the MC150 was only available in 1981 and seems to be one of the least common Musicians. The range was revised in 1982 and fitted with conventional humbuckers, instead of the Super 88 on this guitar. Anyway - this is its only known appearance in an Ibanez catalogue, all the specs are here too: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/65/3.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/65/3.jpg[/url] This guitar dates to January 1981 and has been well-played, but not abused. The only real damage is a chip off the corner of the headstock veneer. There are knocks, scuffs & bumps & a couple lacquer cracks, and a fair bit of buckle rash (which I've clear-coated over to prevent the finish from flaking) but the guitar is 100% rock-solid & good for at least another 29 years. Frets have recently been dressed, and I've wire-wooled them vigorously and it's a lovely player in every way. There are some non-original parts - the Quik-Change tailpiece is a new replacement, the trc is a reproduction and most interestingly, the original tuners have been replaced with 70s/80s Ibanez Velve-Tunes. This is genuinely a massive upgrade, these tuners are rare as popeshit and Ibanez collectors will pay 3 figures for a mint set of these - which these pretty much are. This is probably the best guitar I've ever owned, & NOW SOLD ON BASTARD EBAY. I'm selling because I really do need to pull my finger out & get a new rig rather than just keep whining about it, so I'm very interested in trades involving lightweight, high-power amps/cabs. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=90339"][b]Part Two - Kimbara L6S Copy[/b][/url] Jon.

Tino - I think I've seen you over on the Ibanez Collectors forum haven't I? Wasn't it you that had the very nice CSL LP copy with set neck & vines? Anyway, I'm no particular collector geek (all my old JapCrap basses are players) but if you've been around those sites, you know as well as I do that non-original replacement thumbrests, pickup covers (a Ricky one won't fit this bass!) and missing original parts make a big difference as far as getting a premium price for a vintage Ibby is concerned. It's a beautiful bass, but as for fooling anyone, or impressing Rickenbacker fans - have a look at the comments on Rickresource.com about "Rickenfakers" - they'd spot this from 120 miles away & burn it with relish! Seriously, the early 2388B/DX like yours is the single most inaccurate Rick copy to come out of a Japanese factory. Don't get me wrong, I love them and would be all over one if a bargain came up - but you have to be realistic about what this is, and what you can reasonably expect to get for it - particularly on a bass-savvy place like this! I've been watching Rick copies on Ebay for about 6 years or so (OK, I'm sad - these basses are something of an obsession for me!) and the most expensive sale I've ever seen was an El Maya 4001S (unbound body, dot inlays & very, very very rare) which sold for £656 at the end of 2008 to someone in Sweden, who was likely taking advantage of exchange rate antics. That's commemorated [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=270&view=findpost&p=366625"]here[/url] in the Rickenfakers sticky thread, which is now 60 pages and 3 years worth of Faker sightings, discussions & analysis, and is, I dare say, fairly comprehensive! Anyway best of luck with both of your sales - the AFG Rick is a stunner and that's a pretty good price in the current market, and realistically it would be easier to replace than your Ibanez! Jon.

That's a 1975 or earlier (unless you have the original receipt you cannot state "1974") Ibanez 2388B/DX, the pickups are original - and I would [u]strongly[/u] advise any buyer to leave it that way. These are sought-after & collectable vintage instruments, so non-reversible mods are to be avoided if you want it to retain value. On the subject, Parker_muse is right, £675 for this is very expensive, in the UK these typically fetch around £200 less than that on Ebay - which is, on the whole, a more expensive place to buy & sell than BC. The bass is missing some parts, which would limit its desirability to an Ibanez collector - the pickup cover, finger-rest, string mute and mute adjusters are all gone. Best of luck selling it Tino, but I think you're being a bit ambitious... Jon.

[quote name='hagguy' post='835794' date='May 12 2010, 11:37 PM']...or swap for a decent guitar ian[/quote] Ibanez Musician + cash adjustment of any interest to you? [attachment=50773:MC150full.jpg] Jon.

[quote name='Dodge' post='847459' date='May 25 2010, 01:19 PM']Set neck or bolt on?[/quote] This will be bolt-on. Jon.