Bassassin

[quote name='kevbass' post='816308' date='Apr 23 2010, 03:02 PM']Personally I wouldnt buy from someone who would put so little info on an ebay auction but thats just me.[/quote] Nah, don't blame you. [i]Nobody[/i] wants to grab a bargain no-one else has spotted because of a crap ad, do they? J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='816266' date='Apr 23 2010, 02:28 PM']Hondo 830 for £200! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Guitar-Hondo-830-Frame-Series_W0QQitemZ150427829184QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item23063283c0"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Guitar-Hondo-830-Fra...=item23063283c0[/url][/quote] Dreamin' on! Hondos don't get particularly good money unless they're confirmed MIJ hollowbodies. And then the name still puts people off. I had a gorgeous set-neck/carved top Hondo LP copy, rare as popeshit and in great condition for its age, lovely player etc. - only got £150 for it. I'm not complaining, because it cost me £25 - but if it had had any other"lawsuit era" name it would've likely made twice that. Anyway - the one we're meant to be discussing - probably Korean, probably a ply body, neck might be OK (looks nice), the pup is a DiMarzio (standard on most Hondos around this period) scratchplate's broken. I'd pay the £50 for it, mostly for the pup, and hope the rest was useable/resellable. And I still concur that it's a better ad than the usual "Squire base gitar, very little use, bargin" stuff. J.

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='816247' date='Apr 23 2010, 02:14 PM']Tell you what, I'm going to throw them to the ebay lions, I'll send you the link to the auction when they're up, and when they end up going for 2 quid (like these things always do for me) you'll be quids in. I'd hate to auction them cheap and you miss out, but I would like to get something for nothing as well. What do you reckon? It'll be a 99p no reserve job.[/quote] Sounds like a plan - I'll definitely stick a (cheapskate lowball!) bid on. J.

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='816080' date='Apr 23 2010, 12:29 PM']I wish I'd seen those pickup ring adapters before I drilled my old ones to take dimarzios.... One of the bands is snapped, will need a bit of glue, and the inside of one is chipped, stays on the pot though. Only got 3, and you need 4, I was hoping to rip off some unsuspecting muppet with them, but I hate to see a fellow in need. Will post pics, when I get a camera...[/quote] If you think you can profiteer on them - go for it! I would... Like I say, I'll be happy just to stick a set of speed knobs on it & leave the genuine vintage stuff to "proper" collectors. I have already spent a few quid on it - a repro trc & reissue tailpiece - and that's probabley enough for the time being! TBH I'm not even sure the guitar I have (an MC150 from 1981) should even have Sure-Grips - this version was only available for 1 year and the only pics I can find are grainy catalogue ones. Some Ibbys from this era didn't have SGs & mine might be one of 'em. Jon.

I'm not a massive fan of "posed" promo shots - it's hard not to look like a bunch of complete gits, no matter how hard you try. Fortunately for us, it's damn-near impossible to get my band members all in the one place unless we're actually playing, & last week we were lucky enough to get a proper photographer to take some pics of us live. I've been mucking about with some of the results & I'm quite pleased with this: [attachment=48106:promosmall.jpg] Bit of a shame because it was our drummer's last gig for the forseeable future - he's now on indefinite maternity leave and I strongly suspect he won't be coming back. So I have prepared an alternative version: [attachment=48107:promosmall2.jpg] Anyone know any jaded, cynical old prog rock drummers in the Edinburgh area? Jon.

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='815776' date='Apr 23 2010, 09:08 AM']Now there's an interesting question, I'll have a look and get back to you. Seriously though, there was another guy on ebay selling knobs that look identical, they're not original, but they're only a fiver a set. Except it's gone now... I can still see this one, it's not the same as mine, but it is a sure grip, and it is cheaper. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-Sure-Grip-2-Genuine-Control-Knob-fits-Artist-etc_W0QQitemZ200433699922QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item2eaac78c52"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-Sure-Grip-2-G...=item2eaac78c52[/url] Seriously, I'll have a think, and send you a pic of them, they're not mint by a long shot.[/quote] Cheers for the link to the SG2s - these aren't correct for my Musician but it's interesting that they're available at a reasonable(ish) price. As far as this guitar's concerned, if I can get the "proper" knobs for cheap, then I'll do it but I'm not too much of a stickler for detail! I'll probably just stick a set of speed knobs on & be done with it! Wish I'd seen the £5-a-set ones - I'd buy a bunch and sell them as repros, like [url="http://www.reproguitarparts.com/"]this guy in the States[/url] does! J.

[quote name='kevbass' post='815609' date='Apr 22 2010, 11:13 PM']Theres no info on it apart from its Hondo and its red, I never understand why people would pay to have an ad on ebay and not put any info in it at all, doesnt tell you if theres any marks or dints, any issues with electrics or the neck, what the frets are like, whats original what isnt etc[/quote] It's always good to have that level of description but I don't think it's that common, particularly with old stuff (this is 30-odd years old) that someone's mum's dragged out of the back of a cupboard. There's enough info here to know/see what it is, and if it was a £20 start & they'd post it, I'd be watching - you can't have too many vintage DiMarzio pups in the spares box! J.

I think there's a fine line between "great... vintage project" and "firewood". It's not [i]that[/i] fine a line, though. Jon.

What's wrong with it apart from the knackered scratchplate? The DiMarzio Model P pickup would fetch £40 on its own. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='814659' date='Apr 22 2010, 09:17 AM']Up to £430, and still over a day to go. Is this what Jon was talking about when he said that sometimes Rickenfaker auctions just go silly? Or is it a lesson of the value of a low starting price? Edit: Could it be Rickenbaker fans spoiling the auction?[/quote] Not sure about this one - the bass is pretty tatty but I think there might be a few people who've convinced themselves it's a real 4001 with black binding & parts - I don't think any Fakers had these as stock. Interesting idea that it might be Rick fans shilling it with protest high bids - but I've seen this happen with other things (not basses!) & you'll usually get a pair of comedians bidding each other up £1000 at a time. I think - so far - it's genuine bidding. Low starts do get more people interested & in my opinion are more likely to go high at the end. I see the fake trc got pulled - and is now down to £30 on Glumtree! J.

Yes - they do. I've currently got a 1981 Ibanez Musician guitar I'm restoring, and it's missing a lot of its original parts - 4x Sure-Grip 1s, Gibraltar bridge, Quik-Change tailpiece, brass trc and Velve-Tune tuners. So I've been pricing parts up - on Ebay I'd pay more for a set of plastic knobs than I did for the bloody guitar! How much do you want for your SG1s, then? Serious question, btw. Jon.

All of the Matsumoku through-necks seem to be getting dearer/more sought after these days (look at the prices of Aria SBs) & I think if you want a Thunder II or III you'll be lucky to find one under £350. So this ain't too bad. In a way it's a good thing that the quality of these basses is being more widely appreciated. Jon.

Nice one, that'll do fine! J.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='815023' date='Apr 22 2010, 02:48 PM']Thought they'd be a pile of sh1te.... Some of those fakers look really bad , but one or two look good from what you can tell by the pix....[/quote] The "good" ones are photos of real Ricks, like your first link. That ain't what would turn up! J.

[quote name='Modo74' post='814794' date='Apr 22 2010, 11:15 AM']I've joined up over at Ibanez Collectors, and found a link to a really good vintage Ibanez site. It doesn't look like mine is a rarity unfortunately. Same model, just a different colour. I've started a thread and posted some pics over there anyway, so thanks for the info.[/quote] See - I never pretended to be all-knowing! That's really interesting, never seen a Silver series version of the PJ/blocks 2369 before. Did you find out what year yours was? FlatEric - Obviously, I need to get out more & make some friends apart from the voices in my head! I suppose my interest stems from having started out playing JapCrap, back when the term wasn't quite as tongue-in-cheek as it is now, and then subsequently realising that a lot of it was actually really good! So many basses & guitars derided as badly-made planks, just in need of a decent setup, really. There are quite a few forums dealing with the higher-profile brands & obviously lesser-known ones come up too - I seem to have a knack for the detective stuff, working out who made what & recognising the quirks & traits of different manufacturers. I buy & sell a lot of JapCrap (mostly guitars) too - most of them are car-boot restoration jobs, and getting hands-on stripping down & tidying up these things is a massive educational process in itself. I quite like the profiteering aspect, too! Dek - do you have a clear, hi-res close up of the trc/logo from your old Faker? I quite fancy having a go at making a replica & engraving the logo. J.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='814576' date='Apr 22 2010, 07:45 AM']In some respects I don't care that he is trying to resell the bass for a profit (he's an online shop) but it's the fact that he's blatantly changing the facts surrounding this bass. [/quote] I have no problem with Ebay profiteering - it's part of the game as far as I'm concerned. But this guy is blatantly lying to try & sell a parts bass that he already paid over the odds for. J.

I've had a few Japanese Jazz copies & I'd say on the whole the necks feel bigger than real Fenders - I think P & J copy necks were likely the same apart from cosmetic variations. I have a pre '75 Ibanez 2366B Precision & the neck's nothing like a real one! J.

And remind him that [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FENDER-JAZZ-BASS-GEDDY-LEE-BLUE-CUSTOM-NEW-UNPLAYED_W0QQitemZ120523901893"]when he bought it for £580 a couple of months ago[/url], the original seller was quite clear that it had been built from bits, and didn't say anything at all about a "video shoot". J.

You drop your $400 (excluding postage) on it, wait for a month and what drops through the door is... [url="http://www.tradetang.com/for-sale/Rickenbacker-Wooden-Color-4-String-Bass-Guitar-ING-393-ZDBB/104999-1904974.html"]This.[/url] :ph34r: Jon.

The Bitsa That Would Not Die. How many times has he relisted that now? He may have to get used to the idea of making a loss on this one, eventually. But profiteering via Ebay is a learning curve. Quite steep sometimes, it would seem. J.

[quote name='Modo74' post='813422' date='Apr 21 2010, 09:29 AM']1979 (I think) Silver Series PJ, modded with Badass II bridge and Seymour Duncan QP pups.[/quote] Interesting, that - I'm pretty sure that's a hybrid, a Silver Series J neck on an older P body. The earlier Ibanez 2369 featured a P/J layout & block inlays but I've never seen this on an SS. The big black oversprays on the body suggest a laminated construction (probably butcher block/veneers) which I don't think an SS would have. I might be wrong, in which case this is a proper rarity - I think you should post some pics on the [url="http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/forum/"]Ibanez Collectors forum[/url]. Is there a serial number on the neck plate? The first two numbers will be the year - although '79 would be very surprising, Ibanez stopped making copies around 1977. Jon.

Be OK if it was £50, for parts. But what the [i]hell[/i] possesses people? Jon.

There's no element of truth whatsoever in the suggestion that being daft-shaped means it would cost £30 to post it. About £12 if you used Royal Fail. Jon.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='811473' date='Apr 19 2010, 03:59 PM']good grief - £2k buy it now! If it is a yr 2000 then thats not exactly a '70's Classic' in my book.[/quote] I presume Neepheid means 2 decades earlier than that - 70s/80s! Still looks like very silly money for this. Where's EvilLordJuju when you need him? Jon.