Bassassin

"Basses With Faces" is a fantastic idea for a thread - but I was a bit disheartened by the fact that the best I could come up with was the Pac-Man ghost which lives on the end of my Hohner B2A: [attachment=42893:pacmanghost.jpg] However I finally got around to taking some pics of my Lace Helix - and when going through them, was struck by the realisation that it looks [i]exactly[/i] like a fluffy little baby seal cub, flinching as it waits for the cudgel to descend: [attachment=42894:sealcub.jpg] And once you see it, you can't un-see it. I was intending to swap the knobs for wooden or metal ones, if I could find the right style - but that would be like plucking its little eyes out. I'm so glad it's not white. Jon.

[quote name='crez5150' post='748141' date='Feb 17 2010, 10:35 AM']Absolutely...... last year during a wedding gig.... I had a guy (drunk, very drunk) keep coming up to me saying... you play any Level 42 in your set.... and I'm saying no over and over again.... this goes on for about an hour.... so at the end of the night I slip in the riff to Lessons in Love over Honky tonk women (made the guys in the band chuckle)... the guy was standing right in front of me dancing when I do this..... he looks up then smiles then throws up everywhere.......[/quote] There you go - it was a warning, not a request. Jon.

Second on my list of desirable Gibbos, following Victory Artist or Custom. Such a tragedy these were post-JapCrap copy era, which means the only cheap & shonky option for us Gyppos is this: [url="http://www.cheesyguitars.com/disco.html"]http://www.cheesyguitars.com/disco.html[/url] Jon.

Ibby RB750 Roadstar II, on Edinburgh Glumtree: [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/84/54071984.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/84/54071984.html[/url] Classic 80s black-with-red-binding at a very reasonable (and haggle-able) 200 sovs. If I had the readies, the room & the reason, I most certainly would. Ow. J.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='746834' date='Feb 16 2010, 08:09 AM']I seem to remember them being quite sought after. Is it worth much?[/quote] Broadly between around £300 - £450, depending on condition. Get some good, clear & detailed pics up & I'll see if I can work out what it is. CMI was an importer brand (Cleartone Musical Instruments, an offshoot of Marshall Amps) and they sourced instruments from several different manufacturers. Real Ricks have heavily lacquered boards and most of the copies did likewise - there's probably no noticeable effect on the tone but I doubt it would make it duller. Jon.

I think I'm right in thinking if the neck plate doesn't read Made In Japan, then it's Korean. Matsumoku stopped building Aria Pro (or anything else) in 1987, and I would expect that economic conditions would have meant that only the higher-end Arias would have continued being Japanese-made. Apropos of nothing, early Matsumoku serials, eg on the "Steel Adjustable Neck" plates, appear to be random & not dateable. Early (pre 75-ish) set & through-neck instruments appear not to have serial numbers at all. Jon.

I do like the TSBs - hardly ever see them though. I think with the SB900 we're looking at Ebay psychology here - £325 would be a pretty good deal as a finish price but is a high start, so no-one's going to want to be first on the dancefloor until a lot closer to the end of the auction. 99p no reserve FTW. And the bids. Meanwhile, [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230435817631"]this[/url] is gorgeous, but waaaay too dear. J.

I'd guess that the original plate got broken or an owner thought it would look better without the full plate, as some basses do. This ain't one of them! As there are plenty of Blazer owners on BC, obtaining a template for a replacement would be easy, & making a DIY plate is a straightforward (if somewhat dull) task. If anyone here does buy it, I've got an old brass Blazer bridge in the parts box. J.

One of the nicest JapCrap J copies in a while: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320488376671"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320488376671[/url] It's our old mucker Zerofret again, as usual has some good gear but not very informed descriptions. This is a Matsumoku (check the neckplate) therefore nothing to do with Ibanez / Hoshino (who never had a factory), and is mid 70s - a nice accurate copy with a solid timber body & nice hardware. Also a bit of a rarity in these parts - Luxor was a pretty low-profile US brand. J.

Just needs a new scratchplate made. The pup's in a bit of a "swimming pool" route so would look better with a replacement. The bridge has been changed - not sure why someone would bin a cast brass one & replace it with bent tin! Still qualifies as a bargain if it stays under the ton, IMO. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='744525' date='Feb 14 2010, 07:45 AM']That looks, to my untrained eyes, like a pretty nice bit of wood. Is it common for the set neck to be routed out for the battery compartment?[/quote] Yep - these all have a 3-band active EQ. I was really impressed with what you get for the money - very nice fret job, quality hardware & a 2-way truss rod as well. These turn up from time to time under different names, often from German online music shops. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='744256' date='Feb 13 2010, 07:28 PM']Not that I'm going to buy one - unless I stumbled across one and loved it (*) - but is it a real through neck? The listing describes it as a "set through neck" (?)[/quote] It most certainly is: [attachment=42543:stripped.jpg] As you can see it's a 5-piece through-neck & solid timber wings with 2 additional stringers where wings meet centre section. The headstock's part of the same through-neck lamination, with no scarf joint. The pics on the Ebay listing show you the top, which is a flamed maple veneer - real, not Fotoflame - with wooden edge binding. The main corner-cut with the manufacture of this thing is the neck/rear body finish, which was a single thin coat of matt black paint. I gigged with mine just once and found the "finish" rubbed off on my clothes, which made me decide to take it to bits & strip the paint. The plan's to fill the grain & spray-lacquer the whole thing - in fact I have an Ibanez Blazer body & a 70s black block JapCrap jazz neck needing the same treatment, so I'll be spending an entire weekend off my tits on aerosol fumes soon. J.

Nice looking solid timber (if it was ply you'd be able to see the layers) body, & if the neck & fret job are OK it looks like it's a decent basic P copy for pimpin' & upgrading. I played a few Goulds several years ago when I was looking for a first guitar for my daughter - on the whole they seemed well spec'd & put-together but let down by bad setups & half-arsed fret finishing. Nothing a couple of hours of tweaking & fret-dressing wouldn't fix. Jon.

That's a proper Ibby 2388b/DX (not a 2389 - that comes from a catalogue misprint, the 2389 was an Ampeg copy) and is in splendid condition, by the looks of it. This one's been on before (as the seller admits) and I'll be watching with interest - it will probably do very well. I've actually got one of those Wesleybacker things as an ongoing project - it's surprisingly well-made fro a Chinese cheapo. J.

It doesn't even look remotely like a wooden plug - it looks [i]exactly[/i] like he's poked a big blob of brown goop in the hole. And the whole effect's set off by the bargain-bin tin Chinese tuners, all at different angles. Classy. J.

That's A Musician MC900: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/44/3.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/44/3.jpg[/url] I can't quite see the serial number on the back of the headstock, but it looks like it starts B79 - which would make it February 1979. It generally looks nice, with a few chips around the back body edges - but I'm a little concerned by the lacquer cracking around the head - particularly the one beneath the volute. Is there any structural damage here, like between the fretboard & neck? Apart from that it looks good, and it's good to see all the original hardware present - the propreitary Ibanez bits - Accu-Cast bridge, Velve-Tune tuners & Sure-Grip knobs (they did like their hyphens! ) are rare as a rare thing & usually the first things to be "upgraded" by idiots who think these basses were cheap rubbish. Jon.

White spirit shouldn't do any harm, or WD40 might do the job. Avoid anything containing Acetone, though. Jon.

For the record, I don't like bent tin bridges - but that's largely because they look cheap & shoddy, not because of any quantifiable - or indeed noticeable - difference in sound. J.

Retard. And that's [b]your[/b] air he's breathing, kids. J.

[quote name='Smash' post='742690' date='Feb 12 2010, 12:19 AM']I must admit I would love that neck, wonder if he would split it up... Only joking imagine the neck in his eyes is worth £800 or something.... That ebay ad is making me cross looking at it, I must move away from the computer.[/quote] Try him. Eventually he'll either have to see sense & part it out/sell it for a realistic amount - or stick it back in the loft. J.

[quote name='PaulWarning' post='743063' date='Feb 12 2010, 01:37 PM']Expectations, you get a cheap bass and you make allowances, an expensive is expected to be perfect, and everybody likes to convince themselves they've got a bargain. I've got an old Hondo that I like to play but when playing in a band a MIA P justs cuts through better and has a tighter low end[/quote] Ever tried swapping the pups & taking the Hondo out? That'd be an interesting experiment. Pretty much all of my basses are cheapos (mostly under 3 figures) and I have some absolute stunners. When the bottom line is simply wood & wires - which it is - then it's hard not to end up having the broad impression that big-money basses are more about what they [b]are[/b] than what they [b]do[/b]. I played a Squier the same as the one being discussed & it was lovely - didn't want to put it down. Jon.

[quote][b]Transaction Blocked[/b] We're sorry, but the seller of this item is unable to receive funds at this time.[/quote] Well - that explains why it's still there. Jon.

Get a Schaller 3D. More compact, better looking & more adjustable than a BadAss - & they come up used for less than £30. Plenty of people will tell you that the bent tin bridge does exactly the same job as a Badass (or any other aftermarket upgrade) & if it was good enough for Uncle Leo then we have nothing to moan about. They might have a point. Jon.

Obviously the magic vintage Korean plywood of a genuine Hondo body would account for the rest of the value of this remarkable instrument - but unfortunately without a documented provenance to prove its identity he's f*cked. This has been mentioned before (can't find it now though) so clearly he's determined. You'd think it would make sense to either part it out or spend £30 on a proper body & bolt the decent bits on, then he might at least get what the good bits are worth. And then he could keep hold of the bit of plywood, for sentimental reasons. Jon.