Bassassin

For about the last 7 years my No.1 has been a scabby old 70s jazz copy that I picked up from a local pawn shop for £60. I buy other basses (with monotonous regularity), play & gig them for a few weeks, then pick up the J & wonder why I bothered. It's simply Got It - everything just feels [i]right[/i]. Jon.

Keep watching the "For Sale" sections on RickResource - both C64s & stray horsies do come up fairly often. You'd probably get a decent deal, as well. J.

[quote name='The Twickerman' post='726690' date='Jan 27 2010, 06:44 PM']If one of these replicas included a replica of the horseshoe bridge pickup, then I'd be interested. Especially if it had a stereo output. Know what I mean?[/quote] None of them had horseshoes, although many have stereo outputs. The earliest ones are like the Ibby in copying the early 70s 4001 features - it has full-width inlays (sparkly stuff, rather than crushed pearl) and checked binding, but the pups are completely unauthentic - they're chrome "mudbucker" copies (actually single coil), suggesting that the factory simply used what was in production at the time. I think the Fujigen Gakki - built basses, like this Ibby, were the first Rick copies, none of the others have full-width inlays & only a few feature checked binding. I don't think any 4001 copies pre-date 72/73, when these features were phased out of real Ricks, so horseshoes wouldn't have been on the basses the Japanese factories were imitating. J.

It is a Rickenbacker 4003. Not a 4001, because it doesn't have a skunk stripe, and not a copy, because it has the correct short-shaft Schaller tuners. You can just about see the "Rickenbacker" logos on the tuners - compare it to this big version of the pic Marvin posted: [url="http://www.soundmeout.com/store/images/Rickenbacker%204003%20Tuners.jpg"]http://www.soundmeout.com/store/images/Ric...03%20Tuners.jpg[/url] Jon.

I am fighting the temptation to send him a message saying "HOW MUCH SHIP TO ESTONIA THX". Jon.

My favourite bit: [quote]IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR ADVERT/AUCTION TO LOOK LIKE THIS ONE PLEASE GET IN TOUCH AT :[/quote] Funniest thing I've seen all week. Jon.

That's a bit more like it - sensible BIN, too. Jon.

[quote name='Alfie' post='724330' date='Jan 25 2010, 05:48 PM']I don't suppose anyone knows any dating information about Squier SQs. For example, roughly which serial numbers are 1983 and which are 1984. Also this JV has been on various classifieds for a while [url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/82/52680382.html"]http://www.gumtree.com/london/82/52680382.html[/url]. Its price has been steadily decreasing, is it kosher?[/quote] See preceding post - all the information in the known universe re: JV basses & guitars is on 21frets.com. And £400 really isn't a lot for a JV these days, if that one's on the level. If it was local to me my inner Gyppo would be onto that for scurrilous profiteering. J.

[quote name='numptydumpty' post='724304' date='Jan 25 2010, 05:29 PM']What's it worth then?[/quote] If I was flogging it I'd probably expect £150 - £180. J.

[quote name='2x18' post='724118' date='Jan 25 2010, 02:44 PM']Ibanez [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-VINTAGE-BASS-NO-FENDER-RICKENBACKER-GIBSON_W0QQitemZ350309346856QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5190106e28"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-VINTAGE-BASS-...=item5190106e28[/url][/quote] My Rickenfaker collection needs a natural finish 2388B/DX at a sensible price. Wonder what the neck problem is? J.

[quote name='Rich' post='723848' date='Jan 25 2010, 09:09 AM']And he's put a two space gap between AND and IT. I would never even consider buying anything at all from anyone who didn't know how to use a space bar properly. Disgraceful. [/quote] I'm castigating myself (very vigorously, believe me!) for not noticing that. J.

[quote name='Johnston' post='723917' date='Jan 25 2010, 10:51 AM']I've been looking for something cheap and 33" to see if its any easier on my dodgy hands. Sent a message asking what scale it was. Got back 'regular scale thanx' What is regular scale ????[/quote] It's a 34". It's doing it no disservice to describe it as a slightly restyled Precision copy. J.

[quote name='mazdah' post='723831' date='Jan 25 2010, 08:45 AM']Looks OK. Great basses, had one, played as good as my '62 US Vintage.[/quote] They are - made by Fujigen Gakki alongside MIJ Fenders. It'll do fine if he just lets it run. Grammar notwithstanding. J.

Looks like he's listed it twice previously & then cancelled the listings. No idea why, but presumably not to consult a dictionary for the correct definition & usage of the word "idyllic". I'd never buy a used bass from somebody who doesn't know what "idyllic" means. Jon.

[quote name='4 Strings' post='721222' date='Jan 22 2010, 02:28 PM']But these two guitars aren't the same. The one on its own has lost more finish than the one Jaco is playing and so could be a later photo. However, if you look at the top of the body, underneath the divine forearm, you see that there is more wear on guitar His Jolly Self is playing. Can't be both.[/quote] Plus the frets seem to have fallen off the one he's playing! For the record I like Schaller 3D bridges. Easily adjustable string spacing is a useful option - and they look cool. Jon.

If you want the gig, play the lines as they were written. And I suspect if you want to keep it, do the same thing. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='721937' date='Jan 23 2010, 09:17 AM']Is this Vantage bass really worth much more than a Westone Thunder might go for? (This is a simple question, rather than a rhetorical one. I have no idea how much the bass is worth). [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vantage-VS-695B-Bass-Matsumoku-Japan-early-1980s_W0QQitemZ390146867447QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5ad690c0f7"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vantage-VS-695B-Bass...=item5ad690c0f7[/url][/quote] Definitely not in terms of quality & components - Mat stuff from this era was consistently good, & construction & parts-wise this is near-identical to a Thunder 1. Vantages are a lot less common that Westones & that's likely the basis for the higher BIN. Not convinced that bridge is original, either. J.

An amp the size of a matchbox & it's still just [i]way[/i] too much trouble to stick it in a box & take it to the PO. This seems to be more & more common on ThiefBay lately. Jon.

Nothing to do with Ebay, but I think I've found the origin of the Anniversary/Jayro/Dillion copy: [url="http://www.wfhongyun.com/english/photo.asp?n=hp-b-35"]http://www.wfhongyun.com/english/photo.asp?n=hp-b-35[/url] Made by Weifang Hongyun, in China. Their range is worth a browse - I do think this might be popular in certain BC circles: [url="http://www.wfhongyun.com/english/photo.asp?n=hp-b-09119"]http://www.wfhongyun.com/english/photo.asp?n=hp-b-09119[/url] I think I feel an import business coming on... :brow: J.

This looks sufficiently amateurish that chances are he's just squirted that green crap (Halfords rattle can, I expect) on top of the original finish. If so, a bit of fine wire wool & very fine grade sandpaper will get the spray off, and T-cut & elbow grease will get the gloss back on the original finish, assuming it's poly. The pup covers will probably clean up in the same way. Jon.

[quote name='BassJase' post='712436' date='Jan 14 2010, 12:09 PM']Well I finally got round to finishig this book last night, and it's really good in a non-bassist kind of way. It's much more about him and his life in London than anything else, but a great and inspirational read. Who's next on the list? PM me you address whoever it is and I'll get it sent off within the next few days. [/quote] I think that'll be me - PM'd. Anyway I've extrapolated a list for future reference: Bassjase [b]Me[/b] BassKS Rich Bassmonkey Baboom MacDaddy Jon.

I think it's a bitsa - the neck's from an LP type guitar and the headstock's been reshaped to approximate a Flying V's, which leads me to think neck & body do not have the same parents. Body's a V, alright - possibly the original neck had a break & this one is a replacement - which would explain the refin & headstock mods. It's definitely not home-made. The neckplate isn't much of a clue because it could be from either the body or replacement neck. It's no Ibanez, and I'm afraid not a "lawsuit" guitar - although the body could be from the right era. You might get some clues or potential confirmation of origin from the hardware - have a look at pots, backs of pickups, bridge etc to see if there are any markings, logos or country of origin. Those 3-screw pups (single-coils in humbucker cases?) do appear on a number of 70s MIJ guitars and might have an identifying name or number on the back. Is the body ply or solid timber? J.

Once you get some pics up you'll be more likely to get an accurate ID - but from what you're describing, it doesn't sound much like an Ibanez, although it might be. Ibby have broadly done two versions of the Rocket Roll, which is their take on the Flying V. The 70s version was a full-on copy, which like all their other copy instruments was dropped in favour of original designs in the mid/late 70s. [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/359/3.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/359/3.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/4/2.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/4/2.jpg[/url] When hair metal & pointy guitars became fashionable in the mid 80s, they reintroduced a stylised Rocket Roll which featured a typical angular Ibanez 6-in-line headstock, similar to the Jems & other shred guitars. This doesn't appear to have stayed in the line-up for very long, though, and it appears with an asymetrical body as well as the more normal shape. The standard one does have shaped body edges which might be like yours. [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/90/1.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/90/1.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/130/7.jpg"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/130/7.jpg[/url] If it is an Ibby it will most likely be a variation on the 80s design - all of Ibanez's 70s copy guitars were made in Japan, and I think most of the 80s versions were too, although production of lower-end stuff started to move to Korea from the late 80s. Really interested to see some pics. Jon.