Bassassin

That's an Avon - it should have a badge like this: [attachment=38665:avonjhead.jpg] Looks original to me - the bridge pup & surround are original - the pickups are probably Maxxons, and are the same as those used in early 70s MIJ Tele copies. Avon was never the most salubrious British JapCrap brand - but they weren't necessarily bad. I'm pretty sure these were made by Rokkomann in Kobe - I actually had what looks like an identical J copy branded Maya, which was Rokkomann's house brand: [attachment=38648:bodyf.jpg] [attachment=38649:headneckf.jpg] These same basses appear with other names too, including CMI, Jim Marshall's 1970s instrument brand. Obviously, the not-exactly-standard pickups are designed to be hidden under ashtrays, as is the 2-saddle bridge - very common on early MIJ copies, even on the supposedly more upmarket Antorias & Ibanezes. And talking of the bridge - this one does seem to have been aligned following an extended [i]sake[/i] - break! I think I'd feel inclined to bite the bullet & fill in the old holes & re-drill. & I'd probably stick a standard 4-saddle bridge on, while I was at it. I might have one of those old Avon badges kicking around in my spares draw, if you're interested... & by the way - what's the bolt neck LP copy? Another oldie - the big diamond inlay's making me think Cort, but if so it's a rebrand. Can't read that logo, though... Jon.

[quote name='tredders' post='689579' date='Dec 20 2009, 10:43 AM']Second experience: New member number 2 (again, mentioning no names) sends a PM saying "I'll take the bass - I saw your advert and joined up just to reply to you".[/quote] As the more observant reader might already know, I'm currently selling (or attempting to) a nice old MIJ P copy - I had a PM from a new member stating this exact same thing, only difference being that said new member claimed to be female. Needless to say, she didn't buy it. Odd coincidence, though. I've also had masses of interest in the bass, but so far no firm offers - I think it's a time-of-year thing in this instance. That said, pretty much everything I've sold on here has had its share of almost-sales - it doesn't wind me up at all, & just goes with the territory of the For Sale board being GAS Central, where everyone wants everything. Sales might not happen as quickly as one might prefer, but for me the bottom line is that I'm far happier selling here than EBay, which remains the only viable alternative. I would probably get a few quid more for some sales, but the whole experience of using ThiefBay as a seller has become so thoroughly unpleasant that I'd sooner avoid it where possible. Jon.

Can't imagine why someone would go out of their way to tempt litigation with such horribly mismatched ripoff styles. Didn't he try drawing it on a bit of paper first to see if it would work, before cobbling that malformed freak together? But anyway - I'm sure he'll be fine when John Hall finds out & lets slip the Dogs Of Law - [url="https://christianguitarworks.com/Home_Page.php"]he's got Jesus on his team[/url]. Jon.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='689399' date='Dec 19 2009, 09:28 PM']Thanks for the review Jon. You pretty much echoed my thoughts. Looks like your bass comes from the same batch as mine (SN LTN5F0002-08). I'm not entirely sure how the serial numbers work either but I'm guessing that TN5 means through neck 5-string and BN4 is bolt-on 4-string. 08 will be the year of manufacture. It remains to be seen whether each model is individually serialled meaning mine is the second fretless 5 string or if it's the second production Helix.[/quote]Mine's a neck-through too, so unless there's been a major cock-up on the serial sticker front, BN isn't bolt-neck. Makes sense that 08 would be the year & the 4-figure part the production sequence, so it's likely that one of the letters might be month of production - perhaps the F - since mine demonstrates that it clearly ain't for "fretless"! The matt black does suit the style well - but I particularly like the combination of the woody, stripy neck-through construction and the injection-moulded looking curvaceousness of the styling - that's what made me GAS after one in the first place. If anything I think they should have taken it further - perhaps rounding off the sharper corners of the body edges, and layered timber on the wings, exotic wood facings - a proper paradoxical Hippy Sandwich! It'd also look a little bit more like a £900 bass - and on that subject, I do realise it's the typical lazy importer's 1:1 dollar/pound conversion that's the problem with the very steep RRP. Anyway until such time as I get an hour or two to give it a good setup & then a proper knockabout with the band (if I can endure the jibes at having bought [i]yet another[/i] bass) that's pretty much it for my current appraisal. I will report back in due course, probably with some pics to accompany - although it does look exactly like yours, only with fewer strings & more frets... J.

[quote name='Marky L' post='689431' date='Dec 19 2009, 11:07 PM']I can't see anyone putting a 78 P on ebay starting at around £150.00 unless they had no idea about the bass. I am certainly aware of starting stuff low to get lots of bidders in, I do that with stuff I sell, but something like that I would certainly have a higher starting price. And why no strings? I guess that's not going to be good for the neck in the long run.[/quote] I'd do 99p, no reserve - regardless of how "valuable" the item might be. The possibility (no matter how improbable) of getting a ridiculous bargain is Ebay's biggest carrot. Jon.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='689308' date='Dec 19 2009, 07:01 PM']Well?[/quote] Not too bad, considering. Think I might be getting a cold but vitamin C supplements & wrapping up warm usually keep 'em at bay. Yourself? In other matters, I did start to compose a brief assessment of my initial impressions of the Lace Helix, on this very thread a few hours ago, but abandoned it in order to go & get some lunch. So I suppose it would be only reasonable to resume! It turned up yesterday, safe & sound and exactly as described. Apart from a bit of dust & a couple of absolutely miniscule lacquer chips on the back (the sort you can feel but can't really see) it's as new. I guess from the zeros & single figures in the serial number (LBN4F0005-08) it's an early model, although I'm not sure how the serials work. The first thing that struck me was the weight - or lack of it, compared to the leaden planks I usually play. As a gentleman of a certain age whose back is complaining more & more at the burdens it's expected to support, this is a Good Thing. For such a skinny, lightweight little bass, the neck's surprisingly chunky - not what I was expecting at all but not a bad thing, it's pleasantly substantial. Fretwork's pretty good quality, as is general finish - apart from a few scruffy areas here & there - as has been previously noted. It plays well enough as it is - the previous owner described himself as a beginner, so I'm guessing this is the out-of-the-box setup - but will need a little work to play the way I'd like. The nut slots are cut far too high, there's zero neck relief & the action's fairly high, possibly to compensate for that. Add all this to a pretty hefty set of strings, and it plays cleanly but is quite hard work compared to what I'm used to. So more on playability once I've had it on The Slab. So anyway, I then took it downstairs, hung it on a strap, plugged it in & cranked it up. Then I cranked it up some more, and then a little bit more, just for luck. I found I could just about hear it then. Yep - it's pretty gutless, running it straight into the amp, I had to double my input & output gains to get a similar volume level to a conventional passive P or J setup. Just as well it sounds quite nice, then. It's very clear - "detailed" & "HiFi" are the words a BGM reviewer might use, very solid & well-defined low end, & despite needing to pump up the volume in order to actually hear it, there's little hiss, hum or background noise in evidence. Should record well. I then stuck it through my Korg multi FX & ran through the patches I frequently use. This made a massive difference to the output level - much more so than with an "ordinary" bass, and the Helix still sounded nice. Problem is, I don't want "nice". I like an aggressive, growly & slightly overdriven tone, which is what I use effects to accentuate - but the Helix just sounded polite! OK - I think part of this is to do with the setup - I use a pretty heavy-handed r/h technique, usually playing closer to the neck than the bridge pup, add this to a lowish action & much of "my sound" is attributable to strings clattering off the frets - and with the way Lacey's currently set up, that ain't happening. So again, more on this once I've addressed setup issues. I did have to spend a little while fiddling with strap length to get the bass to feel comfortable. Neck dive wasn't really a problem, using a wide, suede-backed strap, but finding a height where my right forearm felt like it was in the proper place was a slight annoyance. I've ended up with the bass slightly higher than I would usually have it - and as a consequence, my right wrist a little more bent. Not too sure about this... I'm happy with what I paid for this bass - but the UK RRP for this is £899. I can see & think of absolutely nothing about this that could possibly justify a nine hundred quid price tag. It's made in China, hardware is decent unbranded budget stuff, apart from the magic voodoo pickups, electronics are bog-standard passive V/V/T, timber is decent but not jaw-dropping, and standard of finish is the good side of average, all things considered. £900 would be a f*ck of a lot to pay for this. It's very much early days - I need to give it a decent fettling & have at least a good rehearsal or two with it before I can give a verdict - but at this stage I'm by no means sure it's a keeper. Except, it looks [i]amazing[/i]... J.

[quote name='Prosebass' post='688638' date='Dec 18 2009, 07:06 PM']I've got my eye on this one as I will be a few miles from Wedmore in a week or so, looks interesting or would do with a nice deep red stain ![/quote] Hope you get it - I think it should scrub up nice. J.

Far from it - Thunders are common enough to be pretty cheap to start with - & black ones are usually a lot less popular than the natural finishes. There's no reason to pay more than £150 for any Westy Thunder 1, IMO. This isn't original anyway - someone's fitted a kill switch - and it looks like there's something weird going on with the fingerboard. It's presumably factory fretless - no dots - but there are visible dark lines, like someone's tried to score fret positions onto the board. Don't like the look of it at all. J.

Hi Geoff- if you split the J I might well be interested in neck & bridge. Jon.

...And that's all I know! Can't beat vintage JapCrap at a rock-bottom bargain price - & it's good that there's still a few to be had. Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='686022' date='Dec 16 2009, 07:56 AM']Thanks. Also, what is an Aria Pro 2 "SB Special"? And how does it compare to the classic SB 1000s, etc? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250548961629&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url][/quote] I saw that - it's rather nice! This isn't really a proper SB - it's based on the RSB bolt-neck series (I have an RSB Deluxe II). I don't think it's medium-scale either, I think the guy's getting confused with the similar-looking RSB Medium. Essentially this bass is the same as the RSB Deluxe that I have, apart from the finish, & fact mine has a J-type pup in the bridge position. Same hardware, control layout (stack pots & phase switches), headstock etc. Necks on the RSBs are a bit skinnier than I remember SB necks being, and they're a bit lighter too, I think. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='684988' date='Dec 15 2009, 11:43 AM']Are these as good as the seller suggests? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MEGA-RARE-1970s-LYLE-Bass-Guitar-MIJ-Ref-Matsumoku_W0QQitemZ200418064238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2ea9d8f76e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MEGA-RARE-1970s-LYLE...=item2ea9d8f76e[/url][/quote] Dunno about good, but old & uncommon, certainly. That's a Matsumoku-made bass, late 60s probably. You'll see more of these branded as Commodore & such in the UK, as Lyle was a US importer brand & not available in the UK. Presumably someone's imported this or brought it back from their hols - the American brand name doesn't really attribute it any particular collectable status over & above UK brands, but that odd 4-a-side headstock might. This is the fourth time he's listed this bass - previously it's had a BIN of £550 and then £500, so I'd expect his reserve price to be somewhere in that locality. Which is really quite a lot. J.

[quote name='dwh87' post='684513' date='Dec 14 2009, 09:14 PM']Modulus Vertex [/quote] Oooh! Carbon graphite GAS incoming! [quote name='xgsjx' post='672904' date='Dec 3 2009, 09:59 AM']Now that's a clever idea, just a shame westone was a sh!te make from the 80's.[/quote] You might want to do a bit of research. MIJ Westones (including The Rail) were built by Matsumoku & were excellent quality & the ubiquitous Thunder Is are getting quite sought-after now. Stuff like Rails, Quantums, Super Headless, Thunder II & IIIs can fetch some pretty silly money. My Bass Of The Moment - Lace Helix: I think part of the reason I like this is that it's the sort of thing Matsumoku might be building if they'd kept going. Should turn up in a day or two... Jon.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='684994' date='Dec 15 2009, 11:44 AM']I'll be interested to see/hear what you think. I should point out that the model reviewed in last month's BGM is a revised version over the model I (and from what I can see you) have. Certainly the bridge is much improved from the one on mine. I'm suspecting that there are inconstancies in the output of the Alumitone pickups, as from all the reviews and reports I've read people are saying that the output is either very good or very low. My Helix is definitely in the low output category - in fact it probably has the lowest signal level of any of the basses I own active or passive. I don't expect it to compete with the massively loud output of my Gus basses, but it ought to be on par with my Wesley or the Squier I used to own, and it's not even close. Of course it might be the price I'm paying for being an early adapter. My Helix is Fretless 5 #0002![/quote] From the reading I've done, the current pickups are redesigned - the new "Bass Bars" appear to be higher output & I'm not expecting mine to be particularly loud! Anyway I have to admit aesthetics account for something like 95% of my purchasing decision here, and the older-style pups with the staggered bars do look better! Mine was dispatched yesterday so with any luck I should have it Thursday or Friday. I'll keep you posted. J.

[quote name='4 Strings' post='683079' date='Dec 13 2009, 03:36 PM']Not sure I understand this as they are featured on the Tanglewood website and are for sale as Tanglewoods (and Hudsons, apparently).[/quote] They're manufactured by Cort, & the design's licensed from Curbow in the US. Cort sell them under their own brand name as well as badging them up with importer brands like Tanglewood & Hudson and no doubt dozens of others around the world. This is just the same as with vintage JapCrap - identical instruments from the same factory with various different brand names, basically the factory will stick any name on it that the customer wants. Same as it ever was... Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='684041' date='Dec 14 2009, 02:42 PM']Or you could go for the real thing: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70593"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70593[/url][/quote] Real thing??? We'll have no "real things" in THIS thread!!! J.

Nah. That first example was just awful, showboating, look-at-me-mum stunt bass, with all the musicality of rattling a stick along some railings. Which oddly enough is exactly what it sounded like. The other two links - Tetsuo Sakurai & Gustavo Dalfarra - are in another league altogether as far as solo bass is concerned. Dalfarra particularly is a brilliant example of how it's possible to combine excellent technical dexterity with good composition - and good taste - and be musical, captivating and entertaining. Jon.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='655149' date='Nov 15 2009, 01:25 PM']The nice MIJ EB copies do come up, Kasuga & Matsumoku definitely are worth a look as well as Fujigen. I'll flag 'em if I spot 'em. J.[/quote] Couple more interesting suspects on EB-Watch tonight: A potentially nice Matsumoku - this is the same bass as the [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/solid/sg/19xx.html"]Aria 1913[/url]. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160387060092"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=160387060092[/url] Missing covers, backplate & pin badge (probably said Arbiter or Eros) but looks quite tidy. And possibly more interesting, but somewhat more of a project - a long-scale slot-headstock example: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170414421937"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170414421937[/url] Longscale EB copies are very uncommon, and this is probably a Fujigen, possibly originally an Antoria or - amazingly - an Ibanez. Guy won't post so this may be of interest if you're in the SW. J.