Bassassin

It's unlikely that they'll be a perfect fit, but the great thing about wood is the way you can file bits off & stick other bits on & [b]make[/b] things fit. Make sure the scale is the same or you'll end up having to reposition your bridge too. Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='622697' date='Oct 10 2009, 09:19 PM']That's what I was going for. I guess it IS how you tell 'em then. [/quote] Sorry mate! :blush: Maybe it's how you spell 'em! J.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='622312' date='Oct 10 2009, 10:58 AM']Hammerite? [/quote] What a missed opportunity for a coat-grabbing pun! That would be a cool-looking bass without all that goop all over it. Jon.

[quote name='Musky' post='622593' date='Oct 10 2009, 06:56 PM']And there was me thinking that it was safe to call any '75 to '87 Aria a Mat. That's a lovely looking guitar, regardless of who made it.[/quote] It is, isn't it? I've actually got horrible, insistent GAS pains for a 70s LP copy with a maple board & black blocks. The alarming thing is that the guy who's selling the bass which kicked off this thread is selling just such a guitar too - and he's about 20 miles down the road from me. So far, the fact it's a Hondo and he wants £85 have successfully held me back... :ph34r: [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/62/46698562.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/62/46698562.html[/url] At least this one's not a Mat. Probably. J.

[quote name='Musky' post='619360' date='Oct 7 2009, 10:09 AM']Now there's a weird thing - 6 bolt Arias. And from '77, when I thought Mat were exclusively producing for them. Or does that mean Mat were knocking out some basses with 6 bolt necks... I think I need a lie down. They don't like making IDing these things any easier do they. [/quote] Here's an interesting thing, taking the Aria-but-not-Matsumoku idea a bit further, and of course dragging the thread even more off topic! Careful with this, I have to warn you, it's a g*it*r: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170392904930"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170392904930[/url] It's a old & pretty Les Paul copy with an original mid 70s Aria logo. It's also a Kasuga. OK, there's a possibility it's a bitsa with some Kasuga parts, but I don't think so. The big giveaways are the tuners, which are actually Kasuga logo'd. It also has a distinctive shaped truss rod cover which matches the ones used by Kasuga, and a plain MIJ-stamped neckplate, which we don't tend to find on Uncle Mats. There's a precedent for this too. Kasuga did use their own branded tuners (made by Gotoh) on other off-brand instruments - these appear on the Canadian "Northern" brand, which Kasuga built. Anyway, as you were. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='621274' date='Oct 9 2009, 08:16 AM']It wouldn't take much to ... erm ... "modify" your 2366B. Trouble is, that's such a nice bass as it is. [/quote] Wouldn't dream of desecrating that under any circumstances! But realistically, even top-end early 70s Jap copies like that are only cosmetically similar to real Fenders. That's one of the things I love about 'em. J.

I havent bought anything off Luke yet, but he deserves a feedback +1 for offering to give me (as in free) an old Kay SG copy! Jon.

Bought a cracking Ibanez Blazer project off Rob today. Great deal & a lovely feller. Jon.

[i]1) What kind of maintenance do you carry out on your instruments at home/gigs?[/i] At home absolutely everything - cleaning, fret levelling/crowning/dress, setup, wiring, truss adjustment, neck shims, refinishing etc. The only thing I've not yet done is a refret/defret but that's only a matter of time. At gigs the worst I've had to deal with is changing a string. [i]2) What position is it easiest to have the instrument in for these actions? (vertical, horizontal, at an angle?)[/i] Flat for the most part. I have a workbench in my basement (actually a big, old, heavy desk I "liberated" from an office clearout) with carpet glued to the top. Generally just lying an instrument on it is fine, if necessary I can clamp the body to the bench. For fret work I have a rubber-jawed vice to hold the heel and a polystyrene block to support the neck at the correct height. Truss adjustments generally require holding the instrument upright to apply necessary physical pressure. [i]3) Are there any tasks you currently carry out where you find it hard to securely orientate the instrument in an ideal working position?[/i] Not really. Fret work on set-neck instruments can be fiddly but you really just have to be more careful & patient. Jon.

£999? Y'know - I'm not proud to say the pikey in me is sorely tempted to have a go at some "creative relicing" of my own... :ph34r: J.

Hi - probably your best bet is to ask on the [url="http://www.vintaxe.com/boards/index.php"]Vintaxe.com[/url] forum. Vintaxe is a subscription guitar porn (OK, vintage catalogue scans!) site but the owner's usually happy to help with one-off enquiries on the forum, without expecting you to sign up. These are the Fernandes catalogues he has, looks quite comprehensive: [url="http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_japanese_fernandes.htm"]http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_japanese_fernandes.htm[/url] There are a couple of Japanese sites with Fernandes scans: [url="http://brochures.yokochou.com/index.html#FERNANDES"]http://brochures.yokochou.com/index.html#FERNANDES[/url] [url="http://www.geocities.jp/guitarofworld/FernandesCATALOGUE.html"]http://www.geocities.jp/guitarofworld/Fern...sCATALOGUE.html[/url] Had a quick look, but I think these are both too early to feature your basses. Jon.

[quote name='Musky' post='619360' date='Oct 7 2009, 10:09 AM']Now there's a weird thing - 6 bolt Arias. And from '77, when I thought Mat were exclusively producing for them. Or does that mean Mat were knocking out some basses with 6 bolt necks... I think I need a lie down. They don't like making IDing these things any easier do they. [/quote] I'd think they were probably from somewhere else - Matsumoku was probably pretty busy around 1977 so probably Arai contracted a different factory (or more likely, bought & badged-up their standard J-copies) to meet demand. Same thing Tokai did with Kasuga, which is why Ebay History now tells us anything with a Kasuga badge was "from the Tokai factory". J.

[quote name='evilLordJuju' post='619723' date='Oct 7 2009, 04:35 PM']It's a nice colour, whatever else you want to say about it [/quote] Looks a bit rattle-can though, wouldn't you say? J.