Bassassin

It is a bit of an old chestnut, this. The answer is simple. "Bassists" who use plectrums are not true bassists - they are failed guitarist scum and it is the duty of every right-thinking real bassist to seek them out and smash their hands with a hammer, so they do not cheapen & degrade the purity & skill of proper bass playing with this abominable perversion of theirs. Praise The Lord. Easy, really. Jon.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='480716' date='May 6 2009, 10:15 AM']It should get a gig on Saturday so we'll see how it plays sounds for real.[/quote] I've been pretty much exclusively gigging the Frankenbugger for the last month - It is f@cking great! Loads of compliments about my sound, and it's a real head-turner, people keep wanting to know what it is! Jon.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='506560' date='Jun 5 2009, 06:59 PM']Apologies, from an ill-informed bigot.[/quote] Graciously accepted, sir! J.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='506361' date='Jun 5 2009, 02:07 PM']Well, British Music Strings which was based in Cardiff. The instruments were imported from Korea, inspected and sold. The operation went belly up long ago. They're not uncommon, you see quite a few in cash generators and car boots around the South Wales area. Not particularly well made guitars, but a lot better than the old 'Axe' brand they used to seel in the back pages of Kerrang years ago.[/quote] Marlins were ewe-biquitous in the 80s & early 90s, most of them were Korean but I have seen examples that were made in the former East Germany. Not sure how they got over the Berlin Wool. I suspect BMS were also associated with the Hohner RTX "Eurofighter" g*it*r, assembled in Wales from components sourced from all over Yurp. Jon.

It actually works OK - wonder what happened though? This is basically a Rick crossbred with a Hohner B2A - looks like the Hohner's donated pickups & possibly active circuit, as well as bridge & string retainer. I'd like to think the Rick suffered a disastrous headstock break, rather than somebody just thought this was a great idea! J.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='506159' date='Jun 5 2009, 10:23 AM']The deep mellow tones of plywood, you can't beat them, probably best to set it on fire and be done with it.[/quote] It's not plywood. These have a sandwich body construction, probably basswood, with ash veneers front & back. The dark oversprays are to conceal the laminate joins but it ain't ply. Such a lot of ill-informed bigotry in this thread. Anyway, this is pretty much the same bass branded Antoria: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=140324776699"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=140324776699[/url] Slight differences in the hardware & neck construction - this one's very early, with the chrome trc & black button tuners, probably around 1971. J.

There's going to be some amount of wailing, gnashing of teeth, hair-pulling & self flagellation about that over at RickResource. We should form a support group. Jon.

Well overpriced but not crap. Not authentic by any stretch of the imagination but of interest to JapCrapologists. Elger was the original US importer of Ibanez & later became Hoshino US after being taken over by Ibanez's Japanese parent company. This bass is an early (pre '75) Fujigen jazz copy & is identical to the Ibanez 2365B. Those pickups are designed to be hidden under the ashtrays this would have originally had, & despite the appearance are very powerful & punchy - that's one in the fireglo Rick copy in my avatar. The tuners were pretty much standard on every early 70s Jap bass. They do look horrid but are not too bad - you'll find them used on 70s Shergolds, interestingly. Not sure where the idea that they're only held on by only 2 screws comes from - they have four, none of which are "dummies". To me the most odd thing about this ad is the seller's failure to play the Ibanez card, like they usually do. Down to ignorance, I suppose, but for once it would nearly be justified! Jon.

Sean PM'd me about this - I was inclined to think about £400 - £500 but then I did an Ebay search. Hope you're sitting down: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-SB1000-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200345921383"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-SB1000-B...emZ200345921383[/url] I doubt this is typical & maybe these are really rare Down Under - but it's still a shocker! I have to admit I'm not a huge Aria expert, but there are some Aria geeks on here who might know better - I'm pretty sure Bloodaxe has got one or ten. Sean - maybe you should edit the title to reflect vintage Aria content. Jon.

Just read your post properly & it isn't the same thing at all! that'll teach me to jump to conclusions! It might be a nut-height issue, or maybe the break-angle over the nut. Are your strings wound top-to-bottom around the posts? Jon.

[quote name='12stringbassist' post='504581' date='Jun 3 2009, 12:12 PM'] A Google search shows one for sale here - clearly labelled 'Rockinbetter by Tokai', as per The Bass Centre. [url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/tokai-rockinbetter.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...ckinbetter.html[/url][/quote] Exactly what I said - these references appear on [b]retailers' sites[/b], not Tokai's! It's interesting to look at that side-by side pic - apart from having a conventional bridge & a Fender-type bridge pup cover rather than copied Rick hardware, you can clearly see the neck shape & dimensions are very different. The "Tokai" has what looks like a standard scale length & taper meaning the string spacing is much wider at the dusty end & up to the bridge - I doubt it would feel very much like a Rick to play. I think the bridge pup on these sits in a conventional rout & this might be to do with why they don't sound right - some people reckon the Rick "clank" is to do with the bridge pup being suspended by big bits of metal & springs in a huge cavity in the body - lots of resonance! [quote name='12stringbassist' post='504581' date='Jun 3 2009, 12:12 PM']I'm absolutely certain that I have seen more than one branded 'Tokai' and have tried a couple before I got my own Rics.[/quote] I'd be quite surprised if they didn't make one back in the day - however I've never seen one - I have a near-obsessive interest in Rick copies & I would definitely remember! [quote name='12stringbassist' post='504581' date='Jun 3 2009, 12:12 PM']Obviously this one is from a Tokai Ric guitar copy: [/quote] That will be probably the same as the 325 copy I mentioned in my earlier post - an RG40 from around 2001 which appears in this Japanese-market catalogue: [url="http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/catalogs/tokai20013.jpg"]http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/catalogs/tokai20013.jpg[/url] J.

[quote name='12stringbassist' post='503854' date='Jun 2 2009, 02:54 PM']Possibly that Tokai actually make them. I have seen both types of copy and all that appears to have changed is the name on the TRC.[/quote] What do you mean "both types"? I've never seen the exact same bass as this with a different brand - and thinking about it, I have never seen a Tokai-branded Rick bass copy, old or current. They did do a copy of the Rick 325 guitar in the 80s, so it's possible bass models existed, but I've never encountered one. It does look like the only connection between the Tokai brand & the Rockinbetter bass seems to be anecdotal; just discussions like this and retailers' sites - it doesn't appear on any of Tokai's own listings & literature as far as I can tell. It would seem strange that Tokai would want to disassociate themselves from it - if it was anything to do with them - considering they were audacious enough to actually call their original Gibson copies "Les Paul Reborn"! And that's the other thing: Tokai have always made replica-standard copies, & that's what their reputation's based upon, but Rockinbetters are pretty ordinary modern basses that just look a bit like Ricks in terms of shape & finish. They are not accurate in terms of construction, hardware, or, by the looks of them, dimensions. J.

[quote name='Soloshchenko' post='503381' date='Jun 1 2009, 10:44 PM']Do you mean the tokai ones? I saw one recently too. [url="http://www.rockfactory.co.uk/prodimages/IMG_0221.jpg"]http://www.rockfactory.co.uk/prodimages/IMG_0221.jpg[/url][/quote] What do these Rockinbetters have to do with Tokai? I can't find a connection. J.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=130310148668"]I am lost for words.[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170335622798"]This[/url] for contrast/reality check. J.

It's obviously just broken where the top edge of the headstock was laminated. Doesn't look like it would be too hard to fix for a luthier or a bodger who's handy with a bit of wood. Pretty laughable trying to pass it off as a "conversion". Jon.

Cimar by, well, Cimar, whoever the hell they were. At this point there was no "official" connection between the 2 brands except Hoshino was somehow involved in distribution. These weren't made by Fujigen & having had the exact same bass as this (apart from the white rattle can + power-sander "relic" job), they are low-end plywood mid 70s JapCrap, with nothing much to their credit beyond the fact of still being in one piece after 35 years of abuse. Jon.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='502335' date='May 31 2009, 03:47 PM']I've got a Badass in my parts drawer. Do you think if I sat it in some vinegar for a couple of days I'd get £135 for it? Its even got a broken screw for that added 'mojo'[/quote] Don't forget to charge eight quid for sticking it in a 3rd-hand jiffy bag. We should stop this. It's callous to mock the mentally ill. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='502262' date='May 31 2009, 01:46 PM']And, of course, the famous [b][i][size=3]Vox Standered [/size][/b][/i]... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vox-Standered-Bass_W0QQitemZ120427157992QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1c0a0499e8&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A3%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vox-Standered-Bass_W...%3A3%7C294%3A50[/url] [/quote] He standered it up on the grass to take its photo. J.

What does he mean: "a 'floating bridge' leads the string to the neck"? Looks suspiciously like his parts-box replacement bridge has string spacing far too wide for the fretboard so he's screwed a bit of bent metal over the stings to try & shove them closer together. Well, who needs strings that vibrate, anyway? Yee, and indeed, ha. Jon.

I really like this. Judging from the neck joint style this is a lot more recent than I first thought - I was expecting to see a neck plate. Did a bit of reading about serial numbers & the "S" suffix does suggest it's a Samick, and if it is, the number decodes as year/month/batch number - which appears to make this bass February 2001. So for a pretty recent Rick copy this is very accurate, certainly compared to the current glut of Gayros, Indies & Rockinbetters. J.

[quote name='neilb' post='501155' date='May 29 2009, 06:27 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Precision-Bass-70s_W0QQitemZ220423413475QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item3352425ee3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Precision-Bas...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url] Looks a right hack job to me. Neckplate, top neck route yada,yada.....[/quote] 70s JapCrap P copy, MIJ neckplate & the serial sticker on the headstock looks like Moridaira. This was most likely sold branded as Hohner or possibly Moridaira's own Morris brand. Some knob's sanded & filthed-up the neck to try & make it look old - these, like pretty much all Jap copies, had bomb-proof poly finishes which would never, ever wear like that. Nice enough Jap copy but should never sell for more than £200 even in good original condition. Jon.

That reminds me of old Uncle Ned: [attachment=26099:ned.jpg] Now forever to be known as the Ned Special? /coat. Jon.

Joey's Bass Notes is back up: [url="http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/"]http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/[/url] J.

It's just to designate which factory made what - MIJ is Fujigen Gakki, who got the original contract for Japanese Fenders (meaning most older ones are Fujigen) and CIJ for production from other factories, predominantly Dyna Gakki & Tokai Gakki. Tokai is supposed to be for the Japanese market only, but obviously plenty of those end up over here anyway! Quality-wise, there's nothing really to choose between them, by all accounts. Jon.

I'm sitting this one out - too many projects (most of them P's for some reason) too little time... J.