Bassassin

Gorgeous old JapCrap Hippie Sandwich, you hardly ever see these - wonder how many of them ended up being fobbed off as genuine? Jon.

[quote name='deaver' post='482576' date='May 7 2009, 11:15 PM']Your wish is my command. I'll let you know how I get on with it. PS: If I don't like it - I have no qualms about posting it[/quote] Excellent - lots of hi-res pics in the Porn section please! And if it's not for you I'll happily take it off your hands. Unless it's got a neck like a corkscrew! :ph34r: J.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='481169' date='May 6 2009, 04:55 PM']Here's a link to my Rickenfaker facebook page.... [url="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=78514186083&ref=mf"]http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.p...6083&ref=mf[/url] Wow Jon it's looking good! I've reasembled the Tokai with Ricky(like) bits and rewired it and it sounds bloody nice. Ive got to make a TRC and pick guard as the neck PUP is slightly out of line and sits alittle tooo low so I need to make the hole wider. Next I'm going to varnish the fretboard- Jon any tips, ie what type of varnish and can I applie it with out taking the frets out??? Bassassin Padawan.[/quote] Yes you can varnish over the frets - many lacquered boards are done once the frets are fitted, just lightly wire-wool the tops of the frets back to the metal once it's done & dried. Going on my own basses, it seems about half & half whether the board's been lacquered before or after fretting. As far as what to use - I wish I knew! I've re-touched a couple of boards that had flaky lacquer with cheapo Screwfix rattle-can stuff, but I don't know how hard-wearing that sort of thing would be as a finish for an unlacquered board. Logically the strings shouldn't be making much, if any contact with the board anyway, so it might be OK. I have a maple Jazz neck needing refinished and I might experiment with that. I have a minor alignment problem with the Frankenbugger - it predates CNC routing & it looks like the template they used was ever so slightly too far south. Also the bridge could do with being maybe 5mm further back to get the intonation spot-on, however I'm on the lookout for a cheap Hipshot which should fix that. J.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='481626' date='May 7 2009, 09:04 AM']Cummon, give us a bit of history! I'm tempted.... Is it meant to be a bit of an alembic rip off?[/quote] Well, clearly there's a bit of an Alembic "influence"! This will be late 70s, built at Rokkomann's factory in Kobe (destroyed in the 90s Kobe earthquake) El Maya was Rokkomann's high-end brand, mostly original designs & some replica-level copies. These are staggeringly rare - I've never seen this particular design before as a bass - the g*it*r is called an EM-1000 and is a little bit more common: [url="http://www.guitar-museum.com/uploads/guitar/157/44544-1.jpg"]http://www.guitar-museum.com/uploads/guitar/157/44544-1.jpg[/url] I think it's fair to say if this had Ibanez or even Aria Pro written on it you'd be talking several times that price. Just bleedin' buy it, right? J.

Somebody down south [b]just buy this[/b], don't argue - it's buttons for something this unique & stunning: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170329151446"]El Maya through-neck original - £175 BIN[/url] If he'd post it, I'd pull the trigger without a second thought. J.

Liking Carnarvon's Doom a lot - very Gates Of Babylon! Jon.

Cheers - some of those are stunning. J.

[quote name='OldGit' post='480462' date='May 5 2009, 10:33 PM']Any contenders in your weird and wonderful collections? [/quote] What's that? It's luvverly. Yammy SBV comes to mind for oddness + sympathetic scratchplate: I have a blue one & would love a pearl pink plate on it... :ph34r: Jon.

I recommend T-cut for glossing up those dullard satin finishes - although it might be an idea to whip off your scratchplate & "test on an inconspicuous area" to make sure it does what you want. If you do change the bridge, Schaller 3D ftw. Jon.

Must be the weather for them - there's this as well: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-TWIN-NECK-SG-BASS-SIX-STRING-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ280341495971"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-TWIN-NECK-SG-...emZ280341495971[/url] As for upsetting the band - our prog-head guitarist would like nothing more than for both of us to play twin-necks! Mine would have to be fretted/5-string fretless bass though, there might be some point then... J.

Three of a perfect pair? Three? Meet The Frankenbugger... Having harvested the organs from this basket-case: ...assuming I'd need them for my then-rotted Matsumoku wall-hanger, the Mat parts mostly turned out to be salvageable so I ended up with a mixed bag of innards. Fellow graverobber Hooky6stringbass had disinterred a slightly decomposed yet useable body/through neck which he was willing to part with, so perversions of science and nature took their course, and in the midst of a cataclysmic electrical storm, the Frankenbugger lurched, groaning off the slab: So - Frankenbugger has the wiring harness, a real Rick neck position Hi-Gain & a somewhat reconditioned tailpiece, all from the Matsumoku; the Basket Case donated scratchplate, bridge, string mute & parts of the tuners, the JapCrap chrome bridge pup & various sundries came out of the spares box - and in the spirit of 19th century medical experimentation, what I didn't have, I had to make... Interesting, this one, in that I don't have a clue what it is/was - Ian (Hooky6sb) thought it was a Shaftesbury but I'm not so sure - the unvarnished fretboard, real MOP inlays, the odd way the burst is sprayed, leaving it natural on some edges aren't things I've seen on a Shafty. This plays really nicely, could do with a little bit of fret dressing but is fine like it is, sounds great - more like a Rick than either of the others, thanks, surprisingly to the MIJ pup, a single-coil which sticks out 11k. It should get a gig on Saturday so we'll see how it plays sounds for real. Anyway, I can hear bellowing & the rattling of chains coming from the basement - I wonder what it eats? Jon.

[quote name='2x18' post='479690' date='May 5 2009, 09:26 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ290315053106QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item290315053106&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bass-guitar_W0QQitem...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url] Nice Ibby!!!![/quote] Very nice - this might get the collectors in a lather, if they ever see it; I've never seen that odd multi-dot fingerboard on an Ibanez before - in fact I've only ever seen it here: [url="http://psyco.jp/greco/c003_08.html"]http://psyco.jp/greco/c003_08.html[/url] Being a 1973 Japanese Greco catalogue. This seems to be the first catalogue the bass appears in, so this may be one of the earliest examples. J.

We have a pair of Skytronics 300w PA speakers in our praccy room - cost about £35 off Glumtree, if I remember. At that price, very cheap but still pretty nasty, about the best thing you could say about them is that sound comes out of 'em. And they're very, very light. Jon.

I have no idea if that bass is any good - but some of the g*it*rs look quite extraordinary (literally!) for the money. The basses are the ususal unimaginative afterthoughts. Sidelined [i]again[/i]... Jon.

Absolute beaut, fantastic condition too. Tell us the serial & I can date it exactly. Your bass is a Fujigen, like Musky said. Kanda contracted Matsumoku (through Aria) and Fujigen simultaneously at the beginning of the 70s, and as the decade went on, production seemed to move wholly to Fujigen. Initially they actually sold Mat & Fujigen Rick copies simultaneously. The old Greco catalogues [url="http://psyco.jp/greco/cata.html"]here[/url] are fascinating - if you like that sort of thing... Anyway your bass is an RB700N and appears in catalogues commencing around 1977 - initially the Fujigen copies were less accurate & had early 70s Rick detailing like full-width inlays & chequered binding alongside big chrome Gibson-looking pickups. These same basses were also sold badged as Ibanez. The Mats were very accurate, right down to twin truss rods, wavy Grover-type tuners & a translucent scratchplate. Fujigen gradually updated their design to have the correct hi-gain type pickups & smaller inlays (but kept the rather cool binding), and it seems Kanda phased out the Mat versions & bolt-neck Fujigens at the same time. Greco was/is predominantly a Japanese home-market brand & while the Rick copies disappeared from the export market by the end of the 70s, it appears that they remained available in Japan at least until the 90s, in various guises & configurations. Jon.

[quote name='AM1' post='477427' date='May 2 2009, 12:09 AM']I don't suppose you've got a copy of that book lying around?![/quote] I bought a copy as a birthday present for a mate who was a big Alice fan, about 10 years ago & had a sneaky read before wrapping it up! However just checked EvilBay & there's a copy up at the moment: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ALICE-COOPER-book-by-MICHAEL-BRUCE-No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy_W0QQitemZ120414553943"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ALICE-COOPER-book-by...emZ120414553943[/url] Although the same search also brought up this rather daunting one in the US: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy-ALICE-COOPER-book-by-Michael-Bruce_W0QQitemZ380067710111"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy-...emZ380067710111[/url] It's an interesting read but apparently a lot of Bruce's recollections should be taken with a pinch of salt - at the time he plainly had a substantial chip on his shoulder about what happened with the original band. It seems that Alice & the surviving members (lead guitarist Glen Buxton died in 1997) are now all on good terms & have occasionally got back together for low-key one-offs, and the possibility of a "proper" reunion has been mooted. I'd go & see that. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='477444' date='May 2 2009, 12:42 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KASUGA-4-STRING-BASS-JAPANESE-LAWSUIT-COPY-HARD-CASE_W0QQitemZ230340594973QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item230340594973&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]Kasuga[/url][/quote] Very special, that one. That 'Orrible 'Ondo looks not bad, too (definitely not a Shafty, there were no bolt-necks & the sticker's the Hondo model number) and unless it's a solid colour around the edges, looks to be made of proper wood rather than ply. J.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='477325' date='May 1 2009, 08:35 PM']its fugly...... And I like Ibbies.[/quote] Ugly [i]and[/i] pointless... But probably worth an arm, a leg, and a selection of internal organs to a hardcore Ibby-collector. Jon.

I wouldn't call myself a fan but I've always liked them. Used to do Basket Case with my covers band half a lifetime ago, that was lots of fun to play & sing, also saw them at a festival a few years ago - very solid & entertaining live band. And I'm quite delighted by the irony of a band whose career's based on 3 minute pop songs being accused of "selling out" when their biggest album's a concept album which contains a bunch of 8 & 9 minute tracks! Perhaps not the most obvious route to crossover mainstream success... Jon.

Sorry I can't help with the transcriptions AM1 - just another massive Dunaway fan. He was one of my biggest influences when starting to play - I practically learned by playing along to Halo Of Flies & Gutter Cat Vs The Jets! I do agree Dennis is a tragically under-recognised player, and it's a shame that history has sidelined him (and the other original Alice Cooper members) as just some of Alice-The-Singer's many backing musicians. On that topic, it's worth reading guitarist Michael Bruce's book No More Mr Nice Guy, if you can find a copy. Something worth remembering about Dunaway's playing is that he is a 100% plectrum user, and I'd say this is responsible for much of his tone and style. Pick playing's becoming something of a dying art among conbtemporary bassists (barely touch it myself, to be honest) but Dunaway's a masterclass in precision, speed & versatility with a lump of plastic! Jon.

[quote name='jwbassman' post='476495' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:15 PM']indeed - my bass has an aformentioned 'fat string', is that a technical term?[/quote] It is, but a misleading one - I had the same problem as this seller until I realised it was in fact, just a very long thumbrest. Jon.

Marlin, eh? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=27229&view=findpost&p=283004"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=283004[/url] :ph34r: Jon.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='472356' date='Apr 25 2009, 07:55 PM']It's a Hondo II......[/quote] Indeed it is - but probably won't be for long, due to liberal use of the Bad Word in the ad... J.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='470714' date='Apr 23 2009, 01:48 PM']Sorry mate never heard of them...try Bassassin. He is the font of all things Jap. (Assume these are Jap?)[/quote] Unfortunately this one had me stumped - maybe revise that to "all things Jap between about 1970 and 1983". I've just been told on RickResource that I can't say " Jap" because it's racist. Apparently. Me? Racist? How very dare they! Bloody Septics. :ph34r: J.