Bassassin

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.

Quite likely it's not really a DiMarzio, then, loads of Jap basses & guitars from this era used pups with cream covers & hex poles and this is quite likely just what came on the bass. Doesn't mean it's a crap pickup, though, the Ibanez Blazers & Roadsters from this era have no-name Japanese DiMarzio copies which sound great. These are probably Maxons or Gotohs, and there's every chance this is the same. J.

Have a dig/ask around on the [url="http://www.rickresource.com/forum"]RickResource[/url] bass forum. Unfortunately Joey's Bass Notes site is down at the moment (a hosting problem) but Joey Vasco is a regular contributor as are many other experts. Not a popular suggestion among the Rick Faithful, but a Hipshot bridge might help your problem. Jon.

[quote name='12stringbassist' post='496579' date='May 24 2009, 01:12 PM']One of mine is NOT a Ric... [url="http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/images/basses/gang_of_four.jpg"]http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawle...ang_of_four.jpg[/url] A 1976 John Birch SCDR bass, with far too many knobs, in a most fetching greenburst. [url="http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/images/basses/_johnbirch_winston's.jpg"]http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawle...nston's.jpg[/url] Sounds nothing like a Ric. [/quote] That's what a proper Faker should be like - a variation on a theme. And then some, in the case of 70s JBs. Does it have a massively long scale? I know Ricks are 33.5", and can see the JB has 2 extra frets - but the distance from nut to bridge looks massive on the Birch? Optical illusion or do you need extra-long arms? J.

[quote name='mike257' post='494897' date='May 22 2009, 09:24 AM']This is awesome news! I never saw them first time out, but I'm a big lover of Cass and Mark as a rythm section, the pair of them are wicked. So he's using a V-Type on Paranoid and Sunburnt? I suddenly understand why you lot make such a fuss over them!![/quote] I don't know if you're specifically talking about [i]Paranoid & Sunburnt[/i] but it's worth mentioning that Robbie France played drums on that - outstanding player. I briefly met Cass Lewis after seeing Skunk Anansie at Tut's in Glasgow, just after [i]Selling Jesus[/i] was released. Very cordial & unassuming guy, from what little I remember! Just got tickets for the Glasgow gig in November but I don't expect to meet any of the band wandering aimlessly around post-gig this time! Jon.

[quote name='Footos' post='495610' date='May 22 2009, 10:31 PM']So far so good and I can assure you that Jayro JRB-600 is miles better than Indie's Rickenbugger and Aria Pro's knock-off! With a little tweaking this bass can be transformed into a potent bass![/quote] Agreed that the Indie copy is a half-arsed piece of crap, but the Aria (built by Matsumoku) neck-through copies are stunning - near indistinguishable from the real thing, and the reason that they are as rare as they are is because most of them have spent the last 30 years being passed off as genuine Rickenbackers. J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='494569' date='May 21 2009, 07:16 PM']Claims to be real, suspect its not, unless they do a neater wire trench now, ones I've seen have a row of holes drilled: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BASS-GUITAR-FL-NEW-PROJECT-NR-MINT_W0QQitemZ370204767911QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item370204767911&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50"]Dodge[/url][/quote] I'd say it's real - the "row of holes" routing disappeared sometime in the 80s, and these days Rickenbacker even use those evil computerised CNC machines to crank out 500 of these in half an hour, just like Matsumoku used to in the early 70s! J.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='494505' date='May 21 2009, 05:41 PM']Morris as in Rose Morris, of Shaftesbury fame?[/quote] Morris as in house-brand of [url="http://www.kiwi-us.com/~mmi/"]Moridaira Musical Instruments[/url]. Pretty acoustics & distribution these days, but back in the day Morris/Moridaira gave the world some pretty decent JapCrap, although I don't think the Hurricane brand was their top stuff. This looks like an OK late 70s/early 80s P copy, the guy says it was a project & I'm guessing that involved fitting the Dimarzio pup, which doesn't exactly fit the scratchplate. Plainly the project didn't extend to realigning the bridge. Jon.

Cheers for that, Samick's quite likely, they made the Hondo copies. Do post more pics when you get it. J.

Interesting! A 70s or 80s Korean copy - usually the only old Koreans you see are plywood Hondos. I wonder if the scratchplate's been replaced (it has the wider neck pup spacing, unusual on old copies) or if it's just copied from a later 4001 or 4003? Old 80s Korean Rick guitar copies are pretty common (I used to have a cute little 325-alike) but you don't really see the basses, although it seems perfectly reasonable to think Cort or Samick or whoever would have been knocking them out. Might one ask how much the friendly shopkeeper was asking for this interesting bit of Pacific Rim driftwood? And was the shop actually open-air with corrugated steel walls? Jon.

I think if they've let John Birch get away with it for 35 years... Then Al probably doesn't have much to worry about. J.

I played one of these in a local music shop a few years ago - couldn't put it down & [i]almost[/i] ended up taking it home... I've subsequently watched a few on Ebay & they don't go for huge sums - I suppose because Cort ain't a hugely fashionable brand. Jon.

Play the gig with him, let him make a right arse of it, and you'll have an excuse. Jon.

Headstock's shaped like an Ibby Soundgear - the body has been reshaped seemingly by a blind 4-year old. Why do people let their children play with power tools? Jon.