Bassassin

Thanks mate, looking forward to it. I'm a fairly rapid reader so shouldn't hang on to it for long! Jon.

[quote name='sgt-pluck' post='316970' date='Oct 28 2008, 06:41 PM']I'd spotted that one - thought I'd take a punt. Very little information about on Gherson. From what I can gather so far they are Italian/US/Japanese made, and were low/mid/high quality knock-offs of the usual suspects including Ric's plus some mental double-necked SG thing ( rather like [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GHERSON-TWIN-DOUBLE-NECK-SG-60S-VINTAGE-ITALIAN-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ220300056726QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220300056726&_trkparms=72%3A1301|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]this[/url] on 'ere on t'bay ). So not much to go on, but the [i]brand[/i] definately is ( or was ) Italian, and it looks quite nice in the rubbish eBay snaps One piece Alder....? Anyway if it turns out to be nice I'll post pics, otherwise I'll hide it away and pretend it never happened! Pluck[/quote] Gherson's definitely Italian, no US or Japanese connections: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/index/gherson.html"]http://www.fetishguitars.com/index/gherson.html[/url] I think the 70s Italian copies are quite intriguing - I think it's possible a good proportion of what's taken to be MIJ or MIK might well turn out to be Italian. J.

And tonight, ladies and gentlemen, £325 will buy you a black neckthrough example, unbranded, but looking to be from the same stable as them there Shaftesbuggers & Cimars: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260306265955"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=260306265955[/url] It's nice but a little bit steep, maybe. J.

Given that the diesel in the tank is worth about 10 times more than than the 1991 Puggy 405 Estate which surrounds it - the answer's an unqualified yes. Despite the fact that all of my basses are little more than curiously-shaped driftwood. Jon.

[quote name='kevbass' post='315098' date='Oct 26 2008, 03:02 PM']Quite possibly the nicest Maya bass ever made? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maya-electric-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ320311848161QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320311848161&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Maya-electric-bass-g...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote] It is lovely - but you might well change your tune if you saw one of their through-neck Precision inspired designs. Stunners - to give you some idea, this is the g*it*r version: [url="http://fr.audiofanzine.com/img/produits/audiofanet/normal/8/4/84087.jpg"]http://fr.audiofanzine.com/img/produits/au...l/8/4/84087.jpg[/url] J.

You could knock out a mini-scratchplate to cover that rout in 20 minutes. Or maybe it's deliberately visible to make people think it's a US Fender... :ph34r: Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='314842' date='Oct 26 2008, 01:08 AM']This looks a lot like the butchered 'Ibanez' that was local to me. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Vintage-Japanese-JAZZ-BASS-Aria-1540_W0QQitemZ160294596249QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item160294596249&_trkparms=39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A10|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Vintage-Japane...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote] Plywood Avon - you can even see where the badge was nailed to the headstock. Surprised he's trying to fob it off as an Aria when he could be saying it's an "Ibanez". J.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='314586' date='Oct 25 2008, 04:46 PM']He may be talking b%x, but that's quite a pretty bass, if you like sorta-Fenders.[/quote] It is - always thought that basic design would be a nice basis for a project. Interesting point - these (or at least the Stagg-badged version) were around for 2 or 3 years before the Fender Jaguar bass. And a quick Google turns up a natural/maple board version for £139: [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/stagg-bm-370-vintage-m-series/68744"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/stagg-...-m-series/68744[/url] [i]Much[/i] nicer. And 2 minutes with a bit of wet & dry and you've got a blank headstock. Jon.

Yes, you can change a listing any time, until it's been bid on. Anyway if he'd been local to me I'd have been gnawing on his [i]humerus[/i] as soon as I saw this. £150 is still a damn good price if it's in good order. J.

Err... £80 for an E series MIJ Squier? [i]Why[/i] is that still there? These are 1984 - 87, 3rd serial sequence after JV & SQ. Built by Fujigen Gakki to the same standard as JVs, SQs & MIJ Fenders. This, unless it's borked, looks like a ridiculous bargain, so... Jon.

£52? Excellent! Pics when you get it, right? J.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='313874' date='Oct 24 2008, 03:09 PM']On topic – like the custom Rick, prefer it to Lemmy’s or the mod looking red one that Paul Wellers bassist is using.[/quote] Lemmy's had a few - this one's really interesting: Tbh I have no idea if any part of that's ever been within 100 miles of a real Rickenbacker - but it's an incredible looking thing, whatever it is! J.

[quote name='KevB' post='313789' date='Oct 24 2008, 01:44 PM']I raised the subject of ric copies on the Dude Pit and got short shrift, hardly went back after that.[/quote] Same here, might even have been the same thread. Is the Pit still going? I never used it much but got sick of having to sign up to a new version every month because of its constant meltdowns & implosions. A lot of hostile rednecks on there anyway - must be all that testosterone. J.

[quote name='Clarky' post='313270' date='Oct 23 2008, 08:13 PM'] They will be passing the smelling salts and shouting "how very dare you" in a frenzy of righteous indignation PS, Bassassin, I'm surprised they haven't been after you with a poisoned umbrella tip*[/quote] They get a bad press! Seriously, they really are a knowledgeable, helpful & informative bunch and they appreciate the fact I have specialised knowledge which means I can spot a Faker at 1000 metres! There is actually quite a lot of genuine interest in the old Jap copies over there, a lot of the older guys started out on them (because they couldn't afford real ones) and still have a bit of a soft spot for them - as well as recognising that many of them were damn good basses. I think a lot of the OTT reactions are a result of it being essentially a brand-fan forum, rather than a dive where a bunch of bassists hang out. It's probably pretty much the same on any single-brand board. J.

[quote name='clauster' post='313742' date='Oct 24 2008, 01:02 PM']fairy tale of new york is the only good xmas song according to my band's singer[/quote] That's the other good one! That and Greg Lake's [i]I Believe In Father Christmas[/i]. Be a struggle to do a straight cover of that, though. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='313542' date='Oct 24 2008, 09:02 AM']Subtle he ain't. First time I've seen someone actually put "Lawsuit" in the title of a RickenFaker listing. [/quote] I beg to differ, young Sir: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120320874412"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=120320874412[/url] But no R-words. You don't need 'em to get pulled... Anyway, his has a single rod (so it's not a Mat) & he's going to contact me [s]if[/s] when it gets pulled. I'd give him the £230 for it, since that's what he's prepared to accept if it gets no bids. J.

This one's as good as gone already: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250313534682"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250313534682[/url] New tuners & fakey TRC means I can't really ID it - although probably Shaftie, Giannini or Matsumoku. I've asked if it has twin rods (and suggested he removes the R word from his listing!) if it does, it's a Mat. Probably. J.

Dear me, they'll be organising the lynch mobs over at RickResource - new bridge (Schaller 3D - good choice!) scratchplate, pups - including routing for the neck one - and that paintjob! I think it looks the business. Jon.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='312670' date='Oct 23 2008, 01:04 AM']hang on. recycled plastic over a maple body? So whats the point of the plastic bits? If you have a maple neck and maple body whats so green about screwing a lump of plastic on the front and back? If you can source the maple sustainably why not just use that?[/quote] Bye-bye Unique Selling Point. We wouldn't be talking about them & hitting the website. J.

For a moment there I though this was a [i]Battlestar Galactica[/i] thread! Both of the basses are hideous, and don't claim to be made from recycled materials. I do quite like some of the guitar body materials - but the overall impression is that they're made from solidified sick. If you want recycled guitars, go to your local car boot. Jon.

I had one of their Rick-esque neckthroughs a couple of years back, they were selling them off for £99 and it was a bit of an impulse buy. It turned up presented immaculately, spotless, polished & tuned. However it wasn't perfect - my main problem was that the 3-band active pre was shagged - there was next-to-no output, and what was there was unpleasantly distorted. I returned the bass, hoping for either a repair or a replacement but later received an incredibly patronising email telling me basically there was nothing wrong with the bass - and that all active basses sounded like this! Anyway the upshot was that they refused to exchange it - saying they were all the same - and offered to either return it or refund me. I opted to keep the bass - it got sent back filthy, scratched & part-dismantled. I also requested they refund me the postage I'd wasted sending the bass to them - but they never did. In my experience Wesley do sell well-presented, decent quality cheapos - but their customer & after-sales service is worse than abysmal. Their responses do also suggest utter ineptitude as far as actually having the remotest clue about the products they sell - their "technical department" is presumably some guy with a polishing cloth & a digital tuner. Anyway - I managed to sell the non-functioning pre for for spares - I got £20 - and replaced it with an Artec SE3 - which you could get for about £12 delivered from Singapore at the time. Sounded fine and I ended up not out of pocket. However as a result of all that, I wouldn't touch Wesley again with a bargepole. Jon.