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Bassassin

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Everything posted by Bassassin

  1. Bassassin
    I have a Knob Of Butter: [url="http://www.maya29.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pics/knobofbutter.jpg"][b]Click[/b][/url] Told you. Jon.
  2. Bassassin
    Every 70s Japcrap Jazz copy I've dismembered (and that's quite a few) has been painted like that. Not very many have such blatantly cheap & nasty pickup routing. Another reason to buy CIJ? Jon.
  3. Bassassin
    [quote name='SJA' post='271163' date='Aug 27 2008, 04:48 PM']funny how they chose not to put a dot marker at the 19th fret. Eko also used the wheel trussrod adjuster in the 70's. ironically EB Musicman and Peavey use it now on much more expensive instruments.[/quote] That's very common on early/mid 70s JapCrap, and was one of the reasons I assumed Noirpunk's P was MIJ. That wheel adjuster also appears on some early Jap guitars, but more usually Kawai/Teisco 60s type originals. It's pretty common on Koreans - lots of Hondos have it. J.
  4. Bassassin
    [quote name='noirpunk' post='270788' date='Aug 27 2008, 09:33 AM']That melody is identical to that P-Bass I picked up, albeit a darker stain This one has the thumb rest and bridge cover mine is missing - same scratchplate holes aswell. So my P is Italian then?[/quote] Based on the fact it's near identical to this 'un, I'd say yes. Obviously this means the plot thickens - more of the unbranded stuff that usually gets assumed to be Jap or Korean might in fact be Italian. There's a possibility of course that there was an importer sticking their own Melody logo on Oriental stuff (much like there was a 70s brand called Status, nowt to do with Mr Green), but I don't think so. The pic of the bass in the Melody catalogue is crap, but you can see some details that match - dot markers stop at 17th fret, zoom in on the logo, I'd say it's the same as what's been on this one, and I think I can see a square notch in the scratchplate for the truss adjuster. J.
  5. Bassassin
    That auction went up on Sunday - I messaged the guy to inform him that it's not Japanese - Melody was a 60s/70s (and possibly later) Italian brand, and there's a P copy pictured in a Melody catalogue on the Fetishguitars site: [url="http://www.fetishguitars.com/img/italiane/melody/catalogo/melody.pdf"]http://www.fetishguitars.com/img/italiane/...logo/melody.pdf[/url] He didn't bother responding or amending his ad - so the truth plainly doesn't suit his sales pitch. Not that I think he's got much chance of getting £160 for that, no matter how pretty the wood is. J.
  6. Bassassin
    Very sad news. Remember him well from BW days. Jon.
  7. Bassassin
    I think this damage looks too severe to be down to the suggested causes - I can't see something as major as this appearing overnight on a bass that I'd guess is a few years old already. I'd say it's somehow had a knock, probably to the backs of the tuners. Looks like 3 individual cracks, each one starting at the respective tuner screw, but you'll need to get the hardware off to see properly. A warranty or other manufacturer repair certainly would be the best solution - but speaking as a bodger, I'd probably just remove the tuners and flow superglue around the cracks. Chances are with the hardware off, it'll close up so it might need to be flexed open fractionally to allow the glue to penetrate. Then I'd clamp it up and leave it overnight, next day buff any superglue excess off with fine wire wool. Whatever you do - [b]don't[/b] go breaking lumps of it off!! You're very lucky it's just a couple of splits as it is! Jon.
  8. Bassassin
    Here's a nice-looking Aria/Matsumoku bolt-neck, nice fireglo, looks all original (including weird "staple" type bridge pickup) only thing missing is the pup cover: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Bass-Guitar-4001_W0QQitemZ140261021290"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-Bass-Guitar-4001...emZ140261021290[/url] £290 BIN or offers seems almost sane, considering. One slightly odd thing - the seller says "probably 1970's Jap. Not sure" - and if you look closely at the neckplate, it has "Steel Adjustable Neck" and a serial number, as one would expect - but no MIJ stamp. Since the Grover copy tuners & strange pickup convince me it's an Aria/Mat copy, maybe a dodgy batch of neckplates? Edit: Twin truss rods too. Nice. J.
  9. Bassassin
    [quote name='SJA' post='268567' date='Aug 23 2008, 06:58 PM']how about, see-thru acrylic P-bass, Aurora project glowguard + fretlights [/quote] I'd hit it, oh yes. :brow: Jon.
  10. Bassassin
    Back up on the Bay for another week, and still available here if you've got any sense! I'd consider trades/swaps for anything a bit interesting. J.
  11. Bassassin
    [quote name='warwickhunt' post='268726' date='Aug 24 2008, 08:05 AM'][size=7]£100[/size] That is obscene! I've never liked the look of the re-issue ones but I must confess an 'orange' one if cheap enough might have tempted me [/quote] Even more obscene when you've been watching it like a GAS-raddled hawk for a week - and are prepared to bid a few multiples of what it ended up selling for. And you miss it. I can only guess it went so cheap because it's so obscure. Seller must've been gutted. If I ever decide to move my orange plastic horror on, I'll let you know! J.
  12. Bassassin
    [quote name='dood' post='268470' date='Aug 23 2008, 03:04 PM']Interesting bit of information: Music Live is (was) organised by Sound Control... which is why you'd never find the likes of the Bass Centre etc at Music Live.. Apparently Sound Control would never invite their competitors to the trade shows![/quote] I'm 99% sure Bass Centre were there the year before last. However, if that's the case, hopefully the demise of SC might help make it a bit more varied & interesting - over the last few years it's really become pretty bland. Jon.
  13. Bassassin
    The Rimini's the semi, isn't it? I do like the way it's blatantly based on the Rickenbacker 4005 semi but pulls it off without doing a single thing to attract the wrath of RIC's legal department! Other designers should watch & learn. And bloody hell - what about this for a subtle finish? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ITALIA-RIMINI-CLASSIC-BASS-BLUE-PEARL-NEW-CHEAP_W0QQitemZ130248952177"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ITALIA-RIMINI-CLASSI...emZ130248952177[/url] Jon.
  14. Bassassin
    I've seen two of them go through Ebay in the last four or five years - and I was absolutely gutted when I missed the finish of one auction - and the bloody thing sold for just over £100! Unbelievable. Ibanez re-used the design for their peculiar plastic Ergodyne EDA900: Also features the Piezo bridge from the AFR but ultimately looks more like a [i]Star Trek[/i] prop than a bass. Didn't stop me buying a bright orange one, though... Jon.
  15. Bassassin
    [quote name='coasterbass' post='267495' date='Aug 22 2008, 12:26 AM']i apologise for the extemely patronising tone of my last post having read it back[/quote] Nothing to apologise for - I do agree that we should be out playing the things, not hoarding 'em! The sad fact of my "career" is that I've probably made more money selling "rare & vintage" (cough) basses & g*it*rs than I have playing, writing or recording with the bloody things! :ph34r: Jon.
  16. Bassassin
    I picked this up from a pawn shop for buttons a few years ago, with a view to a bit of Ebay profiteering. I'm not proud: [attachment=12515:CSLoriginal.jpg] However, even with rotten, dead strings, misaligned bridge, banana-shaped neck, and 25 years of filth on it - the moment I sat down & played it - [i]everything[/i] felt right. I've owned & played some really nice instruments over the years, but this thing has something indefinable that nothing else does - and it's my no. 1 bass, and now looks more like this: [attachment=12516:CSL2008.jpg] If I had to sell the lot & keep just one, it would be this, no question. Jon.
  17. Bassassin
    Saw that earlier myself. very striking looking. He says "hand-built in the UK", I'd take that to mean bolted together here - not that that's a bad thing. I'm curious as to what that sounds like with those big Mudbuckers mounted where they are, and aesthetically, the only thing I don't like is the big MM-type bent tin bridge - but that's really just a detail. Doubt I'd've put speed knobs on it, either, though. He's saying £175 or best offer - he might go down to £150 or so. EDIT: Actually, £160 shipped! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25921&st=0&#entry267307"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry267307[/url] Jon.
  18. Bassassin
    Using Far0n's original example - I'd say a bass like an Ibanez Musician [i]is[/i] a vintage & rare instrument. Vintage is hard to define in this context, but the Musician is a bass which is very much of a particular era, the model's long-since discontinued, and is becoming collectable & sought-after enough to command increasingly high prices. This is true of other Japanese-made instruments from the 70s & 80s. This doesn't exactly put them in the same ballpark as pre-CBS Fenders, for example - and I doubt they ever will be - but I don't think the words "vintage" & "rare" necessarily imply enormous value, just scarcity & a degree of collectability. For the record, the vintagest & rarest bass I own is one of these: A Ned Callan from about 1972. I have no idea what it's worth - this one being cradled by The Ox is the only other one I've ever seen & I don't even know a model name/number for it. Mine's branded as CMI - Cleartone Musical Instruments, who sourced from Ned Callan (really luthier Peter Cook) before they started importing JapCrap. I really like old basses. Jon.
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  20. Bassassin
    [quote name='stingrayfan' post='265970' date='Aug 19 2008, 11:20 PM']Flashback...I grew up reading these when I should have been buying Razzle.[/quote] Heh - same here, I had every issue from about 1982 until it folded in (I think) the late 80s. Had some utterly vicious demo reviews from them too! I think I've still got about 6000 copies of the old [i]Making Music[/i] freesheet from the 80s & 90s - or [i]Mark King Music[/i], as it became known, since he seemed to be on the cover of every second issue! Jon
  21. Bassassin
    [quote name='rohan' post='265912' date='Aug 19 2008, 09:50 PM']I want this so bad [/quote] I think we're all too late. Sold, according to [url="http://freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=7668436"]Hiperion's site.[/url] J.
  22. Bassassin
    [quote name='TGEvans' post='265629' date='Aug 19 2008, 04:19 PM']do not have the original pickups sorry, but they aint too hard to get hold of, if you give me your email i will sort some pics for you,tim[/quote] No need mate, did some digging & found a pic from an earlier thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7494"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7494[/url] Looks great for a player guitar, but would be hard going for a collector. I think it's an [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=89&now=10"]Ibanez AR100[/url], from about 1983 - the first two numbers in the serial are the year. Judging from the lack of screwholes from the original tailpiece plate, it's had a refin. Shame, the only original hardware appears to be the pickup rings, and they've been modified. Realistically to source & replace all the original hardware would cost more than what you're asking for the guitar - even the original Sure-Grip control knobs go for about £30 a pop. The pickups would have been Ibanez Super 58s - if you know where you can find these, there are a few hundred people on the Ibanez Collectors World forum who'd bite your arm off to share that info! Still, I think it's a fair price for its non-original condition, I think it would easily get that or more on Ebay, some people go mental over anything vintage with an Ibby badge! Jon.
  23. Bassassin
    That body's like a less radical [url="http://web.onetel.com/~hairymattp/bass_pics/vester3_small.jpg"]Vester Argus[/url]. Shame the pics aren't a bit better - looks interesting. Jon.
  24. Bassassin
    [quote name='thebeat' post='264988' date='Aug 18 2008, 10:06 PM']I might be wrong here, but i'm almost sure that i've read on the Rickresource forums that Jetglos have a blue basecoat?[/quote] I stand corrected if so! Still think it's pricey, though. J.
  25. Bassassin
    Firstly, I think that's an awful lot for a refin'd late 70s 4001. If you look around you can pick up a new or recent 4003 for less, and I don't think there's anything particularly collectable about that vintage. I don't think a factory finish Jetglo would have blue underneath, so I think you can be 99% sure it's a refin. Ironic, I think blue (Azureglo?) would be a much more unusual & potentially collectable colour. Rick serial numbers are on the jack plate - they are not obvious to decode - make a note of it & type it into RIC's serial decoder on their website: [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/service_serials.asp"]http://www.rickenbacker.com/service_serials.asp[/url] If you are interested in this bass - or any other Rick, I'd strongly advise signing up to www.rickresource.com - incredibly knowledgeable bunch of people, I've found them to be very friendly & welcoming, and I collect JapCrap Rick copies! RR is also probably the best place for tracking down s/h Ricks in the US, if you decided to import one. Jon.
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