Bassassin

[quote name='neepheid' post='219645' date='Jun 16 2008, 09:29 AM']That has to be the worst placed E tuning machine I've seen for some time. I'd be tempted to string it the wrong way round (a la Hagstrom) just to alleviate the sideways pressure on the string.[/quote] That would be improved greatly just by putting a properly-cut nut on it - the present slot looks like it's pretty much hanging in thin air! Also it looks like the string's wound over the top of itself, rather than the post. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='219547' date='Jun 15 2008, 11:27 PM']Will someone please buy it, if only to stop me![/quote] No - you buy it. That way someone here can buy it off you when you get bored with it, and when I - sorry, I mean [i]they[/i] - can afford it. J.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='219436' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:51 PM']Every company no matter how prestigious has to have entry level products, especially now with todays consumer society. Why not join the competitors in having an import series? It didn't do Gretsch any harm![/quote] I suppose because against all odds, they don't seem to need one. They have a zealous & rabid fanbase who seem quite willing to take the price hikes & waiting lists & just keep buying - have you ever visited the RickResource or official RIC boards? You come away with the impression that most of the membership have 15 Ricks already & buy a new one every couple of weeks. J.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='219533' date='Jun 15 2008, 11:12 PM']I doubt if this is actually JapCrap, and apologies if it's already been posted here, but this is worth checking out if only for the photo of the headstock. The way the E string goes off the edge of the fretboard is pretty unique ... [url="http://ngvi.ebay.co.uk/vi?ngvi&backtoid=3&ppsp=0&li=1&pdp=0&sspagename=WDVW&dsr=0&item=280234802909&backto=http%3A%2F%2Fmusical-instruments.search.ebay.co.uk%2F_Bass_W0QQcatrefZC6QQfromZR9QQfromZR9QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQfstypeZ1QQga10244Z10426QQitemcondnZ1QQloglZ0QQsacatZ4713QQsspagenameZSTRKQ3aMEFSRCHQ3aSRCH&pass=2GiJs5u4IcYh18npzSa%2FIdy77Ew%3D"]http://ngvi.ebay.co.uk/vi?ngvi&backtoi...Sa%2FIdy77Ew%3D[/url][/quote] I like that - quite unique. I think it's probably a one-off, never seen anything like it before. Needs a new nut & a proper bridge though. J.

[quote name='uptonmark' post='219421' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:37 PM']lemmy`s sound just sounds like he wants to be a guitarist who just got lumbered into playing bass, IMO![/quote] That's precisely the case. Before he joined Hawkwind in the mid 70s, he'd apparently never picked up a bass. He's actually been quoted as saying that bass is played by failed guitarists. Jon.

Here's a thing of beauty from the Land Down Under: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170229452173"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170229452173[/url] This is an Aria-sourced Greco - featuring what geeky collectors call the "Gneco" logo, which puts it in the early 70s. I've never seen a maple board on one of these before, as far as I remember. This is from the same factory/ range as my little restoration project ( [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19592"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19592[/url] ) and also has the same strange edge/binding discolouration. Anyway, it's not quite as original as the seller says - the bridge pup's a replacement, and the knobs look like they fell off a Les Paul... Neither are deal-breakers - that'll be the price - plus shipping & Customs Bumrape Tax. :ph34r: J.

I'm an absolute sucker for a bit of black pearl - looks as good on your Lakky as it does on my 70s JapCrap Jazz. Jon.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='219088' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:37 AM']Rose Morris [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROSE-MORRIS-70s-80s-JAZZ-COPY-AVON_W0QQitemZ150259313752QQihZ005QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROSE-MORRIS-70s-80s-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Westone Headless [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/westone-headless-bass_W0QQitemZ190229679149QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/westone-headless-bas...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Reminiscent of my columbus, but not sure what it is. Bet Jon does.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-1960s-BASS-GUITAR-SG-MADE-IN-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ130230921974QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-1960s-BASS-G...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] That Avon/ RM Jazz is a weirdo with those little Tele pickups - you can tell it would have had ashtrays on it! This is, interestingly, a re-branded Maya, from the Rokkomann factory. A bit low-end, but will likely have a decent enough neck, if it's not shagged after 30 years of abuse. The SG/EB type bass is another of these very early mystery basses - they come up quite often, nobody in JapCrapCollectorLand actually knows what they are. There's a BCer who recently got one off a bloke down the pub: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18646"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18646[/url] So yes - it's one of them, with replacement pickups & the nice metallic red paint ripped off. See the link for a full explanation of how little I know about them! The Westy Super Headless is now long-gone - these are very, very rare & can reach silly prices. Chances are someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse - and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else selling it, with a silly BIN in a week or two... :ph34r: No - it [b]wasn't[/b] me. J.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='219092' date='Jun 15 2008, 08:50 AM']...headstock give a subtle nod to early Aria Pro II models. P[/quote] That same basic shape appears on loads of post-copy era Matsumoku brands - I guess that's that H. Noble fella for you! J.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='218911' date='Jun 14 2008, 05:27 PM']Is it just me or hasn't there been a decent Rickenbugger on ebay for weeks?[/quote] You're right - been about 6 weeks since I saw anything that wasn't junk, or spare parts, or both. They're like buses, though, there'll probably be 4 along at once... J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='218869' date='Jun 14 2008, 03:32 PM']True [/quote] Amen, Brother Darxide! J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='218688' date='Jun 14 2008, 07:49 AM']Well it's close enough - Teisco purchased Kay in the late 60's. I used to have a Kay branded Teisco from about 1969.[/quote] Not sure how that worked. Teisco was bought out by Kawai in 1967, Kawai are still going strong (keyboards mostly) these days. Kay was originally an American manufacturer, which went out of business in 1969 - the brand has subsequently appeared on guitars from pretty much anywhere that made cheap instruments - Japan, Korea, Taiwan, East Germany and probably many others. I'd guess it's had a variety of owners in the last 40-odd years (still going now, producing cheapo Fender copies - and reissues of the old 50s & 60s US designs!) and there's every likelihood some instruments came from Kawai/Teisco at one point. However, these Rickensh!tters (love that! ) are 70s Littlewoods Catalogue Taiwanese trash - & sod all to do with Teisco. Probably. J.

That's the Ibby Jetking, isn't it? Great-looking basses & there's been a fair bit of interest around the place - most recently in this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19631"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19631[/url] Which also includes a review from a member who's got one. Jon.

[quote name='noirpunk' post='218471' date='Jun 13 2008, 05:40 PM']The most unconvincing one I've seen yet [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACK-BASS-GUITAR-RICKY-COPY_W0QQitemZ300233448095QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Rickensh*tt*r[/url][/quote] That's a Kay - that's what the £49 neck & body would have been once. There are a lot of these around still - which suggests to me they don't even burn well. J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='218469' date='Jun 13 2008, 05:39 PM']Maybe h'e getting mixed up with a Ripper.[/quote] More like an excercise in creative keyword spamming. Anyway - nice early 80s Matsumoku-built JapCrap, and Vantages aren't too common in the UK. This will be closely comparable to yer Westone Thunders in terms of build & playability. This makes the start price a bit silly tbh - I doubt it'll attract many bids. Jon.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='217892' date='Jun 12 2008, 08:04 PM']How anyone can call them "Jap Crap", is beyond me, they look amazing.[/quote] 'Cos "JapCrap" is a joke - not a value judgement! By the same logic - Shuker, Status, Wal etc = BritSh!t, Fodera, Alembic, Pedulla etc = YankW@nk, and pretty much everything else half-decent = KoreaDiarrhoea. I [i]love[/i] Japanese basses. J.

[url="http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/item/204678/Musical-Instruments/RICKEN-BACKER-QUITAR/"]http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/item/20467...-BACKER-QUITAR/[/url] If this is in decent nick, £799's a good price considering new ones appear to be twice that on the Bay these days. If they're flogging it for that, makes you wonder how much they gave to the [s]thieving pikey crack-monkey[/s] sorry, [i]previous owner[/i] they got it from? Jon.

[quote name='Machines' post='217361' date='Jun 12 2008, 08:47 AM']Went for £385 in the end... not too bad but lower than it would have been a year ago.[/quote] Also lower than it would have been if he hadn't had an off-puttingly high start price, and slightly OTT postage. 99p, no reserve ftw. J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='217677' date='Jun 12 2008, 03:24 PM']Teisco project, £49 BIN! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Short-Scale-Bass-Body-Neck-Oddball-Shape_W0QQitemZ140240823456QQihZ004QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Short-Scale-B...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote]That's a Kay, not a Teisco - Teisco never made copies. Might be a laugh if it was £20, but pushing £70 delivered is a bit OTT for that, I think... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280235434510"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280235434510[/url] That tailpiece isn't a real Rickenbacker part - real ones have squared-off string holes. Ironically I bought one last week that was listed as a copy & it turned out to be a vintage Rick part. The copies are much better made - sorry, RickFans. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rickenbacker-MOP-pickguard-for-4003-NOS_W0QQitemZ280235427926"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rickenbacker-MOP-pic...emZ280235427926[/url] The pearl scratchpate's quite cool - but sadly useless to most Rickenfaker owners - the copies nearly all have the smaller gap between the neck pup & fretboard - this has the later 1" gap. God, I'm such an anorak... J.

[quote name='BOD2' post='216865' date='Jun 11 2008, 02:00 PM']How exactly did you clean the metal parts ? Presumably in cleaning the metal parts, some of the plating will have been removed. Does this mean these parts will corrode and discolour quickly again ?[/quote] What's particularly interesting on this bass, is a lot of the crap on the metalwork was a deposit which could just be scraped away. The plating underneath a lot of it looks fine and possibly the only part which might deteriorate is the bridge pickup surround. However, despite the surface rust, it's not down to bare metal & there's no point where the plating's actually peeling - it just looks slightly dulled. I'm down to significant amounts of bare metal on the tailpiece - but that'll just be going in the spares box, now I've got the genuine Rick part to replace it with. Like I said, a lot of the oxidation-type deposits I could just scrape off - much of it with my thumbnail! More stubborn stuff, like the surface rust on the steel bits, surrendered to a Dremel - type tool with a soft wire brush attachment - with very little effort. I'm quite confident that the plating's pretty much intact - I've had a reasonable amount of experience [s]tarting up tat[/s] restoring vintage hardware, and it generally ends up pretty presentable with a bit of care & elbow grease. Glad the pics are working now Paul - & the bass is a beauty under the crap, can't wait to get it playable! J.

Excellent! Lovely bass - and quite restrained for an Atlansia. Point of interest for JapCrap geeks - Atlansia was founded by Nobuaki Hayashi - and if you ever look at an 80s Matsumoku Aria Pro SB bass - he's the "H. Noble" whose name's on the headstock! And here's what he's up to these days: [url="http://www.atlansia.jp/BASS.NEW.HTML"]http://www.atlansia.jp/BASS.NEW.HTML[/url] Jon.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='217680' date='Jun 12 2008, 03:29 PM']Columbus P: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Columbus-Fender-P-Bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ330243676950QQihZ014QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Columbus-Fende...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] Again - shockingly expensive, particularly considering it's not original & you'd need to remove all the crap he's slapped over it. But better than this scam: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120271715980"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=120271715980[/url] Modern Chinese cheapo with a few Ebay Ibanez transfers on it. Avoid. I've politely pointed out the scammer's "error" and he has no intention of changing his description. Lazy f***wit didn't even bother to put an authentic type logo on it. J.

I do like those. That background hurts, though... Jon.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='217334' date='Jun 12 2008, 02:10 AM']198* Aria Pro II TSB-550 It's very shiny. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pre-87-Aria-Matsumoku-Through-Neck-Bass-MIJ-Awesome_W0QQitemZ200225810489QQihZ010QQcategoryZ112668QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]linky[/url][/quote] Very nice - you don't see too many of them. Very expensive, too at £400!! Wonder why he says it's an SB-R60 in the text? J.