Bassassin

Looks like a not-bad nick generic 70s JapCrap jazz neck to me. Interesting how he ruminates about Warwick not being an American company, yet it seemingly hasn't occurred to him that somebody's just slapped a sticker on it. I find the idea that he actually has a reserve on it faintly disturbing. Wonder how much it is? Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='107124' date='Dec 20 2007, 02:39 PM']Good deal for that money?[/quote] Oh yes - Matsumoku-era 80s JapCrap, getting more & more desirable to Ebay punters. If he was local, I'd have it for £60 - I'd probably reason that I'd hang on to it until his Ebay listing expires & then sell it on at a more solvent time of year, & make a substantial profit. And then, what I'd actually do is end up liking it & keeping it. Happens all the time. By 'eck there's alot of bargains flying off my Ebay watch list right now. Too bad I can't afford any of 'em. Jon.

I can't play when drunk or otherwise intoxicated (there's many as would say I can't anyway) - I forget my place in the song, co-ordination goes to hell & I get stressed cos I know I'm going to screw up - which makes me screw up more! So, no drinking to the point of tangible intoxication for me - I might have a social pint before playing, and like to have a drink with me onstage - but that'll be water with ice. I'm not much of a drinker anyway, tbh - I'm too prone to not actually getting drunk regardless of how much I neck, but still having the headache from hell the next day. Jon.

Oh bugger - hope I haven't p!ssed on your fireworks here. Don't worry - I won't be bidding. J.

Considering what Mr Thunder just got for his III, this fretted Thunder II looks worth keeping an eye on: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160189810698"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=160189810698[/url] J.

Even if Leo Quan was going out of business, I doubt that would be the end of the Badass - as well as being a massively popular retrofit bridge, it's now a standard part on numerous production basses, including several Fenders. The design would be licensed out & produced elsewhere. Jon.

[quote name='finnbass' post='105651' date='Dec 17 2007, 11:26 PM']You're just one of those conventional, 'stick-in-the muds' who cling-on to outmoded conventions like having strings above the fretboard... [/quote] I had a traumatising experience with some misaligned strings at a very vulnerable age. I still suffer nightmares accompanied with uncontrollable flatulence to this very day. J.

I think it's quite spectacular - I don't usually like singlecuts much but that's really very striking & original. Shame the pics aren't a bit more detailed. Jon.

Bit of an off-day in the factory to get the bridge quite as misaligned as that - the g-string's nearly hanging off the top of the fingerboard. Also looks like a replacement, home-chewed "custum" brass nut. Maybe the owner liked the strings to be in unconventional places. Jon.

[quote name='nick' post='105314' date='Dec 17 2007, 01:23 PM']It looks very similar to Univox basses of the same type, from 70's. So I'm guessing it counts as Japcrap firewood(?) Any ideas, familiar to you Jon?[/quote] Can't give you a 100% ID but... [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/hollow/sem/semi.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/hollow/sem/semi.html[/url] Check out the 5120 bass - particularly the neck - offset dots, Gibbo headstock, same tuners & TRC, they're related alright. Bear in mind it doesn't necessarily mean it's a Matsumoku - all the contributors to the Mat board agree there's no confirmed Aria/ Mat link prior to 1975 - indeed it's not confirmed that Matsumoku built guitars at all before then, and yours looks older than that. However, it's widely accepted that Univox was sourced from the same builder as Aria - and this looks like pretty good evidence: And the neckplate will have "Steel Reinforced Neck" and a random serial number, as well as Made in Japan. I know these things.... According to the old [i]Guru's Guitar Guide[/i], Commodore was: [quote]"Japan, late 60s - 70s, UK importer brand name, at first on various cheapo originals, and then some copies, eg Dan Armstrong see through solid repro."[/quote] Anyway Nick, do post some piccies when it drops through your letterbox! J.

Stand-out must be our first gig in Prague, last September. We were over there as guests of a big-in-the-Czech Republic local band, and were meant to be playing an out-of-town festival, which ended up being pulled at the eleventh hour because of a Biblical scale deluge. The other band pulled some strings & blagged us a last-minute gig in a sweaty little rock pub called the Vagon - we found ourselves, just hours after getting off the plane (and me & guitarist Nick whacking it at the idea of our instruments in the hold) looking at each other in bemused disbelief, playing like bastards to a packed audience - who'd been expecting a DJ, not a live band from the UK! Followed by drinking ridiculously cheap, hangover-free lager into the small hours with the other band & a gaggle of ex-pat Brits, all pissing ourselves at Nick's increasingly desperate attempts to pull. Good times... Jon.

+ 18 - which includes my daughter's, which used to be mine, but doesn't include the boxes of bits sufficient to build another 3... [size=6][b]313[/b][/size] Jon.

Blimey - that were right rapid - well done! I couldn't have afforded it any way - [i]bad[/i] time of year! J.

Is that yours? Jon.

All the more reason to try not to mod it, through necessity or otherwise, if he wants to keep it, it will appreciate in value. I'd recommend getting on the www.rickresource.com basses board, & letting them know the problems. They're a very knowledgeable & friendly bunch, and they'll likely be able to recommend replacement tuners, or maybe even help source a set of old Grovers. J.

[quote name='bigd1' post='104555' date='Dec 15 2007, 12:14 AM']That is an option I suggested, but he wants to much for it. He would be looking for £1100 inc original case. I don't think he would get that much for it.[/quote] I think £1100 for a 1974 4001 is a quite realistic expectation, unless it's utterly trashed & unplayable. J.

Sold for £2822. I'd've had to flog a lot of JapCrap to run to that. J.

For me it's because I've always said that if RIC did a reissue of the old late 60s/early 70s 4001 - checked binding, full-width inlays, toaster, skunk stripe, the works - then I'd buy one. This is the closest thing, in terms of the overall look, to have come out of the factory since 1973. That & the fact it's a one-off & completely unique, they have no plans to introduce this as a colour/trim option. That means that whatever someone ends up paying for it, it'll be massively collectable & probably appreciate in value. Funny things, Ricks. J.

[quote name='bigd1' post='104455' date='Dec 14 2007, 06:57 PM']I forgot to say these tunners have been repaired a couple of times, I think they are now knackered and beyond repair.[/quote] If he doesn't want them, I'll take them off his hands... I think the standard part on a modern 4003 is a Schaller - as far as I know, the model they use has the same post diameter as the old Grovers, so it shopuld be possible to fit them without drilling for anything other than the screws. With a vintage instrument like that, he really, really should try & keep it as stock as possible - definitely don't make [b]any[/b] irreversible modifications. Jon.

[quote name='paul h' post='103811' date='Dec 13 2007, 12:32 PM']I am sure Bassassin will be along shortly with his encyclopedic knowledge of all things jap and Crap! paul.[/quote] - Predictable, ain't it? I have to admit to not knowing a huge amount about Tokais - however, go over to [url="http://www.tokaiforum.com/"]http://www.tokaiforum.com/[/url] and you'll likely find the answers you want about your Jazz Sound. The Tokai Registry site (which the forum is attached to) has a good archive of vintage catalogues so you might be able to identify your bass from there. As far as good Japanese P copies - well I can definitely recommend an Ibanez 2366b, cos I've got one & it's lovely - satisfies most of my P-related GAS. The problem is, I've never seen another one for sale since I got mine (from a member of the old BassWorld board), and being an Ibanez, they're likely to be pricey. However - Japcrap P copies are pretty common, and ordinarily don't tend to go for much - they seldom get into 3 figures, and quite often seem to go for around the £50 - £60 mark. This means you can take your pick, and if it's not what you want you'll get your money back easily enough, & try another. The low prices aren't necessarily a reflection of quality, either - what's interesting about the 70s Jap stuff in the UK is that much of it carries importers' brands, rather than the "known" names like Ibanez & Aria. The basses branded as Columbus, Avon, Satellite etc were often as not from the same factories as the "big" names. Obviously there's a fair amount of dross, but many of these old basses have survived 30-odd years simply because they are good instruments. Jon.

This is apparently a one-off, brand - new 4003 with an "experimental" factory finish, being sold through RIC's Ebay outlet: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250195938031"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250195938031[/url] If that was a production bass, I'd sell my JapCrap & buy one. No question. Jon.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='103878' date='Dec 13 2007, 02:06 PM']Jon, you are spot on sir! The tuners on my Hondo are unbranded Grover copies that came from another Ric clone. I bought them here on BC earlier this year (along with some other bits & bobs) in order to repair the much inferior original stock Hondo ones that were in a complete mess! The body of the Hondo is ply wood sadly and as for the neck plate, I'll have to check it when I get home later.[/quote] That answers the question, Nik - and the neckplate will be plain, with nothing stamped on it - there might possibly be a sticker with the model number... The reason I was interested is that Hondos are a bit of a mystery - most of them (probably including yours) were made by Samick in Korea, but in the late 70s / early 80s Hondo tried to up their game by sourcing some from Japan. A few are known to have come from Matsumoku - who were one of the builders who used the Grover copy tuners on their Rick copies. J.

Your Hondobacker's interesting - are the tuners real "wavy" Grovers or unbranded copies? I only ask because some of the better quality Rick clones had fake Grovers, but I've never seen them on a Hondo. Can I also ask if there's anything stamped on the neckplate, and is the body made from ply or real wood? Sorry for the inquisition - but I have a rather unhealthy obsession with these things - probably comes from not being able to afford a real Rick! Jon.

[quote name='Freuds_Cat' post='103038' date='Dec 12 2007, 04:22 AM']I used Rotosound (RS66 Rounds) for about 20 years and slowly but surely watched the price go through the roof and the quality decline greatly in about 2002/3.[/quote] Exactly my experience - I used RS66 for years and finally got the message after my third set with a dead A. These days, I'm very impressed with Elixirs - I love the brightness & slipperyness, and they pretty much last for ever, even with my hamfisted & heavyhanded technique. On the original topic, I bought a few packs of Rosetti strings at £3 a set from Music Live a few years back, I actually thought they were fine, sounded good new, and didn't go dead as quickly as some cheap strings I've experimented with. I have a set on my Ibanez Roadster, and they still sound pretty good now. But I would imagine quality control - or lack of - is one of the reasons they're so cheap, and maybe I simply got lucky. Jon.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='101553' date='Dec 9 2007, 12:29 AM']What do we know about Freshers, Jon? Can't say as I've ever heard of them. Are they any good? Jack[/quote] We can now add "bolt-neck Rick copy" to the Fresher KnowledgeBase: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280183149355"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=280183149355[/url] Wonder who made that? The pics aren't giving anything away. J.