Bassassin

As far as its aesthetics are concerned - leave it! it's a 20-odd year old, well worn bass & that's its life written all over it. You should see the state of my old CSL Jazz, it looks like it's been played to hell & back in its 27 years & looks fantastic, to my eyes. Buckle rash looks better than gaffa tape!

For the strap button, I'd recommend using cocktail sticks & a bit of epoxy - the good thing about cocktail sticks is that they're pointed & will fit screwholes better than a matchstick, and you can use several to fill bigger holes.

The tuner's probably taken a knock at some point, which has either bent or loosened the retaining hoops which hold the threaded part of the key, or slightly bent the backplate. You might find if you take it off & dismantle it, you'll be able to bend it back into shape so it holds tune better.

I think if the bass sounds fine with the EMGs, leave them - looks like the main work will be the frets.

Jon.

I was watching that too, was playing last night & forgot all about it...

Might be JapCrap but I'd guess late 70s/early 80s Korean. Not a Marlin, I think - no fish at the 12th fret, and Marlins had more Fender-like headstocks than this thing.

I think that at nearly £50 delivered it was a bit dear to be a worthwhile beater project - particularly considering the neck might be dubious & it's not complete. You wouldn't pay more than £20 for that at a car boot.

Jon.

Both of them will have been built in the same factory.

Does the no-name bass have anything on it at all, country of manufacture or a serial number, perhaps?

Jon.

Is the Jazz in the pics the CMI - as in 70s Japanese copy, sold by Jim Marshall's brand, Cleartone Musical Instruments? If that was ever a CMI, it's had a lot of modifications.

Jon.

[quote name='nick' post='36105' date='Jul 23 2007, 08:24 PM']Is it really superior to Ibanez, & Kasuga? Come on (?!)[/quote]

It's a more accurate copy. Wouldn't fool anyone who knew real Ricks for one minute though. None of them would.

J.

Sonycom - feel free to give me a slap for being pedantic, but unless your bass is some sort of mobile phone hybrid, it'll be a [b]Tokai[/b].

Jon.

Both.

Practicing at home, 99.9% fingers, playing with my band, about 75% pick.

Jon.

[quote name='neepheid' post='35816' date='Jul 23 2007, 10:13 AM']Someone knows what they're doing - chopping the headstock off the top of the photograph.[/quote]
Up to a point - if the Rick Police see it, it'll still go, because it's a copy of a copyright design. Putting a fake nameplate on it brands him a total w@nker, in my unprejudiced opinion.

J.

Look - there goes a Giannini, all pikeyed up for FleaBay:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140140873142&rd=1&rd=1"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1[/url]

Look familiar? It should do - it was sold by our very own Psychoandy, to our very own Vmaxblues, who Ebayed it to the above gentleman a few weeks back, for £250.

Wish I'd bought it meself now. It deserves better!

J.

FreakBass hell - I'd buy that for a tenner!

Does "looks like rubbish" translate as "looks like an oriental mass-produced instrument"? Because that's what it looks like to me.

K-Tone will be a brand name thought up by whoever's comissioned/imported these - it's not a manufacturer. If it plays like sh!te then at less than £150 delivered, it likely won't break the bank to get a setup done, similarly if it sounds crap, a better pup wouldn't be unreasonable. Hardware looks OK to me.

Really, apart from the styling, it's a generic budget bass, probably made in China & probably not as crap quality as you might imagine. As far as the design's concerned - yes, it's a Ritter Jupiter knockoff (of sorts) and that's copyright theft just like any other copy of an original design. However, Ritter's low-profile & niche enough that it's hard to see that the likes of this would constitute any threat to their market!

Jon.

[quote name='barneythedog' post='35011' date='Jul 20 2007, 11:04 PM']Ibanez copy [url="http://cgi.ebay.fr/vintage-Ibanez-lawsuit-bass_W0QQitemZ150141789546QQihZ005QQcategoryZ92204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVwItem"]here[/url][/quote]

The link's coming up "page inaccessible". Is it the same one Jihemt's mate's selling? Post #95.

J.

Actually I think the £95 one from Germany looks pretty damn good for the money!

J.

[quote name='stewblack' post='34940' date='Jul 20 2007, 08:50 PM']have we had this yet?
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DC-Montana-77-Bass-Guitar-Fender-Gibson-picks_W0QQitemZ200129377544QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Montana Ricish![/url]
Actually, on reflection, it's not very Ric really is it ?[/quote]

I refer my learned friend to the existing DC Montana thread:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3046"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3046[/url]

And do a Google image search for "Warwick Fortress One Flashback" and find out what the DC Montana 77 (RRP £1299 - ) [i]really[/i] owes its unique design inspiration to. :ph34r:

Still - it proves one thing - Warwick did once, and once only, make a good-looking bass.

J.

[quote name='paul, the' post='34951' date='Jul 20 2007, 09:24 PM']How much will it cost to keep you quiet if an Aria Pro Jazz come up on Ebay?
No. Seriously.[/quote]
Is this a purely theoretical Aria Pro Jazz or has my JapCrapSense temporarily deserted me?

Seriously? I'll be as quiet as a wee church mouse. [i]If [/i]I like the look of it....

J.

[quote name='MB1' post='34913' date='Jul 20 2007, 08:11 PM']MB1.

Apparently the factory make furniture these days.A friend has a westone stool.ARIA cheap? have you seen how much they wanted for the John Taylor sb reissue?,could have bought you a sack of westones, or some new kitchen furniture at least![/quote]

Matsumoku's as dead & gone as Westone! After they stopped guitar production, it was sold to Singer - the sewing machine manufacturer. They went bust & the factory building apparently burned down a few years later. I doubt your friend's stool has any connection to the guitar brand.

Most Aria & Aria Pro models now are made in Korea, China & other bargain-basement production facilities - the brand's lost all its hard won prestige and really does cater to the bottom end of the market with mostly low-spec copies & derivatives.

However, as I said, there are still some high-end Japanese made models - but when was the last time you saw a "name" musician playing one? Like you said yourself, back in the day, SB basses were the pro's choice. Not quite sure what went wrong...

J.

The reality is that Arias & Westones were built in the same factory, side-by-side, with the same workmanship & materials, & often the same hardware. This is also true of Washburn (MIJ ones, at least) Westbury, Vantage, Univox, Electra, some Greco models & a whole load of importers' rebrands, all of which came from Matsumoku between about 1975 & 1987.

It's definitely true that Aria & Aria Pro II were regarded as "prestige" brands & Westone was aimed at a different market. Sad fact is, though, Westone's dead & gone now & Aria, although there are still some high-end models, is a pretty cheap & tacky brand these days by comparison to the early 80s.

And all that old Matsumoku Japcrap's quality & collectable, whatever the brand!

J.

[quote name='MB1' post='34728' date='Jul 20 2007, 03:24 PM']MB1.
Bassasin.
You just mentioned Aria and W*****E in the same sentence,wash out your mouth sir![/quote]

Hmmm. Is there an issue, perhaps something dark in your past, that prompts this sudden aversive reaction?

Seriously, nowt wrong with Westones. If the Thunder III was good enough for King Thumb....

J.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='34449' date='Jul 20 2007, 07:22 AM']Also worth a look is a very nice [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160139258664&rd=1&rd=1"][b]RSB Deluxe[/b][/url] in metallic red. No reserve, hard case & tuner.[/quote]

I'd be seriously interested in this if it wasn't pick up only, and dahn sarf in da Medwaii Tahns, innit. I've actually got the same bass in blue/black sunburst, lovely, had it from new, but retired for the last 10 years or so due to a badly twisted neck. Ironically, I wanted the red finish but was dissuaded by an evil girlfriend. :ph34r:

Not a bass, but there's a Mat-era Aria Pro Cardinal g*t*r with a BIN of £95 - which is frankly silly considering the prices Matsumokus are starting to fetch:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-ARIA-PRO-CARDINAL-SERIES-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ300131243324QQihZ020QQcategoryZ112668QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-ARIA-PRO-CAR...oQQcmdZViewItem[/url]

The "damage" he talks about looks like fairly typical neck pocket lacquer cracking, unlikely to be structural & easy to patch up with a bit of superglue. Worth a look if anyone fancies a cheap vintage g*it*r or fancies a bit of instant Ebay profiteering!

Bloodaxe - d'you want to keep this thread strictly Aria or are you cool about other Matsumoku basses being posted in here? I've seen a few very nice & rather interesting Westones lately...

Jon.

Rick copies seem a bit thin on the ground atm - this is the best I can do:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=110150823416&rd=1&rd=1"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1[/url]

Recent highly unconvincing Trashenbacker, this is an "Indie" with a different (worse) TRC. Any similarities between this & a real Rick or a good copy are just the result of flattering lighting.

If it goes for sub £200 then fine, but the worrying thing is that the £500 that the guy reckons it is new, is actually correct.

I've played one, and they're horrid.

J.

There were a couple of threads about DC Montana (dodgy pornstar name, if ever I heard one) on Bassworld/Basstalk & I'm more inclined to think that they're just badged-up Chinese or Korean cheapos to start with.

Do a web search - there's sod-all info apart from their none-too-convincing website ("washed in the Nantahala River"? Okay. ) & whatever's being punted on Ebay at the moment. Doesn't ring terribly true for a company that claims to have been making handbuilt & "respected throughout the world" guitars for over 20 years.

The "77" bass is a half arsed Warwick Fortress knockoff - and identical looking ones go on Ebay for under £100:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-STRING-W-STYLE-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ260137674307QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-STRING-W-STYLE-ELE...3QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

And most of the other instruments in the DC Montana "range" are as unoriginal - one of the guitars is a blatant Ibanez copy right down to the headstock shape.

Something else interesting about the DC Montana site - you want to buy one of their guitars? You'll have a job. No contact details, no distributors, no dealers, nothing. And it gets more curious: the dcmontana.com URL was first registered in March last year, and is owned by DC Montana of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I wonder how come they registered it through UK based ISP Pipex, then?

Jon.

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='32111' date='Jul 15 2007, 05:27 PM']ShergoldSnickers, is that an H/H bass combo I spy to the right of your acrobatic ladder?[/quote]
So it is! Looks like a H/H VS combo, same as my first proper amp. Had mine in 1982, I think, and it was probably 5 or 6 years old when I got it. VS stood for "Valve Sound" - in other words, a switchable buzzy distortion effect, which I never used. I loved the way the front panel glowed green when the power was on.

I think Bottomfeed's student's bass probably has a neck from something else. The bridge looks different, too - possibly repositioned to accommodate a longer scale.

J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='31633' date='Jul 14 2007, 12:18 AM']What about 16again's Ric whatever Bassassin? he does'nt seem to know much about it, (last one down)
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2891"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2891[/url][/quote]

One of these:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOP-4-STRING-ACTIVE-BASS-THRU-NECK-NEW_W0QQitemZ260137697247QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOP-4-STRING-ACTIVE-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

A Wesley Europa by any other name!

[quote name='jihemt' post='32063' date='Jul 15 2007, 01:34 PM']its a friend's bass. he bought it after he saw mine. He first wanted to sell it to me but i just found a real 4001 ! btw, this one sound very punchy. if you play with treble pu only, sound is very "ricky".. i agree that mudbucker is not very defined.
he have the whole original plate and screws for the treble pu. But the previous owner put this real rick base plate (he have too the pu chrome cover).
overall a very nice bass. i don't know for thumbrest as usual feature, but mine have one too.[/quote]

Very nice, & good he's still got the original cover. Do you know roughly how much he's wants to get for it?

The thumbrest under the strings is in the original place, at least, but there's another one above the strings, between the pickups. I think the original would be black, or maybe transparent, like on a real 4001.

J.

[quote name='16Again' post='30909' date='Jul 12 2007, 08:51 PM']
No idea what this is!! Anyone??
Got it in this state from a friend who was clearing a flat he owns. What should i do to it?
All you see is all i've got, no pick-ups,bridge ,it's got active electrics and a through neck! [/quote]
That's one of these:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOP-4-STRING-ACTIVE-BASS-THRU-NECK-NEW_W0QQitemZ260137697247QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOP-4-STRING-ACTIVE-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

Or at least it was, once. These are, or were, sold by UK based Ebay cheapo merchant Wesley Guitars, as well as the German company selling this one. Wesley got threatened by Rickenbacker so they flogged off their remaining stock for £99, last year. I was sad enough to buy one, and apart from a knackered preamp & traditional shoddy fret job, it was OK for the cash. No idea who makes them, likely some anonymous Chinese or Taiwanese factory.

Can't quite tell if yours has been stripped, painted or both - & whoever did it started then got bored. Anyway, on the front, you should find a rather nice flamed maple top & wood edge-binding. As you can see from the Ebay link, the top was originally a rather p!ssy- coloured yellow/brown but maybe that's been stripped already. The back was (or maybe still is) very thin matt black, which falls off as soon as you look at it. If it's like mine, the wood underneath's quite nice, & might be worth stripping & oil-finishing. I think it might make a nice project if you can get pups to fit it.

Jon.

I don't know much about these, but can tell you Wem was "Watkins Electric Music" (I have a little Wem guitar amp from the 70s) and is the same Watkins that built some fairly well-known basses & guitars in the 60s & 70s.

There's a website about these instruments here:

[url="http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/basses.htm"]http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/basses.htm[/url]

And scroll down the page & there's your student's bass, in white! Looks like they would possibly be interested in hearing about this one, since they don't seem to know much about it.

Jon.

Some good pics & info here:

[url="http://www.littleguitarworks.com/instruments/torzalstandard.php"]http://www.littleguitarworks.com/instrumen...zalstandard.php[/url]

Trying to get my head around how this works - how string height can stay constant along a neck that presumably has a degree of curvature. It's making my head hurt!

Engineering aside - I would be fascinated to try one.

Jon.