Bassassin

Excuse me - is this the right room for an overreaction? However rose-tinted your recollection of these instruments may be, they were low-quality, cheaply (often badly) made, and aimed solely at undiscerning beginners. Back when I started, this sort of thing was all I could afford, and having more recently been in the business of buying, restoring & selling elderly Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese etc instruments - many of which have been decidedly low-end - I know very well of what I speak! They might be interesting, but quality musical instruments they are not. I had no intention of causing offence - but then it would never have occured to me that calling a cheap, poorly finished plywood budget guitar 'tat' would cause offence to anyone. It's really not like calling someone's Harley Davidson a clown bike. I'd never do that.

No idea how I missed this thread first time around. Guitars & basses like these - for want of a better word, tat - aren't really my thing but they're associated with many of the same manufacturers as the MIJ stuff I am into, so I've picked up the odd bit of info here & there. Very few of these budget Kay-branded instruments are Japanese, but there tends to be an assumption that every funny looking 60s & 70s guitar is MIJ. They're pretty much all from Taiwan, and products of a factory established there in the mid 60s by Kawai/Teisco. These are probably all early 70s instruments, and some designs (including the Tulip) are near-identical to the earlier MIJ Teiscos. The strip-ply neck is pretty common on 60s & early 70s MIJ guitars & the technique is very common on products from the Taiwanese Kawai factory. It's a way of avoiding warping common on single-pece necks made from available unseasoned woods.

See, that's what I'd do now: Bung in a nice set of DiMarzio Model Ps for £50 or £60 and stick the '70s Fender unit on Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FENDER-PRECISION-BASS-1974-USED-PICKUPS-11-5-k-EXCELLENT-WORKING-CONDITION-/164632533665 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1977-Precision-Bass-Pickup-1976-Pots-Cup-and-Jack-Complete-Set-/224265520692 Free Antoria, free DiMarzio & enough change for a few pints and a pie.

And we have a winner! And I've got one, ain't I? Slightly (reversibly) modded because the original scratchplate's a bit ugly and the parts box was a bit full: Still have all the parts to put it back to stock, should I ever flog it. Which I might.

£900?? There's money in that there parts bin!

Not usually - I have an early 80s Washburn which does, but it's not really the same sort of thing. Looking at this, hard to be sure but I think it's a mod - the bridge is poorly aligned & the string spacing's a bit too narrow for the neck, so it looks replaced. The ferrules are all over the place too.

That's kinda cool, I'd pay €20 for it! Going by stuff like the tuners & neckplate it's Korean rather than MIJ. Really interesting/cool pickups and looks like the defret hasn't been too much of a hack job, as far as I can tell. But no, don't remember seeing one the same before (and I'd probably remember!) and I couldn't say who made it & when, beyond maybe Samick or Cort & probably mid/late 70s. Would like to see this pulled apart & cleaned up - I doubt all those switches & pots are original, but you never know. Anyway - buy it!

It's a bit butchered and abused. Will be curious to see what it goes for but I wouldn't touch it, even as a fixer-upper & flogger-onner. Neck like a banana & far too much you'd never be able to put back to stock.

Surprised that didn't sell on here, £350's a bit of a bargain for a tidy one of these.

It's not the Maxon I'd expect to be in a 70s Antoria. I have an idea I do know what it is, so let's see if those with bigger brains agree...

First Motorhead album. It was 1978, I was a 16 year old Stranglers fan & I'd never heard of them, but I saw this in my local record shop & had to have it. To be honest the sleeve was (still is) so awesome I wouldn't have cared if it was crap. Bit of a bonus that the actual music was life-defining!

Bitsa, with a couple of Fender-stamped bits.

Total bargain. 😎

No, they're not. But people with money seem to be able to be persuaded in parting with massive slabs of it for something functionally identical to a £99 Harley Benton. 'Fender' is one of a number of very expensive words, it would seem.

It might do. But it's not. There's some speculation these might have been Japanese-made but there appears to be no supporting evidence beyond 'stripy = Matsumoku'. Which is, of course, nonsense.

I kind of like it, nice to see a body style that owes nothing to anything else (that I've seen, at least) and it looks like it's been well done. Wouldn't pay £400 though.

It's a Camac, made by Eko in Italy. It's a blinged-up variation of Eko's BX series. These were 80s (obviously!) & very influenced by the styles of the time https://www.fetishguitars.com/eko/eko-the-final-years/eko-camac/ Brandoni Guitars in Wembley bought up all of Eko's old stock when they closed, and interestingly still have these advertised as in stock, either as neck/body or fully built bass. This one's probably a Brandoni bass, as it doesn't look 30+ years old. Should mention that I'd rather like one of these...

Was front row at a Steven Wilson gig a few years ago, right in front of Nick Beggs, which was nice. At the end he lobbed a handful of pluctrums at me (not sure if it was in appreciation or irritation) - I was minded to chuck them back at him, but I never. Think I've got three of them somewhere.

The one with the best aerodynamic properties, if it has canards to generate additional lift that would be an advantage.

What's this then - Stunt Bass Olympics?

If you can post clear, detailed pics that would be very helpful. I have not seen a Suzuki-branded Rick copy before, so it would be good to get a look at yours. There were actually two separate manufacturers called Suzuki, although established by the same family - Grand Suzuki was a brand of Kiso Suzuki Violin. Best known for acoustics, like many factories they produced good-quality electric guitars & basses during the 70s & 80s. If you use FaceBook, this is a great group for Rick copy enthusiasts, and they'd be fascinated to see another new brand/manufacturer of these come to light. https://www.facebook.com/groups/78514186083

These days, if you say you're a vegan you'll get arrested and thrown in jail.

Yeah, but Status or Warwick?

And still doesn't appear to have any clear or verifiable connection to either Mr Stevens or Warwick other than a sticker and err... nothing.

It's snobbery based on the fact budget instruments were typically plywood. Curiously, it's much less common now, your £100-odd (well, pre Br*x*t they were) Harley Bentons & such will tend to have solid timber bodies. On the whole your neck, pickups, bridge & strings don't give a stuffed rat what the plank underneath them's made of. 'Tonewood' zealot outrage incoming...