Bassassin

Indeed - and for a long time I'd remind myself that McCartney claimed he decided not to learn to read because he worried that it might affect the way he wrote. Which sounds like a good excuse about as much as it sounds like bollox!

I'd still be a bassist - it's the only instrument I'm good enough on to consider getting on a stage with. That said, I've always been predominantly a writer/composer. I play guitar well enough to write with & to record, given an indefinite number of takes. If I could change anything, I'd never have stopped playing keyboards (drifted away in the early 90s) or drums, which I dabbled with when I shared a house with someone who had a kit. I'd also focus on learning some actual theory - I'm painfully aware that everything I know I just sort of picked up along the way. Having those skills would add a lot to my writing & recording - I often feel musically stagnant and hampered by my limited vocabuary & ability, These days I lack both the motivation to resume playing other instruments, or the focus to study theory. That might change going forward but I doubt it.

Genuine question - what would you consider to be a good lyric?

Very nice work! I've done a couple of these, for basses where the pickup positioning didn't give me anywhere natural-feeling to prop my thumb. I love working with acrylic, very easy to cut & shape, and really satisfying to get a nice finish. Cort B2 Headless: Kawai Sleekline:

Thanks for that link, a good compendium of the Fender derived Cimars - oddly, apart from one. This should be of interest... The Cimar Stinger range was exactly the same as the short-lived Mk 1 Blazers, identical apart from the badge. These are Fujigen builds - can confirm this as I have a Mk1 Blazer, it has a Fgn serial and uses most of the same components as later Blazers and Roadsters. Why Hoshino sold these identical instruments simultaneously under both their premium and second-tier brands is anyone's guess. I'd speculate that the incorporation of Ibanez design features into the Cimar range was an attempt to associate the two, perhaps to boost the prestige (and therefore the sales) of the Cimar brand. Later Cimars (post MIJ production, I think) were marketed as "Cimar by Ibanez" but with the ones we're looking at, there's no associated branding on either the instruments or the marketing materials. Interesting that the page you linked to is German - seems Cimars were much more widely marketed in Germany than the UK, most of the Cimar catalogue scans come from Meinl.de, who distributed Cimar & Ibanez in Germany. A reason for this might be that Ibanez' UK distributor at the time, Charles Summerfield Ltd, actually sourced their own CSL range through Hoshino - and they were re-badged Cimars, right down to the Blazer/Stinger headstocks. As an owner/previous owner of two Cimars, one CSL and a Mk1 Blazer, I've always been curious about the Cimar brand. There are various 70s catalogues for the original copy-era Cimars, and they do depict a comprehensive range, from basic starter instruments to high-end replica level stuff. Looking at these I'm inclined to think that initially Cimar was entirely separate from Ibanez, and merely shared distribution through Hoshino. It's likely that subsequently Hoshino acquired the brand and developed it specifically as a budget Ibanez line. Would love to know which factories made them, but so far I've found little to go on.

Broadly, yes - some instruments sold as Teisco were also sold as Kay, the same as they were sold branded as Top Twenty, for example. Of course it doesn't follow that all Kay-branded guitars would also be available as Teisco, this sort-of-Rick copy in question being a good example. We do have to distinguish between manufacturer and brand though, at the time these were made, Teisco existed only as a brand, having been acquired by Kawai some years earlier, so from that perspective all post '67 Teiscos & Kays were rebranded Kawais, presumably including those produced in Taiwan.

Under them ashtrays will be a set of 8-pole Maxon single-coils, just like these: Many of these have date codes on the back but I'm guessing these won't - this Antoria's a very, very early example judging by the tuners - '71, maybe as early as 1970. I think the Maxon codes start from '72. Looking at this, it's in exceptional condition for its age. Hope it goes to someone who appreciates what it is. And no, the Cimar's definitely not Ibanez - like Cimar, Ibanez is a brand, not a manufacturer so it can't be. Both brands were owned by Hoshino Gakki Ten, but I don't think the Cimar was made by Fujigen, who made Ibanez at the time. I've had a few Cimars and there are significant differences & things you wouldn't see on a Fujigen. Age-wise it's from about 1980, and is likely a pretty decent bass.

Well, actually... What we know is that Teisco (or probably Kawai, who acquired Teisco in 1967) established a factory in Taiwan, which produced instruments under the Teisco brand. It is the same factory that made the Taiwanese Kays in the early 70s, so these instruments are closely related. You'll see the same ID stickers and similar model numbers to actual MIJ Teiscos too. Kay is an interesting brand subsequent to the demise of the original US-made instruments. It had international distribution (hence being common in the UK) and sourced instruments from numerous suppliers - so there are MIJ Kays (not too common) as well as Taiwanese. Production later went to Cort in Korea, resulting in a pretty broad range, including the nice quality through-neck originals that turned up in the early 80s. I've also seen East German-made Kay acoustics,which were probably made by Musima.

Might be the same guy who hocked his two Foderas there...

The VM basses are ridiculously good quality for the money. I'd suggest finding a well-stocked shop and taking your own bass along to do real A/B comparisons. Don't be surprised if you find yourself struggling to justify buying a replacement. I've posted this vid before but it does serve to demonstrate that unmodified Squier VMs are good enough for some pro players. He uses a couple of other basses for different songs - they're Squier VM Jazzes.

How odd. This is the bass - the same instrument, not just the same design: http://www.jacoland.it/site/jacoland-barcelona-simone-feroci-signature/ One cannot help but wonder how it wound up in Shepherds Bush Crack Converters with its knobs pulled off.

Removing the pickup & surround should give you an idea of whether or not there's room to install something different without routing the body. Have to say if it was my bass I wouldn't want to mod it irreversibly, or at worst, visibly. These Ekos are pretty rare and I'd be looking at mounting a different pickup in a new surround, using the existing screwholes.

If it was a Rickenbacker it'd be Sh!tGlo. I can't be sanctimonious though, I have a brown bass: Can't complain, only paid £60 for it...

Perhaps unsurprisingly there were copies in the early 70s. This from a '72 catalogue: Never seen one in real life & this is the only catalogue appearance I'm aware of. Not really a lot more accurate than the Eastwood - the Rick style tailpiece is curious.

It is a lot of money for a smashed up Fender copy with the wrong neck...

That's what I thought. I expect this would have standard DiMarzio red/white/black/green wiring & imperial hex poles. Should be easy to ID from those.

Amaze. Never seen anything like that before. I want one... Tuners are Schallers, or very good copies. Set-neck too. Quality. Wonder if that big black 8-pole pickup's a DiMarzio Model One?

Looks like it from the catalogue pic: Don't think it's ancient, might even be early 80s, when chunky bridges were starting to be a thing. Would like to see more pics of this, looks like the tuners might be Schaller M4S - Gherson used those on their rather decent Rick copy. Edit - just noticed it's actually called a "Finger Picar". How very odd!

It's deep in the red light district of Recanati.

Italian madness from the 70s. Your bass is a Picar, according to FetishGuitars: https://www.fetishguitars.com/castelfidardo-recanati/gherson/ There's a catalogue pic about 2/3 down the page. Gherson seem to have predominantly made decent quality copies, and original designs such as yours aren't too common. A proper weirdo rarity, and for that reason alone, I'd say you got a bargain!

Hard not to be a tiny bit political given the implications of the current situation, and the Government's present stance/behaviour, but this is well worth a read. Sorry but you're unlikely to find it very uplifting: https://www.rawmusictv.com/article/amp/2019/UK-bands-now-have-to-pay-import-duty-and-VAT-on-ALL-merchandise-before-even-entering-Europe-to-tour?fbclid=IwAR0pMAq4J_c40_hFcu3KMgHJT7yVGHcAk5bhD9FBhYTAzJi03gLmRVUinQc

That ain't no Strat... Sold that one 10 or so years back - still the best -playing P I ever had.

I can report my mid 80s E-serial MIJ Squier Strat does, as did my '84 SQ serial Squier P. Any excuse for a pic of the most gorgeous bookmatched grain & burst ever...

£2026? Wow. Can only imagine how expensive it'd be if someone hadn't kicked it up and down the street for an hour.

2019 and we're still talking about that talentless, inarticulate numpty out of the Bullsh!t Beatles.