Bassassin

Given that I am occasionally prone to medium & long-distance cycling, I most certainly do.

Didn't even spot his location. All the more annoying that this must've turned up just a few miles down the A1 from me.

Always assumed "Wes Tone" rather than West One" - but what do I know? It was Matsumoku's own brand so there's every possibility both interpretations are wrong! Used to call them "Wet One" back in t'day but that was just misjudged sardonic punnage. Or something.

And 2018, 2017, 2016 2015... Someone who really, really wanted to push someone (who, me?) to pick up a large, sharp machete and hunt them down like the monster they are. Not much actual music triggers my misophonia but this endless, relentless, hateful aural horror genuinely makes me want to kill!

Thing is, it is quite a sought-after bass amongst Aria/MIJ aficionados, I've always had a bit of GAS for one myself. An immaculate example might nudge towards 4 figures, but the problem is, this is a fixer-upper missing irreplaceable original parts. In this condition (assuming there's no structural damage) is probably good for about £200 - £250 to someone into these things. To me (having done plenty of car-boot gyppo-flipping in the past) that would be an excellent profit on something I picked up for buttons.

This popped up earlier this week on one of the vintage MIJ FB groups - the guy had just picked it up & was looking for an ID and info. Didn't say what he'd paid but the bass was in a state (it still is) and seemed to be a car boot/small ads blag. He probably gave someone about £30 for it. Chancers like this really f*ck me off.

Good score, looking forward to seeing how this one goes. Regarding bridges, if you do Facebook there are a few Aria & MIJ groups, someone might have one in their spares box: Aria SB Basses Aria Pro II Fan Club Vintage Japanese Guitars Fan Club Bear in mind the bridges come in two widths, the SB-Rs (and Elites & RSBs) have the wider string spacing. Don't bother asking about knobs - there aren't any! The guy casting his own replicas is going to have a massive order list!

Utter, shameless pack of lies. Completely despicable behaviour simply because to sell off an unsuccesful model cheap - indeed to admit to having an unsuccesful model - somehow devalues their brand. Oblivious to the reality that their brand is rapidly becoming a laughing stock.

Stunning example of what is now a very rare bass - unlike the ubiquitous (and awesome) Thunder 1 & 1A, the II and III versions hardly ever come up and those that do are often in a sorry state. TBH though you're probably as well leaving it with your mate - if you get it back you'll only spend the forseeable future on an empty, fruitless and ultimately soul-destroying quest for a set of the original brass control knobs... EDIT: Bonus prog point to your pal for being a Porky Tree fan.

Awful lot of money for a bog seat.

I was at that gig - as well as Maynard's curious attire (and enormous bullhorn) I remember having a seagull sh!t on me while I was in the queue, and the sound being absolutely dreadful. The SECC show a few months later was visually spectacular, sounded superb and was utterly soulless by comparison. Will be interested to hear the new album, assuming the announcement isn't one of their elaborate and typically unfunny pranks - but the two new songs they've been gigging recently don't demonstrate much progression over the last 13 years, unless you love repetitive, over-long atonal dirges. In drop D. I feel a bit sad not being particularly excited about the album - I've been a fan since hearing Sober in 1993, and around the time of Ænima & Lateralus would have considered them my favourite band. But 13 years of sod-all* is a long time, and as it turns out, I'm a lot more excited about the new Opeth album in September. *Would've been a better album title.

Washburn B20 Stage? My first good-quality bass was one of these. Should have kept it!

Cool, appreciate that!. The bass is beaten to hell (worst buckle rash I've ever seen!) and unfortunately the pickup's only working on one coil - but the frets are like new and it's a superb player - unplugged, at least! Will stick a Rautia in it when I eventually get around to doing it. Apart from filling the bloody great hole someone made in it, not sure whether to refin it or leave it with its battle scars. I quite like genuine mojo, but not sure if it suits this bass. I think the biggest challenge will be finding a pair of original knobs for it!

I might well be - I have a SB-Elite I Black & Gold project, been on the back burner for a couple of years. Someone stuck a J pickup between the original unit & bridge so it's been (badly) re-wired for that. I'll be filling the route & putting it back to stock at some point, so the proper pots, cap & switch would be great. Is the switch the original flat-blade type?

£200? Should have had his arm off. These are not budget basses: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80s-Aria-Pro-II-SB-R60-Neck-Thru-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Hard-Case-Japan/233293748764

A quick glance at the headstock confirms that yes - it's unbranded! Definitely worth 20/25, whatever the currency - even if the neck turns out to be junk, it's a decent solid timber body with a good quality pickup. It is interesting - seen a lot of copies but sure I've never seen that headstock shape before. The 21 fret neck with no dot on the last position is curious too. Agree that it's a bitsa - looks like the scratchplate doesn't quite fit, there appears to be a tiny gap just above the jack. Body looks like it's been stripped, too.

This is the closest thing I can find, shows what looks like a single-pickup version of the same bass: Apologies for the tiny image, it's the preview from this pay-to-access site, cunningly upscaled: http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_main/catalogs_japanese_encore.php Early 90s, then, and if the info's correct, made in India. That's plausible as 90s Encore P bass clones appear to be a rebrand of the Indian-made Sunn Mustang basses.

Hard to argue with that - they were definitely part of that contingent of the UK pub-rock scene that got swept along with the emerging punk movement along with the likes of Eddie & The Hot Rods, Ian Dury, Dr Feelgood etc. I think they were originally the Guildford Stranglers, & knocking around from about '73 or '74. Songs like Princess Of The Streets & Go Buddy Go (I learned walking bass by playing along to that!) date back to their pre-Stranglers days.

Both Hugh & JJ were very capable of good, well-executed melodic vocals too, and were always completely appropriate for the material. Both (to me, at least) massively preferable to overblown 17th century music-hall hollering, regardless of the level of classical training involved!

Only in relation to the not-exactly-PC nature of the lyrics!

China, Indonesia, possible off-chance Korea, maybe 10 or 12 years back. It's an Aria STB-GT, I have one, it's a rather brilliant budget Stingray/Jazz/Aerodyne P hybrid.

Always do my research before buying, and if I'm selling I try & cover every possible question in my description. Nothing you can do to stop numpties going TL;DR and still asking anyway.

Great watch - and the bass was looking absolutely lovely until he made that horrible bloody mess of the finish.

And no cheat lines - so no good to me! Interestingly in my experience even the lowest-end stuff would tend to have decent fret work, with most corners being cut on materials & electronics. A lot of the cheapos play OK after a decent set-up - wish I'd known that when I was starting.

This thread has inspired a bit of uncharacteristic nostalgia so I've been listening to a few old Strangs tracks. That closing instrumental section of Dagenham Dave (2;10 onwards) is 100% prog as f*ck!