BottomE Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Gotta give a massive thumbs up for some of these. [color="#0000cd"]Satellite[/color] did a Jazz Bass with a better TORT Pickguard than Fender and a lovely bound and blocked neck. I played one the other day at a Funk jam and it was absolutely stunning. All original except the PuPs. Solid and balanced it was a joy to play. I want one. When young and starting out my mate had one and i had the Columbus. His was much better than mine. I'd get one in a flash - £50! You gotta be joking. What can you get for £50? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
id-dis Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 There is one satellite bass marked "junior" on the bay, its a bolt on neck and while the pickups are decent i remember the switches causing all sorts of problems with poor connections. pots were ok though. As i recall a few of these had some raggy edges due to the frets not being properly finished making them a bit uncomfortable to play but at £50 its worth a punt if only to collect one. Cheap catalogue bass. Many of these japanese and korean basses had flat bodies which made them uncomfortable to wear for long periods with the body digging into your ribs at times. early yamahas such as the SB55 and SB75 were the exception as they had shaped bodies, great necks and action and brilliant pickups. sadly yamaha did not sell them in the euro marketplace so they are rare but they do come up and they are cheap. well worth the money. over the years I have collected many basses and the SB55 is still my favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Missed this thread at the time but I've had a few Satellites over the years and done a bit of research about them. Satellite was FCN music's low-end brand, they also owned the mid-range Columbus and the high-quality Kimbara brands. As far as I can tell all Satellites were Korean-made, at a time whan Korean quality was universally poor. I've owned a Satellite Jazz, Precision, Geoff Byrne's old neck-through P and two Les Pauls (there may be others I've forgotten) and they were all poorly made & finished and most had issues which compromised their useability. Out of that lot the bolt-neck P was a nice, playable bass, and one of the LPs was OK - apart from the dreadful pickups - but both suffered from extremely shoddy construction. Like all cheapos, I'm sure there were a few good ones, but back in the 70s/early 80s when these were around, quality control at this end of the market was practically non-existent. Satellite as a brand has a poor reputation which in my experience is pretty much justified. I'd say walk away from anything priced over £50, and be very, very sceptical about what's left! Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 [quote name='matski' timestamp='1323791360' post='1467102'] Check out this review from 1982 [attachment=95226:satellite bass review.jpg] [/quote] I love old reviews like this. Anyone got any more? really old ones of Fender models etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 If this is getting dragged OT then I'm in! Kimbara (Matsumoku) Rickenfaker, from International Musician mag, mid-70s: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:35642] Doesn't look like it's the whole review, unfortunately. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1393606202' post='2382548'] If this is getting dragged OT then I'm in! Kimbara (Matsumoku) Rickenfaker, from International Musician mag, mid-70s: Doesn't look like it's the whole review, unfortunately. J. [/quote] I've got a copy of that mag Jon, and as far as I remember that was all there was to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 [quote name='matski' timestamp='1323791360' post='1467102'] Check out this review from 1982 [attachment=95226:satellite bass review.jpg] [/quote] I had one of these! My first bass, bought for £115 - as per the review, and it was a really solid lump of wood. A couple have come up on eBay recently, with pretty adventurous starting prices of £199. Fitted with a decent set of p/ups I would imagine it would sound pretty good - bloody heavy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 FCN. From memory this stood for 'Fletcher Coppock & Newman'...they were importers of instruments like John Hornby Skewes (I'll leave it to you to work out the acronym). Said Satellite review was the name of the bass (a la Jazz or Precision) and not the manufacturer. I think Satellite guitars were sold through Woolworths, along with Avon and Audition branded instruments. It's amazing how as a kid in Egham, Surrey, me and my mate would pop into Woolies and just drool over these hideous instruments. Times change. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Some of you might be amused by this Ebay auction: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261424997235 I have messaged him with what I know about these (which is a fair bit) and a link to the review, but he has declined to update his ad with any facts! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) Both my lads are often up & about earlyish at the boot fairs this time of year. I am always saying " If you find any Fenders for a tenner or so - - - " Guess what my youngest came up with today! [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntszo30rmoxcog4/2014-06-22%2016.52.27.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.52.27.jpg[/url] [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q36jgfhpen35svy/2014-06-22%2016.51.15.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.51.15.jpg[/url] [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rz6qty04pw8v7wa/2014-06-22%2016.51.20.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.51.20.jpg[/url] https://www.dropbox.com/s/mxo7freml8xoqj2/2014-06-22%2016.51.39.jpg A couple of hours tinkering & it's a perfectly useable bass Edited June 22, 2014 by KiOgon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Here's mine [attachment=165451:PICT0002.JPG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 [quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1403456003' post='2482848'] Both my lads are often up & about earlyish at the boot fairs this time of year. I am always saying " If you find any Fenders for a tenner or so - - - " Guess what my youngest came up with today! [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntszo30rmoxcog4/2014-06-22%2016.52.27.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.52.27.jpg[/url] [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q36jgfhpen35svy/2014-06-22%2016.51.15.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.51.15.jpg[/url] [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rz6qty04pw8v7wa/2014-06-22%2016.51.20.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.51.20.jpg[/url] [url="https://www.dropbox.com/s/mxo7freml8xoqj2/2014-06-22%2016.51.39.jpg"]https://www.dropbox....%2016.51.39.jpg[/url] A couple of hours tinkering & it's a perfectly useable bass [/quote] That's the same as the bolt-neck Satellite I had - it was a really nice bass to play. Weighed a ton, though. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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