Bassassin Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 It was inevitable that returning to BC after a long absence would have a detrimental effect. I am not at all proud to say that I appear to be reverting to type. First blood goes to an Eros Mark II Jazz copy from Ebay: Arrived this morning, fresh out of the bubblewrap and as yet uncleaned, unrebuilt & obviously unplayed. This is a Matsumoku-built bass, and based on details like the tuners, pickups and knobs, dates from around 1971, making it one of the earliest accurate Jazz copies. Apart from a replaced nut & (possibly) jack, it's all original & lacks only the ashtrays & tug bar it would have been sold with. Quality-wise, it's several cuts above the ubiquitous Columbus copies with its solid 3-piece mahogany body & real MOP inlays. Everything looks good - pickups & electrics work, truss rod adjusts, neck's good & straight with virtually no fretwear. No damage beyond the inevitable lacquer chips & scratches and an oddly-bent saddle screw. More pics: Bit of background, if you're still awake - Eros & Eros Mk2 were brands used by importer Rosetti (who, confusingly, also distributed Italian-made & unrelated E-Ros acoustics) and early ones were sourced from Matsumoku & Fujigen. Later Eroses (?) were Korean-made and more in line with Hondo & Satellite in terms of quality, but this is the 3rd MIJ Eros I've had, and they're very nice instruments. Looking forward to getting it fully stripped & cleaning it up. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 . . . . . . . and it starts again!! Good on yer mate - dip ya bread!! Cheers Got your message - will be in touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Cor an Eros! That takes me back. Jedson anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Cheers Eric, look forward to hearing from you! Jedson? House brand of Dallas-Arbiter, formerly J.E. Dallas & Sons. See what they did there? Anyway, early 70s Jedsons were often Matsumoku-sourced so it's probable that ones identical to this are out there. And if you ever see an old Jap copy of a Jazz with "Status" on the head, that's actually a Jedson 4450 Sabre bass. No, I don't understand it either. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Absolutely top knowledge there Bassassin, impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Easy when you've got [spoiler]an old Jedson catalogue[/spoiler] J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I'll look forward to seeing it all nice and sparkly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1386355177' post='2299295'] I'll look forward to seeing it all nice and sparkly. [/quote] Well - it's suitably sparkly now, however lacking a little structural integrity: New nut from Ebay took a little longer to turn up than I'd hoped and other projects & activities have got in the way, so it's still at the box-of-bits stage. They're very shiny & sometimes remarkably new looking bits, though: Most of it's scrubbed up seriously well - often the plating on these old MIJ instruments isn't the best, but I've had 5-year old basses with more corrosion & wear than a lot of this. The finish on the body's the biggest giveaway of the thing's antiquity - very thin lacquer with loads of chips, scuffs, cracks & wear & tear. By comparison, the neck's almost like new. Speaking of the body, turns out it's a 5-piece sandwich - 2-piece font & 3-piece back. Lazy routing's a bit disappointing but unsurprising on this sort of early pre-replica era copy. The body's very thin as well - 38mm depth. Those odd-looking pups are clearly meant to be hidden under ashtrays, but I think a couple of bits of black scratchplate plastic drilled & cut to size will tidy up the looks, sit flush with the poles & provide a thumb anchor point. Hope they sound OK, though... Anyway, looks like I'll have something to do while everyone else is Christmassing! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 If it's a Matsumoku bass then it should be a very decent instrument indeed - there's a lot of love for "Uncle Matt's" instruments... I've got a Westone Spectrum LX that I think I'll keep forever (had it from new in '86) and with it currently wearing flats (and having given all the toggle switches and pots a decent clean) is sounding better than ever through my Christmas pressie to myself (Genz Benz combo). Jap? Yes. Crap? I doubt it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1386343509' post='2299064'] Italian-made & unrelated E-Ros acoustics [/quote] One of those in the spare room atm. 37 yrs old and Texas Hi-strung. Really good to see you back, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I do hope those pickups work because it might be a tad difficult to find something to fit those cut-outs. Have you checked them on a meter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Finest Jap firewood I've seen in ages! Top knowledge skilz too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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