perrybassbp Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 hi guys after knowing the guitarist in our band for over 4 years it has taken him all this time to tell me that has 'this old matsumoku bass' just sat around his house. so i told him to bring it over and its a nice looking p bass old and battered and after setting it up and a bit of tlc it actually plays and sounds really nice! I think I'm starting to fall for it a bit but anyway i can't really get any info on what it is or the age ,the only thing i have to go off is the neck plate which says: Matsumoku D771323 made in Japan on the back, there is no branding on it or anything. does anyone have any ideas about the age or maybe what it actually is? ill try and get some pictures up at some point but honestly is like any other p bass. lawsuit model perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzy73 Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 its could a aria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrybassbp Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 I did think this, makes the most sense cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 The s/n is almost certainly April 1977 - it looks like the same format used by Fujigen (letter is the month, first two digits the year, remainder the production number) and this is one of several different formats Matsumoku used. I'd say it's quite unusual for a Matsumoku to sold unbranded, certainly a late 70s example, so I wouldn't be surprised if at some point it's had a brand name removed. Anyone's guess what that might have been though, and tbh it's not important - like all the Japanese factories, Matsumoku sold to numerous importers who would all use their own brands. Hope you can get some pics, would like to see this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 On 22/07/2018 at 17:45, perrybassbp said: lawsuit model perhaps? Please let's not say these three words again, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said: Please let's not say these three words again, eh? ‘Law Suit Era’. Better?? 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 2 hours ago, dood said: ‘Law Suit Era’. Better?? 😂 Just about - the lawsuit that never happened didn't happen in June '77! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 9 hours ago, dood said: ‘Law Suit Era’. Better?? 😂 Or these. I'm just waiting for someone to start advertising their Gibson as pre-Chapter 11, or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 j porn please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 9 hours ago, Bassassin said: Just about - the lawsuit that never happened didn't happen in June '77! No, I know. The Gibson vs Ibanez headstock suit was in ‘77 and although I don’t think they settled in court, it was certainly another entry that adds to the “Law Suit Era” story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrybassbp Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrybassbp Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrybassbp Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 There just one my mate took but I'll try get some more detailed one asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Well, let's initially just consider that Matsumoku were producing a lot of guitars for several companies, so it is feasible that parts could have gotten mixed up/shared during production. They were producing Aria Pro II, Vantage, some Greco basses. When I was researching my 1978, insofar as the serial number goes, I read yonks ago that the month of production is designated by the letter, A for January, B for February and so on, with the next two numbers being the year (1977) and the rest are the production number, so it's April 1977. I don't think it's an Aria Pro II from that year...the 12th fret dots are too far apart (see below, this isn't mine BTW); they did go wider, but not for a couple of years. Yours also has a skunk stripe on the back of the neck too (Arias from this period tended to be one-piece, with glued in pieces to allow for the Fender style headstock). However, the bridge does look the same as the one that came off mine - with the two additional screws at the front. Are you able to get a shot of the front of the headstock? There's evidence of basses coming out of the factory without a logo...if the face of the headstock has been sanded, there's a reasonable chance that the facia will still carry an echo of what was on there originally (the wood behind the long gone logo will be lighter than the rest of the headstock colour). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Re Aria & APII - it's worth pointing out that while these brands were predominantly made by Matsumoku, they were not exclusive.There are 100% verified examples of Aria & Pro II copy-era guitars made by both Fujigen and Kasuga, so it's entirely reasonable to assume the same was true of basses. This is one of the reasons that trying to ID from details can be a minefield. To complicate things further, there's also evidence of collaborative manufacture - bodies from one workshop, necks from another. It's also starting to be understood that some manufacturers exported finished components to Korea for assembly, as a sort of export duty avoidance loophole. Trying to get a handle on 70s MIJ production is a nightmare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opticaleye Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 On 24/07/2018 at 11:03, NancyJohnson said: Well, let's initially just consider that Matsumoku were producing a lot of guitars for several companies, so it is feasible that parts could have gotten mixed up/shared during production. They were producing Aria Pro II, Vantage, some Greco basses. When I was researching my 1978, insofar as the serial number goes, I read yonks ago that the month of production is designated by the letter, A for January, B for February and so on, with the next two numbers being the year (1977) and the rest are the production number, so it's April 1977. I don't think it's an Aria Pro II from that year...the 12th fret dots are too far apart (see below, this isn't mine BTW); they did go wider, but not for a couple of years. Yours also has a skunk stripe on the back of the neck too (Arias from this period tended to be one-piece, with glued in pieces to allow for the Fender style headstock). However, the bridge does look the same as the one that came off mine - with the two additional screws at the front. Are you able to get a shot of the front of the headstock? There's evidence of basses coming out of the factory without a logo...if the face of the headstock has been sanded, there's a reasonable chance that the facia will still carry an echo of what was on there originally (the wood behind the long gone logo will be lighter than the rest of the headstock colour). I have a Matsomoku K78 ser. no. Aria Pro II Precision (with an odd headstock) that has the wider spaced dots at the 12th fret. The scratchplate was originally single ply white and the Jazz pickup added later. It also has the extra 2 screws in the bridge and has tuners with adjustment collars (like my 81 Tokai). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrybassbp Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 Two more for you guys I think that baseman sticker is just something put on after Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgehouse Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Matsumoku did quite a few unbranded guitars and basses for catalogues - you know, Sears and all that lot - so it’s highly likely it’s one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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