Vintage MIJ (formerly J@pCr@p) Spotting

[pete.young]

What appears to be a Maya precison with a maple neck - is this a '70s Matsumoku?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAYA-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ190326483805QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c5057ab5d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAYA-BASS-GUITAR_W0Q...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url]

[Kiwi]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120456826168&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:us"]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...hlink:middle:us[/url]

Alembicised single pup Aria SB Elite. I've never seen the single pup version before. Very nice BIN price, seller doesn't state UScon only so maybe flexible. Someone could potentially snag themselves a real beauty here.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='563193' date='Aug 7 2009, 11:33 PM'][url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/48/43145348.html"]thingy on gumtree[/url], i copied and pasted it then forgot what it was....[/quote]
[quote]Luke - that's a Westone Thunder, de-fretted so not getting the money he wants. I think it started at £200-ish; if it gets to £50 I might have a punt...[/quote]
That'd be mine - It's on here too.
The £200 one the other week was from someone else - that would be silly money even in my opinion.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='563395' date='Aug 8 2009, 11:44 AM']That'd be mine - It's on here too.
The £200 one the other week was from someone else - that would be silly money even in my opinion.[/quote]
Sorry mate - no offence meant!

The offer of £50 still stands, though.

J.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='pete.young' post='563355' date='Aug 8 2009, 10:30 AM']What appears to be a Maya precison with a maple neck - is this a '70s Matsumoku?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAYA-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ190326483805QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c5057ab5d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAYA-BASS-GUITAR_W0Q...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote]
No - Maya (and El Maya) were owned by a Kobe-based trading company called Rokkomann, who were understood to manufacture their own instruments. Anecdotally the Maya factory was destroyed by the Kobe earthquake in 1995.

FWIW there was nothing to choose between the better quality instruments from the various Japanese factories.

J.

[SteveO]

Was just browsing the Norwegian classifieds and came across this [url="http://www.finn.no/finn/bap/object?finnkode=18392040"]1960 Riviera.[/url] To be honest I have no intention of buying it (unless it turns out to be a steal! :brow: ), but as I've never heard of the brand and can't find any info on the web I thought I'd ask you guys, mainly cos £400 seems a little on the steep side for what looks like a crappy piece of driftwood, even if it is nearly 50 yr old driftwood. The ad's in Norwegian (duh!) but to save confusion the guy's selling another bass (a blue 'Robert T Studio' whatever that is ) and a Behringer BDI-21 aswell, which are the last two of the photo's.

Anyone have any info out there?

[Bassassin]

From a quick glance at the pics, it ain't from 1960 and it seriously ain't worth £400! Maybe a tenth of that. This is a generic mid-70s plywood starter bass - it looks medium-scale to me, & the brand name will, like about 95% of 70s MIJ guitars, be just an importer's brand & nothing to do with a manufacturer.

The "domino" position markers are quite unusual & fairly cool - but still don't make it worth that money.

J.

[SteveO]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='564113' date='Aug 9 2009, 02:25 PM']From a quick glance at the pics, it ain't from 1960 and it seriously ain't worth £400! Maybe a tenth of that. This is a generic mid-70s plywood starter bass - it looks medium-scale to me, & the brand name will, like about 95% of 70s MIJ guitars, be just an importer's brand & nothing to do with a manufacturer.

The "domino" position markers are quite unusual & fairly cool - but still don't make it worth that money.

J.[/quote]
Cheers Jon, That's pretty much as I expected. For some bizare reason I forgot that the importers put their brandname on generic basses, possibly because I've never come across Riviera before. Maybe they just imported into scandinavia?

[Bassassin]

[quote name='SteveO' post='564144' date='Aug 9 2009, 02:08 PM']Maybe they just imported into scandinavia?[/quote]Very likely - it would be a local importer (lots of the UK ones were just music shops) who sourced their instruments directly through Japanese manufacturers or exporters. Exactly the same thing goes on these days with Chinese factories.

Jon.

[Happy Jack]

Yes yes yes, I KNOW it's a Hondo, but it's not actually that horrid.

The photos are hi-res and show what appears to be a rather nice MIJ P-bass.

At £139 BIN that might be worth a punt.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-MIJ-PRECISION-BASS-60s-shape-BODY-japan-p-bass_W0QQitemZ290340170815QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item43999f6c3f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-MIJ-PRECISION-B...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url]

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='570051' date='Aug 15 2009, 04:56 PM']Yes yes yes, I KNOW it's a Hondo, but it's not actually that horrid.

The photos are hi-res and show what appears to be a rather nice MIJ P-bass.

At £139 BIN that might be worth a punt.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-MIJ-PRECISION-BASS-60s-shape-BODY-japan-p-bass_W0QQitemZ290340170815QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item43999f6c3f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-MIJ-PRECISION-B...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote]
Definitely! There are a few of the higher-order MIJ Hondos around (I have a lovely set-neck/carved top Les Paul copy) and this is certainly light-years ahead of the plywood Korean stuff that usually turns up. MIJ Hondos were sourced from Matsumoku (confirmed) & Tokai (allegedly) - this one does not have a standard Matsumoku neckplate but if the numbering follows Uncle Mat's then it's from 1981.

He's presumably dropped the BIN since you posted - now showing £129. I'd say that's pretty good, if you could live with the logo!

J.

[allighatt0r]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='570187' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:03 PM']Definitely! There are a few of the higher-order MIJ Hondos around (I have a lovely set-neck/carved top Les Paul copy) and this is certainly light-years ahead of the plywood Korean stuff that usually turns up. MIJ Hondos were sourced from Matsumoku (confirmed) & Tokai (allegedly) - this one does not have a standard Matsumoku neckplate but if the numbering follows Uncle Mat's then it's from 1981.

He's presumably dropped the BIN since you posted - now showing £129. I'd say that's pretty good, if you could live with the logo!

J.[/quote]

Just get one of those "Faker" or "Fecker" logos for it! ...In all honesty, how would this compare to an identical spec Fender from the same year? Are they really just as good?

EDIT: Interesting G string! :brow:

Edited August 17, 2009 by allighatt0r

[Bassassin]

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='571789' date='Aug 17 2009, 05:04 PM']Just get one of those "Faker" or "Fecker" logos for it! ...In all honesty, how would this compare to an identical spec Fender from the same year? Are they really just as good?

EDIT: Interesting G string! :brow:[/quote]
Looking again, it doesn't actually say "Hondo" - maybe they'd realised! If it's 1981 then it's pre the MIJ Fenders - & US instruments were still being produced under CBS & their dubious quality control. I'd be surprised if it didn't stack up well against a "proper" Fender. Matsumoku were pretty much at the top of their game at this point.

J.

[lemmywinks]

Nice old Roadstar:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass-MIJ_W0QQitemZ320415050185QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9a39a9c9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url]


£160 BIN, he wants £25 postage though, grrrrrrrrrr

[budget bassist]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='563209' date='Aug 7 2009, 11:51 PM']Actually they probably don't! They've got two forum-loads of rabid Rick-owners to do it for them! They might send the occasional C&D letter to US-based importers of dodgy Chinese knock-offs but The Rickenfaithful do most of the legwork.

However, the web & Ebay have made Rick copies that much more visible, and therefore the activity in shutting down sales is similarly higher in profile - as dictated by the requirements of US trademark law.

Luke - that's a Westone Thunder, de-fretted so not getting the money he wants. I think it started at £200-ish; if it gets to £50 I might have a punt...

J.[/quote]
I've never understood that and i never will. The people listing these rickenfakers aren't doing anything wrong so long as they don't actually try and pass it off as a rick, so what's the problem?

[Bassassin]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='577631' date='Aug 22 2009, 04:05 PM']Nice old Roadstar:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass-MIJ_W0QQitemZ320415050185QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item4a9a39a9c9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-Roadster-bass...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url]


£160 BIN, he wants £25 postage though, grrrrrrrrrr[/quote]

1980 Roadst[b]e[/b]r (RS800, I think) rather than Roadst[b]a[/b]r - very good price considering what some of these fetch. Postage is a bit of a p!sstake though - that'll cost about £11 fully insured to send with ParcelFarce.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='577639' date='Aug 22 2009, 04:14 PM']I've never understood that and i never will. The people listing these rickenfakers aren't doing anything wrong so long as they don't actually try and pass it off as a rick, so what's the problem?[/quote]
It's US trademark law. In order for Rickenbacker to retain exclusivity of their designs (like Fender & Gibson haven't) they have to be seen to take action against any infringement - and a 35-year-old copy is as much of an infringement as a brand-new one. It's US law but it works in the UK because Ebay is a US company based practically next-door to RIC, so they'll pull auctions when they're flagged up rather than risk having RIC suing them!

If they lose exclusivity then any & every no-mark little Taiwanese guitar factory can churn out as many rubbish Rick copies as they want. The only way RIC (which is a tiny, family owned & run business) would be able to compete with this is to do a Squier or Epiphone & license their own low-budget import range. Rickenbacker is such a niche brand that it's unlikely they'd be able to compete on this level, the reputation of the brand would be affected, sales of "real" Ricks would be hit and they'd probably end up having to sell the brand to a stronger competitor.

Personally I think this would be a very, very bad thing.

J.

[Happy Jack]

What the hell was THIS all about?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250490018326"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250490018326[/url]

I mean, yes, it's a nice enough fretless, but for [i]that [/i]price ...?

[Happy Jack]

And here's a bargain for someone:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-MAYA-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR-70S_W0QQitemZ230373110943QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item35a34eb49f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-MAY...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url]

[nick]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='590716' date='Sep 5 2009, 03:15 PM']And here's a bargain for someone:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-MAYA-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR-70S_W0QQitemZ230373110943QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item35a34eb49f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-JAPANESE-MAY...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url][/quote]

Yes, hopefully me!

[nick]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='590711' date='Sep 5 2009, 03:13 PM']What the hell was THIS all about?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250490018326"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250490018326[/url]

I mean, yes, it's a nice enough fretless, but for [i]that [/i]price ...?

[/quote]

It's an old Tokai. From that period they're great guitars & certainly comparable to the good examples of U.S. originals. I've seen Tokais, along with Fernandes,Burny,Greco etc of that vintage go for more, & sometimes less. That price isn't that excessive IMO.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='nick' post='590764' date='Sep 5 2009, 04:10 PM']Yes, hopefully me! [/quote]
Did you snag it? It didn't go for much....

J.

[nick]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='591233' date='Sep 6 2009, 10:17 AM']Did you snag it? It didn't go for much....

J.[/quote]

No, unfortunately my £54 snipe wasn't enough to bag it.
Nevermind

[Ou7shined]

ARIA PRO II 2 MAB-20/5 MAGNA SERIES 5 STRING - looks like it might go for less than it aught to. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARIA-PRO-II-2-MAB-20-5-MAGNA-SERIES-5-STRING-BASS_W0QQitemZ130328550674QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item1e582fdd12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]linky[/url] 1 hour remaining!

[spinynorman]

Double neck dreams

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-2404-DOUBLE-NECK-GUITAR-BASS-1978-JAPAN-RARE_W0QQitemZ150372209852QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2302e1d4bc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]Ibanez 2404 Guitar/Bass[/url]

[spinynorman]

Have we seen this before?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Westbury-Track-2-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Japan-Matsumoku_W0QQitemZ250497369466QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item3a52ce857a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]Westbury Track 2[/url]