Vintage MIJ (formerly J@pCr@p) Spotting

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1464362763' post='3058876']
[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][color=#000000][size=4]"The Grantson had a [/size][/color][color=#ff0000][size=4][b]detachable neck[/b][/size][/color][color=#000000][size=4] and rosewood fingerboard."[/size][/color][/font]

[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif][color=#000000][size=4]WTF???[/size][/color][/font]
[/quote]

Bolt-on, innit?

J.

[Happy Jack]

Of course! I've often seen cars advertised as having detachable wheels ...

[No. 8 Wire]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1464354975' post='3058785']
£150 isn't a bad price either. Nice..
[/quote]

Yes, it's in that unfortunate range of 'I really didn't want one, but at that price I could just try it out and see....'

[No. 8 Wire]

Did anyone post this pic yet?

http://equipboard.com/pros/billy-sheehan/vox-custom-j-p-bass-guitatr

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1464364147' post='3058897']
Of course! I've often seen cars advertised as having detachable wheels ...
[/quote]

If others had set wheels (or wheel-through), they probably would!

Typically loads of the old catalogues for MIJ stuff describes bolt-necks as "detachable", that's probably where the terminology in this ad comes from.

J.

[alyctes]

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1464367317' post='3058956']
Did anyone post this pic yet?

[url="http://equipboard.com/pros/billy-sheehan/vox-custom-j-p-bass-guitatr"]http://equipboard.co...-p-bass-guitatr[/url]
[/quote]

That's the pic I was thinking of. Thanks!

[TheGreek]

Zenta EB-0 copy - currently £60.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1970-EB-O-Sg-Bass-MIJ-Japan-/182147034849?hash=item2a68cf2ee1:g:n7wAAOSwYmZXHUKO

[No. 8 Wire]

I know there's some love for the Ibanez Musician on here.

Hopefully a facebook link works on here, you might have to join the group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538481643077741/permalink/1662422494016988/?sale_post_id=1662422494016988

[Paul S]

'82 Washburn SB-40, not cheap but looks nice.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-SB-40-EQ-1982-Matsumoku-/182179481721?hash=item2a6abe4879:g:hqIAAOSwbYZXYFXm"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-SB-40-EQ-1982-Matsumoku-/182179481721?hash=item2a6abe4879:g:hqIAAOSwbYZXYFXm[/url]

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1466596530' post='3077064']
'82 Washburn SB-40, not cheap but looks nice.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-SB-40-EQ-1982-Matsumoku-/182179481721?hash=item2a6abe4879:g:hqIAAOSwbYZXYFXm"]http://www.ebay.co.u...qIAAOSwbYZXYFXm[/url]
[/quote]

That's our very own [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/284874-washburn-sb-40eq-1982-matsumoku-graceland-ish-feeler-read-info/"]Andy Travis selling that[/url], and I hope he gets the asking price. I have the passive version (identical apart from the electronics) and these are stunning, beautifully-made basses. I'd be very interested myself if I didn't already have one.

J.

[chriswareham]

Been a bit quiet on here so I'll post a few things from my watch list. First up an Eros Gibson EB-3 copy. Almost finished, but it's a brand I've not seen before:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401150549831

[chriswareham]

An almost mint Westone Thunder 1A. It's been up at what looks like a decent Buy It Now for a while, not sure why someone's not snapped it up yet:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504[/url]

Edited July 17, 2016 by chriswareham

[chriswareham]

And finally a Hondo II Precision copy:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291810689337

There's been a few of these on lately, all in black, good condition and for about £195 BIN but offers accepted. I actually own on of these that I paid considerably less for and which had been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan pickup. Did these have Di Marzio pickups originally or are they from the more bargain basement Hondo era?

[Paul S]

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1468756162' post='3093085']
An almost mint Westone Thunder 1A. It's been up at what looks like a decent Buy It Now for a while, not sure why someone's not snapped it up yet:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504[/url]
[/quote]

My Vantage Standard II bass would be a better buy.

That was a shameless plug!

[kodiakblair]

Anybody sitting on a goldmine ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-THE-RAIL-Bass-Guitar-with-Case-Vintage/391492789950?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D35923%26meid%3D4cb5807ca33b4804b05e4174fd1de6ef%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291821464385

[Bassassin]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1468839629' post='3093629']
Anybody sitting on a goldmine ?

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-THE-RAIL-Bass-Guitar-with-Case-Vintage/391492789950?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D35923%26meid%3D4cb5807ca33b4804b05e4174fd1de6ef%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291821464385"]http://www.ebay.co.u...%3D291821464385[/url]
[/quote]

Oh dear. Good luck with that, then.

J.

[chriswareham]

Another Hondo, this time a very good condition Fame series:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hondo-Fame-SERIES-830-Bass-Guitar-White-Hard-Case-/201628899011

[FlatEric]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1468839629' post='3093629']
Anybody sitting on a goldmine ?

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-THE-RAIL-Bass-Guitar-with-Case-Vintage/391492789950?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D35923%26meid%3D4cb5807ca33b4804b05e4174fd1de6ef%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291821464385"]http://www.ebay.co.u...%3D291821464385[/url]
[/quote]

WOW! I had two of these - both, I think, went to BCer's for a fraction of that.
He gonna have to wait a long time to move dat!!

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1469477287' post='3098682']
Another Hondo, this time a very good condition Fame series:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hondo-Fame-SERIES-830-Bass-Guitar-White-Hard-Case-/201628899011"]http://www.ebay.co.u...e-/201628899011[/url]
[/quote]

These (generally) are great basses. I have a Pro and an 830 (the 830 has Grover tuners, like this one) and both light my fire.

Not a lot of money but great players and a great tone from the original pick-ups.

Someone grab a bargain!!

Cheers.

[alyctes]

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1469516532' post='3098854']
WOW! I had two of these - both, I think, went to BCer's for a fraction of that.
He gonna have to wait a long time to move dat!!
.
[/quote]

One of them certainly did - I'm not tempted to sell, either, that one's a keeper.

[chriswareham]

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1469516532' post='3098854']
These (generally) are great basses. I have a Pro and an 830 (the 830 has Grover tuners, like this one) and both light my fire.

Not a lot of money but great players and a great tone from the original pick-ups.

Someone grab a bargain!!

Cheers.
[/quote]

I have a HD-830B, which is the model with a DiMarzio pickup. Someone had replaced the DiMarzio with a Seymour Duncan, but the original pickup came with the bass so I refitted it. There's now a pretty comprehensive set of pages about Hondo on the Samick Wikia site:

http://samick.wikia.com/wiki/Hondo

It makes it much clearer which models were made in Korea, Japan or Indonesia.

[Happy Jack]

Delta blues anyone?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1975-Precision-Bass-by-DELTA-Vintage-Japan-crafted-46-years-ago-GREAT-JVGuitars-/201629464627

Looking at the quality of that rosewood fretboard, and thinking about a couple of 70s JapCrap Precisions I've had, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that this bass is a beauty.

Particularly taken with that tort p/g too, in a rather superficial sort of way ...

[Bassassin]

Pretty wood on the FB, alright.

Not familiar with the brand but it's a US ad, so that's not unusual. Also can't put a builder to the bass - quite an interesting one with a bunch of uncommon & contradictory features. Seller claims it's Fujigen, I'm pretty sure it's not - although the 3-part neck was used by FGN. The body has me a bit concerned that it's a big old slab of ply - literally a slab as it has no discernable contours.

Pics are a bit coy about showing what's under the ashtrays - but what you can just about see under the pickup cover looks like a little chrome Tele-type single coil, not uncommon on low-end 70s MIJ. The bridge looks brand-new and is probably a replacement for what I expect to have been a rusty 2-saddle BBOT. The tuners are similarly low-end.

That neck is nice though, I like the 3-part build and it's a very attractive piece of rosewood - also pretty uncommon in an era when most Fender copies had maple boards. There are several accounts of early 70s MIJ production being shared between different manufacturers, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the neck on this came from a builder of a somewhat higher standard than the body & hardware.

J.

[Happy Jack]

Nice forensics.

[Bassassin]

Sorry. I should definitely get out more...

[Happy Jack]

Not an eBay listing, but I had the pleasure of playing a Migma StarBass at lunchtime.

https://www.wunjoguitars.com/shop/bass-guitars/migma-meister-starbass-60sused

No truss rod and the neck is somewhat banana'd, with the bridge already as high as it will go, but still a very cool bass and sounding excellent.

Looks a lot lighter than it is. Bit like picking up a Hofner Contemporary bass, with the hollow body lightness offset by a bloody great chunk of wood running down the middle of the body.