Old, odd bass guitar

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Hey there, this post is best read by guitar nuts...I have an old bass guitar (from the 60's at least) that has NO identifying marks, serial number, ANYTHING...just says "made in Japan" (I took the damn thing apart, just to make sure)I've had a bastard of a time finding out what brands were/are made in Japan...so I can narrow my search down a bit.I can post photos; I'll try to get those later...although they won't really help, it's pretty generic looking.Any help would be appreciated.

what you might have is a Maya (well known for quality knock-offs) or even an Ibanez

Post a photo.

Does it matter who made it ?How's it sound ?

Yes is does matter who made it, lol.If it's worth putting money into restoring and displaying, I will. Otherwise I'm just going to buy the electronic parts and turn it back into a working instrument for my amusement.It sounds okay, for having not been played in 40+ years, I got a clear signal from the one remaining string, lol. The volume/tone and output jack are done for, there was a lot of cut-outs and pops, a good deal of ground-hum too (Granted, it was plugged into a computer sound-card). When I took it apart, some of the wires were just sitting on the connectors; they just broke off in my hand and everything....so those are being replaced, along with the strings.

The old guitar just has a life of its ownI always wonder who has played it before meEmmylou has a favourite with a cigarette burn in itSomething she will never have buffed outSomething to do with the instuments 'soul'I have my eye on a 'Monterey' electric in the local second-hand storeAm unfamiliar with this brandIt looks kind of 50'sIt keeps taunting meDamn itI'll have to buy it tomorrow

60's electronics aside, your best judge of quality wil be in the playability. If it has a nice low action (or the action can be adjusted back to being low) then it's worth fixing and playing. I doubt it's a show piece but you never know.Of course, my opinion is putting a guitar in a show case is like hauling your project car around the country on a trailer.

Oh no, I know what you're saying; its age alone should garner respect; but if it wound up being a fender or something rather valuable I'd fix it up and use/abuse another cheaper guitar, and use this one sparingly.Photos will be posted later, when I get home.

If I were you Id take it outside and smash it against a Harley. If the Harley howls in pain and the guitar howls in heat, restore it. The guitar shoudl bleed chuck berry red.

Here are some photos. The only ID is on the neck plate on the back..."Made In Japan". Sorry about the size of the photos.
[URL=http://img487.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0060dh4.jpg][IMG]http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/8848/pdr0060dh4.th.jpg
[URL=http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0063kt9.jpg][IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9136/pdr0063kt9.th.jpg
[URL=http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0064sm5.jpg][IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/231/pdr0064sm5.th.jpg
[URL=http://img457.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0065if3.jpg][IMG]http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/5904/pdr0065if3.th.jpg

it looks like the thumb rest is in the wrong place. Do you know if ir was strung left handed at some point and had the rest added?

oops, never mind... just saw a pic of an old fender with the same configuration. I guess that would make it a finger rest? I've never played one like that.Does it look like it used to have a bridge guard on it?

There is one set of two thumb-screws on the bottom left and right hand side of the bridge. It doesn't LOOK like the bridge-cover hardware I've seen though...

well, it really looks like a knock-off of a telecaster bass but I'm at a loss as to determine the manufacturer other than my first guesses (Maya or Ibanez)

The pictures are kind of small, and there's no picture of the whole thing. In any case, I don't recognize it, but I wonder if the neck is newer than the body.

As far as I know, there were no high-quality guitars being made in Japan in the 60's, although, after CBS took over Fender, they were making better Fender guitars in Japan than they were in the U.S.

The bass doesn't look like a Telecaster bass (Schecter made one of those); it looks like Jazz Bass knockoff (body), with a Telecaster-ish neck. Does the finish on the headstock match the finish on the body?

I dunno... looks Tele, more so than Precision anyway.

But all that aside, what it looks like and who actually made it are two differnt things.
There are some Japanise knock-off items that have some historical value. I have a "Star" lighter that is an original Jap knock-off of a Zippo.

The question reamins; how the hell can we find out who made this thing? There were large manufacturers in Japan that had no desire to "brand" their export product back in those days so it'll be a challenge

You may be right about the Tele thing...it's hard (for me) to tell from the small picture. Here are some pictures of a 1972 Fender Tele bass. Here are some pictures of a 1973 model.I don't know, but I would be very surprised if the bass is valuable.

So would I, Steve.The thing was, my grandfather (the guy who bought it) was a professional musician (Played in 2 military bands, 'Big-Band' professionally, as well as another civilian band) He favored wood-winds and brass, and those instruments are very high quality, and worth a good penny (One is worth about $25,000...my parents currently have it placed in a GARAGE OUTSIDE...that's another project)The mystery is, why would he buy a string instrument? Knowing his musical talent, I couldn't see him buying a POS; but ya never know.I think in the end, it will literally be unsolved unless someone owns the exact same thing and knows its history.

God damnit you prick, why did ya havta go and do that?
Before I was a casual observer, if it got solved good, if not it didnt mean shit. But then you had to go and give it a fucking a history and now I give a fuck. The fact that its likely noone will ever know, only makes it worse, God damned son of a bitch.

Good to see I can be of service...here are some better photos; You'll notice missing strings (3 broken), missing pots and outputs (broken), and missing screws; I just put the minimum amount in to hold it together for the photos. [img]http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0063pz0.jpg[/img] [img]http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0060ub9.jpg[/img] [img]http://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdr0064tg4.jpg[/img]