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Japanese Copy Basses

#21
Hi all,

I own this baby for about 25 years.
Through the years I did some research an ruled out a lot of brands and possibilities but I was never sure. She is made in japan, somewhere in the 70s. Maybe an El Maya? But missing a serial number.

Some additional information: Natural finish, neck through body, one truss rod, skunk stripe, dots on fingerboard, unbound body/fingerboard, stereo output:¨Stereo-Sound¨ and ¨Standard¨, no serial numbers, tuning gear is replaced ¨Schaller¨
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#22
back_to_bassix said:
IMG_1758_zps5ff680db.gif
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RyanJD said:
I have a '76 Rick copy that has the same neck plate.
I was told it indicated that the bass was made in the Matsumoku factory in Japan.
Apparently it could have been any of a dozen names, inluding (but not limited to) Univox and Greco.


00909_gcEWdlnQTbb_600x450_zpsc2ad7af1.jpg
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Maybe there is some helpfull info on this site?

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#27
My first bass is MIJ.
Like some others in this thread it is a Matsumoku made bass
It's an EB 3 copy
It's not as good as the real deal, but it was a good bass to learn on.
(The pickups are a little weak.)
The neck plate is like the ones posted previously for Matsumokus.

It's branded Granada--which is a brand made for sale in Canada--primarily through music schools.
I still have it and I still use it.

I can't see getting rid of it. It's fun to play.
I have removed the pickguard (To show the wood grain better & I normally play bass with my fingers.)
I also removed the bridge cover as it gets in the way changing strings and I decided it looked better.

I've kept both though.
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#32
I know it's a copy--but SD Curlee?
I haven't heard them mentioned in years.

I think they were gonzo (At least around here--I've only seen used ones) before I ever heard of them, but I could be wrong.
 
#34
On the left: 1982 Fender Precision Bass: Made in Japan.

On the right: Circa 1977 Greco Mercury Bass with the frets removed.


Both have custom-made pickguards and play bee-hee-you-tifully. With setup and everything, they cost me all of appx. $150 each

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#35
I have a 75-77ish Cimar Jazz copy, blocks and bound RW neck, sunburst + tort, with covers. Love it. Cimar was a brand under the Ibanez brand, as far as Google has told me.

Looks quite like the one posted above by Medic579!

(Covers are off in the pic)
 

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#36
Saw an old friend of mine last night and he recently got a bass from his sister, who got it from her uncle (they don't have the same mom, so they're half siblings but anyway). It's a nice piece of bass. Needs a lot of work done to it, which is why i'm going to fix it up :D. It's a Fiesta 3 tone burst finish precision copy. It's missing a bunch of screws on the pickguard, and the springs for the mini bucker pickup (it's wobbling inside) the volume pot is like seezed, it won't move at all. The worst part, is the bridge. It's way off center and the g string is on the edge of the fretboard like you wouldn't believe. It's still playable, but i know it can be better so i offered to fix it. String tree is just a thick washer with a screw going through so i'm gonna be replacing that. Missing one knob (which sucks cause the original ones do look cool) so replacing them both with chrome dome pbass knobs. Replacing the bridge as well, it's not worth keeping the old one cause the ball end of the string digs into the body. Other than that, the neck and tuners are still good. Straight, good action. But it'll play better after all the work is done.

"Saw him again yesterday and took it all apart just to see what really had to be done. Found the pickup springs (underneth the pickup), but one of the threads inside the pickup to hold the screw and adjust the height is stripped so even if i screw all the way, it'll pop out. The pickguard is broken at the jack input and it's only held by the jack input. Some ridiculous holes that don't go into the body to hold the pickguard. Different screw lengths. Body is pretty dirty to under the guard so major clean up. Tuners tend to slip, but i'll see if that's only cause of the misalignment of the bridge."
 

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#39
Just put strings and the ashtray on the ?? 70-74 ?? Conrad Japanese copy bass. I had it up for sale in here but was unsure if the truss did worked. And I still am don't have a truss rod tool. But I cleaned it up real well and got a replacement ferrule for the tuner from a local guitar shop. And put the ashtray I ordered on there. Action is really high and intonation is a little off but I'm no tech and in my 15 years of playing bass I've never setup a bass I have a great tech for that. Anyway tell me what y'all think. My local GC said they would give me 150 for it. It has 20 frets but measures 35 inches from bridge to nut. I kinda dig it. But I can't keep on keeping all these basses.
 

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