First post ever, sorry if I'm breaking any rules here as I'm sure there has been a lot of talks and posts about Japanese copies out there...Anyways, just got this short scale bass, single pickup, 20 frets, no ashtray cover, no thumb rest, apparently it was refinished to a matte black finish, changed tuners and it's VERY, and I mean VERY light as if it was made out of plastic/light wood. Yet, it sounds very good but I'm no bassist, let alone an expert on the matter. I'd like to be able to identify ANYTHING about it, sorry for the lack of info....and THANKS for your help! {} {} {} {} {} {} {} {}
Bad re fin aside, this was my first bass guitar, the offset dot markers are pretty memorable. The name on the headstock was Mateo, I purchased it new from a music store for about $110.00 in 1974 - my sophomore year of high school.
Cool! You might want to replace the nut. Some new short scale strings would help, too, since those look like cut long scales. Good luck!
WOW! First of all, thanks for the quick replies! I will make sure I take good care of it...45 years and the damn thing is still going strong! (bad re fin aside indeed...) Thanks for your advice too DocTT! Greetings from Mexico!
Kind people, took it today for a setup, my pal says I might need new pots (vol/tone, it still has the originals apparently, way too noisy due to age), any suggestions? Also, followed your advice and just ordered a new set of short scale D'addarios 45-100, let's see how it goes! THANKS!
It looks like a Matsumoku creation. They came out with different brand names. I have a two pickup version "Morris" . They made a lot of basses until their factory burned down, finis. Many are quite good quality, some not so much. The Guitar Gallery Here is one in a demo video :
welcome to talkbass. if you are near the rio grande, do let me know. the neck plate is the kind used at the matsumoku plant. they were contractors, and their products used many different brand names, including aria and epiphone (and mateo). assuming the neck plate and the rest of the bass came from the same place, you have a real nice bass there! new pots and a new jack is a great idea, that was a weak point for some (most) matsumoku products. cts and switchcraft are reliable brands for those items.
