What type of bass is this - possibly made by Matsumoku back in the day?

[JJSCigar]

Could it be an old Aria or Vantage?

 

[JJSCigar]

Could use a little help concerning an old bass - thank you!

 

[Bass V]

my avatar Matsumoku Lotus L-750 has the same bridge which seems to be nearly exclusive to that factory

 

[bholder]

Yeah, maybe, one of the big houses from the 70s-80s anyway, I recognize that bridge...

 

[bholder]

Neck through P goodness, bet it sounds solid.

 

[edro]

Looks like a typical Uncle Mat neck-thru.... White pup covers....

I'd bet five bucks to a Moon Pie it is an Uncle Mat... As far as what name they built it under, sky is the limit as there were loads of names....

Lotus as above and I think Vintage, Vantage, Satellite, Aria, early Ibanez I think, El somethings or nuther, Memphis, yadda yadda yadda...

A bud in the early 70s had a Vantage neck thru bass I've always wanted... Still do... Played like a dream....

 

[JJSCigar]

So as long as it plays well - do you recommend buying it? I have been trying to thin the herd, but I think I am going to have a hard time passing this one up!!! Is there anything in particular that I should watch for? I figure the neck, but it seems odd buying something that has no markings or serial numbers (at least externally).

 

[amphlett7]

my avatar Matsumoku Lotus L-750 has the same bridge which seems to be nearly exclusive to that factory

Matsumoku made Torch brand basses. This could be one of those

 

[MattZilla]

do you recommend buying it?

1) does it play well?
2) can you without having to pinch pennies for the following week?
3) do you think that it objectively looks good?

Edit: after looking at the pics... 4) does it weigh less than 23lbs?

 

[lz4005]

Is there anything in particular that I should watch for?

Plug it in before buying. That pickup is considerably farther from the bridge than normal P bass placement. May sound very different from what you expect.

 

[edro]

It plays or it don't.

 

[bearfoot]

Looks homemade to me, but in a good way.

 

[brett7276]

its a memphis - cool MIJ piece there

 

[redstrand]

if it's cheap enough get after it!

 

[FilTurd]

Those bridges are cool. I think Hondo used something similar or the same.

 

[RSBBass]

Could be Matt. Cort also had some similar offerings.

 

[40Hz]

Yeah. It’s got Matsumoku’s high-end neck thru look all over it. As was said by others, it could have been sold under several brand names. Possibly even more than one.

If the price were reasonable I’d be strongly tempted to go for it if for no other reason than the idea of owning a neck thru that looked like a Fender PB amuses me to no end. Bound to be a head turner if you play it out.

Plug it in before buying. That pickup is considerably farther from the bridge than normal P bass placement. May sound very different from what you expect.

I’ve got a Mitsumoku built Memphis with a pup positioned in a slightly different spot than you’d normally expect. Seems to be a Motsumoku thing, and it sounds great. Ditto for the split pickup it came with. Doesn’t sound like any other split pickup I own. One of the best I’ve ever heard.

 

[sigterm]

The finish I've seen on Memphis guitars

 

[JIO]

What scale is it?

 

[lunarpollen]

Whatever it is, I like it!! It reminds me of an SD Curlee because of the wood and the pickup color. I like how the pickup is more toward the neck than a standard P-bass; I would probably find the tone to be more to my liking than the standard P type