Yes, I liked that music too. I appreciate how his ability to get great sounds out of a Matsumoku bass validates some of my own gear decision.
He seems to take composing for a looper to a level I haven't heard. I had a Boss RC-2 but it had a lot of features I didn't use but which got in my way. I ended up giving that to my brother and buying the simplest Ditto. I haven't used it around the house for practice as much as I thought I would, because frankly it's easier for me to use Reaper. I have taken it to a couple duo gigs and used it to record verse changes so that I could play over them, or to record bass parts on a Dano six string bass, then play some rhythm guitar stuff along with it.
Statistics: Posted by cheepaxes — Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:30 am
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Matsumoku is definitely a good bet. It's possible that it is Fuji Gen and I'm sure someone with more sophistication and time than me could probably pin it down. As far as the brand name goes, I'm betting it's a name used by a European distributor. Frank Wienk, the guy playing the bass is located in the Netherlands so it was likely exported from Japan to somewhere in Europe. I think Custom would be a word many Europeans would be familiar with since such a large proportion of the population knows English. My first thought is that it was originally imported into England, since musicians in the Netherlands bought a lot of their gear from England back in the 70's. If I were researching the brand, that's where I would start.
Loopers are cool. My son Phil bought one of the loop stations and passed his little Ditto down to me. You can just grab a guitar and be up and running with a fun practice and minimal technology almost instantly.
Thanks for posting the video. I'd never heard of the Binkbeats, appreciate you sharing a new discovery.
hope you are well, and don't be a stranger
steve
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Sat Nov 10, 2018 9:51 am
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Screen capture:
[img]http://www.scottmcknight.com/Custom.jpg[/img]
Source video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpSn7Z ... JYxm0yoU_E
Statistics: Posted by cheepaxes — Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:56 pm
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The build quality is superb, hardware and electrics are all top notch, it sounds and plays fantastic, really nice clarity. Its only flaw is the three position switch, but thats easily sorted, and its weight but thats something a person can get used to. Im not a big lover of Strats, in fact I struggle to play them, but when this came up for sale I wasnt going to pass it up.
Statistics: Posted by robilmo — Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:02 pm
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The electrics on mine are different, so mine might be an earlier one, my serial number points to 1971.
Odd pot values, tone pots are 500k , volume is 1M.
There is no noise what so ever from this guitar, normally most single coils I have had buzzed, this one is dead silent.
The trem block is a big lump, weighing in at nearly 400 gramms. Im not sure if its chromed brass or just a solid lump of steel.
These were not cheaply made guitars, everything about them is quality.
Statistics: Posted by robilmo — Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:40 pm
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It has a one piece neck like on the 52 Baja Telecaster,
The fretwork is nothing short of brilliant, small vintage frets , 7.5 radius, large 70's fender type headstock, lovely quality Gotoh tuners, truss adjust at the heel, neck is thick but not too thick, its a work of art the necks on these guitars.
Statistics: Posted by robilmo — Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:24 pm
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Anyhow,from what nI have been able to find out this is a Matsumoko built guitar, its in the 1972 Aria catalogue, its an Aria 1723TD , quite a rare old thing, I have only seen 3 examples on the internet and I have searched hundreds of pages. One of those examples is mine.
Statistics: Posted by robilmo — Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:16 pm
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Your guitar has a mix of pretty common Japanese guitar parts so a positive brand ID will be difficult.
That head stock shape is strongly associated with 1967 so I think we are in that era.
The pickups are perhaps the most distinguishing feature. Frank Meyers has associated these pickups with both Zenon and Heit Deluxe guitars. In his book, he says they were sourced from Meito. You can see his pickup examples here if you scroll a bit:
The truss rod decal is characteristic of Zenon but it does have a Teisco/Kawai style truss rod while most Zenon guitars lacked a truss rod. Unfortunately, little else distinguishes this guitar from other Japanese brands of the mid 1960's. The body shape and pick guard appear inspired by a Teisco MJ-2 and the Tremolo unit was used on Teisco's and Kawai's of the mid and later 1960's.
I haven't seen this mix of features before, but Frank might know what it is. At least, I bet he would be interested in taking a look at it.
You can contact Frank through his website Drowning in Guitars
Hope this information helps your quest
Let us know if you learn anything more about the guitar
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:26 pm
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There's a very fine account by Bob Leggitt here:
The fact that Young Chang built many Squier, Contemporary and Silver Standard top end guitars and indeed Fender branded guitars between 1985 and 89 muddies the water.
Serial numbers for very early Young Chang (Fenix) were stamped into the neck plate below a large Y. C. - Continued use of the E prefix signified the Incheon workshop. Many examples begin E7 and some assume this represents 1987 as per Squier numbering (Eighties+7=87). I don't know if this is correct. It may be for 97, but I don't believe any satisfactory number convention continued.
A vast number of guitars carry an E105 prefix, I've heard rumours of production runs totalling 75,000 units.
Each individual guitar needs to be considered in relation to other factors, as many were built using elements from their previous stockpile. It is thought this includes the Fender style pickup with visible pole pieces. Once stocks were exhausted a lane sensor style pickup was used. This was a stacked coil humbucker, and is likely responsible for their unique sound. (Possibly manufactured for them by Cort). Many Frankenstein examples exist today.
In 1990 Fenix changed the colour of the serial number decal and sadly began to reuse the original numbers. This coincides with a subtle redesign of the headstock shape, thought to have been necessary to avoid any legal challenge from Fender themselves. The headstocks were further altered around 1995 incorporating a scalloped lower lip. Other models maintained the Gibson, open book design or mimicked the Charvel/PRS styles. Post 95 examples can be determined by the newer lowercase fenix Logo.
The best examples remain in the hands of savvy collectors, with very few early examples appearing for sale. Bargains may still be found around Europe, if you're lucky.
Statistics: Posted by gkkes — Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:23 pm
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Hopefully other Fenix enthusiasts will contribute to your brief outline with their firsthand knowledge of the instruments and the company.
Well done
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:41 pm
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I spotted a Fenix Telecaster on a guitar auction recently, I couldn't make it so my Sis went to bid for me. Nice example Estimate £80, went for £200! Loads of interest.
I wondered what the fuss was about, so I picked up a very cheap Strat which turns out to be surprisingly good. I have a 97 EC Blackie for comparison. For anyone who knows these, I believe it's a 1992-4 Fenix ST10-R in a fetching Aqua Blue. The neck is true, nut is great, the bridge carries 25 years of blood, sweat and tears, the pups look like lace sensors and although the vol pot rotates through 360* the sound is fine. Strat twang, but warm, more woman tone.
I thought I'd research about the maker online, and that's when the problems began.
If you have any horses mouth info I'd like to hear it, but please don't google then post here, as I've found there's so much disinformation out there. 1965-85 was a volatile time in Fender history (CBS years) and any research must include Fender, Fender Squier and Fender Japan.
----******** This may be a long post - Turn back if not interested *******-----
Brief outline: (Updated when verified information is found).
- Young Chang (YC) was started in 1956 after the Korean War by 3 brothers, who imported Yamaha piano parts to assemble locally (thus avoiding import duty on pianos). Jai-Young Kim, Jai-Chang Kim and Jai-Sup Kim.
- Fender (CBS) wanted to fulfil increased Eastern orders for guitars as the $ was weak. US quality had suffered after Leo sold out in 65. Around 82/3 they commissioned some Japanese counterfeiters (like FugiGen Gakki and their own Heartfield) who made guitars to rival the classic US builds. Remember there were very few US built guitars between 85-89 following the management buyout.
- Around 1986/7, Fender commissioned YC and 3 other Korean factories to make their budget Squier range. E serial numbers signified the YC Incheon factory in Seul. Many were so competent they carried the full Fender trade mark, or Squier Silver Standard.
- To meet the "budget" price point, Fender specified cheap laminates and hardware. In 89 Fender moved manufacturing to China and Indonesia to further decrease costs, installing their own people/skills in Chinese factories.
- In order to save the factory, Myung Youn Won of YC decided to build top quality copies based on the Fender jigs from alder, maple and local mahogany, using hardware sourced for the lost Fender/Squier contract.
- These early 1987 Strat and Tele guitars were branded Young Chang, with a Made in Korea decal on the rear headstock. Neck plate stamped with YC and E prefix serial numbers. Provenance of these early guitars is extremely difficult to discover. Serial numbers follow no convention and is the pitfall for most owners, believing they mirror the Squier numbering. This is not the case. Fender "Contempory" models with humbuckers, MIJ at FujiGen Gakki, used E to signify 1984-87. Actual serial numbers themselves are missing (unpublished) pre-91.
- M-Y Won discovered at the Frankfurt Music Fair in 87 that Korean guitars had a poor reputation with European consumers, so the Fenix brand was born at the British Music Fair in 1989, and YC were able to export a full catalogue of 7 guitars and 3 basses.
- The years to 1991 saw an expansion of the brand to include 13 models including Super-strats, Les Pauls and 5 bass models.
-1991 YC open a factory in Tacoma, USA to build Tacoma acoustic guitars.
- Fenix re-branded in 1995/6 with a new logo and extra models including the Mona Lisa (41 models, of electric, bass, electro and full acoustic. There are 4 catalogues here at Vintaxe if you want to view these models).
- 1995 M-Y Won left YC to create World Music Instruments who currently make guitars for B.C. Rich, Chapman, Dean, Gretsch, LTD, Line6, PRS SE, Brian May, Schecter, Gretch Electromatics, Elecra and Fernandez to name a few. Many of these were originally MIJ.
- In 1999 in light of wide Asian competition and decline in their economy Young Chang decided to concentrate more on piano's and stopped production of their electric guitar range. (The Tacoma factory was sold privately in 1999 and was subsequently bought by Fender in 2004).
- A large consignment of these last guitars were imported into the UK by Sound Control in Scotland and PMT in Essex. PMT report quality had been compromised, green wood causing problems, so they slashed these late guitars to £99. Ex Sound Control staff revealed they were pressurised by Fender against selling counterfeits and outed them at £49.
**************************
I'd like to draw attention to Bill Shultz. Bill Shultz is often seen as the saviour of Fender. He organised the management buyout from CBS in 1985. He had been in charge at Fender since 1981. From 1971 he had worked for Yamaha (also owned by CBS). I don't think it's a great stretch of the imagination to see a link between Yamaha pianos, the buyout of Japanese counterfeiters to form Fender Japan, Korean production of Squier, and Young Chang.
Statistics: Posted by gkkes — Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:04 pm
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Of course Japanese pot codes are not nearly as well documented as American pots but they do give us a chance. I'll look into the codes over the holiday. If you discover anything before then let us know.
I'm confident we can figure this out
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:15 pm
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As you are aware, this is a difficult task since many Japanese companies copied EB-O basses. At first look it has several qualities in common with some Fujigen EB-O's but as you have already observed, not quite a match.
Let's start by figuring out a date. Can you remove the control cover on the back and take a clear photo of the pot codes?
Finding any other marking on the bottom of the bridge, pups etc. would be useful, but I understand if you don't want to do that type of disassembly. Japanese copies of Gibson's are some of the most difficult guitars to research and any information helps.
Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Tue Nov 14, 2017 8:05 pm
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