no name bass

[johnnyb]

a friend dropped this off at my house the other day. he said hes had it since the 80s. i would like to identify what it is so i can possibly find a bridge for it. if not ill have to fill in the hole and start fresh. im guessing some sort of aria product. but i really dont know, ive always steered away from aria, never really liked them. but this one is very heavy and solid. any help would be appreciated.

[johnnyb]

a little more dissection shows a few more clues under the neck. problem is that i cant read it. the neck was an extremely tight fit. i had to knock it out. the body seems to be a solid core, its very heavy. pickup works. the truss rod cover was flipped over and reads professional on the other side. still means nothing to me. ive been looking at old arias and nothing has matched the headstock shape. maybe its a hondo? seems to well built for that.

[Roland Owner]

This bass reminds me of my old Vantage bass from the 80's.
I found this image of a headstock that has a similar shape and exact tuning keys;


The body shape and knob/pickup style and configuration matches this model;


Matsumoku made Vantages.

[Bassassin]

It is a Hondo - from the late 70s/early 80s era when they were producing higher-quality instruments. A couple of similar basses appear on the catalogue scans here: http://www.bossarea.com/aria/

It would be useful & interesting if someone with a knowledge of Japanese or Korean language could identify & if possible interpret the writing on the neck heel - it would be good to find out where this was made.

Jon.

[johnnyb]

thanks jon. there it is, its an h10158. i think, i can barley read it. i doubt ill ever find that bridge. it needs lots of work, though im curious if it would make a decent bass. im on the fence with this one, im not sure if its worth the time and money to get it back up and running. but its always nice to have another fretless around.