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| Here is a very interesting bass. When I purchased this vintage Greco, I expected an instrument much like the previous two Greco Rickenbacker® copies Grouse Guitars has traded in the past. Click here to see the 1978 Greco, and here to see the 1990. Both were awesome instruments, so I was keen to purchase this bass when the opportunity came up. However, when I plugged the bass into my trusty old amp at a recent gig (EVERY Grouse Guitars instrument has been gig-tested by me), I was simply blown away. This bass was more like a Fender Jazz® on steroids on the articulate bridge pickup, and more P-bass® like on the neck. It had a hint of the Rickenbacker® presence, but in truth little of the 'clang' that characterises Rickenbacker® basses. The pickups have been changed a long time ago (I suspect about the time the bass was first purchased, judging by the vintage of the pickups) to amazing-sounding Seymour-Duncan humbuckers. Likewise, the electronics I suspect to come from a '70s Rickenbacker®, as the pots are CTS dating to 1973, and there is a second (stereo) jack socket still inside the cavity, with the default mono socket mounted in the single jack output. I actually wonder whether the entire scratchplate with electronics attached was lifted from a Rickenbacker® and installed on this bass. Serial number of this bass is 0 6254. This shows the bass was made by Fujigen, either in 1980 or 1990. I am going with 1980 due to small constructional similarities with the '78 we sold more than the '90, and the age of the electronics. It's also due to the almost ridiculous attention to copying detail, right down to a 'fake' Rickenbacker® date code on the jack plate, which reads XX above the jack, and 1996 below it. Fujigen made the higher-quality Greco instruments, while Greco also used Matsumoku for bolt-on neck models. This bass is made with proper neck-through 3-laminate construction with solid 'wings' on the body, just like the original. Check the '78 model we sold to see the construction clearly. The bass is not collector-grade due to the modifications, and the crack (repaired and stabilised) in the scratchplate on either side of the neck pickup. However, it is in extremely good condition considering its age, with hardly any signs of abuse or mishandling. There is some minor worming on the back from a belt buckle, and little wear evident on the frets, which appear to have been dressed recently. There is plenty of wear left on the original frets, and the rosewood fingerboard under the luscious clear lacquer finish needs to be seen to be believed! Very high quality tonewoods have obviously gone into building this lawsuit-era Made-in-Japan (MIJ) Greco bass. The bass looks cool, sounds fantastic, and plays really well. Weight is 4.3kg, or 9.5 pounds, and the bass is really well balanced to play live, staying nice and stable on the strap so you can concentrate on playing, not adjusting the angle of the bass! There is no case with this one, but it will come securely boxed. Sold to David
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