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elisha wiesner wrote:weezy wrote:elisha wiesner wrote:Most likely Japanese but could be Barth as well. Both are great.The bass is definitely MIJ. I just had mine fixed up with a rewound OG pickup and re-fret. Pretty cool piece. How can you tell the Japanese from the Barth made ones from the front? Neck dots maybe? They both used the same pickup and hardware.This page has some pretty good infohttp://blackwidow.vintageusaguitars.com/

Great minds think alike (etc)....Black Widow is a Mosrite (serial BC1092) - the bridge was missing when I got it so I got the Schaller and Bigsby fitted. Pickups had been switched to humbuckers so I put in a set of Harmonic Design P90s. It's a weird one. It's huge and weighs a ton.Black Eagle is the later one with single piece neck and truss rod access at the heel. It's nearly perfect except the wing on the headstock has been snapped and stuck back on. Sounds great.

i also have a 2609B from 1978 in the works that is out for a refretYou could keep that one fretless, do a solo and if anyone makes fun of you throw the bass at them and kill them.

Redline wrote:The original 70's Black Eagle Ibanez bass should be considered a lethal weapon. It was beyond boat-anchor status.I'm glad they re-issued it.mine is a early version 2409B with 33.3 scale length from 1976. three piece neck with fretboard and trussrod access from the headstock. as heavy as the TB2000 and the EGCs.i also have a 2609B from 1978 in the works that is out for a refret. you can see some of the differences here (i have replaced the missing piece of the headstock with an aluminum one). different nut, one piece construction with fretboard, tross rod access from the heel, 34 scale.

weezy wrote:elisha wiesner wrote:weezy wrote:elisha wiesner wrote:Most likely Japanese but could be Barth as well. Both are great.The bass is definitely MIJ. I just had mine fixed up with a rewound OG pickup and re-fret. Pretty cool piece. How can you tell the Japanese from the Barth made ones from the front? Neck dots maybe? They both used the same pickup and hardware.This page has some pretty good infohttp://blackwidow.vintageusaguitars.com/knob placement (volume knob under the bridge pu is missing in the pic) and bridge make me think that it's a early japanese one without logo and with round rear toggle plate and different tuners.i have sent pics of the guitar to harvey gerst (the designer of the black widow) years ago and even he couldn't tell me exactly, when or where it was built. no wonder because it's almost 50 yrs. old now...

A foolish purchase but one I've been after for a while ... Greco Tele Deluxe copy, special order Fujigen with natural finish and no belly cut. Haven't even plugged it in yet, but the neck has that full chunky profile I like. Oh and did I mention it's good looking?

Hi! These are my friends.The Sheraton (MIK) has become my bestie, after 25-ish years playing Jazzmasters. There isn't a single part on the Sheraton that is original to the guitar. It took a few tries to get it right, but it's home now.

MatthewK wrote:Beautiful gear AUX - I once had a Korean Sheraton and apparently a similar mindset!The neck was divine but the rest never quite felt right.Thanks, Matthew. Yours looked great too - did you swap out all the gold hardware as well? Agreed on the neck. It's quite different from my JM, but I really like it. And I dunno for sure... but I swear that when I was doing research for my build, that I came across photos of that one. Maybe?

Good thought but that era Greco stuff doesn t have serials, and the later serials are a different format, e.g. E770123. The pickup serial numbers are 1975. The stamps are under the lacquer though - bit of a mystery!

Beautiful gear AUX - I once had a Korean Sheraton and apparently a similar mindset!The neck was divine but the rest never quite felt right.