Help ID the mystery Epiphone bass!

[pcdc]

Hello,

I've had the Epiphone bass pictured below for a couple of years... it doesn't have a serial number in any obvious location and I couldn't find anything about it online.

If anyone out there has any information or ideas to pass along, please do!Here are the pics:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y211/0desa/epiphone_bass_front.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y211/0desa/epiphone_bass_back.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y211/0desa/epiphone_bass_body.jpg


Thanks!

PCDC

[Jake]

Body and pickguard looks a lot like a Newport, but the headstock should be a bastardized Fender variant. Could be a transition model or something.

[RickC]

The headstock says Ibanez to me; looks like an early 80's Roadstar. Epi's were MIJ in the early 80's; that'd be my guess.

It does look cool; how does it play/sound?

/rick

[pcdc]

Thanks very much guys!

The Epi in question was my first bass and I grew to love it, not having played anything else. I really liked the look of it too, and the neck-through aspect was appealing. I thought it sounded great live - nice and thick on the low notes with a chimey high-end. Now that I play a black '75 Ricky 4001, however, it's tough to go back! When I pick up the Epi these days, it feels quite neck-heavy and I find it relatively difficult to play.

[John Phillips]

I can't remember the model name or number, but I'm fairly certain it's made in Japan in the late 70s or early 80s, as RickC said. It has an interesting combination of retro design and through-neck construction, and the hardware is very definitely 70s Japanese.

It would probably play and sound (and maybe even balance!) better with a bridge upgrade - those 2-saddle tinplate things are pretty hopeless for intonation too. A nice big cast Badass or Schaller would make a huge difference, I'd bet.

It's a rare and interesting bass but probaby not collectable enough for that to be a major faux-pas ;).

Nice case too :).

[pcdc]

Thanks very much for the info and excellent suggestions! I'll look into the bridge idea for sure - a friend suggested the Badass about a year ago but then I ended up buying the Rick so it's basically just stagnated since then.