kumimajava

Not a luthier by any measure, but the issue of neck-stability after de/re-fretting comes often in discussion of converting fretted to fretless. The general consensus seems to be that if you fill the (old) fret-slots with something that's rigid enough (e.g. wood veneer or plastic) there should be no loss in neck stability. And then there's a bunch of people who say they've just pulled out the frets, without even filling the slots, and have no stability issues years later. So YMMV. Myself, I've recently de-fretted two (cheap) basses for fun - and "just to be safe" used a 0.5mm plastic sheet as line markers. A few weeks down the road - no problems with either. Re: changing the scale - it wouldn't be the cheapest (but probably not the most expensive) "modding project" bass that has been attempted on this forum, so if you're not too shy to try, why not? One of my basses is 36.5" inch scale (an old early 1990's Le Fay pangton), and sound-wise it's awesome - though the scale's too long for me, and hence it gets used rarely. If you do attempt the conversion, perhaps try the bass "fretless" at 36.5" scale for a few days (maybe use stickers for position markers on the side for help?) after you've removed the current frets? Then you'd know roughly how the bass sounds, and whether it's worth the extra hassle of filling old slots, putting in new ones, etc. If it still doesn't sound to your liking at the longer scale, perhaps it's then not worth the extra hassle of re-fretting. Or who knows - maybe you'll like it fretless? If you do decide to proceed - I'd for one be very curious to see how it turns out - please record some before & after clips Good luck!

I spoke to someone at the bass branch of one of the main music store chains here in Tokyo who had tried these at NAMM last year. His comment was that the way the new Quantums were being pitched, the emphasis was on the wireless/bluetooth aspect (and portability, of course). No idea about imminent (or not) release date to the public. Sound wise, the guy said that the Double-4 and Bass Cub sounded better, if you can use something that's a little bit bigger. They sell a lot of PJB stuff here, and he expected that the Quantums would do well in Japan, because a lot of people "just want the really smallest option" - but based on sound quality, he'd recommend the larger PJB's. It's of course possible that between last NAMM & when the Quantum gets released (if it does) they could tweak/improve the sound...

Might not be of help, since it's not feedback on guitars - but Novax do provide aftermarket fan-fret bass necks for standard J/P basses. As far as I can tell, it's the same idea as you're describing - perpendicular "fret" is in fact at the bridge. If they're making them, I presume there must be (some) demand for them... thought I've not seen anyone here or on TalkBass mention using one.

[quote name='mark76' timestamp='1505819457' post='3374506'] How about dots? I voted "Blocks". It's neck and neck so far. [/quote] +1 on the dots. Not a fan of blocks and/or large inlays

No worries, Andy. Wish you good luck in your hunt

Hi Andy, If you (or anyone you know) is planning a visit to Japan within the near(ish) future, and this really is a rare bit of kit, I'd be happy to store it for your in the interim. Unfortunately, I have no idea when my own next UK/Europe visit would be, so sadly I couldn't offer to bring it (or just the neck) back for you. Still - if the storage offer would be of any use to you, please get in touch.

Very few (almost none) of the Yahoo auctions listings offer international postage - unless it's a shop / business. I find this confusing, since in general postage fees out of Japan are reasonable, and the process itself is very easy. In this particular case, if the fretboard is rosewood (which it does look like, to me?), you'd have the additional CITES-funtimes/lincenses to deal with. I expect a feasible way to bring it back would be if you (or someone you know) is visiting Japan & would check it in as their personal possession.

I played this bass a few days ago - it's based at Heartman Vintage Guitars (a branch of Ikebe-gakki, hence the watermark) in Shibuya. No idea where they got the 80% frets remaining figure from - they are almost completely flat, and almost crownless. The guy in the shop had no idea how the tone controls worked. He said: "well, it's old, so the controls don't quite work like on a modern one. But it sounds nice, doesn't it?" (yes, it actually does sound great ) There's a crack in the clearcoat near the neck joint, which is not pictured on any of the shots - but looked structurally ok (just a finish crack). Neck is in decent shape - though it was not "nearly flat", as ped says they usually should be on the Series II's. There was around the same amount of relief as on a Series III I saw few weeks ago. Prior to turning up at Heartman, the bass was sold by a recycle shop in Yokohama (in January, for about half the current asking price), which I sadly didn't have the time to visit before someone nabbed it. Anyways, if anyone on this forum would be actually curious about this specimen - let me know, happy to drop by Heartman's again on your behalf.

not on eBay, nor indeed even in English, but the title says: "1 yen start! 71 Fender USA MUSICMASTER BASS Music Master Base Restore! With a hard case! " [url="https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r206678624"]https://page.auction...tion/r206678624[/url] so yeah, in case you're on the fence - remember, it comes with a hard case! Anyone feeling brave?

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1503564666' post='3359134'] I like that a lot, and it has a few design thingies that other manufacturers might want to think about, but those strings would have to go straight away. And despite the fact that I speak no Japanese, that was one of the best and most informative demos I've seen of a new bass. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a reviewer stand up to show you how the bass balances on the strap? < snip> Mind you, despite speaking no Japanese I was still able to recognise "original design", "two-piece", "P/J", "bass", "sound check", and a number of other terms. [/quote] Glad you liked the review. My level of Japanese is not much higher Digimart, in general, has quite a lot of fun reviews/tests of their own. Usually GoogleTranslate will give you a rough idea what the text is about... Earlier ran a test to show how different volume-pots influence tone (evertyhing from 25k up to 500k), maple vs rose-wood fingerboards on the same instrument, etc. They are usually quite specific about varying "just one" aspect of the test instrument. Here's a link to Digimart's online mags: https://www.digimart.net/magazine/ ... and their "bass review" sections in particular: https://www.digimart.net/magazine/search/?c=6&i=3 https://www.digimart.net/magazine/magazines/bass-magazine/ if you've got an interest in basses coming from this part of the world, they often pop up here first

Given how much love on this forum is expressed for Thunderbird type basses, and its non-reverse variants, I thought I'd share this with you. Came across it on the front page of Digimart - apparently it's a new brand, built (contracted out?) by Shimamura Gakki, one of the major instrument chains in Japan. It's medium-scale, at 33", and also comes as a 5-string. Haven't come across one in a shop yet - so can't quite decide whether the body is somewhat large, or whether the person demoing it in the video is of considerably smaller frame than I am... [media]http://youtu.be/8SqQi9o1zuI[/media] So what do you guys think?

Great design on that drop-D - thanks for the extra pics

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1499674730' post='3332811'] Bwahahahahaha!!! It's in Japan. And they want $886 for it? What's Japanese for "you're taking the piss, mate"? [/quote] Locally listed at around 60k Yen, which translates to around £425 / $550. Still a bit much, but the only wenge-bodied BC i've seen. I have no idea what the general market value for these might be - any guesses (just curious)? Oddly enough, the BC basses don't seem to be considered as much of a bargain-basement instrument over here. the nicer specimens tend to go between 30-40k Yen (up to £275 ish). never played one yet - perhaps should give them a go!

Oops... didn't notice the time-lag between the last two messages. Indeed - I do hope he managed to get one by now

If you're looking to get gear from Japan, another two websites that are worth visiting are: https://www.digimart.net and http://www.j-guitar.com they list both used and new items, and google-translate (or a translation plug-in in a browser) should let you find what you're after quite easily. If you contact any of the major retailers, like Ishibashi, Ikebe or Kurosawa, they are usually happy to post internationally, and postage prices should be reasonable. good luck

I know this is of little help to everyone back in the UK, but they've been available off-the-shelf in Japan for the past few weeks. I did try playing through one at Ikebe two weeks ago, but given that my experience of amps is thoroughly limited, I don't know what sort of feedback would be useful. TE doesn't seem to have a big following over here - the guy was surprised that I was at all interested in the amp. They had it driving a VanDerKley 210, and it seemed to do allright; got a bit hot in the process, but that's running at 100v, and it is summer here. The other amp they had next to the VDK cab was a Tecamp Puma 500, but size & price-wise not really a direct competitor. EQ's flat, the TE sounded brighter than the Tecamp, but I didn't spend much time playing with the EQ settings to get a broader picture. Anyways - the Elfs (elves?) are around, and I hope will be arriving in the UK soon. The one I saw didn't have a variable voltage selector, so sadly ordering one from over here is not an option

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1500749576' post='3339996'] Thanks for all the input. The most important aspect is the spacing for me, I've had a couple of 35" before and although I wouldn't choose that length it is usable. I've been checking out various specs online but not all list the spacing. No rush so I'll keep looking. [/quote] If the 35" scale is acceptable, then you can also include the original Yamaha TRB-6 and TRB-6p to your list (the series II perhaps also)- those should be 19mm at the bridge. The newer one (TRB-1006) went down all the way to 17mm

Something very balanced about the way those Neon White strings match the pottery in the background Everything just seems to flow together - great work!

Sort of reminds me of those melting clocks in some surrealist paintings... so how about "Dali's Daydream" ?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1500456021' post='3337838'] There's a used one currently at Bass direct that looks nice. [/quote] If memory serves me right, most of the Ibanez 6-strings tend to be either 35-inch scale, or around 17mm string pacing (or both) Maybe they've changed the specs more recently - in which case, a great option for sure

The Yamaha TRB JP1 (Patitucci's signature model) comes to mind - though probably a push to find one sub £1k. The JP1 has 34" if memory serves me right - they increased it to 35" for the updated JP2. (obviously, not headless or minimalist body, but if it sounds/plays anything like the TRB5's I've tried, it should be a great instrument Happy hunting!