noelk27

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1359551132' post='1956419']Dubious mods are fairly commonplace on a bass of this age.[/quote] And on bass forums ...

Thanks for the info. The space is a recording studio/rehearsal rooms as well as a store?

350+ guitars and basses. Sure there are loads that never get played.

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1359964924' post='1962479']Thanks! You didn't have to saw the headstocks off to show me though! [/quote] Doh!

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1359575102' post='1956959']Weird, so those covers are original?[/quote] Yes. Truss rod covers were originally wood ('79 walnut stain), being replaced by plastic circa 1980, although some of the higher end and the likes of the B&G range had metal.

Well, early 80s FujiGen did operate its custom shop. And the FujiGen custom shop would build anything you asked if you had the money. But this looks like a cut and shunt job. It's hard to tell, but there do appear to be two serial numbers on the headstock reverses - one in the earlier brown print, the other with the later yellow/gold "Crafted in ..." text.

Anyone dealt with this store before?

Mr BRX makes an interesting point about Wal basses. But, I'd suggest that Wals did little better than hold value on the used market until the brand was reintroduced. When the new version Wal introduced its price list the prices being asked made original Wals appear relatively good value, as well as being readily available, and this is why prices for original Wals increased significantly over a short period of time. But, for anyone thinking of investing in an original Wal expecting to make the same returns as over the last five or so years should seriously reconsider. Same thing happened with the Yamaha SG guitar. Before the reissues appeared in the '00s you could pick up examples of an early '80s 2000 for circa £400. Now, you're looking at nearer a £1,000 given the bounce created by the reissues and the new version of the classic SG design. But, is that trend likely to continue? The answer is, most probably, no. The next surge may happen in another 30 years when Yamaha repeat the process, when the bounce in original '70s and '80s SGs will be significant, while the bounce in the '10s will be marginal. All that said, I also agree with Mr BRX, that the best thing you can do is buy the best example of a Fender Precision or Jazz, probably the Standard models, with all the extras, and stick it in the closet for 30 years.

G&L wasn't producing a diffusion line in 1990. Your bass will date to September 1999. Japanese Tribute serial numbers comprise seven digits: first digit is year, next two digits is month. Korean, eight digits: first two digits is year, next two digits is month.

[quote name='chopper' timestamp='1359700008' post='1958918']The bass is labelled "Tibute series Made in Japan" and is Crafted in September 1990.[/quote] Are you sure you've correctly dated the bass?

[quote name='chopper' timestamp='1359630387' post='1957749'][B]een offered a G&L SB-2 Tribute Made in Japan.[/quote] Depends. If it's branded G&L "Tribute" then it's an early example, and quite rare. If it's branded G&L "Premium" then it's a later example, and not so rare. Quality-wise, the early MIJ Tribute line had a few teething troubles, but was soon outputting instruments of typically high Japanese craftsmanship. After G&L moved production of its diffusion line to South Korea the original contract allowed G&L Japan to continue making G&L branded product, and that's when the "Premium" name came into existence. Those instruments offered more options that the MIK Tribute line, including, as mentioned above, more exotic finishes, as well as optional neck profiles, much like G&L USA. The quality is bullet-proof, and, in my opinion, MIJ Premium instruments had better build/finish quality than the comparable BBE era G&L USA instruments. Without knowing what you've been offered it's problematic to advise on trade value, but, when the MIJ Premium line appeared an L2000 MIJ had a sticker price around 80-85% that of an MIA example, when an MIK example was around 40-45% of an MIA example.

Not forgetting ... http://www.sugiguitars.com/ http://www.fgnguitars.com/ http://www.tuneguitars.com/

I'd have said heart, not head, and certainly not from what you've read in a book. Composing by numbers takes you nowhere, but it's a good remedy for insomnia. You write what you feel.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1358783083' post='1944880']I had no idea that the yen was so strong against the pound . I know the Japanese economy had it's own crisis a few years before that in the West , but they seem to have dealt with it it far more effectively than we seem able to at the moment ..[/quote] Well, unemployment in Japan is running at roughly double it's historical average. Since the start of the world financial crisis it has hit a record high, in 2009, and continues to remain high. Corporate insolvency has been at record levels, since the last spike in the 80s. Personal bankruptcy is also on the rise, since the end of the last boom, in the 90s. In the last couple of years it has been consistently trading at a deficit, and has dropped from second to third in the table of the world's economies. Japan has also been heavily criticised by the International Monetary Fund for its failure to deal with its long-term borrowing and its low tax revenue levels. Its economy is not in a good state. A lot of similar things could be said about the UK, but since the start of the financial crisis, when the pound was buying circa 250 Yen, in recent times the pound has been buying between 120 and 130 Yen. Your buying power against the Yen has halved since 2007. But, you're a little better off this week, as your pound would buy you circa 140 Yen.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1358768878' post='1944558']That is a lot of money for an Aria SB1000 ![/quote] It's not an SB1000, it's an SB-B&G I, which is derived from the SB700/SB-R60 model(s). [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1358764224' post='1944469']Because if you ordered it from Japan you would then have to pay VAT and 4.4% import tax on it, to bring it into the UK.[/quote] The priced quoted in Yen is the list in Japan, and the street price is likely to be lower. You'd also have to deduct the 5 per cent Japanese sales tax to make a true comparison. Initial information I saw indicated that Aria was commissioning the FujiGen Custom Shop to build the B&G I Limited Edition. The FujiGen Custom Shop is easily the equal - if not the better - of the Fender Masterbuilt Workshop and many boutique makers. If you go back and look at the list price of the Ibanez Musician and Greco Anniversary, which had prices in the UK of circa £6,500 and £7,000 respectively, at circa £4,000 in the UK the "Aria" is quite cheap.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1358536977' post='1941182']On the question of whether this is the only one , it's conceivable that Yamaha did a special run with maple boards and that some were sent to Europe for display at the Musicmesse in Frankfurt last spring that were then made available to the public . Pure speculation on my part though , I have no real idea if that is the case .[/quote] No, maple and ebony touchboards are special order. I've got a ebony fretless due in April. Also giving thought to a sunburst/maple fretted.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1358505688' post='1940333']I totally agree - it's just that they'd have to potentially print this in every issue as new buyers come into the market.[/quote] While I realise you're saying "every issue" for dramatic effect, it allows us to explore the idea that the better magazines, mixing interviews/articles and product reviews/tests, take a cyclical view to what they publish, so they have a content plan that will usually extend to 18 or 24 months. They also know that back issues are both an information resource and revenue stream, so routinely cross-refer content. Fortunately, for a magazine concentrating on musical instruments/technologies, manufacturers have a tendency to update their product every year or few years, giving the magazine a never-ending supply of product to review. Unless BGM actually wants to be a niche within a niche within a niche then that fact is manna. Reviews in isolation can often feel formulaic irrespective of the price tag, but are all fine and well. Grouping and comparison testing is potentially a better real world approach. Reviewers that are able to relate and cross-refer product is also another real world assistance. It's all about striking the balance, between the entry/hobbyist and the professional/elitist, and the magazine should know its readership, in terms of experience and income, because it has used its subscriber requests/renewals system or its readership survey/annual awards to profile the relevant criteria. Interviews/articles can then be themed and targeted, but that requires an editorship with an open mind, taking a non-judgmental stance, keeping a finger on the pulse of trends and styles, and aiming to get a balance of interesting, as well as controversial, interviewees, mixing the well established/respected with the current/break-through. But, you don't get that by asking every interviewee if they slap, while laughing into your studded-gloved hand.

I don't know, but when the editor tries to sell me on bass being "as essential to a fulfilling life as food, water and beer", it has me wondering if there are a few too many scoops at lunchtimes and not enough writing and/or checking of copy in the afternoons. In all seriousness, I've seen magazines of this ilk before, where the people involved are more interested in running around, going to press launches and parties, and not sufficiently interested in doing the research or writing necessary to produce a good product. They wither on the vine and die, with the usual excuses of "we never had enough time to bed an issue", or "we didn't have a big enough design budget", or "we couldn't afford to pay a fact-checker", or "we were continually let down by our parent company/marketing department/subscriptions/printer/distributor".

[quote name='Teobass88' timestamp='1358467944' post='1939991']Well...each video or photo I remember about that bass in Cliff's hands makes me answer "yes at all" By the way, it stinks of commercial move and nothing more, to me...[/quote] Well, as I never rated Burton, can't say as I paid a huge amount of attention to him. But, when it comes to the APII basses he used, my mind tells me it was mostly an SB1000, which just happened to be black, and an SB-B&G I. As for the commercialism comment, I can't say as I'd agree with you. It's only in recent times that the Japanese have started to understand the concept of legacy in modern innovation or design. Previously, there was either the completely up to date or the ancient, with anything from the recent past being immediately dismissed. Now, they've come to accept that in their continual race to do better, along the way, they've created some iconic designs. So, when it comes to recreating those iconic designs in the present, I'd trust the motives of a Japanese company much more than, say, an American one. The SB700, and it's revised versions, the R60 and Elite I, were Aria's most successful SB models, in terms of sales. this is the first time in around 20 years it's been available again. Yea, really feels like Aria are milking it.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1358466079' post='1939956']Didn't burton favour the SB 2 black n gold? That only has one pickup.[/quote] Don't know enough about Burton to comment on which he used most, but he certainly owned and used two examples of the SB-B&G I.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1358456963' post='1939701']Why now?[/quote] Well, the model in the OP's post is the SB-B&G I, which was introduced in '83. It's the 30th anniversary, hence the reissue.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1358433881' post='1939049']Aria have reintroduced the SB1000 models recently. I reviewed one myself, a SB1000RIB and found it to be a superb instrument, very well built indeed with a super fast neck. The price tag is up in the 'premium instruments' range, but the model we had in to the magazine studio was flawless.[/quote] Rumour is Aria was set to commission FujiGen to build these reissues. Did you see anything mentioned in the product literature to confirm this? Or did it go back to Tokai?

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1358359366' post='1937813']Beat me to it.[/quote] Great minds?