Quin

Thanks a lot! I saw that catalog too but unfortunately it has no proper date either :/. U did help me out here! Ill post some pics when I'm back home, but don't expect too much from it... someone abused it quite a bit before me, no pickups or electronics and crack in the body wood... welp i had been looking for one for a year and snagged it for €250 like that

Bassists of the internet, I'm struggling to date my kawai f2b and I know I'm not the only one. It has two serial numbers, one on the headstock and one under the neck pickup in the wood. One starts with 80, the other 78. The kawai website says they were sold from 1985 onwards but someone told me he bought his in japan in 1981. Does anyone have any clue when they actually started making them? Or else, can owners of any Kawai 80s models tell me their serial number so I can make a list and perhaps decode that? I'd love to see if there is a knowledgeable soul out there with wisdom to share, Have a great day all

Update: I just went and bought the Ibanez, tested it out there for a while and really like it so far, ill send some pics when im back home

I also just want to say, I'm genuinely surprised by all you kind strangers. I made a thread once before and every time so many people spend their time to help out someone else and i appreciate that a lot

Fun story! If that about John Taylor is true, thats pretty funny as I didn't know they were priced much differently. The Mc900 im interested in is for sale for 650£. Is that a good price? also if you don't mind me asking, how much did the mc924 cost new? I have only found one old japanese catalog but its in yen, and I'm curious about the price here in europe

coincidentally, i have been keeping my eye out for the kawais for two years now. I wanted one as my first bass when one was available close to me but thought it was maybe a bit much then... now they havent popped up here for a while (netherlands :p)

(the spoiler i mentioned is in good condition by the way, not any apparant marks)

Thanks for the responses! change of topic might sound a little weird, but I want one of theses as a kind of poor mans alembic. i know they dont really sound the same but i have a washburn eagle and a westone thunder iii from the same time and i like the japanese 80s quite a bit so far. But I do have a possibility to buy an Alembic Spoiler from 1988, but it would cost me around 2600€. I know prices for alembics have gone up but is this worth it? it does have a nice mahogany/flamed maple top

Hey, maybe a hopeless attempt but I'm really curious about the difference between the old Ibanez musician basses like the MC900 and the Aria SB1000. Does anyone have an experience with one or hopefully both? Is either better than the other in your opinion? I can't decide which one I want to get, as I know they are both great basses. I hope someone can help me out ill attach pictures of both basses

Well, there is an Sb elite I for sale now for 580£, how does the Sb elite I compare to the sb-700? i might just go with that then

One last question, how much of a price difference is there between the Thunder II and III? as it is pretty much the same model. I guess 580£ is still overpriced for a thunder III isnt it?

ironically enough, i was finally convinced to go for the aria, but it's just been sold when i looked it up again... it was for sale for weeks without anything happening so the timing is a bit disappointing.. well, I am starting to doubt going for the westone seeing that it looks a little overpriced, i might be better of waiting for something else. thanks anyway for all your advice kind people

I'd like one, but it's not completely necessary. I just want something unique and those matsumoku basses just appeal to me. I can try my best to play them both, maybe It will clear things up a bit. Thanks

I've seen that too, and I really like the sound he gets out of it too. plus, I like the little snowflakes on the fretboard and ebony :p, I wish I could just get both

Well, one thing i do find important is that the bass doesnt really get drowned out by the guitar, I play with a little band sometimes but we really play a lot of different genres so that would be hard to say. A big benefit for the westone is that i could switch it active or passive and between pickups etc. But i grew up listening to duran duran because of my dad and John Taylor used an SB700 on the first album, and I do like that bass tone a lot. I'm just slightly scared that the aria is not as flexible as I want it to be