Sold - 1979 Ibanez Musician MC-900 - £1000 £1000

[Burns-bass]

This is the *one* bass I'm a bit unsure of selling in my clear out. It's the classic Ibanez, used by artists such as Sting (although he used a fretless, as pictured!)

 

Bass is in Bristol!

 

It's a 1979 Ibanez Musician bass. This is (as far as I can tell) 100% original, including the brass plate at the top and the inscribed back plate. The condition is, for a late 70s bass, very good indeed, but obviously not mint. You can see there is some buckle rash to the back, some slight chips to the front and a few scrapes to the back. That's the bad stuff out of the way, now the good stuff...

 

This thing sounds immense! It's a full bodied 80s beast. I can only liken it to a Wal in terms of feel, sound and weight. You can coax a huge amount of sounds out of this and, if you want to stick some super-bright strings on, would slap like a beast I'm sure.

 

You can see the condition of the hardware is excellent, with little to no discolouration or damage. The bridge, tuners and everything else are great, and function well. I've tried to picture it, but if you can't see, the frets have huge amount of life in them.

 

Finally, it comes with the original Ibanez branded case too which is in fair shape. It's usable, but I wouldn't tour the world with it, let's put it that way. 

 

Price wise, these are fairly rare and I really do like it. So was looking for £1000. 

 

It's collection only, as I'd prefer you to check the condition.

 

I’m in Bristol but can drive to meet up if you’re interested. 
 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Burns-bass

[RaNoFuNkY]

Amazing! I would have this in an instance if I could. Somebody buy this and put me out of my misery. 

 

GLWTS

[Lo-E]

I don’t think that’s a ’79.  I believe that’s an even rarer ‘78. 
 

I’ve owned a number of late ‘70s Ibbys over the years (I still have 4) and I can attest that these Musicians are absolutely top-notch instruments. They have a unique, mid-heavy tone and the build quality is bomb proof. 
 

Whoever buys this is getting one helluva good bass. 

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Lo-E said:

I don’t think that’s a ’79.  I believe that’s an even rarer ‘78. 
 

I’ve owned a number of late ‘70s Ibbys over the years (I still have 4) and I can attest that these Musicians are absolutely top-notch instruments. They have a unique, mid-heavy tone and the build quality is bomb proof. 
 

Whoever buys this is getting one helluva good bass. 

Nice! I went by the serial number (assumed 79 was for 1979!). I know the model changed over the years. As you say, it’s a bit of a beauty.

[Lo-E]

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

Nice! I went by the serial number (assumed 79 was for 1979!).  

My apologies; The serial # photo on my tiny phone screen looks like it starts with 78.  After reading your reply I zoomed in closer and saw I was wrong. 
 

The tuners, control layout and bridge color suggest to me that this is a pretty early one, nonetheless. It’s a real beauty. 

[Lo-E]

Okay, I’ve now gone and done my research so as not to post erroneously again!

 

This bass is from October 1979 and is, in fact, an MC-900 model. It differs from the MC-924 in its 22 fret fingerboard and a slightly different preamp. They are otherwise the same bass. The MC-924 came later but I’m not sure if they overlapped. 

[Skybone]

If it's collection only, you might want to let everyone know a rough location.

 

Gorgeous bass BTW.

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Skybone said:

If it's collection only, you might want to let everyone know a rough location.

 

Gorgeous bass BTW.

Good point! 
 

I’m located in Bristol (but currently at Chiveley services handing over a bass) so happy to travel if required. If not as if fuel is expensive. Err…

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Lo-E said:

Okay, I’ve now gone and done my research so as not to post erroneously again!

 

This bass is from October 1979 and is, in fact, an MC-900 model. It differs from the MC-924 in its 22 fret fingerboard and a slightly different preamp. They are otherwise the same bass. The MC-924 came later but I’m not sure if they overlapped. 

Thanks for this. I’ll update the ads when I’m back. 

[Bassassin]

3 hours ago, Lo-E said:

Okay, I’ve now gone and done my research so as not to post erroneously again!

 

This bass is from October 1979 and is, in fact, an MC-900 model. It differs from the MC-924 in its 22 fret fingerboard and a slightly different preamp. They are otherwise the same bass. The MC-924 came later but I’m not sure if they overlapped. 

Came on to say exactly that. You don't see too many MC900s, I think they were only around for a year or two before being superceded by the 924, which had a much longer lifespan & boost in popularity by being adopted by a number of 'name' bassists.

 

Very beautiful & quite rare bass - I wonder if @Dave Swift might be interested?

[Shaggy]

Ah, the only bass out of hundreds owned that I ever bought brand new - also a ‘79, from Hessey’s in Liverpool.  Stonkingly good golden-era Ibanez bass - though I’d personally compare it closer to Alembic in terms of tone / playing ergonomics rather than Wal.  As mentioned above, Mr Swift is a big fan of them.

Bump for a top Basschatter 👍

[Burns-bass]

2 hours ago, Shaggy said:

Ah, the only bass out of hundreds owned that I ever bought brand new - also a ‘79, from Hessey’s in Liverpool.  Stonkingly good golden-era Ibanez bass - though I’d personally compare it closer to Alembic in terms of tone / playing ergonomics rather than Wal.  As mentioned above, Mr Swift is a big fan of them.

Bump for a top Basschatter 👍

Thanks for the info! I’ve never owned or played a “proper” Alembic (I had an Elan I think, but not the same). 
 

If nobody wants this I’ll string it with D’Addario flats and sell something else. (I’ve a limit of 4 basses, and no more!)

[Lo-E]

13 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

If nobody wants this I’ll string it with D’Addario flats and sell something else. 

Wanting it is hardly the issue; I want it desperately!  Being across an ocean from it is more the issue.

[tubbybloke68]

Funny you reference a Wal because I’ve always thought I can get my mc924 to sound very similar to one and after playing a Wal the Ibanez feels almost like a medium scale, the reach seems so much less.

wonderful wonderful basses as someone else has pointed out definitely the‘golden era’ for ibby basses in my humble opinion.mines going to the grave with me I think.

good luck with the sale 😊

[Munurmunuh]

If I had a bass that sounded like this, you wouldn't catch me selling it

[Burns-bass]

Thanks to the delivery of a new Martin guitar (the clear out has, err stalled) I'm able to post this now as I have a proper study box.