@Gio this bass is glorious
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The only thing that would have made this even better… if the knobs were shaped like nuclear cooling towers (Homer’s Job) 
LOL
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If you played this as a lefty bro… it would mess you up… its strung right-handed 
Check the strings
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I’m guessing it’s an AI Gen. Getting that art right across pickups, pick guard, neck… But who knows. 
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Also noticed that it is strung for a righthander or upside down for a lefty. The B string is at the bottom! (thickest string)
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Lee Pomeroy ( was bass with Jeff Lynne’s ELO for a bit ) plays his lefty like this … strung upside down… he learned on a righty positioned left. Makes his tabs a nightmare… LOL
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Yeah that’d make tabs difficult to follow for sure!
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Yeah I noticed that. The body, controls and cable plug indicate a leftie but the strings are right handed.
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Yes.
Yes it is.
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I went out tonight seeing if I could find any Thomastik-Infeld JR344’s at any of my usual spots. Ended up just going to Ikebe, where they didn’t have them but had the usual set of “average” basses with some interesting additions. First, the usuals they always have (that are still quite nice). First, one for @Megatronpt:
No way would I pay that much for it (they are about half or less that used), but it’s undeniably a nice J.
Next, a couple crazy Ibby 7’s. It’s hard to describe how massive these were, like a whole tree each:
Next up for @sunDOG, a herd of Steineys:
That really nice looking J in the background there is a Black Smoker, and it was pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, something I had never seen before, some MarkBass basses in their traditional colors:
Some nice Longhorns for @MikeC:
And finally, hidden in the back room, one of the purple Orange basses:
Anyway, they didn’t have the T-I’s, but said they might at their “secret” VIP store where apparently they also now keep the curated “very nice” instruments. So they sent me over there.
They didn’t have the T-I rounds (just the flats) but they did have Infelds. I did not buy them as I am unwilling to gamble that much:
meanwhile, this was the “I’m not worthy” collection. The worst bass they had was a Dingwall Afterburner (I’m not joking; I love them but they just went up from there). For example, this $18k Wal:
Or this absolutely gorgeous (and untagged) Alembic:
They even had Jörg’s tiny Mayones:
All in all, a good bass ogling night 
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I think Ellen was test-driving them recently:
https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2024/12/10/ellen-alaverdyan-test-drives-three-markbass-basses/
Just for the record: I did send mine back 
Keep those “Bass Adventures in Tokyo” episodes coming! Especially from those back rooms… that Alembic is something else 
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I was a bit bummed that was the only Polish bass they had. With both Mayones and Maruszczyk making absolute top shelf instruments, I was hoping to see more, but no luck.
That thing was utterly gorgeous.
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Mental note: No Akiya ideas… and no moving to Japan… 
That AtelierZ J bass is indeed a bit spicy on the price…
Thanks for these photo reports… and atill crazy to see that Japan has tons and tons of music shops with showrooms.
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This was just the convenient one for me. Come to visit and I’ll show you a whole neighborhood of shops at least this good.
That’s the one you want, the Beta6. That’s an average new price for it but I would never buy a new one as they immediately take a big dive in value.
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Haha, yes, like these two hollow-body whales here - right up your alley 
(Gorgeous tones though)
(And, not to split hairs, while Maruszczyk undoubtedly is Polish, he is operating out of Germany (and has for a while, IIRC) 
)
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lol oops
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I want the PJ variant… preferably the Boh signature (~6k)
There was a fretless Boh also… about 4k.
Like I said… a bit too spicy… maybe as retirement gift.
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The Longhorn with a burst looks exactly like the one I used to have. The red one is slick. I hope you at least lifted one to to see how lightweight they are. 
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Oh yes!! I feel is should post another Steinberger bass cover - in the new year 
To be honest, I think I should have bought one of these, instead of the Aria… perhaps…
Oh boy, do I need one of those!!
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