Yes, I am referring to the Pbass Aeros. John E has two in his picture up above in this thread.
The P/J Aeros are lovely. I used to have one but the Pbass version is very hard to find. Maybe John E can chime in here but I think the Pbass version was only made from 2008-2009.
Did I miss a picture? This one looks like it is all P/J and J - the standard Aerodynes.
Did you mean a different pic upthread?
Regardless, I totally believe you, they must be super rare as I have never seen one in any of the shops, or for sale online (though I don’t really search them out either I guess).
Hmm, maybe not so rare; Ikebe has a bunch in stock, looks like new production.
At least two other colors too (a white one, and a truly horrible burst). Cool! I dig that green with matching headstock.
Ah… Ya it confusing. The Aeros are either Jazz or Pbass based on body shape rather than pickups configuration.
Oddly, you can find a Jazz Bass shape with Jazz pups or p/j but both may have a Jazz shape body. Actually the Aero with Jazz pups are quite rare.
I think people won’t immediately realize just how rare John’s collection is. None of the Aeros in that picture are readily available. I would love any of them.
I’m sure he’ll add something more knowledgeable to this discussion but all of his Aeros are either the flame Maple tops which are like unicorn poop to find or the Pbass versions which are more like finding hen’s teeth.
All of the ones pictured were Japan only if I am not mistaken. Beautiful collection.
Ya… That terrible green one is part of a brand new series that just started this year.
I am surprised by the choice of colours.
Until this new series I don’t think they ever had an actual Pbass shape with Pbass pickup.
The ones John has are considered valuable collectors.
The ones you just posted are brand new. I wonder how they are selling? I like the sort of sky blue ones…
Hmm, now that I think about it I don’t remember if the P/J’s I have seen had J or P bodies. It’s possible they had J bodies, yeah. The P/J’s are the most common configuration you see; I’ll check the body type next time I see one.
Howard, thanks for chatting! The world of bass guitars is so interesting.
One of the big problems is that all the older basses were designed and produced by Fender Japan. They were known for taking risks rather than just for producing what might sell.
The semi-acoustic Pbass John has a picture of up above is a great example. They didn’t sell well but we’re super interesting and unique. Fender US would never take such a risk.
Well… Fender Japan no longer exists and all the decisions are now being made the parent company which I think is called FMIC (Fender Music Instrument Corp?). They dictate what gets made and so I think Fender stuff from Japan maintains the high quality as always but is not unique anymore.
Sorry to ramble.
No worries! It’s what we do here 
I’m pretty interested in the history here myself. '80s Fender Japan instruments were manufactured by FujiGen, until they changed suppliers to Tokai and Dyna in the '90s. Apparently it’s FujiGen again but I am not 100% on that. And the corporate management here has had similar history changing hands, like you noted.
TBH, I’m not really a Fender guy - I love my new P-bass but overall I am generally a lot more in to Japanese manufacturers for instruments. I’m still kind of laughing at myself for buying the P, actually; I’d always assumed for a classic bass style I’d go with one of Deviser’s several lines (Momose, Bachhus, etc) or a more boutique place like Black Smoker or something, before doing Fender. But I loved it in the shop, and you know how that goes 
I also love the Japanese brands. I am really interested in the Bacchus Twenty-Four. Handmade, reasonably priced and full of features.
My wife is Japanese and I lived in Chiba for 6 years. I used to live roaming around Ochanomisu… although at that time I was a guitar guy and had never picked up a bass
We will be back in Japan in April for a few weeks and I will definitely be coming home with a used bass of some description. Atelier Z and Moon are also quite nice basses.
Yes there are a blend of bodies regardless of pickup config. I had no idea until I started buying them.
The flame to Js and straight Ps (along with some PJs) were part of a shorter lived DiMarzio collection. I was holding out for a red straight P but caved and got the PJ instead. Only ever saw one straight P, was that “natural” color.
Ad for that collection is below.
Nice! PM me before you visit if you’re interested in meeting up in Ochanomizu or something while here. Kurosawa’s a good starting point for Atelier Z and Moon
Some of mine are from the DiMarzio collection, some are not. I left one set of Dimarzios in a JJ but have changed out all other pickups:
@matt.g.ward.esq ….
Here’s a video with all of them
https://youtu.be/NevgFzM1UyU
That sounds like another goal to shoot for.
Love the video @John_E even more impressive is the collection of your Saxophones you have on the screen in the background.
I missed this comment completely till @Barney quoted. I thought to myself this is a good fella he and I will make good friends, lol.
Haven’t seen so many Maruszczyk basses in one place outside of their own website.
Nice
Boutique brands usually have really hard time penetrating the mainstream. Very few brands have the escape velocity to make it out of the unknown.
Agreed. The story behind Maruszczyk basses is kind of cool . Adrian Maruszczyk is an accomplished bass player turned luthier. He makes the new Wojtek Pilichowski signature bass (used to be Mayones).
Here is the two of them playing together:
They are absolutely awesome and plus they are the only one demoing Delano pickups on the interwebz. Delano is quite an awesome company but they are doing so poorly marketing their products.
