So here they are…
I spent 3 days going to what I would guess to be at least 20 instrument shops (and 1.5x that in record stores along the way).
I saw so many super cool basses in the wild it was unreal.
Tokyo is truly one of a kind for this.
Howard took me to the Ochanomizu neighborhood where there is literally 2 blocks of nothing but music stores.
And I left that night with this…
Fernandes ZO-3 bass.
I have been looking all over for one of these and damn impossible to find in the states.
And it is so darn unique (and inexpensive) I decided to snag it.
It might just replace my Traveler bass, tbd, but allows me to play outside with no headphones or amp with built in speaker.
Cute and fun and looks very - Japanese.
I left that night and went back to meet my buddy and his wife, had dinner, did some further research online and went to bed.
The next morning I found myself with about 3 hours to kill before heading to the airport.
3 basses really stuck with me as being very unique.
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Gretsch Billy Bo - absolutely stunning in person, however, same electronics as my hollow body, so kinda thought - meh, $2100 for looks alone and maybe some slight tone difference is not for me. Pass
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'95 Rickenbacker 4003S in BLUE (with some sparkle) - mostly because the price was so right for such a rare color. But, I love the Ricky I have and this really didn’t offer anything different except color, so. Pass.
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Yamaha BJ-5B (BJ = Terry & the Blue Jeans - a Japanese surf band) This was a signature bass for the guy in this band (never heard of them but now need to do some research, lol).
@howard remarked that he had never seen one before and they only made 100. Well, 2 doors down there was another one! After some further research, turns out there were only 50 made. So I went back and checked them both out again.
#2 had a handmade pickguard route out to access the truss rod and a really bad paint repair on the headstock, and a non-original case.
#1 had the original case (and keys, documents, manuals, truss rod wrench, etc) in immaculate condition. Only a couple dings on the body of this one, so, I bought it.
As an aside, the clerks in these stores bend over backwards for you. They packed up everything for shipping and fashioned a carry handle on the box for ease of transport. The guy even vacuumed out the case and polished up the bass)!
I really wanted something uniquely Japanese - I think I got it, and a piece of Japanese music history.
Some info I found:
Yamaha BJ5B 5-string Bass Guitar Terry & The Blue Jeans Signature Model. Made in Japan at the same time as the SBV and SGV re-issues, for the Japanese surf band Terry & The Blue Jeans (Takeshi Terauchi) in a limited edition of 50. There was also a matching limited edition guitar. This bass is essentially a cross between a Yamaha SBV (body and neck shape) and a Yamaha TRB II (Bridge, pickups and electronics).
Technical Specifications: Body: Probably Ash. Finish: Pearlescent White. Neck: Probably Maple, Pearlescent White .Fingerboard: Rosewood. Scale Length: 34" - 20 Frets. String Spacing At Bridge: 18mm between string centres. String Spacing At Nut: 36mm B to G. Weight: 5.7kg Pickups: 2 active single coils with dummy coils. Controls: Master Volume, Pan, Bass cut/boost, Middle cut/boost, Treble cut/boost Bridge: Gold-plated brass. Hardware: Gold Nut:Gold Plated w/zero fret
Here you can see the bass (and its guitar cousin) in action:
