PRICE DROP to $450 Shipped
For sale is a 1991 Heartfield DR4 in very good condition with original hard case and a little case candy (the owners manual!). The bass was made in Japan at the legendary Fujigen factory.
I wasn't planning to list this for sale but a TBer was tire-kicking on the fan club thread and convinced me to take some pics. I realized that since I have three of these DR4s, one should go as I have been on a recent mission to get rid of basses that I have in duplicate, let alone triplicate!
I affectionately call these basses "the poor man's Wal" because they incorporate filter-based active electronics, like the Wal. Activate the toggle switch to go from regular active electronics to the filter. I recorded several tracks on my college band's CD using the six-string version of this bass, and indeed you can hear the Wal-like growl for a fraction of the cost, which is exactly why I started playing these basses in the early 90's as a college student. Today, I own several Wal basses, yet I have never given up on my Heartfields, and I actually play them more than my Wals. My Heartfields are simply among my favorite basses.
These basses were conceived in the late 80's at the Fujigen factory. They were developed in collaboration with Fender and Fujigen for Fender to be able to better compete in the "design-forward" market where they were losing badly to Ibanez and other foreign copanies/manufacturers who departed from traditional designs in favor of creating more contemporary instruments.
As a result, these basses have many unique "design-forward" features. In addition to the unique electronics, this bass has a "Tri-lam" neck. Tri lam means that in addition to the usual neck and fingerboard "layers" to the neck, there is a third layer, a laminate of graphite in between. This was meant to give the best of both worlds-- the organic tone of wood with some of the benefits of graphite such as reduced "dead spots." You can see the graphite woven fibers at the headstock as they emerge from under the finger board. Very cool.
These basses are also very light weight and balance quite well. Ergonomically speaking, these are among my favorite basses to play. Nice thin neck profile too. Very fast action if you want it as you can get the strings nice and low.
String spacing is nice and wide, and the pickups are two noiseless jazz style pickups made by EMG for Heartfield.
For more info and history, check out this cool fan site
Heartfield Central
This bass is in very good condition. Just two tiny compression dings about the size of a pencil tip, and one tiny finish check (about 1/2") on the back of the bass. I have photographed them all below in high resolution. As you can see they are hardly noticeable.
The finish is pearl white and the bass which appears more as a TV white in person and on camera.
The bass will be shipped to you in the OHSC. The case has some wear for sure with cracking, a missing and indented foot, and one of four latches missing the handle. that said the case is fully functional and protective, and can surely be rejuvenated with some TLC.
My asking price is $450 shipped, CONUS only. If you have any questions, please PM me. I would consider trades but much prefer to do a cash sale.
Thanks for looking.
RBM
