Kawai FIIB Neck-through 4-string. Beautiful, original Japanese "poor man's Alembic"

[squarewave]

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD

I have for sale this outstanding 1985 Japanese Kawai F2B bass. It's a great-playing, great-sounding, great-looking bass.

It's in excellent condition, with only a few minor dings that can be seen up close -nothing major at all. Take a look at the photos. The most notable flaw is a few small dings in the mile-thick clear finish below the neck pickup. You can see them in the photos if you look really closely.

The frets are in excellent condition, showing only minimal wear. Overall, the bass is quite beautiful and in amazing condition for its age.

The through-neck is 5 pc. laminated Maple and Mahogany with a 22 fret Rosewood fingerboard. The body is 3 pc. laminated Zebrano/Maple/Zebrano (zebra wood).

This early example has the heavy brass bridge and strings through the body. Original Japanese Gotoh tuners. All original active electronics.

The pickups are a Kawai design P-Bass type with built-in pre-amps and require a 9 volt battery for each. The pre-amps control the tone character. There are switches for each pickup. In the center position the bass is essentially flat. The other two switch positions provide combinations of cut and boost at various frequencies.

It weighs 9.5 lbs. Full 34" scale. 1-5/8" at the nut (halfway between most P and J basses). Just under 3/4 string spacing at the bridge- let's call it 18.5 mm (very comfortable spacing).

I don't have the original case, but will include a non-original gig bag.

I'm asking $800 including shipping in the continental U.S. PM if you want a quote for shipping out of the country. Be sure to check out my feedback if you are interested. PayPal or other forms of payment are fine with me. I'm not really looking for trades right now.

[elgecko]

That's more like the "middle class man's Alembic". Looks much nicer than the Ibanez Musician, the real "poor man's Alembic".

[mb94952]

Thanks man ! Here's a bump for you, too ! Good luck on your sale, too ! I dig the zebra wood. Very Alembic looking.

Me - All black Kawai FIIB for sale with black hardware.
Squarewave - Zebra Kawai FIIB with gold hardware.



This is what I love about TalkBass - You and I have the same bass for sale. Both rare, both cool, and we can help each other out here.

Mike

[genstormbringer]

a beautiful bass

[ledyard]

does it sound similar to its alembic counterpart? Did they use alembic specs for the guts or is it all its own thing?

[Sufenta]

Bump for a really nice Kawai. These are so much fun to play and have an incredible range of tones. I've got flats on mine and it just oozes buttery goodness. Definitely a great bass that's under the general radar here on TB.

[squarewave]

Originally Posted by ledyard

does it sound similar to its alembic counterpart? Did they use alembic specs for the guts or is it all its own thing?

I haven't owned an Alembic yet. The guts are not an Alembic copy. There are many, diverse tones on tap, with the two 3-position active-EQ switches and pickup blending.

[squarewave]

SOLD