For sale is a very pristine (MINT) and very rarely seen Kawai RB65A bass guitar featuring the old Kawai 3+1 headstock which will never be available on any other bass now that MusicMan has a registered mark on the 3+1 design!
These basses were made in Japan from the late 80's until the year 2000. This one is in minty condition with an incredible feel and responsiveness. The bass sounds great. In addition to the versatility of its P/J pickup combo it has an amazing preamp that sounds clear and powerful and some beautiful and beatiful-sounding wood.
Pickups are Schallers, bridge is a Schaller Roller Bridge and tuners are Gotoh. The finish is Natural. This bass looks and feels like an older Warwick and it just screams "Custom Instrument" yet it is factory made. It is truly an amazing piece. Notice the incredible grain and bookmatching!
The following info is from Kawai's website (the first paragraph details the 5 string version of this bass which shares many of the same features):
• RB865A- 5-string bolt on neck bass. Unlike prior Kawai bolt-on neck basses, the RB865A featured a neck slot that extended deeper into the body and a pitched headstock. The deeper neck slot provided better neck stability and the the pitched headstock eliminated the use of string trees. The body is Ash and the neck is Maple with a 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard. The bridge is a gold Schaller 3-D5. The RB865 pickups are a Kawai design J-Bass type with an active circuit . The RAC-100 active circuit provides for a ±18dB bass cut and boost and a ±12dB treble cut and boost. The RB865A was available in a Natural finish, Trans Red, Pearl White and Black.
• RB65A- 4-string bolt on neck bass. Similar in design to the RB865A with a deep cut neck slot, Ash body, pitched headstock, Schaller 3-D4 bridge (black), and a Maple neck with a 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard. The RB65A uses the same RAC-100 active circuit as the RB865A, only it is combined with Schaller PJX pickups
( 1 J-Bass Type and 1 P-Bass Type). The RB65A was available in a Natural finish, Trans Red, Pearl White and Black.
Pics below. Note that I DO have the electronics cover but it is removed for the closeups to showcase the amazing circuitboard preamp.
My asking price is $300 shipped conus or best resaonable offer, no gig bag (sorry!). If you are outside the CONUS please PM so we can try to work something out.
Thanks for looking and feel free to PM with any questions you may have.
RBM
