Hey guys!
This one is really,
really tough to throw up for sale. If it doesn't sell, so be it, because it's a great instrument.
In 2008, I had Tune- the hand-made Japanese brand, not the cheap Korean company- build me a replica of a bass I stupidly got rid of back in 2002/2003. It's a custom body design with a long upper horn for incredibly perfect balance and, imo, perfect body positioning when standing.
Specs:
- Bullseye model
- Alder body
- Flamed Koa top/back/headstock
- All Maple 5-pc neck, neck-thru construction
- Beautiful Gaboon Ebony fretboard
- Black Gotoh tuners
- Black Tune bridge, 19mm string spacing
- 36" scale
- Tune pickups/3-band preamp
This bass sounds incredible. The pickups, to my ears, are the closest things to Lane Poors on the market. Extraordinarily clear, but still some warmth. The preamp sounds closest to a Demeter to me, though I'm not sure on the frequency and boost specifications. It's an incredible studio bass (which is the reason I'm hesitant) and of course a wonderful live instrument.
The B-string is beyond words.
The long upper horn makes the balance perfect, so even though the bass is decently heavy, it sits just right on a good strap.
The way the body sides are beveled makes it sit very stable on your lap, too. The edges on the bottom have a much smaller radius so that the sides are more square so it doesn't want to roll forward/backward, while the upper bouts are much more round to make your right arm comfortable. I thought it was a mistake at first, but it's a really neat trick. I'll show it in pictures when I can snap some.
So why am I selling? Two reasons. One is that I just can't jive with 19mm spacing. This bass feels huge to me because it's a full width string spacing 6 string. I normally go for 16.5mm, and honestly I should've done the same here.
The second is that I'm nearing med school after 7 years of undergrad/graduate school, and am going to need to simplify my lifestyle drastically. I'm getting older and am just playing more and more jazz, so I'm finding I need less diversity in my gear. If this bass was 16.5mm, I'd keep it.
If I had to buy another bass, I would buy this exact same instrument, in same woods, same 36" scale, and just narrow the string spacing to what's comfortable for me. I'm still considering doing just that after this sells.
If it still doesn't sink in how great I think these are, I'll repeat: I owned one, made a huge mistake in selling it, and had then build me an EXACT replica...and now want them to build me another with narrower spacing. These basses really sound incredible. Few instruments on the market challenge it's clarity, which is why they are such popular studio instruments.
I need to get some better pictures of it. It's never been out of my studio, and short of a few recordings, hasn't seen a ton of action. For all intents and purposes, it is brand new and has NO WEAR.
I'll get more pictures when I can.
It would be roughly $3200 to have another made straight from Tune. I'd like to get
$1850 + half shipping $1675 + shipping for this one. It comes with a gigbag, and I'll throw in an extra set of strings.
During construction:
The old one that was being replicated (thanks to BassNW for getting me the pictures from when I bought it from them):
More of the bass for sale:
Thank you! Please feel free to contact me with questions!
