Ibanez Affirma Series (AFR-104)

[four2oh]

Since there if very little about the Ibanez Affirma series on the 'net, thought i'd share some photos of my two babies.



The one on the left (s/n #920/1000) has a Hawaiian Koa wood body, while the one on the right (s/n #757) has a Hawaiian Saman wood body.



basses swapped positions, #757 on left and #920 on right.



and a close up of the body of #920.

ok quick history of the Ibanez Affirma series:

Attempting to break into the high-end boutique bass market in the early 90s, Ibanez launched the Affirma series designed by Swiss Luither, Rolf Spuler ( http://www.rolfspuler.com/ ).

Per Rolf's bio on his website:

"in 1990 ibanez launched the afr ‚affirma’ bass, of which some 750 units were built until 1996. the instrument was totally my creation and manufactured under exclusive license in ibanez’ custom shop at fujigen, japan.
my relationship to ibanez remains on best terms to the day. i particularly appreciate their generous return of the copyright which enables me to continue producing afr basses."

The Affirma series was offered in either 4-string (AFR-104) or 5-string (AFR-105), fretted or fretless(F), and came in following body woods: Kao, Saman, Kralo Walnut, or Flamed Maple.

other stats

NECK - 1Pc MAPLE AFR HALF THRU
FRETBOARD - EBONY
INLAY - PEARL DOT
BRIDGE - TAILPIECE / NUT MONO RAIL w/STAY D-TUNE
HARDWARE - COSMO BLACK
PICKUP CONFIG - PICKUP'S AFR 4 SPECIAL POLYPHONIC PIEZO
CONTROL - AFR 2 BAND


This has to be one of the most light weight, ergonomic bass i've ever played. And the piezos give it such a warm sound. also the Stay D-Tune drop-D turner located on that bridge is handy placement.

Ibanez went on to recreate the Affirma series with Luthite bodies as their mass-produced Ergodyne EDA series of basses.

a few photos of the Affirma series from the Ibanez catalog can be found here:

http://www.ibanezregister.com/cpg148/index.php?cat=172

[Akirabanana]

Thanks for the Info

I played one of these in a tiny shop outside of Berlin about a year ago not knowing what it was. It was a fantastic sounding bass and despite the rather unconventional body shape I found it to be quite comfortable.

[four2oh]

Most of the Affirma series run was shipped to Europe, with only a handful apparently making it to the USA (those that did went to those who had Artist Relations with Ibanez).

[Ryan L.]

Interesting. This is the first I have seen or heard of them.

[winston]

I've always been interested in these basses. The only person I know of who played them was Percy Jones of Brand X--he hung up his Wals for these! I believe he plays/played a 5 string fretless tuned CEADG, low to high.

[four2oh]

some additional sales pitchy info snagged from here:

"This series was designed by Swiss luthier, Rolf Spuler. His design incorporates a neck that extends half-way through the body with individual bridges for each string. There is a thumb slot, a pearl/abalone AFR insignia, and a pearl block with Ibanez and the serial number inscriptions inlaid into the body, located between the single coil pickup and the bridge system.

Only the Most Select Woods
In order to insure that every AFR exhibits the right sound, feel and appearance, each piece of wood used in its construction in meticulously selected by experienced craftsmen.
The AFR Half-Through Neck
An essential ingredient of the AFR's superior sound is due to Rolf's extensive study of sound and guitar design. His work in guitar building revealed that the sound character of a bass or guitar should be influenced only by body resonance and pickup response; the neck should be as stiff as possible in order to suppress resonance.Since the neck and body of a bass perform very different acoustic functions, it follows that different materials should be utilized.
To join these materials properly, the AFR's new half-through-body construction affords the best stability because the body is not completely divided (as in standard neck-through-body construction). Also, with half-through-body construction, the AFR's entire body is able to bring all its resonance to bear which provides the optimum in sound character and sensitivity.
The Best of Both Worlds A Maple Neck Reinforced With Graphite
A maple neck with an ebony fingerboard is a classic and proven combination but it tends to overemphasize its resonance that Wad spots' happen. The addition of two graphite bars strengthen and stabilizes the AFR neck in order to achieve a much more balanced response. With this combination of materials, AFR owners receive all the advantages of both wood and graphite necks.
An Entirely New Bridge
Rolf Spuler created the "Mono Rail" bridge (pat. applied for) exclusively for the AFR
bass. This very sophisticated system features an individual unit on each string so that
catch string's vibration is transmitted separately to the body. This provides a much more dynamic response and sustain than found in conventional bridge systems. Changing strings also becomes much simpler and faster. The four-string of the AFR version is fitted with the "Stay D Tune" detuner (pat. applied for) on the low string. This innovative feature allows for quick change between two different tunings (for example, E to D).
Thumb Rest
More and more bassists are using different hand positions to achieve wider varieties of sound. The AFR's thumb rest makes it possible and comfortable to pluck the strings from any thumb position.
Headstock Arrangement
Note the AFR's reversed tuning machine configuration which reduces headstock mass and also provides straighter and shorter string lead to the saddle. This arrangement gives the AFR easier, more accurate tuning with increase tuning stability.
The AFR's Active Electronics
The AFR's active electronics offer very efficient bass and treble controls, a soft volume control, and a balance control that mixes the magnetic and piezo pickups. The AFR's 18V powered electronic circuitry does not limit the dynamics of the pickups which makes the AFR an instrument of incredible expressiveness.
A Piezo Bridge Pickup
All AFR models come with the "ppp" (pat. applied for), a polyphonic pickup developed by Rolf Spuler. Its ingenious construction shows a completely separated pickup for each string which allows the pure transformation of each string's vibration to an electric signal. This piezo pickup consistently reproduces an entirely natural sound with strong presence, powerful low end and a very high dynamic response. There are no disturbing "scratchy" sounds, slide-noises or feedback. The level of each piezo pickup can be individually adjusted by a trim potentiometer located on the PC board.
A Magnetic Neck Position Pickup
The AFR's magnetic neck position pickup is a more conventional magnetic pickup capable of covering a wide frequency range. Located in the standard position between neck and bridge,
this pickup reproduces bo lows and crisp trebles."

[neptoon]

i've seen percy jones play a couple of the eda basses with no mag pickup...just those piezos, which i've always thought sounded terribly harsh...i had a pair of EDA's, a fretted and fretless and they sounded really cool live, put not that great recorded...i just sent an email to a guitar shop in italy this morning that has an afr 105 in stock...excellent looking basses, and very comfortable...i imagine the afr basses are worlds better than the eda basses...

[msquared]

A friend of mine in college had one of these. Very sweet instrument.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I wouldnt mind trying one, i love my eda

[ibanezcollector]

I always liked the EDA's I can only imagine how those play..

Oh and I never seen them either and check my user name LOL..

[four2oh]

more photos (bigger, but still with crappy camphone):

SN# 920 (my first baby):











drop D turner on the E-bridge, and Logo/SN# inlay:


-----

SN# 757 (my backup, which i cannibalized the knobs, the drop d tuner screw, and rubber backplate for use on #920):

[Earwigger]

I owned the EDA-905 that was based on the Affirma design. I always thought it was the most comfortable bass I've ever played. The electronics and the fact that it was made of luthite are the major differences between it and the Affirmas, so I can't say that it would sound anything like em.

[reitedasc]

As mentioned above, very ergonomic and great playing basses! I hope I get to own one some day...

[whoapower]

wow... amazing. Not sure I've seen one of these before. Looks very comfortable. Got any sound samples?

[tercesyrev]

I had one of these bad boys for several years and it was the best bass I ever played. The only reason I got rid of it was to get a 5 string (BTB 1205 Prestige). I've been looking for an Affirma A 105 (5 string) but they are very rare. I also owned an EDA 905 for a while but the sound didn't come close. These Affirmas are a true boutique bass and will run with the big dogs.

[Ian Perge]

I remember falling for the original Affirma prototype when it was featured in Bass Player about 16 years ago! (I hope that makes someone other than me feel old - I was in Driver's Ed. in High School when that issue came out. ) As I recall the only two issues BP had with it was that only having the one J-type magnetic pickup led to some "wimpy" tones, that there was a fair amount of piezo quack, and that the inlaid "Thumb Groove/Rest" was too close to the E-string. However, I think this would make a fantastic bass for Ibanez to reissue as a J-Custom or some other Limited Edition bass with the few issues fixed: Going to 2 pickups or 1 large Dual-Coil in the "sweet spot", using the advances in piezo designs to remove the "quack", and moving the Thumb Rest up 1/4th to 1/2".

...and many of the "completely new at the time" ideas still hold up well. The "Half-Through" neck design is still one of the best methods to construct a bass IMO (I happen to agree that coupling the bridge to the body wood is a better idea tone-wise than to the end of a typically multi-laminated/graphite reinforced neck constructed for strength and not tone. It also had an 18v preamp all the way back in 1990 (for an production line Ibanez? Pretty out of the ordinary) as well as what I recall as the first usage of a Mon-Rail bridge period.

A great bass that unfortunately due to the coming onslaught of Grunge and the switch from Ibanez and other '80s-stigma brands to Fenders and more "old-school" basses.

[Hipjazzcat]

FYI, one of these basses has been listed on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ibanez-AFR-304-A...QQcmdZViewItem

[jcburn]

If anyone has any info about where I could score one of these in a 5 string I'm in the market. Owned an a305 a few years ago. Sold it to a guy in Canada and seriously regretting it.

[UnMaster]

Hie everybody,

I'm French and i have in my possession the AFR A104 #648.
Somebody know how many AFR are products ?
And what's the difference between AFR A10x, A20x, and A30x
I've seen all this type off serial on the WEB.

Thanks

Mickael

[Solarmist]

Is there any way you could borrow a digital cam, and take some really nice pics? I'd love to save those pics. I've never heard of that Ibanez before.

I'll save this thread - & come back later - Thanks