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Ibanez Musician?

mhartman29

mhartman29

Mar 23, 2014
267
220
Austin, TX
#1
I hear some serious love for these basses from time to time and would like to know more about them. Are these another incarnation of the Japanese magic during the 80s (e.g. Yamaha BB, Aria, etc)? What makes these special? And if looking to pick one up, are there any particular models which are especially good? Or is anything under the "Musician" moniker good?
 
#2
mhartman29 said:
What makes these special?
Click to expand...

Well, the Musician series came out in '78, and had a very hot output active electronics system...way hotter than a StingRay of the same era. They did offer passive version, but most I've seen were active. Also they made a 22 fret and 24 fret versions as well. The necks were mulit-laminate maple with ebony boards, the headstock faces had a matching cap on it. bodies were also mulitlaminate with beautiful grained faces. The bridge was done like an Alembic where there is a big solid brass plate countersunk under bridge to give that similar attack and they sustain for days. So what's "special" is, these are a lot of custom build type features for a period that was turning out much more simple made instruments.
 
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#3
I would not say that these were another "incarnation" of anything. In my book, the Ibanez Musicians were the pinnacle of Japanese bass building. The build quality on any of the models will be top notch, but there were a number of models some with only minor differences and some with major differences...just depends what you want and what you can find.
 
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#4
mikeswals said:
Well, the Musician series came out in '78, and had a very hot output active electronics system...way hotter than a StingRay of the same era. They did offer passive version, but most I've seen were active. Also they made a 22 fret and 24 fret versions as well. The necks were mulit-laminate maple with ebony boards, the headstock faces had a matching cap on it. bodies were also mulitlaminate with beautiful grained faces. The bridge was done like an Alembic where there is a big solid brass plate countersunk under bridge to give that similar attack and they sustain for days. So what's "special" is, these are a lot of custom build type features for a period that was turning out much more simple made instruments.
Click to expand...

Do you have any more information about the sustain block? The only Musician bass I've seen with one is the MC-980 8-string version, which has a completely different bridge and tailpiece than the 4-string versions.

-Alex
 
#6
I had the MC924 (back in the day) in Pearl White. Mine didn't sustain for days, probably cos I was using super-light Roto Superwound on it at the time. But I love the feel and the versatility of the bass, my very first active one. The active circuit was three band and a bit rough, as well as being hot. That was my only complaint about it back then but, hey, it was one of the earliest, affordable active basses on the market.
 
#7
mikeswals said:
My '79 MC900 had one. It was a normal 4-string, active, 22-fret.
Click to expand...

Forgive me being skeptical, but I assume from your wording that this bass is long gone, and we're going on a 30-year old memory at this point?

The bridge on the '79s is no different from the '80s in form and layout. I don't see a solid metal sustain block under those bridges. I require more evidences.

Heck... we have many current TB users with MC-900s, who can show me a sustain block under that bridge?
 
#8
stacker said:
I had the MC924 (back in the day) in Pearl White. Mine didn't sustain for days, probably cos I was using super-light Roto Superwound on it at the time. But I love the feel and the versatility of the bass, my very first active one. The active circuit was three band and a bit rough, as well as being hot. That was my only complaint about it back then but, hey, it was one of the earliest, affordable active basses on the market.
Click to expand...

Damn! I was close to saying "Me too!"

But if it was white, it was '82 or later, and that meant different pickups, as well as different construction.

And the strings... took me awhile, but back in the '80s, it was Dean Markley Superrounds (not Superwounds) for me. I thought they were amazing strings. (The current DM Superrounds are not the same, sorry to say.)

I can't see why they wouldn't "sustain for days" though, light strings are very good at that.
 
#9
I've not tried Ibanez's Musician bass yet. But I have tried an Ibanez Musician guitar. One of my cousins owned one and I borrowed it for awhile. It sounded and played fantastic. The pickups sounded great. Neck thru construction and lengthy sustain.

I would have bought it from him. By the time he decided to sell, he must have stored it inappropriately because the neck was bowed beyond repair. Very sad. :(
 
#11
Abner said:
Damn! I was close to saying "Me too!"

But if it was white, it was '82 or later, and that meant different pickups, as well as different construction.

And the strings... took me awhile, but back in the '80s, it was Dean Markley Superrounds (not Superwounds) for me. I thought they were amazing strings. (The current DM Superrounds are not the same, sorry to say.)

I can't see why they wouldn't "sustain for days" though, light strings are very good at that.
Click to expand...

Yeh, it would be '82/'83 but no later. It was new to the market, IIRC.

I distinctly remember it being light on the sustain front, even with that bridge. I also recall the bass being very light. If I had one today, I'd certainly get a more contemporary active circuit installed.
MC924.jpg
 
#12
Abner said:
Forgive me being skeptical, but I assume from your wording that this bass is long gone, and we're going on a 30-year old memory at this point?

The bridge on the '79s is no different from the '80s in form and layout. I don't see a solid metal sustain block under those bridges. I require more evidences.

Heck... we have many current TB users with MC-900s, who can show me a sustain block under that bridge?
Click to expand...

I sold it 6 or 7 years ago, so no, not a 30 year memory. When I had the bridge off to polish the poly gloss is when I saw it had a block under the bridge.
 
#14
Abner said:
Forgive me being skeptical, but I assume from your wording that this bass is long gone, and we're going on a 30-year old memory at this point?

The bridge on the '79s is no different from the '80s in form and layout. I don't see a solid metal sustain block under those bridges. I require more evidences.
Click to expand...

I'm a firm believer in the "Anecdotes =/= Evidence" mantra so I realize my chiming in is really just noise, but fwiw A) I too recall the original MC924 had the bridge mounted on a countersunk brass block, in emulation/homage to Alembic basses (in fact, to the OP's question, I think the thing that made those original Ibanez Musician basses so special was that they seemed to capture the essence of Alembic basses at 1/5th the price). More importantly B) I owned a 1979 Ibanez ST-980 Studio Series, which was a slightly less fancy, less expensive alternative to the Musician Series basses, and it definitely had the bridge mounted on a countersunk brass block. So the "sustain block" was certainly part of Ibanez' repertoire at this time.
 
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#16
I had an '84 MC924 fretless in dark stain. Stunning bass, A1 quality. Only sold it because 1) it aggravated nerve pain in left arm 2) I seldom played it after I bought my Tobias Classic and Rob Allen Mouse fretless. (Yes, quality was right up there!!!)

Sounded amazing in the studio, sat in mix so well.
 
#18
Bob_Ross said:
I'm a firm believer in the "Anecdotes =/= Evidence" mantra so I realize my chiming in is really just noise, but fwiw A) I too recall the original MC924 had the bridge mounted on a countersunk brass block, in emulation/homage to Alembic basses (in fact, to the OP's question, I think the thing that made those original Ibanez Musician basses so special was that they seemed to capture the essence of Alembic basses at 1/5th the price). More importantly B) I owned a 1979 Ibanez ST-980 Studio Series, which was a slightly less fancy, less expensive alternative to the Musician Series basses, and it definitely had the bridge mounted on a countersunk brass block. So the "sustain block" was certainly part of Ibanez' repertoire at this time.
Click to expand...

There is no doubt that Ibanez used the sustain block, even on Musicians. But as far as I can tell, it was just their higher end of the Musician 6-strings. And the 8-string basses, both Musician and Studio, used a separate 2-post bridge and tailpiece much like the 6-string guitars. I know for a fact the MC-980 has a large sustain block.

It's the 4-string basses with the Accu-Cast B bridge that makes me doubt the presence of a sustain block. I had my 1980 924 apart a number of years ago, but I do not remember a sustain block on that one. Is my memory toast? Could be. Still, would love to see some photographs of one. (Reckon I'll have to take mine apart again this summer...)
 
#19
Musicians are dang great. I have four... might be willing to part with one.
I once took the bridge off my MC924, there was nothing underneath but wood and a ground wire. This era musicians have extra metal rods in the neck at different lengths designed to quell dead spots.
cool stuff. I recently dug up this ad on eBay.
early 80s Ibanez "TR tuned" necks *HEY SCIENCE GUYS* does it make sense?
 
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#20
Howdy!
Im new here, and just read the thread about Ibanez Musician basses.
In -88 i bought a Ibanez Musician, my second bass, after a cheap Hondo.
The ibanez is a GREAT bass. Sounds great, and the tone can be shaped in all directions, thanks to a very good eq.
The bass sounds fantastic, even in passive mode, but if you like a little extra juice for a solo or a slap-part, you can get it with the flip of a the small on/off eq switch.
At the time i was a beginner, and only a small teenager, and as this is one of the most heavy basses i ever lifted, i grew tired of carrying it around, so I sold it to fund my first Sting Ray.

2 years ago, i bought another secondhand Musician, for nostalgic reason, and i will still stand by my word and say this is a great instrument!
The one i have now, needs a preamp repair, and as i have a bunch of other basses, its mostly standing in the corner of my home office.
After all, its actually a nice furniture also!
 

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