Bacchus is the best bang for your buck, and no shame, they are premium instruments (they have all price ranges, but their cheapest MIJ are crazy good). Atelier Z is similar, but more expensive. And Yamaha is "cheap" for a flagship made in Japan (Ibanez = 3000USD, Yamaha 2000USD or so). ESP is la creme de la creme, but it is extremely expensive. Sugi are boutique basses, but I wouldn't buy one without playing them (they are like 4K USD up). And lastly, I want to mention Killer. Great brand, and as the name might imply, 100% rock oriented.
I think ESP makes basses branded as Seymour Duncan because of the popularity of the pickups. AFAIK, Seymour Duncan themselves have never made instruments.
Hi, Do you have specific questions? I live in Tokyo and have owned or played many brands made in Japan. Bigger domestic brands out here include Deviser Guitars, Atelier Z, ESP, and FGN. Within Deviser you have Bacchus, Momose, and STR. Before COVID-19 the most common basses I had seen at gigs from domestic makers included Sugi and the Japanese assembled line of Xotic basses. Xotic particularly is very popular these days, having replaced Sadowsky for the modern Jazz bass crowd. Personally I own a Bacchus, Momose, and STR bass. They are all hand made in Nagano and are fantastic instruments.
I am lucky to own a Japanese made Tune (somehow there is a Korean made Tune also but the surviving Japanese Tune has quirky designs as well ) There is a discussion of the split here in TB. The Korean Tune's are also good. TUNE Guitar Maniac. - Japan website https://www.tuneguitars.com/ - Korean Website I saw and heard the first Tune bass when I saw one of Mile's Davis electric bands - Benny Rietveld. He was playing the bass Maniac. He also played/plays with Carlos Santana. My 6 string is a keeper. (TUNE Guitar Maniac) I also bought a 4 string neck through but had to sell it and regretted it (TUNE Guitar Maniac). I looked at a couple Korean made one when I was in San Diego.
My first PJ bass was a Japanese made ESP. I think I sold it because it was Salmon color and was always called pink. The body was smaller than a Fender.
The bass guitars are made by one of the Japanese companies. I believe it is ESP. they are J and P style basses. They are fantastic basses.
At the moment, I am hoping I can run across a good 5 string Yamaha PJ just to check them out and see if it would be an upgrade on my Warwick Corvette. No knocks on the Warwick, it just for comparative purposes at this point.
I have a couple of Yamahas, and think they're great. Besides Fender, Lakland and Music Man have (or at some point in the past, "had"), basses made in Japan, probably for the domestic market there. Here is one of my Yamaha basses. Check with Ishibashi (on-line dealer). {}
Just want to poke my head in as an owner - I have a (late 80s? Early 90s?) MIJ Fernandes that I bought for $375 and it plays and sounds better than almost any passive four string I've ever played at any price point. The MIJ stuff is killer, but their late-2000s, lower budget options made in China and Indonesia before they pulled out of the US market are likely lower quality.
I have always wanted a Killer bass. The KB Dagger is awesome looking if you are into Metal looking basses.
My Japanese Fernandes bass was one of the best-playing instruments I've ever handled, up there with the really nice (Music Man, Lakland, G&L, etc.) stuff. Electronics were lackluster, but it played and felt GREAT.
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