That would be cool honestly, Japanese bass community oversea is so small, it's impossible to get any information without having to go ask person to person. Me included, my best friends are the old Japanese catalog from the 90s and 80s lol.
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Moon Owners Club
- Thread starter gimmeagig
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That would be cool honestly, Japanese bass community oversea is so small, it's impossible to get any information without having to go ask person to person. Me included, my best friends are the old Japanese catalog from the 90s and 80s lol.
I wouldn't worry about it too much, there's almost no play in the neck pocket it's hard to mess it up. I can understand why some folks might not be comfortable with it, I took mind off because I gotta know, and I found mine is the first one to be made in 2000.
I think we can agree that this easily the best bang for the buck Jazz bass to exist. I'm very interested in other Japanese brand such as Momose and Bacchus, since they did pretty much the same stuff like a JB4. My Japanese bass journey is slow but steady, it's a difficult one but I'm glad I wandered into this rabbit hole.
You're right! I wanted Romulo to record in English but he preferred Portuguese! I used some Machine Learning to translate the srt files into English. I spent a good time yesterday fixing the Portuguese captions for accuracy, so I think the translation will be interesting to watch! As you said, there's so little content about Japanese basses! Here's the video, let me know if the English captions are crappy.
BASSTALK #001 - PRECISAMOS FALAR SOBRE BAIXOS JAPONESES. COM RÔMULO MENDES. (youtube.com)
And yeah, you are right. It's the best bang for the buck JB to exist! The craftsmanship is insanely noice!
I must say you have very elegant friends then!
I'm watching the video but after the 3 minute mark where you started playing the CC just keeps going on lol, I think it's possibly timestamp issue. But it's very cool that your friend have a Momose, I'm eyeing one of those as well.
Crap! But I know the solution! We need to record a version in English ourselves and talk about Japanese basses in English
In our video, Romulo and I talk about Japanese craftsmanship, show the tones, talk about why MIJ isn't very well known in the Eastern world, how bad is traceability, why it is like that, BassJapanDirect, bass hunting service, the research for information about MIJ, Moon and Momose bad customer support (or should I say inexistent? lol), revenue value (
), comparison between MIJ and other stuff, and our purchase experiences (me via reverb and Romulo via BassJapanDirect)I can't wait for genAI to be good enough to translate stuff without the need for captions, preserving the voice pitch, this would be a good use of AI, rather than these useless image creations, lol.
Crap! But I know the solution! We need to record a version in English ourselves and talk about Japanese basses in English
In our video, Romulo and I talk about Japanese craftsmanship, show the tones, talk about why MIJ isn't very well known in the Eastern world, how bad is traceability, why it is like that, BassJapanDirect, bass hunting service, the research for information about MIJ, Moon and Momose bad customer support (or should I say inexistent? lol), revenue value (
I can't wait for genAI to be good enough to translate stuff without the need for captions, preserving the voice pitch, this would be a good use of AI, rather than these useless image creations, lol.
Yeah, Moon and Momose relies on their dealers for customer support. I emailed them and never got back a reply. I think Atelier Z is much better in that regard, they even have English speaking employees to deal with oversea customers and do take oversea orders directly.
I usually import my bass from Japan, I don't really buy imported ones. That's just my preference, my experience buying from Japanese reverb seller has been great, nothing to complain. I don't feel like I want this to be the "next big thing" as you know, with demand comes with increased prices and accessibility. I got my Moon for just a thousand dollar, that would have been impossible if not for the fact that 90% of people outside of Japan doesn't know what a Moon is.
I don't own a Moon - I almost bought an ash/maple '70s style J but got a Momose ash/rosewood '70s J instead. It's tied with my 2 Pedulla Raptures for favorite bass in almost 40 years of playing, so that's really saying something! In Brussels last year at Bass Freaks I played a Moon P, a pink fade Atelier Z J, an Xotic J, and a ridiculous Dragonfly Larry Graham-style single-cut 5 (plus a few fretless Maruszczyks). All fantastic in their own unique ways and I preferred all of them to the owner's NYC Sadowsky! If I could have walked out with a fretted bass that day it would have been the Xotic, really great raw passive sound plus 3 band preamp, series/parallel and mid switch.
If you know what you are looking for (or buy from/hire Danny Stewart) your bass dollars can go soooo far in Japan. I also assume that if anything goes wrong with my bass halfway around the world I probably won't get any support if the manufacturer doesn't have a dealer network in my country.
If you know what you are looking for (or buy from/hire Danny Stewart) your bass dollars can go soooo far in Japan. I also assume that if anything goes wrong with my bass halfway around the world I probably won't get any support if the manufacturer doesn't have a dealer network in my country.
I almost bought an Xotic XJ1T myself. It's the ultimate Jazz bass for me that's not a Dingwall. I ended up backing out due to the cost. They are amazing, but that comes with a huge price tag. Maybe someday I'll own one, it's such a kill J bass.
Glad to see more people interested in Japanese basses. I am pretty well versed in that world. I have imported more than 50 basses from Japan. I have lost count actually.
Lived in Japan for years.
Let me know if you have any questions or just want to chat. It's a great great hobby.
I haven't had an Atelier Z yet, nor a Momose but I have owned most. I like my Moon fretless but my favourite MIJ bass is a Dragonfly. Sublime.
This is my Teak fretless....or is it KOA? I think Teak. Great bass.
Beautiful! What are the details on that? But while people often say "Jaco only needed 4 strings"...I think you need at least one.
My is not walnut. It's the Teak model...or KOA. The pups are the original Moon j pups. They do look a little small. They sound great though.
I need to go back to check out the catalog to see what wood was used. I did the research when I first bought it but that was a while ago.
I need to go back to check out the catalog to see what wood was used. I did the research when I first bought it but that was a while ago.
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I went back to post #82 in this thread. Lots of catalog pics (for which I am thankful). My bass appears to be J-180 Teak.
Have you heard of Vanzandt? It’s a brand of Tuarus Cropo and made by PGM. They are almost never talked about outside of Japan. I have one coming in next week and not sure what to expect.
Ok. Strange that Moon did make the pickups that way with the oversized pickup holes. Looks really weird and sloppy. Never saw that. But if they sound good what the heck.
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I used to see VanZandt all the time in Japan. They are very nice and very well made. I always thought they were great value for the money but I haven't owned one. Nobody will know of them in North America which is cool!
They remind me of the FGN instruments but VanZandt are rarer.
When Danny Stewart received my LG5, I was hoping that he would do one of this videos he does where he demos it for you, and sure enough he did:
Watching it for the first time, he seems crestfallen that the bass had come in and was heavier than he (and I) had been hoping. But the second he started playing it, I knew that it didn’t matter. Against the other basses he compares it to, it just slays. The B is perfectly integrated. The notes are so recognizably “Jazz” but also so piano-like, complex. Heavy-sounding. And the intonation is classic Moon.
Before, I would have been tempted to have him return it for a lighter one. But last year when my JJ-175 arrived at 11lbs 05 oz and sounded that great, the only choice was to match its weight with strength. Turns out we lose muscle as we age, and putting on more now will set you up for healthier late years. I want to be playing in my nineties should I be so lucky.
The LG5 is also exactly 11lbs 05 oz, and nicely balanced. After adding weights to my routine, it feels to me now like an 8 or 9 pound bass felt before. So for you boat anchor players, wear it like a badge of honor and here’s to your good health!
Watching it for the first time, he seems crestfallen that the bass had come in and was heavier than he (and I) had been hoping. But the second he started playing it, I knew that it didn’t matter. Against the other basses he compares it to, it just slays. The B is perfectly integrated. The notes are so recognizably “Jazz” but also so piano-like, complex. Heavy-sounding. And the intonation is classic Moon.
Before, I would have been tempted to have him return it for a lighter one. But last year when my JJ-175 arrived at 11lbs 05 oz and sounded that great, the only choice was to match its weight with strength. Turns out we lose muscle as we age, and putting on more now will set you up for healthier late years. I want to be playing in my nineties should I be so lucky.
The LG5 is also exactly 11lbs 05 oz, and nicely balanced. After adding weights to my routine, it feels to me now like an 8 or 9 pound bass felt before. So for you boat anchor players, wear it like a badge of honor and here’s to your good health!
