No Mode in Japan (Ibanez content)

[J Wilson]

I wouldn't presume to understand the Ibanez marketing plans around their many worldwide markets. I can say if you go to the Ibanez website, scroll to the bottom and access the 'Regions' tab, it will take you to their product list for any and everywhere, to see WHO gets WHAT.

 

[Yahboy]

This post is partially Ibanez Mode-
related, partially import-related.

Instead of asking you fine people of Talkbass, I did the 2020s thing and asked AI: Why hasn’t Japan received any of the recent Ibanez Mode basses? It’s a Japanese brand. Well, looks like “regional product planning” is the key phrase.

Japan, especially with Ibanez, ESP, etc are more rock/metal-focused. Whereas the US (and perhaps parts of Europe?) are more into the “traditional” so they released this supposedly awesome jazz bass that they made.

I really want to, at the very least, try this bass but sadly have no access to it here in Tokyo. Here’s AI’s response to my question:

The Ibanez Mode Bass Series (such as the MDM1600 or MDM1300 series) is highly sought after but difficult to purchase in Japan due to the following strategic and market factors:

• Regional Distribution Strategy: Hoshino Gakki (the parent company of Ibanez) often uses regional product planning. The Mode Series was specifically debuted at the US NAMM show as an international market launch, meaning initial sales networks heavily prioritize North American and European retailers over the domestic Japanese market.
• Production and Supply Allocation: Since these basses are manufactured in Indonesia, global production runs are distributed based on advance retailer commitments. Major international dealers like Sweetwater receive early allocations, leaving limited stock for domestic Japanese release.
• Currency and Import Constraints: The historic weakness of the Japanese Yen significantly drives up the cost of importing foreign-manufactured instruments. Setting a competitive retail price for Japanese consumers is challenging for distributors, which delays a widespread domestic rollout.
• Domestic Catalog Differentiation: Ibanez maintains separate product rosters for different countries. The Mode series is prominently featured on the Ibanez USA Catalog, whereas the Ibanez Japan Bass Catalog traditionally prioritizes their established domestic staples like the SR, BTB, and EHB series

Customer support on ibanez site always ready to serve, except people who has social fear。

 

[Gopherbassist]

I wouldn't presume to understand the Ibanez marketing plans around their many worldwide markets. I can say if you go to the Ibanez website, scroll to the bottom and access the 'Regions' tab, it will take you to their product list for any and everywhere, to see WHO gets WHAT.

I hope they have more than one webmaster, because they have a ton of sites. I can't even imagine the workload.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

50 gallons of water in a rural town in Virginia were used to process that inquiry.

Stop. Asking. AI. This. Stuff.

The average Gemini query consumes about 5 drops of water. Stop spreading misinformation.

 

[ardgedee]

I hope they have more than one webmaster, because they have a ton of sites. I can't even imagine the workload.

If it's backed with a proper CMS each region should have its own content manager who can update things without worrying about breaking standard formats.

Something Ibanez uniformly does across all their products is provide detailed specs, from woods to pickups to neck dimensions at different fret positions to the EQ curves on their active instruments. Nobody else does that and I wish they would.

 

[AltecGreen]

I just saw an announcement a few minutes ago from Ikebe that said the Mode models were now available. These were just released today.


Unfortunately, the catch is that they are only currently available from the Ikebe webstore but one can arrange for pickup at an Ikebe store. I

Ibanezからベーシストの可能性を更に広げる待望の「Mode」シリーズが登場！ | イケベ新製品情報

IbanezMDM1000 販売価格￥127,500（税込） ※本記事は掲載時点の情報（価格・スペック等）であ

www.ikebe-gakki-pb.com

When I checked digimart this morning there was nothing showing up but now I'm seeing fresh listings on digimart. I'm seeing listings at Ikebe, Ishibashi, and Guitar Planet.

ibanez modeの検索結果【楽器検索デジマート】

リットーミュージックが運営する国内最大級の「楽器専門検索サイト」。楽器や音楽機材購入時の製品比較や購入情報、楽器店探し、新製品情報など楽器に関する様々な情報を提供。エレキギター、アコギ、ベース、ドラム、キーボード、サックス、ピアノなどの楽器本体をはじめ、レコーディング機材、マイク、DJ機器、楽器アクセサリなど中古やビンテージを含む国内楽器店の膨大な在庫情報を網羅！

www.digimart.net

 

[crazycloud]

Ibanez know better than what any poster here does in terms of what models will sell in what markets and in what numbers.

The Modes not being available in Japan until now, seems to me to be that they have decided to send them to the markets much more likely to enjoy (buy) them. As mentioned before, Japan has a whole bunch of Jazz-alikes from brands that to the JDM are probably more prestigious than an Ibanez, so they release them in the biggest market first and try them out in Japan when they're a bit more established.

 

[logdrum]

Based on recent activity on TalkBass, the user Winton indicates they use AI to generate content to answer questions that require broad synthesis or to explore topics that standard forum searches might not immediately satisfy. According to their posts, Winton's usage of AI appears to be driven by:

The "2020s Thing": Treating AI as a contemporary research tool for exploring specialized knowledge, such as why specific bass models are not released in certain markets (e.g., Ibanez Mode in Japan).

Efficiency: Utilizing AI to aggregate information rather than relying solely on manual research or waiting for user replies.

Exploration: Using AI to explore hypothetical scenarios or complex gear topics within TalkBass conversations.

While some users on the forum express skepticism about the accuracy of AI-generated insights—noting it can sometimes "stitch together" information that lacks deep analysis—Winton utilizes it as a novel approach to seeking answers in modern bass discussions.

Winton has been corrected and criticized by other users on the TalkBass forums for presenting assumptions or AI-generated text as fact.The criticism typically falls into two categories:

Making Premature Assumptions: Winton frequently comments on ergonomics and gear geometry based on photos or initial impressions, which has prompted pushback from other owners. For example, in a discussion regarding a unique 39"-scale fretless bass, Winton proactively posted, "You beat me to welcoming him to neck dive city," only for the actual owner to explicitly correct them, pointing out that custom strap-lock placement, a elongated upper horn, and ultralite tuners meant there was "none whatsoever."

While the community treats Winton as a well-meaning and active contributor, his reliance on rapid AI lookups and visual guesswork often results in other players stepping in to correct the record with firsthand knowledge.

Winton has occasionally faced light criticism and pushback on TalkBass for a few other posting habits:

Over-Generalizing Gear Opinions: Winton sometimes offers absolute stances on gear performance that clash with other players' personal experiences. For example, when discussing the Ibanez EHB1005SMS that they own, Winton publicly stated they were "not a fan of the sound at all," prompting other owners to counter that the bass's tone is highly versatile depending on EQ and string choice, rather than being inherently bad.

Because Winton often copies and pastes text straight from LLMs, their posts introduce rigid markdown tables, generic listicles, and technical bullet points into casual forum threads. Some users find this formatting disruptive to the natural flow of human conversation, viewing it as artificial "thread clutter" rather than organic community engagement.

In effect-pedal discussions—such as threads comparing cloned gear circuits like Joyo versus Tech 21—Winton has been called out for simply summarizing what "forum discussions and reviews" say, rather than providing their own unique, ears-on analysis. Experienced players sometimes dismiss these posts because they aggregate widely known online tropes instead of offering new information.

Is this something we can bring it to the admins or Paul. I am tagging @Chris Fitzgerald if there are AI actors in these forum and if it is intentional. In the Sax Forum they had an AI but it was embedded by the Admins and it identified itself as such, A lot of members left. Can the admins and owners be transparent if they have an AI persona program or is the hosting data center doing this?

 

[logdrum]

Maybe best to ignore Winton

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

“hey chatgpt please make me dumber”

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Is this something we can bring it to the admins or Paul. I am tagging @Chris Fitzgerald if there are AI actors in these forum and if it is intentional. In the Sax Forum they had an AI but it was embedded by the Admins and it identified itself as such, A lot of members left. Can the admins and owners be transparent if they have an AI persona program or is the hosting data center doing this?

I'm sure neither of us are AI bots. What I was doing was point out that AI enquiries produce a lot of nonsense designed to pander to the user making the request. (Try asking AI why it flatters users so much — the answers are interesting.)

The chat programs take whatever info is readily available from a standard search and then pat it into a nice credible narrative. As can be seen from my absurd post, misrepresentation and overconfidence are built in.

Do a Google search, read the results, use your brain, then post your own thoughts. Copying and pasting the AI slop is just a waste of of time, and does nothing to improve forum discussions.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Is this something we can bring it to the admins or Paul. I am tagging @Chris Fitzgerald if there are AI actors in these forum and if it is intentional. In the Sax Forum they had an AI but it was embedded by the Admins and it identified itself as such, A lot of members left. Can the admins and owners be transparent if they have an AI persona program or is the hosting data center doing this?

I have brought your post to the attention of the admin staff, and the topic is one we are aware of.

 

[Gopherbassist]

I have brought your post to the attention of the admin staff, and the topic is one we are aware of.

Any early thoughts on how to detect AI bots and excise them? Talkbass might be mostly under the radar for now while they invade bigger sites like reddit, but they're going to be everywhere soon.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I have brought your post to the attention of the admin staff, and the topic is one we are aware of.

The first time I saw AI content, my immediate reaction was this was like the worst kind of forum member: overconfident, patronising, unaware of the limitations of its ignorance. And I thought, have we not got enough of these voices?!

I've always admired TalkBass's readiness to embrace rules which seem relatively extreme, in order that the quality of the communal discourse doesn't suffer. For me, banning all AI content, whether created by a bot or copied and pasted by a well-meaning member of the forum, would do nothing but good. The last thing the excellent, real-world, first-hand knowledge and experience available here needs is being diluted by automated schlock.

 

[logdrum]

I'm sure neither of us are AI bots. What I was doing was point out that AI enquiries produce a lot of nonsense designed to pander to the user making the request. (Try asking AI why it flatters users so much — the answers are interesting.)

The chat programs take whatever info is readily available from a standard search and then pat it into a nice credible narrative. As can be seen from my absurd post, misrepresentation and overconfidence are built in.

Do a Google search, read the results, use your brain, then post your own thoughts. Copying and pasting the AI slop is just a waste of of time, and does nothing to improve forum discussions.

I was and am with you. In the Sax on the Web forum, there is a AI user that participated in many threads. It was done by the forum owners intentionally and the admins did not have a say on it. It lost steam and stopped being active.

I am aware of prompts. I did work on AI training hardware from 2016 to 2020, mainly high bandwidth memory --2024 - 2025 was forced to use it for programming and coding. I am currently on hiatus as a result of forced early retirement. I do not like what AI, frivolous AI is doing to the planet,

 

[Ricky Rioli]

In light of the following AI adjudication, I have changed my mind, all is forgiven:

Ricky Rioli is primarily known on TalkBass as an opinionated but thoughtful forum regular rather than an aggressive blowhard.

 

[AltecGreen]

Sorry to interrupt all of the AI talk.

It feast or famine in Japan. Once they were none and now most stores have the basses arriving.


At Ikebe’s Bassstation store in Akihabara.