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Official TUNE Club

#1,121
Spotted a Tune 5 string Bass and a local Beats and Bytes today, and I had a feeling I'd find a thread about them here. :)
Without reading the whole thread, what's the feeling on these. Not sure if MiJ or K, but they want $595 CAD for it. Is it worth it or is that way too much for a used one, and if not, why? ( I'm not asking too much, am I? :D )
 
#1,123
Thanks. I didn't have a lot of time to get a good look at it, just enough to take it down and find out what it was. If it's still there tomorrow, I may get a chance to have a good look and feel. I think one of the knob covers was off, which could be a sign somethings been messed with, but other than that it looked in fairly good shape.
 
#1,124
Ayce said:
Thanks. I didn't have a lot of time to get a good look at it, just enough to take it down and find out what it was. If it's still there tomorrow, I may get a chance to have a good look and feel. I think one of the knob covers was off, which could be a sign somethings been messed with, but other than that it looked in fairly good shape.
Click to expand...
Those covers fly easy from it's place. I almost lost a few of them... So, I put a dip of glue on it to keep it in place.
 
#1,126
I picked up a used Korean 4 string TWB-43 in very good shape. Frets are a bit worn but with a small shim under the neck pocket it has great action. Its one of the best bass necks I have played. I paid between 400 and 500 US dollars and it was well worth it. The original knobs were replaced with gold ones that match the bridge and are solid. On stage it sounds a little thin, but out front it sounds better than most of my other basses. Sound man said it sounds better and cuts through better than my US made G&L L2000 which is my main bass. And by the way for the used ones, I would not worry too much about the Korean vs. Japanese made. Other TB folks have done research on this and you can read on it.
 
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#1,127
Here is my Tune!

Long story short, I purchased this bass back in 1991 in Europe and left it with a friend when I moved to the States in 1999. My buddy came over a month ago and brought the Tune with him. He stopped playing 10 years ago and hadn't taken it out of the case since.

Wow! it is like putting a pair of old sneakers on, it just feels right. The neck is straight, it doesn't look like it needs any adjustment at all. There is some wear on the body, especially from all the slapping I used to do, but who cares!
20181007_100712.jpg


I am happy!
 

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#1,128
Holroyd said:
Here is my Tune!

Long story short, I purchased this bass back in 1991 in Europe and left it with a friend when I moved to the States in 1999. My buddy came over a month ago and brought the Tune with him. He stopped playing 10 years ago and hadn't taken it out of the case since.

Wow! it is like putting a pair of old sneakers on, it just feels right. The neck is straight, it doesn't look like it needs any adjustment at all. There is some wear on the body, especially from all the slapping I used to do, but who cares! View attachment 3189829

I am happy!
Click to expand...
'bout time you got here!:D
Welcome to the Tune Club!
 
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#1,129
Finally got a good look at it, and a bit more info. It's a TWB according to the price tag. The serial # is S110110536, which would make it MiK, and probably made in 2011(?) from what I found out so far. The neck is a bit wider than I'm used to, but it's been a while, and I could probably get used to it. Not sure of the sound yet, as I had my daughter with me and she wanted to get home. (figures :) ) Still looking around for more info. In the meantime, here's a pic. (Yes, my 9 yo daughter is slightly taller than a full scale bass. :) ) Oh, picture is taken with my cell phone, so pardon the quality.

20181023_150129.jpg
 
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#1,131
Had a chance at a short test drive today. Not too shabby, but I think there's something wrong with the neck PU. When I turned the balance control all the way to neck position, there was no output. This may drop the price a bit, as well as how long it's been in the store. It's not something I probably can't fix, so no biggie there, I'm not planning on doing an arena tour with it. :D
One other quick question. In your opinion(s), which brand would Tune come closest to, quality wise? I't's obviously Korean, so Alembic it's not. Let's use a well known Korean company that I'm used to as a base. Samick. How many pluses would I add for comparison purposes?
 
#1,132
Tune is stand alone company. Their Korean product line is probably close to Yamaha's upper level of instruments. Neck level might be turned off at internal regulator on the board. There are 3 regulators on the board, level of signal for both pickups and notch filter. I think it kills 850 Hz for about 20 dB. On my Tune, I turned it about 30% (about 10 or 11 on the clock comparison) and I have perfect P/J sound. Otherwise, I think, notch filter on zero makes sound too modern and sterile.
 
#1,133
Thanks for the info. I never considered the inner regulators. From what research I did after asking the question about quality, I was watching a video about the TWB 5 custom MIJ and it placed it at the higher end, comparing it to Bacchus, so I would hazard a guess that compared to Samick, I would add a whole bunch of ++++'s :) even for the MiK (illegal?) version. Not a done deal yet, as I still have to figure out the financial end, but from just that short test drive, I like it. If I can swing it, the GAS is gonna kick in hard. :D And then, there's the amp. :nailbiting: My wife's gonna kill me.
 
#1,134
When Japanese started it, they could not produce enough units. So they engaged Korean builder. Regarding that Japanese did not lock worldwide copyright for design (just Japan), Korean guys decided, "Let's separate of them, they are missing opportunity worldwide". So, they started building same thing, under similar name and sell it whoever wanted it. That's the only difference. Japanese are custom built company, Koreans are industrial producers.
 
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#1,135
user362432 said:
When Japanese started it, they could not produce enough units. So they engaged Korean builder. Regarding that Japanese did not lock worldwide copyright for design (just Japan), Korean guys decided, "Let's separate of them, they are missing opportunity worldwide". So, they started building same thing, under similar name and sell it whoever wanted it. That's the only difference. Japanese are custom built company, Koreans are industrial producers.
Click to expand...


This is very far from truth and what actually happened.
Korean company WSC (Woosong Chorus) was always supplier of hardware and pickups for the original TUNE company in Japan. They are one of the worlds biggest hardware and pickup manufacturers.
They acquired full rights to the name and all patents after TUNE bankrupted in lue of money owned by TUNE. Hatsun Fujitani virtually gave them the full rights to the brand. A few luthiers in Japan continued under similar name (TUNE Guitar Maniac instead of TUNE Guitar Technology) using the same logo and some models and continued producing instruments but for Japan only. Because everywhere else in the world their product is breaching laws. Japan has very loose copyright laws. As good as they are Japanese TUNE basses are built and sold illegally.
 
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#1,136
I understand that side of the story.
However, Japanese web [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]:
"The photographs and endorsements on the Korean website were taken from our website without our permission.
This company is in no way affiliated with the original TUNE company from Japan.
An authentic TUNE bass comes with a warranty.
If you plan to purchase a TUNE bass be sure to check that the warranty is issued from Japan."

Tune Guitar Maniac Co., Ltd. (TUNE GUITAR MANIAC CORPORATION) is an electric base manufacturing company headquartered in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Established Tune Guitar Technology in 1983 by Osaka Founder, then Fujitani Hideichi. Organization change to corporation later. As a result of the opening of the fenolic (synthetic resin) finger board, compact body, active circuit was installed and it blew the world. In the latter part of the 1980s, we also produced a guitar with an active circuit as well as a bass. Change to current company name came around 2000 · Change organization to limited company · Relocate to Hyogo prefecture.

Tune Guitar Technology came out much later.
With my bass I have something like Warranty card. But, there is nothing else on it. Any kind of warranty is long gone, whoever issue it.
Thing is still flawless and I love it to death. Amazing instrument.
PI5Send2.Jpg
 
#1,137
@Tvrtko

That'll be the same Japanese company who use the brand "Phoenix" despite them being no way related to Electra/Phoenix or Westone.

I remember Tune Guitar Tech building in Japan early 80's,I remember Tunes coming from Korea while Tune Japan concentrated on the Levinson Blade. I also remember Tune Japan going bust !

WSC have been legally building Tune basses for near 30 years, that's the bottom line.
 
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