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Official TUNE Club

#101
Agreed,...Doug Ross is a great bloke, he helped me identify my Tune Bass Maniac, when I first got it....(it will never be sold, a great instrument that just oozes quality workmanship) one of you Talkbassers ( Michael Scott) put me onto him,...so thanks Michael,...and thanks Doug. :)
 
#102
Excellent info Allan. I really appreciate you posting this. I've had it completely wrong for so many years! If you don't mind, I posted this info on my For Sale thread for my '92 Tune Zi-II 6er.

I assumed that these Korean Tunes were just a sister company of the new Japanese Tunes.

So you are saying there is no affiliation between the new Japanese and Korean Tunes??? Also, is there any affiliation between between the old Tune Guitar Technology and the new Tune Guitar Maniac??? Did they officially buy out any patents or copyrights?

This all makes a lot of sense now because the differences between an early 90s Tune Zi-I 4 string and a newer Korean Tune TWB-43 I used to have were night and day. The Japanese Tune was far superior in tone and quality.
 
#103
Hi Moondog
I am happy to be at any help, but if going into deeper details , please then contact Doug ross, He is the one who knows the more detailled business connection between these two companies.
I happened to look at your impressive homepage at Photobucket...and wow, I could easily spend a week there, on pizza and Budweisers, checking out all these many monster basses, most of them I have never seen on the european marked. What a wonderland you have here.
all the best to you min ven(myfriend)
Allan
 
#104
Hi!

I found my way to this forum when I was trying to find out which kind of Tune bass I have, and while I've got a good clue I'm not there yet, so I'm asking to see if anyone's wiser than me.

This is my Tune:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I bought it about 15 years ago ('95 or '96) from one of my teachers, who had changed the pickups (to EMG) and EQ. I never asked what exactly it was called, and we're not in touch anymore. All I recall is that he said it was from Switzerland (which I now realize either means that he bought it there or that I misremember).

I don't have any larger pictures right now because it's being serviced, but as far as I can see it's almost identical to the one MoonDoggy is selling (right here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=625707 ) except mine has golden hardware and only three knobs (volume, tone, EQ) and a three-way switch (pickup selector).

Does anyone know what to call it?

Thanks.
 
#105
Yours is indeed a Zi-I or II like mine. And I'm not sure what the differences between the I and II are. It may be the preamp that makes the difference. But I'm assuming the difference is the body shape and bridge orientation. I think the Zi-I had a normally mounted bridge. I think all Zi-IIs had the angled and slanted bridge mounted on the very edge of the body. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd love to find out for sure for myself!
 
#106
It's also great to know that there's another one out there! I know I'm going to regret selling mine mainly because I feel I'll never find one again. But yours is the 2nd Zi-II I've seen aside from mine! Still pretty darn rare!
 
#108
MoonDoggy said:
Yours is indeed a Zi-I or II like mine. And I'm not sure what the differences between the I and II are. It may be the preamp that makes the difference. But I'm assuming the difference is the body shape and bridge orientation. I think the Zi-I had a normally mounted bridge. I think all Zi-IIs had the angled and slanted bridge mounted on the very edge of the body. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd love to find out for sure for myself!
Click to expand...

Thanks!

As I said, I've had it for 15 years and it's not until this week that I thought to check what it was. Must have been my leaving it for service that triggered it.

Now that I think about it I seem to remember someone a long time ago saying to me that "Tune is a budget brand, like Squier", so maybe I didn't *want* to know the details since I might be disappointed. :) Now it's exciting to know that it's actually a special instrument.

I've tried searching for images, but I can't find anything matching my model exactly. Perhaps I should try to find my old teacher and ask him...
 
#109
I have these images saved in my 'Dream Basses' section of my Photobucket site:
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c154/moondoggy3/- Dream Basses/Tune Guitar Technology/

I believe these are Zi-I Tunes:

TuneZi-5.jpg


TuneZi-52.jpg


TuneZiIII6str2.jpg


(Again, these aren't mine. They're just images I've saved over the years)

The body shape is nearly identical, at least with the upper and lower horns and tummy contour. The bottom edge and bridge orientation is much different. I am under the impression that THIS is the difference between the Zi-I and Zi-II.
 
#110
MoonDoggy said:
I have these images saved in my 'Dream Basses' section of my Photobucket site:
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c154/moondoggy3/- Dream Basses/Tune Guitar Technology/

I believe these are Zi-I Tunes:

TuneZi-5.jpg


TuneZiIII6str2.jpg


(Again, these aren't mine. They're just images I've saved over the years)

The body shape is nearly identical, at least with the upper and lower horns and tummy contour. The bottom of course and bridge orientation is much different. I am under the impression that THIS is the difference between the Zi-I and Zi-II.
Click to expand...

I'm unable to find images of a Zi-I on Google, but as far as I can see that version with the rounded bottom is either a Zi-I or a Zi-III.

Here's a five-string Zi-II with the slanted bridge [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
And on this page there are a couple of Zi-3 and Zi-4:s, neither of which has the slanted bridge.

So it's impossible to rule out that my bass is a Zi-I, but considering how incredibly similar mine is to yours it seems much more likely that it's some version of the Zi-II.
 
#111
That shows how in the dark I am about Tunes! I didn't even know there was a Zi-3 or 4!!!! All of my knowledge is just assumptions.

And are all those basses on that site really for sale? They have a friggin Space Bass! I wish I was fluent in Japanese!
 
#117
Just picked up a beautiful used 4 string Somnus Zi. I'll get my photographer wife to take some photos later, but it is a metallic purple/pink sort of colour, uses 3 nine volt batteries in the preamp, neck through design with a hipshot D tuner and 3 slanted j style pickups. It looks to me as though a previous owner has replaced the nut as it doesn't really fit properly, and the truss rod cover is also not original.
I'd definitely love a 5 string one of these.
I'm also keen to see the catalog, as there is so little information on the web about these fabulous instruments.
 
#119
Now THAT is a rare Tune! I've never seen one quite like that! I had a Zi 4 string w/ the trim pots, but I've never seen one w/ 3 J pickups, that control layout, or that cool groove in the body! If you EVER foolishly decide to sell that, please PLEASE let me be the first to know! That's an awesome example of the Japanese Tune coolness!
 

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