That's why I'm so curious. The 99 date was just thrown out there. There's really no history on the bass at all.
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Official TUNE Club
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That's why I'm so curious. The 99 date was just thrown out there. There's really no history on the bass at all.
Then you must make an informed guess.
Japanese production, maybe 3 to 4 years. 2 of those years, assembly from Korean parts.
Korean production, 27 years and counting.
What's the chances it was built in the few short Japanese years against the much longer Korean run ?
I doubt you'll ever know so just claim the country of origin you prefer.
I keep reading this (Japanese Tunes have all numbers or nothing at all. Korean Tunes start with an "S") over and over hence my curiosity.
Thanks for your input
@Matt Boyce
Here's the thing, by the very early 90's Tune Japan were importing bodies,necks and the hardware from Korea.
Which would you prefer. Made in Korea or assembled in Japan ?
Serial/ no serial.
My mid 80's Maniac has the serial down by the heastock, most of it has rubbed off. My early 90's Maniac (Korean parts/ Japan assembly) just had a sticker saying "Made in Japan"
Lack of a serial number doesn't mean very much.
Here's the thing, by the very early 90's Tune Japan were importing bodies,necks and the hardware from Korea.
Which would you prefer. Made in Korea or assembled in Japan ?
Serial/ no serial.
My mid 80's Maniac has the serial down by the heastock, most of it has rubbed off. My early 90's Maniac (Korean parts/ Japan assembly) just had a sticker saying "Made in Japan"
Lack of a serial number doesn't mean very much.
The site I took that from is Tune Guitar Technology.
Korean Hatsun Tune.
The Japanese site is Tune Guitar Maniac.
Your bass has no serial number.
It is Japanese.
@kodiakblair
Made in Korea, assembled in Japan, makes no difference to meI'm just interested about my bass is all.
How about "Built in a factory someplace with parts manufactured by WSC. Music "
Just as a note my MIJ Phoenix has the serial number on the inside of the control cavity cover. It's there; just hidden. I am not sure if this applies to the earlier MIJ Tunes though.
So, I recently have been casually hunting for semi hollow fretless 4 strings,and came across one of these used online. I’m not really sure it’s this exact signature model, but it looks very similar. Piezo only.Hello everybody! Here is my WB4 Massimo Moriconi signature. Hollow body, piezo pickup only, three band eq, strung with D'Addario black nylon. Light weight and feather smooth neck. Sounds actually great!
I looked through most of this club thread, but only found 2 very brief mentions of these semihollow models.
Online info is sparse. It looks like an extremely comfortable body, but i read one description of it having a 2.3” wide nut which seems crazy wide for a 4 string? Also was wondering about price,
GC has one for $800, which seems kind of high for a used korean bass listed in “fair” condition.
Any info is appreciated. The only other basses I’ve seen that are similar are Ibanez and Spectorcore.
AREA 51 BASS.
It is #28..........I think.......
I just had too.......they had it down so cheap because of a few dings and scrapes, sides and bottom, they were practically giving it away. So cheap I thought it was a mistake or misprint. But I hit buy and it appeared on my doorstep today. I picked up the box and thought it was empty. Lol. My first Silver instrument ever. Yea! Plays fine and it’s super light, I was hoping it would be, just like my other Tune TWB5 QM I plan to have it defretted because I sold my only fretless five a few years ago and have regretted it ever since.
Tune TWX51. Must be from Area 51.
It is #28..........I think.......
I just had too.......they had it down so cheap because of a few dings and scrapes, sides and bottom, they were practically giving it away. So cheap I thought it was a mistake or misprint. But I hit buy and it appeared on my doorstep today. I picked up the box and thought it was empty. Lol. My first Silver instrument ever. Yea! Plays fine and it’s super light, I was hoping it would be, just like my other Tune TWB5 QM I plan to have it defretted because I sold my only fretless five a few years ago and have regretted it ever since.
Tune TWX51. Must be from Area 51.
Hey @woodyng2. The nut sizes on Tune basses are pretty normal. I’m certain that’s a typo. There’s no way it’s even close to 2”. I didn’t find the exact sizes when I searched.
But, think Jazz bass neck in feel and size for a 4 string, probably 1 1/2”. My two 5 strings are between 1 5/8” and 1 3/4”. The necks are fast and thin. As far is this being Built in Korea, you do the bass and the country a disservice assuming it’s anything but a solid well constructed instrument. Also with excellent hardware and components. I think these retail for about $1000-1500. Depending on fancy tops etc. Their preamps are excellent! I’d compare them in sound and quality to Bartolini. The voicing I find to be much more to my liking and preference than, for example, the Aguilar OPB3 which I’m not a fan of. Again similar to a Bart Pre. As are the Pickups, also similar to Barts. All the Korean ones I’ve tried have been Mahogany body’s that are lightweight and resonant. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing any of the high end fancy wood ones. The bass above weighs in at 8.8 lbs and my other TWX5 is 8.6 IIRC. All in all, on par with the $1k-1.5k Ibanez basses. The string spacing is 18mm I believe, as opposed to Ibanez tighter 16.5. So a little closer to a fender 19mm, I’d call it comfortable and not cramped, like I feel on an Ibanez.
To sum it up, I personally would definitely pay the $800 if that’s what I was looking for. As a matter of fact, I nearly bought that beautiful blond fretless five that’s in Japan for $800 before I saw this one and figured I could have it made into a fretless for a a couple of hundred less.
But, think Jazz bass neck in feel and size for a 4 string, probably 1 1/2”. My two 5 strings are between 1 5/8” and 1 3/4”. The necks are fast and thin. As far is this being Built in Korea, you do the bass and the country a disservice assuming it’s anything but a solid well constructed instrument. Also with excellent hardware and components. I think these retail for about $1000-1500. Depending on fancy tops etc. Their preamps are excellent! I’d compare them in sound and quality to Bartolini. The voicing I find to be much more to my liking and preference than, for example, the Aguilar OPB3 which I’m not a fan of. Again similar to a Bart Pre. As are the Pickups, also similar to Barts. All the Korean ones I’ve tried have been Mahogany body’s that are lightweight and resonant. I’ve never had the pleasure of playing any of the high end fancy wood ones. The bass above weighs in at 8.8 lbs and my other TWX5 is 8.6 IIRC. All in all, on par with the $1k-1.5k Ibanez basses. The string spacing is 18mm I believe, as opposed to Ibanez tighter 16.5. So a little closer to a fender 19mm, I’d call it comfortable and not cramped, like I feel on an Ibanez.
To sum it up, I personally would definitely pay the $800 if that’s what I was looking for. As a matter of fact, I nearly bought that beautiful blond fretless five that’s in Japan for $800 before I saw this one and figured I could have it made into a fretless for a a couple of hundred less.
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Thanks for the detailed and thorough response,Kirk!
I was buying the bass online from GC,and not getting any response to email or even direct calling the store.
“Sure,we’ll find out and get right back to you”....2 days later,still nothin’.
I decided since they have a moneyback guarantee, I’d just chance it,and bought it.
Glad I did.
Bass was advertised as in “fair” condition,which was my chief concern.
Got it yesterday,and overall physically, it’s not bad at all. Missing the headstock logo,and a few of the knob tops on the Alembic style knobs,and a few very minor bumps and bruises.
The piezo pickups,3 band preamp all work fine,seem to be set flat internally. (Likely factory settings.)
The bad news is it had a very heavy set of flatwound strings on,and a big bow in the neck, almost unplayable.(requiring major effort to press string to wood.)
I took it to my guitar guru to see if it was salvageable,and fortunately the trussrod and bridge had plenty of adjustability. He cleaned it up, put a new set of Labella White Copper tapewounds on it, and has it set up perfectly!
It does indeed have a very narrow slim 5-piece neck, j bass-ish, just perfect for me.
I have since found out these are Japanese made, and retail for $1700, which justifies the asking price. I have no issues with Korean made basses,my point before was that such would likely be a $800-1k bass NEW,so the price seemed high for a used “fair” condition bass.
This is one of the fancy wood models you mentioned,a mahogany body with bookmatched
flamed maple top and headstock cap, and a really gorgeous rosewood fingerboard.
Looking forward to getting it home and seeing how we click.
These are “before” pics.
Thanks for the detailed and thorough response,Kirk!
I was buying the bass online from GC,and not getting any response to email or even direct calling the store.
“Sure,we’ll find out and get right back to you”....2 days later,still nothin’.
I decided since they have a moneyback guarantee, I’d just chance it,and bought it.
Glad I did.
Bass was advertised as in “fair” condition,which was my chief concern.
Got it yesterday,and overall physically, it’s not bad at all. Missing the headstock logo,and a few of the knob tops on the Alembic style knobs,and a few very minor bumps and bruises.
The piezo pickups,3 band preamp all work fine,seem to be set flat internally. (Likely factory settings.)
The bad news is it had a very heavy set of flatwound strings on,and a big bow in the neck, almost unplayable.(requiring major effort to press string to wood.)
I took it to my guitar guru to see if it was salvageable,and fortunately the trussrod and bridge had plenty of adjustability. He cleaned it up, put a new set of Labella White Copper tapewounds on it, and has it set up perfectly!
It does indeed have a very narrow slim 5-piece neck, j bass-ish, just perfect for me.
I have since found out these are Japanese made, and retail for $1700, which justifies the asking price. I have no issues with Korean made basses,my point before was that such would likely be a $800-1k bass NEW,so the price seemed high for a used “fair” condition bass.
This is one of the fancy wood models you mentioned,a mahogany body with bookmatched
flamed maple top and headstock cap, and a really gorgeous rosewood fingerboard.
Looking forward to getting it home and seeing how we click.
These are “before” pics.
View attachment 4208361View attachment 4208362View attachment 4208364
I've been passively eyeing that bass on GC for a little while now but really couldn't justify another bass purchase this year. Glad that the neck issues were solvable! I'm sure that it's gonna play and sound fantastic now!
They have been a feature of the Korean product range for quite a few years.
https://www.tuneguitars.com/wb-page1
From the same website, if you go to the SHOP page, it has that particular model (wb4-fm)
listed under a “Made in Japan” banner, with a price in USD.
Sorry!
It’s my first 18v active system, from what i was able to hear briefly in GC,it has a really good sound.
Good news is that you can find replacement knobs like the originals from a few outlets (one in Canada, and one in Korea if I recall).Thanks for the detailed and thorough response,Kirk!
I was buying the bass online from GC,and not getting any response to email or even direct calling the store.
“Sure,we’ll find out and get right back to you”....2 days later,still nothin’.
I decided since they have a moneyback guarantee, I’d just chance it,and bought it.
Glad I did.
Bass was advertised as in “fair” condition,which was my chief concern.
Got it yesterday,and overall physically, it’s not bad at all. Missing the headstock logo,and a few of the knob tops on the Alembic style knobs,and a few very minor bumps and bruises.
The piezo pickups,3 band preamp all work fine,seem to be set flat internally. (Likely factory settings.)
The bad news is it had a very heavy set of flatwound strings on,and a big bow in the neck, almost unplayable.(requiring major effort to press string to wood.)
I took it to my guitar guru to see if it was salvageable,and fortunately the trussrod and bridge had plenty of adjustability. He cleaned it up, put a new set of Labella White Copper tapewounds on it, and has it set up perfectly!
It does indeed have a very narrow slim 5-piece neck, j bass-ish, just perfect for me.
I have since found out these are Japanese made, and retail for $1700, which justifies the asking price. I have no issues with Korean made basses,my point before was that such would likely be a $800-1k bass NEW,so the price seemed high for a used “fair” condition bass.
This is one of the fancy wood models you mentioned,a mahogany body with bookmatched
flamed maple top and headstock cap, and a really gorgeous rosewood fingerboard.
Looking forward to getting it home and seeing how we click.
These are “before” pics.
View attachment 4208361View attachment 4208362View attachment 4208364
Or you can replace them with super cool wood ones from fine folks on Etsy like Invalid Link Removed!
The knobs are very similar to Alembic “collette” knobs, which at $25 apiece, I will have to pass.
I really like the design,size,and shape,so hopefully i cam find some online...they may be available on the Tune website,haven’t really looked yet.
Wow glad it seems it’s going to work out for you. (Please take no offense as I wasn’t trying to paint you as a hater of country of origin ) What’s the serial number on the back of the neck look like? If it is long and starts with an S080312345. Or something similar it is Korean built. Short or no Serial # is Japan built IIRC. Someone gave the specifics earlier in this thread. Yes the knob tops are notorious for falling off and getting lost. The knobs always remind me of small pa miking board knobs, (which I bet would fit) I’ve been meaning to get some wood knobs for my bass for years. Lol. Glad you got the neck squared away.
