Duarte

As some of you may know I'm a sucker for old Japanese instruments. This came up for sale relatively local to me in Australia- it's a Greco TVB-45. There's not much info available, but I'm intrigued. I've just moved here from Thailand, and couldn't take my bass collection (like some kind of poligassist I now have separate bass families on 2 continents with a third rearing its ugly headstock). Is there any info in the basschat wisdom on these basses? It looks so damn cool. It's a shorty, with gotoh harware, and it's from 1987 Japan - that's all I know. Thanks in advance. Z

Here in Thailand about 50% of music Man basses you see for sale look like that. Rusted pole pieces too. I wondered what the hell they do to their basses here! For me, music Man basses just sound how I play. I love to play hard and I love how MM basses choke and growl at you when you do.

Her in Thailand about 50% of music Man basses you see for sale look like that. Rusted pole pieces too. I wondered what the hell they do to their basses here!

That special looks particularly sweet. Something about the roasted maple / ash combo. How would you compare it to the HH Sterling? That's a bass you don't see too often.

This begs the question - what happened to the old neo pickup? Absolutely beautiful bass by the way.

Stunning. I just love the mute bridge Sterlings, and the neck on that one is like no other I've seen. You win the MM thread today!

Just get a Sterling - same neck as the SLO special, same electronics as the old SR5, smaller, lighter body. Best EBMM bass by far.

They awesome. I love their rounded edges. I have one of the medium scale PJ ones, but it's off for a refin and some other major surgery.

Reminds me of the original Boxer series. I love it.

You spotted it!

I've just put the finishing touches on the video and I had to share it. I hope you BCers appreciate it Let me know what you think...

This is my latest Ska / Reggae tune. As my alter ego, the Ska Chef, Chef Zak. I tried to make it a little bit different... so there's some unusual instruments in there. Hope you approve!

I mean, that's a stone cold classic. It's also a baseline that pops up everywhere. Toots was a genius.

My favourite reggae bassline, without a doubt.

Well I never! I thought the omission of pickguard, knobs and the difference in pickups just made it look like a slightly different shape. I know JD has played Sterlings in the past so assumed it was just that - a stripped back Sterling.

It's essentially a Sterling isn't it, at least the body looks like the Sterling to me. Interesting that it has the new MM bridge and old style tuners, whilst the Timmy C bass has new style tuners and old mute-style bridge. I guess it's all down to the artist.

Yeah, I remember that. I've wanted a Classic SR ever since. That is more than a third of my lifetime ago, which is totally mad. - the other Bongos went to BC'ers and EB forum users, but in the last 10 years people have disappeared or the basses have changed hands too many times to count. I still have my trusty '93 Sterling, which is the single bass I've owned for the past 9 or 10 years. During lockdowns, I accumulated a gaggle of vintage Japanese basses, which are all over the Thai marketplace. That Sterling, though, will stay with me forever. I do think the Bongo with Piezo works so beautifully. I believe that option has been discontinued for a while, sadly.

It's one of my great regrets. I had 4 Bongos (this being the best one) and I couldn't keep track of where they all went!

I had a fretted Fender Jazz that had a dead zone - dull 9th, dead 10th, and dull 11th. The only remedy for that was converting it to fretless, now she sings all over the fingerboard!

Apologies for the rant!

It's a bit weird isn't it. What's interesting is EBMM's reluctance to introduce signature bass models until very recently. By doing so, and devaluing the brand, prices have skyrocketed, so there's that. There's a strange dislike for both EBMM and Joe Dart that I don't understand. EBMM make solid classic style and often experimental or flamboyant basses outside of their StingRay lineup, constantly introducing and discontinuing oddities and special runs. The Big Al, with 1000 knobs and switches, 3 pickups and pointy body, or a passive no knob short scale. I appreciate the audacity of it all. The StingRay will always be there. They ARE expensive, which is why I've only ever bought them used. No prob. Joe Dart's unpopularity baffles me too. In my eyes, he's the millennial equivalent of Flea - a household name bassist who can shred some funk and sounds exactly like himself. I prefer to listen to other bassists, but the fact is he's popular and cool, and so be it. Anyway, I like the look of the Joe Dart II bass. I have a J with 2 volumes and no tone, and it's awesome. I also own a EBMM Sterling, which has the best neck I've ever played. I also have an oil finished (basically unfinished) natural P bass. The Joe Dart II is like an amalgamation of all my personal favourite basses. But obviously I ain't gonna buy one, at that price.

That Bongo looks very familiar to me. Did I own that one, years ago?

Stunning.i had one just like it, except with a mute bridge. I always regret letting that one go.

Here I was, expecting to hear some cover of Outkast's Hey Ya! This was a pleasant surprise. I'll be checking out more.