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An old friend was the local Yamaha rep around this region for years , so I asked him about local Samurais. He said they are some around but I’ve only heard of a couple , and those were not for sale. Occasionally I’d see them for a good price in the US but those sellers were not willing to ship internationally. Sometimes you might see a US seller willing to ship , but those were usually asking inflated prices. I was reluctant to order from Tokyo. So , for the longest time , I didn’t think I’d find one. The odd one would surface in the UK one Australia , usually at a premium price. I spent some years watching and waiting. And then one popped up in Toronto for a good price. No taxes or duties.

They were inexpensive new. But because they’re out of production they fetch what people are prepared to pay, I will say they sound good , and are fun to play. Found mine for a good used price.

We used to have to use tuning forks to tune up guitars and basses. And do it while disco music was blaring through the bar’s gigantic PA system. You’d bang the fork on your knee to get a pitch and then hold it over the pickup to hear it and get your A string to pitch. Then you’d tune the rest to the A string. Not easy to do while solo or shaking disco music was blaring. And the patrons did not care much for the pinging noises. You had to take turns tuning.

Metronomes and click tracks are highly over rated. Never found one that could keep up with me.

Playing at the local blues dive downtown , after eating a boiled dinner , I was a bit gassy. Cleared the dance floor.

Mine’s a great little head but only sees occasional use.

Most of my basses have flats. They sit nicely in the mix. Try ‘em.

Now I’ve never owned one , but that Cort A4 is interesting.

I’ve pretty much switched over to shortscales , but make an exception for this. Or when I get that urge to play a Ric.

I’d love to see a shortscale Epi Pro.

Nothing quite like a nice girl with a Samurai and an SVT!

For years I’d go pokin ‘ round the interweb looking for a Flying Samurai , oh you could usually find them for sale in Tokyo , but I didn’t want to brave that. I’d see the occasional one in the US , sometimes one might surface in the UK or Australia. But I was reluctant do deal with international shipping , duties and taxes. And one day I noticed one pop up in Toronto , and I had some cash available in the musical emergency sock … and I got it. It’s much like a Jazz , on steroids. Not too heavy , sits nice on a strap, real good player. This is the long scale reissue , and although I generally play short scales now I make an exception for this darling. We have a little instrumental project coming up , I’ve decided this will be the one . My backup will be another classic Japanese surf bass , my UniVox HiFlier. I’m going retro cool. Been putting some time in on this , and I like it.

Sounds like Canada.

I already have too much stuff , but at that price was tempted to enquire if they might ship to Canada.

Clean break , easy glue job , but have a pro do it.

The drummer was on vacation in the Caribbean. Two rehearsals this weekend , one with the core band and another with the two trumpet players. Next one is Saturday , and then one last one before the first gig. Then the bandleader is off to Quebec for six weeks , and then we start up rehearsals again.

They went after Dean. And won. I would not be at all surprised. I’m really not a fan of companies that rip off older designs , and yet , that said , one of my current favourites to play is an early 70’s UniVox copy of a Mosrite. …. guilty

I’ve been running a Monique preamp into a Bergantino Forte to get much the same effect. It has turned my Forte from modern hifi to old school tube warmth. And I could switch between the two instantly without having to spin many knobs or change too many settings. I had not heard of Sisma. I’ve been reading about them. Thank you!

I’m looking forward to the conclusion.

Better link? I’m frequently trying to determine where/when something might have originated. And haven’t found any good guides for the Korean factories from the 90’s on, they’re confusing too. As are the contemporary Chinese/Indonesian instruments.

This is a nice page about Japanese basses and the various factories. https://spinditty.com/instruments-gear/Japanese-Manufacturers-of-Made-In-Japan-Badged-Guitars-from-1950-to-1980 I recently picked up a UniVox HiFlier , and just love the trashy little thing.

I wish they had more of a presence here. There’s a surprising number of Cdn buyers willing to try international shipping , duties and whatever to purchase their gear.

I’m an old Pbass guy , but mostly play shortscales now. I still have three Pbasses.

The Jr was initially envisioned as a cheap budget Gibson in the late 50’s. No binding , fancy inlays or carved top. And the recent Tribute DC Jr bass followed suit , with a cheap rough finish to keep costs down. No binding , inlays , slab body. This Sandberg with a bolt on neck is about twice the price of the Jr. Despite the lack of binding , inlays or carved top. I imagine the finish is much nicer than what Gibson did.