Ibanez black eagle bass

[Bucket Head]

Hi guys, been looking into getting one of these black eagle beasts but cant really find that much info on them.

just wondering if anyone knows much about them like....reliability, sound and what kinda price they are worth/ go for (just so i dont get ripped off lol)

any help as always is appreciated!

cheers

[cocco]

I know a little, they are mahogany bodied, most Jazzes are alder or ash.

I've seen 2 for sale ever, one black and an even rarer (on these shores anyway) Antoria branded white eagle , neither were perfect and both were over £600, the cut out in the headstock tends to be weak.

[Bucket Head]

ah so they quite rarely come up then. yea i saw a picture of the white eagle, looks beautiful too. ill have to keep an eye out.

im wondering what they are like to play though. i imagine they are similar to jazz basses from the looks of them

is there any bands that use them?

cheers

[Musky]

Krist Novoselic used to use one..

[1970]

They regularly come up in the states for around £1000-1200.

The cutout in the headstock is often broken off, which is a shame. I'm also holding out for one (but with a complete headstock).

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBANEZ-BLACK-EAGLE-RARE-1976-BASS-GUITAR-/171538800184?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_212&hash=item27f0825e38"]Cheap one in Poland on eBay[/url] at the moment if you don't mind one with broken headstock.

[Bassassin]

The identical Antoria-badged version is much more common in the UK, although still pretty scarce. Cheaper too, probably £350-£450ish, at a guess.

Essentially it's a Jazz copy with curly horns, easy-to-break headstock & rather silly country & western scratchplate & inlays, so expect it to sound & play like a good 70s J copy, and look like a cowboy's wet dream!

I like 'em.

Jon.

[Bucket Head]

sweet cheers for all the info. yea kinda like the cowboy look haha. ill have to get myself a big buckle and a Stetson.

ive been offerd one with a repairded headstock. origional part it just broke and was glued back in. how much do you think this would affect the value?

[Bucket Head]

well i bought it and got it today! managed to get it for 400 quid and it came with the OHSC. the thing is a beauty to behold, the repair job on the headstock aint to bad at all.

have to say this may be the nicest sounding bass ive ever played. its got shed loads of attack and brightness which i didnt expect from a bass nearly 40 years old (1976)

love the shape of the body and headstock but can totally see why these things break all the time. dunno if i should gig with it and risk breaking it.

cheers for all the info and help guys i appreicate it!

Edited November 18, 2014 by Bucket Head

[Bassassin]

Lucky git! Pictures or it didn't happen, as they used to say on the internets.

J.

[1970]

Bloody hell! Jealous. I wouln't worry about the repair - it's a million times better than if the broken piece is missing altogether.

You know where to come if you ever want to get rid of it!

[Bucket Head]

sorry for the late reply, yea i dunno if ill get part with this to be honest. It does weigh a bit tho.

hopefully ive added the pics correctly...

you can see the join on the headstock its not too bad at all really i can live with that lol

does anyone know if the bridge cover is origional? dont think ive seen on any of the pics ive seen.

[Bucket Head]

also do you reckon this is the original HSC? looks like it fits pretty nicely in there. complete with old-school Canadian beer stickers

[1970]

From what I've seen around I'd say that the bridge cover is not original but the case is.

[AndyTravis]

Reissue on way...

Looking into one.