Ibanez Affirma new v old

[alembic1989]

Has anyone compared the old & new Ibanez Affirma basses?

Are there significant differences I  quality,  tone, spec?

I've always wanted a fretless 4/5

But they're rare & expensive..was thinking of defretting a modern one...IF they're just as good as the old ones.

Anybody?

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by alembic1989

[itu]

The original AFRs were made in Japan, reissues seem to be from Indonesia.

AFR's serial is in the abalone insert between the piezo bridge and the magnetic pickup.

The old 4 has a detuner bridge (E), which is missing from the newer ones.

My understanding is that the originals have ebony fretboards.

 

What I do not always like is the sharp lower horn while playing sitting down. I do like the light weight. The playability has been impeccable within those two I have owned (previously a fretted flame maple 4, now a fretless 5). I have not been able to try a new one.

 

I think few custom fretless instruments were built to Percy Jones.

 

There was a line of basses made from luthite in between these two wooden series. The construction and the electronics were cheaper.

[Lfalex v1.1]

The new ones have a different bridge, and a swift perusal of the Ibanez site reveals no sign of 2 of the controls that the EDAs (referenced by @itu) and, presumably,  the mk1 AFRs had;

 

A master piezo output for level matching with the magnetic pickup circuit.

 

A bass tone control for the piezo pickup. The Treble half was on the front. 

 

The new AFR seems only to sport a knob designated as being the "piezo tone control".

 

The possibility exists that the Ibanez site is not entirely accurate.  I'd have to get hold of a new AFR to be sure that it hasn't got the aforementioned controls. 

 

I have an EDA900 that I purchased on here. I'd echo the earlier comments about playability and light weight/ balance.

 

Have you considered finding one of these and defretting it? Surely cheaper than doing it to a new AFR, and I reckon it'd at least get close, in spite of the lack of "woodiness". Some flats or tapewounds might help warm it up a bit.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Lfalex v1.1
Stuck an image of the EDA900 in for comparison in case you're not familiar..

[Sambrook]

I would echo the above about the EDA 900. It fits like a glove, and plays really well. The piezo was very warm, not too harsh or brittle, and the magnetic pickup gave a lovely P bass tone. 

I actually hated this shape of bass, really disliked it on sight, till I saw one in orange metallic, then it all 'made sense'. There's one on eBay at the moment, right colour, wrong price...

[alembic1989]

16 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

The new ones have a different bridge, and a swift perusal of the Ibanez site reveals no sign of 2 of the controls that the EDAs (referenced by @itu) and, presumably,  the mk1 AFRs had;

 

A master piezo output for level matching with the magnetic pickup circuit.

 

A bass tone control for the piezo pickup. The Treble half was on the front. 

 

The new AFR seems only to sport a knob designated as being the "piezo tone control".

 

The possibility exists that the Ibanez site is not entirely accurate.  I'd have to get hold of a new AFR to be sure that it hasn't got the aforementioned controls. 

 

I have an EDA900 that I purchased on here. I'd echo the earlier comments about playability and light weight/ balance.

 

Have you considered finding one of these and defretting it? Surely cheaper than doing it to a new AFR, and I reckon it'd at least get close, in spite of the lack of "woodiness". Some flats or tapewounds might help warm it up a bit.

That’s a good idea.

thanks.

[itu]

The original AFR controls are:

Vol - Blend - TrebleBass (concentric)

The electronics in the cavity include four trimmers for four individual piezo levels.

Edited January 12, 2022 by itu

[Lfalex v1.1]

A further analysis reveals that the AFRs (old and new) are set out in a more Vol, Balance, tone manner, whereas the EDAs are closer to a VVTT set-up.

Both are, of course, active with a magnetic pickup and piezo bridge.

Played the EDA this evening.  I'd forgotten how good it is once it's well set-up.

[fleabag]

On 11/01/2022 at 19:43, itu said:

 

I think few custom fretless instruments were built to Percy Jones.

 

To my knowledge, they made  Jones's AFR  fretless without the mag pickups, just piezo