Cimar 70s jazz bass - worth the restauration?

[polvo]

I'm looking at a "1970'S CIMAR JAZZ BASS MADE BY IBANEZ" as a restauration project.

 

Does anyone know anything about these? I can't find much online but what I've seen sounds promising. 

 

It's in pretty bad shape and will need a complete servicing but I'm willing to give that a go. For the price (£150), I'm willing to take a bit of a gamble on the chance that it might either be a disaster or might turn out to be a great deal. But am I overestimating the quality I could end up with, assuming the restauration goes well?

 

(Bonus question: is there anything I should ask or be careful of when buying? Anything that is just not fixable? The only things I'm aware of would be the truss rod not working or the neck being twisted)

 

 

 

[Maude]

As far as I'm aware it'll be a good bass and well worth doing, pretty much an Ibanez Blazer in all but name. Made in the Fujigen Gakki factory in Japan that also made the Ibanez instruments. 

@Bassassin, our resident 70s Japan expert, will be able to tell you far more. 

[Bassassin]

I had one exactly the same 15 or so years ago - these date from the mid 70s, were not made by Fujigen, and aren't really anything to do with Ibanez. The connection is that in the mid 70s, Cimar was distributed by Ibanez owner Hoshini Gakki, later Hoshino took ownership of the name and marketed Cimar as a sub-brand of Ibanez but this bass pre-dates that. Here's my old one:

 

 

It's a Cimar Model 1908, possibly made by Chushin Gakki, although it's not too clear where these were from. It's very similar to the Chushin-made Columbus Jazz copies, although there are enough differences to make it probable it's from elsewhere.

 

Fwiw I'd say £150 is a bit steep for one of these in resto condition - it's a fairly budget bass - ply body, pickups aren't great (assuming they work), the 2-saddle bridge is cheap & agricultural. Nice genuine MoP inlays, though!

 

There's some info about Cimar & the various Jazz type basses sold under the brand here. It's auto-translated from German.

[Maude]

Pass me my orthopaedic shoes. I stand corrected. 😁

[polvo]

24 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

Nice genuine MoP inlays, though!

 

It seems like the only really positive thing you have to say about it is the inlays... and the inlays are weirdly missing from the one that's for sale! I actually made a separate post about that here: 

 

Sounds like it might not be such a great deal after all. Thanks!

 

 

[Reggaebass]

34 minutes ago, polvo said:

Sounds like it might not be such a great deal after all

It’s good to have a project now and again to work on, if you like the bass and fancy restoring it are you able to get the seller to accept a lower price given the work you have to do , looks quite cool 

[Bassassin]

2 hours ago, polvo said:

 

It seems like the only really positive thing you have to say about it is the inlays... and the inlays are weirdly missing from the one that's for sale! I actually made a separate post about that here: 

 

Sounds like it might not be such a great deal after all. Thanks!

 

 

 

I didn't realise the inlays were gone, I just assumed it was 45 years of filth and squalor!

 

Fair enough if it was £50 - but tbh at £150 I'd give this a swerve.

[LukeFRC]

I had a 1905 model Cimar that many years ago @Bassassinhelped me so up. Cheap bass - but also on of the most fun instruments I’ve ever played

 

i did it up for a mate and sold it to him. Our relationship is now based around my biannual questions if he wants to sell it. He does not.

[Raytvr]

I have exactly the same bass which I’ve owned since 1978. You’re completely right that the weak spot of these were the weedy pickups. After one of mine failed, I managed to fit the internals from a Squier pick up into the existing round ended covers. Transformed the sound so I did the same on the other pu as well. Other than that it’s a great bass, slightly narrower string spacing than a normal jazz, so great for those with smaller hands.