NancyJohnson Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 (edited) I follow a channel on You Tube called 'A Flash Flood of Gear'; the channel is run by a Floridian musician called Alex Budnik, quite a few videos of buying trips to Japan along with a lot of US guitar show footage. Very interesting insight to guitar shopping in Japan, presented by a very calm, knowledgeable guy. Yen/GBP exchange rates are lowest (or most favourable) for about ten years; 100,000¥ will buy you £530.00. Granted there's shipping/taxes involved, but search around...the Japanese used market seems to be priced very low and there's a lot of stuff that are Japan only exclusives. I spotted a fully specced 5-string NS Radius (fretless) for £1k... immaculate. UK price, £3k. Bonkers. Edited August 3 by NancyJohnson Speling fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Import tax (was 6.7%) plus VAT (20%) on both price of instrument and carriage costs. So that NS Radius example will probably be nearer £1600/1700. So still a considerable saving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 (edited) I bought a Yamaha BB1200 directly from Ishibashi in December. Excellent service, kept updated throughout, sturdy packaging. I'll be back. Slim local pickings for old school BBs, so I couldn't tell you how much I saved versus the local market. But I will say this - much better to go directly to Ishibashi than source via eBay, which seems to be rife with middlepersons who'll happily lump on a "finder's fee" onto the price - you're basically paying for them to buy it on your behalf then ship it to you. Not an entirely fair comparison, but looking at the cheapest BB1200 listed on eBay today, I saved about £200 going direct to Ishibashi. Edited August 3 by neepheid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshy Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 I’m toying with an RD Artist from Ishibashi at the moment. Would rather find something in the U.K. if possible but fruitless search atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 2 minutes ago, walshy said: I’m toying with an RD Artist from Ishibashi at the moment. Would rather find something in the U.K. if possible but fruitless search atm You'll have no bother flogging that RD once its here, given that there's a paucity of them in the local market, if difficulty of returning it is the sticking point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Ishibashi is a reliable seller with a wide and changing stock. I’ve imported plenty (mostly domestic Japan gems) and never been disappointed. For Belgium, calculate an average of 28% additional costs to get an instrument to your door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JottoSW1 Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 What if you have two ( longterm trustworthy ) musician friends who live in Japan. 1 a good English speaking more jazz than rock guitarist who posts clips of elegant playing on utoob etc. Find me such and such an instrument please, my good friend Hiroomi. Me want badly a Greco or similar Rickenbacker style semi acoustic bass copy ideally left handed and pretty but right handed and marred and cheaper would be fine 🙂 mates rates on delivery etc. Cheapish basses are safer monetarily but what would you be tempted to chance your arm on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 19 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: the Japanese used market seems to be priced very low I'm not surprised, my son has just returned from Japan after 10 years teaching there. The Japanese attitude to used stuff is culturally different from ours and they are far more likely to buy new rather than used so second hand prices tend to be rock bottom. Generally there is a desire for shiny new things especially tech, but that even stretches to buildings, partly because of long experience of earthquakes they tend to be flimsy and designed for a short life. The majority of their ancient buildings turned out to have been rebuilt many times, destroyed by earthquake or fire. Cars are replaced long before they become unreliable and you don't see old bangers on the road. There is a flourishing trade in used cars flowing from Japan to the UK as a result. It's a fascinating place, like a sci-fi world where two cutures are separated hundreds of years ago and developed at a similar rate making rational but slightly different decisions, all rational and all with slightly different unintended consequences which they live with unquestioningly, just like us There is much to admire and an equal amount of 'what the hell Japan?' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted August 4 Author Share Posted August 4 3 hours ago, JottoSW1 said: What if you have two ( longterm trustworthy ) musician friends who live in Japan. 1 a good English speaking more jazz than rock guitarist who posts clips of elegant playing on utoob etc. Find me such and such an instrument please, my good friend Hiroomi. Me want badly a Greco or similar Rickenbacker style semi acoustic bass copy ideally left handed and pretty but right handed and marred and cheaper would be fine 🙂 mates rates on delivery etc. Cheapish basses are safer monetarily but what would you be tempted to chance your arm on... I have little desire for more basses (cheap or otherwise), I have bought two Thunderbirds through Ishibashi in the past. These were ridiculously cheap compared to UK market value at the time. My main draw to Japan would be guitars, I'd just like something Gibson; little desire for a Les Pauls/SGs, so something pointy, a 50s style V, Explorer, Futura, Moderne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 (edited) I've bought quite a few musical instruments direct from Japan - 4 basses from Ishibashi's U-Box (second hand section), a guitar in person from a shop in Osaka and had a friend get me a MIDI controller which they brought back with them. All the items were things that were either impossible or at best very difficult to buy in the UK and I have never bought solely in an attempt to save money on something that I could have bought here. My experience is unless you are buying used from Ishibashi, you or a friend will need to go in person in order to secure any purchase as most shops are still reluctant to deal with foreign sales. Certainly in the first decade of this century when I did all my Japanese purchasing the Japanese seemed to be far more interested in buying new and most second hand items had little perceived value, hence all the used bargains. It even extends as far as buildings. I have a friend who has been living there permanently for the last 15 years who recently bought a house and didn't immediately demolish it and build something new in its place, a practice that has perplexed his Japanese neighbours. Edited August 4 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 https://intl.ishibashi.co.jp/?https://intl.ishibashi.co.jp/&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20615437353&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20615437353&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzby1BhCQARIsAJ_0t5OpPPUwo6wBvcIdgB4Fny2YDYbtH9YKW7-EaXLYZFsnRT4fF-1Xn_8aAgMxEALw_wcB This'll be the Ishibashi shop. I shall have a browse, safe in the knowledge that what I want is so obscure, that they won't have it in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 4 hours ago, bass_dinger said: https://intl.ishibashi.co.jp/?https://intl.ishibashi.co.jp/&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20615437353&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20615437353&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzby1BhCQARIsAJ_0t5OpPPUwo6wBvcIdgB4Fny2YDYbtH9YKW7-EaXLYZFsnRT4fF-1Xn_8aAgMxEALw_wcB This'll be the Ishibashi shop. I shall have a browse, safe in the knowledge that what I want is so obscure, that they won't have it in stock. Don't be so sure about that. My last purchase from Ishibashi was a Yamaha BJ5B - essentially a 5-string version of the Yamaha SBV. It was marketed as the Terry & the Blue Jeans (massively popular Japanese surf band) signature bass and made in a limited edition of 50 instruments. Until the one I bought appeared on the U-Box site the only photograph I had ever seen of the bass was on the vintage Yamaha guitars pages, and since then the only other photos I can find appear to be the ones taken by me and then by the person I consequently sold the bass to. I also have pretty esoteric tastes in musical instruments, but every single bass I have ever been interested in owning has shown up for sale second hand at some point in the last 20 years. I've even been lucky enough to own some of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 On reflection, @BigRedX is right. Indeed, the basses that I wanted did come up, and I now own them. Better stop looking at the website, therefore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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