lemmywinks Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) Just grabbed this from my local Cash Generator, spotted it at the weekend and had a half day off work so decided to snag it as I need a boring trad bass for some upcoming dep gigs. Was £110 and they wouldn't shift on price as it had just been discounted from £140. Not sure what's original, I think the pickup, scratchplate and knobs might be replacements as they look too new but the bass overall is in superb condition for an old cheap bass. It's missing a thumb rest and pickup/bridge covers, assume the covers would have been stock. It also has a large silver sticker running under the strings by the bridge, assume this would have been disguised by the bridge cover but not sure if it's stock, had a poke and a prod and it doesn't seem to be hiding any naughty routing mods. Can't find much info on these, most CMI basses on the internet have a different logo, tele bass style pickups, cr@p tuners and that horrible forearm overspray which hides a butcher block body. This has a 3 piece body, brass nut/saddles, good quality tuners and seems very well finished overall. Truss rod adjustment is at the body end with a wooden plug at the neck and a skunk stripe. I thinksome El Maya branded instruments had the wooden plug and brass nut but not seen them on many MiJ basses. Is this 70s or 80s? Looks to have a standard sized neck plate so thinking later. Also any clue about the factory? Seen Chushin Gakki linked with CMI a bit. Edited February 12 by lemmywinks 9 Quote
Lozz196 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I`ve no info on these but an old mate (sadly deceased now, RIP Mike) had a CMI Jazz bass and it sounded amazing. 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 Some internal shots, looks original to me but not sure about the pickup, mainly because I don't know much about old MiJ stuff in general. No extra holes though. Tuners have been stripped and cleaned, truss rod moves fine (was set with barely any tension when I got it) so I've flattened the neck out. Will see if it needs a shim at all when I put it back together. That reflective sticker came off easily, nothing underneath it. 3 Quote
JJMotown Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Pretty sure it's early/mid 80s. I have a Cimar precision mij from 1984, which has the identical hardware. 1 Quote
Rayman Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Very cool, I remember them from back in the day. Ibanez factory I believe? Same as Cimar and others….. 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 (edited) 1 hour ago, JJMotown said: Pretty sure it's early/mid 80s. I have a Cimar precision mij from 1984, which has the identical hardware. The first two digits on the pot code are 78 so I assumed that's when they were from at least. There's a lot of similarities between this and some of the El Maya Artist models from 1978 too. The only thing I haven't found on other basses is the 3 screw tuners which feel great despite being the 2 part shaft design, one was already unscrewing itself when I got it but fixed that now. The neck did take a fair bit of adjustment to get where I wanted it when under tension though, stuck a shim in there and it's playing great now. Pickup is very nice as well. Edited February 12 by lemmywinks Quote
Bassassin Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Mid/late 70s or very early 80s - beyond that there were very few MIJ copies (outwith replica-level stuff) being exported, as Japanese manufacturers moved to original designs for export, & budget instrument production went to Korea & Taiwan. Anyway - this is nice. Looks like a solid timber body (not ply or butcher block) and a one-piece neck, and a total steal for £110. CMI, as I expect everyone knows, was Jim Marshall's spinoff brand, originally set up (iirc) as a way around a restrictive distribution deal Marshall was tied into in the early 70s. Most CMIs tend to be fairly budget-level, but this looks pretty high-end. It's interesting this one has the block logo, rather than the Marshall-ised italic version with the large 'M', which I'd tended to assume was used on later instruments. It's not Fujigen (the factory which made Ibanez & many others) but I would say it's the same factory that produced most Cimars. There's some debate about that but from what's currently understood it was likely Chushin Gakki or Kiso Suzuki. Those tuners appear on lots of Cimars and also many late 70s/80s Tokai Fender clones. A variation, with a cast key rather than a clover leaf, appears on practically every Yamaha BB bass from this era. I'd be inclined to think it's only the knobs that may not be original - you'd expect a replacement scratchplate to have needed a few new screwholes, but from what I can see, these all match up. Unsure about the pickup, unlike a lot of Japanese units I've never seen a P or J type with any identifying marks. 2 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 Although having said that I've just found this CImar with the same tuners and neck plate! https://www.coololdguitars.shop/products/1970s-cimar-ibanez-75-reissue-jazz-bass-torino-red Quote
Bassassin Posted February 12 Posted February 12 3 minutes ago, lemmywinks said: The first two digits on the pot code are 78 so I assumed that's when they were from at least. There's a lot of similarities between this and some of the El Maya Artist models from 1978 too. The only thing I haven't found on other basses is the 3 screw tuners which feel great despite being the 2 part shaft design, one was already unscrewing itself when I got it but fixed that now. The neck did take a fair bit of adjustment to get where I wanted it when under tension though, stuck a shim in there and it's playing great now. Pickup is very nice as well. Those are torque-adjustment collars on the tuners. They would've been supplied with a little adjusting tool when new! 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 The scratchplate is original I think, it was only the condition of it that made me think it was a replacement (too shiny!) but looking underneath it I don't think this to be the case. Tbh it matches the overall condition of the bass which is excellent. My rubbish phone doesn't really do it justice, the sunburst is much nicer in person and more brownish than red. Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 1 minute ago, Bassassin said: Those are torque-adjustment collars on the tuners. They would've been supplied with a little adjusting tool when new! How would that work then, would it be a little rod you stick in the hole (tried and failed to make that sound better I promise) and turn it to tighten? Quote
Bassassin Posted February 12 Posted February 12 5 minutes ago, lemmywinks said: How would that work then, would it be a little rod you stick in the hole (tried and failed to make that sound better I promise) and turn it to tighten? It's a little c-spanner shaped thing. I've seen a pic (some MIJ guitar tuners use them too) but never had one. 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 10 minutes ago, Bassassin said: It's a little c-spanner shaped thing. I've seen a pic (some MIJ guitar tuners use them too) but never had one. I thought I'd seen them before and figured out it was from an old episode of Fanblade Instruments here: 1 Quote
Geek99 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I wish we had such fine CrackConverters stores around these parts Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 5 minutes ago, Geek99 said: I wish we had such fine CrackConverters stores around these parts The same shop also has a Harley Benton Fusion guitar, roasted maple and a lic Floyd rose for £160. Almost bought that as well. Quote
Geek99 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 9 minutes ago, lemmywinks said: The same shop also has a Harley Benton Fusion guitar, roasted maple and a lic Floyd rose for £160. Almost bought that as well. Thank f*** you came to your senses and swerved the toy bass. 1 Quote
FlatEric Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Hi. 😊 I have a CMI Artist, had it for years - absolutely cracking. Not really a regular fretless player, but it doesn't stop me having a go. . . . . on my own! Interesting, are the notes from Jon. 👍 CMI Artist 1 Quote
lemmywinks Posted February 13 Author Posted February 13 (edited) 3 hours ago, FlatEric said: Hi. 😊 I have a CMI Artist, had it for years - absolutely cracking. Not really a regular fretless player, but it doesn't stop me having a go. . . . . on my own! Interesting, are the notes from Jon. 👍 CMI Artist Thanks, I actually spotted your website while doing a bit of research on my bass over the weekend before deciding to buy it. Great collection btw! Yours looks extremely similar to mine aside from the logo and obvious lack of metal bits on the neck - solid wood body, brass nut and saddles, 7 screw bridge, same colour of burst, same colour of scratchplate etc. I see yours is also drilled for bridge/pickup covers and has a screw hole in the middle of the scratchplate like mine, another weird thing they have in common is two close screw holes where I assume a thumb rest had been installed. Does yours have the 3 screw tuners? The bridge on yours is in much better condition though, mine is quite ratty and some of the plating is coming away. Edited February 13 by lemmywinks Quote
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