Japanese bass?

[AdeOw]

Hi, 

 

Does anyone have any information or experience with these bases? 

 

It's a Starfire by Eks Technologies.

I believe it to be japanese made?  Unsure of age I believe it to be late 80s based on the information I can find online.

 

Neck plate states nagoya

 

The Neck profile is a bit wide at the nut for a typical jazz bass.

 

I will be looking to move this on if anyone is interested.

[Sean]

@Bassassin Your wiki-like knowledge is needed here, sir.

[JJMotown]

Why do you think it's Japanese? What gave you that impression?

 

It's a cheap 90s made in korea. You'll see the same style neck plate on Rockwood (by hohner) guitars and basses from the same time period.

 

 

[AdeOw]

52 minutes ago, JJMotown said:

Why do you think it's Japanese? What gave you that impression?

 

It's a cheap 90s made in korea. You'll see the same style neck plate on Rockwood (by hohner) guitars and basses from the same time period.

 

 

The information I can find online

https://www.guitar-list.com/brands/eks-technology

 

Plus the fact it says nagoya on the neckplate

Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi, [naꜜɡoja] ⓘ) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JJMotown]

30 minutes ago, AdeOw said:

The information I can find online

https://www.guitar-list.com/brands/eks-technology

 

Plus the fact it says nagoya on the neckplate

Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi, [naꜜɡoja] ⓘ) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see. I think someone was having a joke. If you take a close look at the P bass for sale on that page, and compare it with a Rockwood (by Hohner) lx90b, the early ones will look identical, same neckplate style as those in your pics, pickguard, bridge, even triangle serial number sticker. Only difference would be the headstock shape and logo. Later lx90b models have a plain neck plate like in the pic for the bass for sale on that webpage.

 

Pretty sure it's a 90s bass. Production in Japan slowed right down around 1986, because production costs rocketed, so buyers to cut margins switched to korean manufacturers because they were significantly cheaper.

[JJMotown]

[AdeOw]

1 hour ago, JJMotown said:

 

[AdeOw]

It is very similar.  In all fairness here's a closer image of the neckplate of the starfire I have. 

 

 

Nagoya on the neckplate.  Surely that's the city it was manufactured? Seems odd if not. 

 

 

 

 

[prowla]

It says (C) Nagoya, as opposed to made in Nagoya.

[Doctor J]

There are lots of Charvels with Fort Worth, Texas on the neckplate which weren't made in Texas. BC Rich did it a lot too. It's not as uncommon as you'd think.

[crazycloud]

1 hour ago, AdeOw said:

Surely that's the city it was manufactured? Seems odd if not. 

Does that mean my neighbour's Austin 7 was actually made in Texas? 

 

Nagoya could be a brand name. 

Edited Tuesday at 22:51 by crazycloud

[Geek99]

You’re in the right place @AdeOw

[prowla]

Googling "Starfire by EKS" suggests that EKS is a guitar company based in Nagoya, Japan.

https://www.guitar-list.com/brands/eks-technology

However, I see instruments MIJ and MIC, so it's entirely possible they offshored production.

Prices seem to be <£100 (eg. https://richtonemusic.co.uk/eks-starfire-performer-j-style-bass-black-2nd-hand/?srsltid=AfmBOopeMAmOgr7sfGvDeYgYiXp4nJvRh2jH9eNtrvzpY05OgnP2AvtA).

[lemmywinks]

My Korean Cort built Hohner JJ Pro also came with pretty much that exact style of neckplate, that was a 90s bass IIRC.

[Bassassin]

A bit late to the party but I'm confident it's not an MIJ bass. It has the look of a probably early 90s budget instrument, & by that point (in fact beyond the late 70s) that sort of thing was not being made in Japan. I'd assume from 'Nagoya' on the neckplate that the parent company (EKS) was Japanese, but like many Japanese companies, production was outsourced to other countries. This is almost certainly Korean, and the details like the neckplate & headstock shape suggest it was probably from Cort.