Ibanez Musician (MC924)

[LeftyJ]

[size=4][b]Please note this was written from a lefty point of view - as I originally wrote it for the leftybassist.com-forum. Most basics are also relevant for righties looking for an old Musician and wanting to know more though, so I thought it would fit here quite nicely. Besides a review, this also sums up a brief history of the Musician series to better understand the differences between the various models that have been around. It does not cover the full evolution of the MC-series though, it stops where Ibanez ceased production of lefthanded versions.[/b][/size]

I know it may seem odd to review a bass that's more than 25 years old and hasn't been produced since. But I also know there are many lefties out there who are looking for these and who may be eager to try them out, so I thought it might be a good idea to discuss these basses here, and the difference between the two versions of the MC924L that have been available. Owning both versions, I can easily compare them.

[size=4][b]History and specs[/b][/size]
When the Musician series were introduced, together with the Studio and Roadster range, they were the absolute top of the bill in the Ibanez arsenal. The first Musician basses featured sandwich bodies, and all Musician basses had laminated through-body necks mounted at an angle. There were both active and passive versions.

The first run (of 1978) included the 22 fret MC800 and MC900. The jack was mounted on the face of the body rather than on the side, as on later models, and was a notorious weak spot as the wood surrounding the jack was fairly thin. Many MC800's and MC900's found on eBay show cracks in the wood around the jack. The MC800 was a passive version with just one Super 4 singlecoil positioned close to the bridge, with a rosewood fingerboard. The MC900 was an active two-pickup model with an ebony fingerboard. Both had a 5-piece maple/walnut neck through body and mahogany body wings with ash facings, and were available in both a natural finish and a Dark Stain finish.

In late 1979 Ibanez switched to 24 fret models with deeper cutaways, which shared most of the specs of the 800 and 900. The single pickup model was discontinued and replaced by the MC824, a twin-pickup passive model with a rosewood fingerboard. The MC900 was replaced by the MC924, and the preamp was modified slightly and now also featured a preamp gain pot to cut and boost the overall EQ level. This feature was discontinued again in late 1982. An 8-string MC980 (that was discontinued shortly after) and a fretless MC940 based on the MC924 were also introduced. An MC940 can easily be distinguished from a defretted MC924 by its position markers on the face of the fingerboard. On the MC924 there are large dots positioned on the middle of the fingerboard, whereas on the MC940 there are small dots positioned near the edge on the treble side of the fingerboard.
[b]The MC924 was also produced lefthanded, and some lefty MC940's are known to exist.[/b]

In 1982, Ibanez abandoned the sandwiched bodies and switched to solid ash body wings. Bodies were more ergonomically sculpted, the hardware was replaced and the bridge was placed slightly further backwards, enabling a tighter neck joint at the 17th fret instead of the 18th. The headstock was also shortened slightly, creating a more compact and ergonomic instrument. The neck was also a fraction thinner and narrower. The Super 4 pickups were replaced by the new Super P5S splitcoil and Super J5S singlecoil on the MC924 and MC940. A single-pickup model MC824 was reintroduced too, with passive electronics and a quadracoil Super J6 humbucker that was switchable between series, parallel and (humcancelling) singlecoil modes. The preamp gain control was abandoned, and the pickup selector switch was replaced by a balance pot. Also introduced were two new colours besides the Dark Stain finish that had been available on the previous models: Polar White and Metallic Black.
[b]The MC924 was produced lefthanded, but according to catalogs only in the Dark Stain finish. Peter McCulloch (pjmuck) once linked to a website of [url="http://d1058730.i105.quadrahosting.com.au/shop/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=1280&Global-Vintage=l4g58g216h8hi5686tuqk32is0"][u][color=#0000BF]an Australian store who had a Polar White MC924L in stock[/color][/u][/url] though, but this is probably very rare.[/b]

In its 1982 appearance, the MC series evolved further and went through various hardware and electronics changes (2-band EQ, two J6 humbuckers). Sleeker versions of the MC were also introduced, before finally evolving into a shape very similar to the Soundgear series, which was introduced in 1987. I won't discuss these later versions here, as no lefthanded versions of these are known to exist. Therefore I don't think they're of interest here.

[size=4][b]My Musicians[/b][/size]
The basses I own both are MC924L's, one made in 1981 and one made in 1983. The 1983 already has the newer preamp without the preamp gain pot and with a balance pot. Both are finished in the wellknown Dark Stain finish. In the picture below, the 1981 is positioned to the right and the 1983 to the left. The 1981 is completely stock except for the thumbrest that was added by the previous (first) owner, and is in near-perfect condition. The 1983 has been modified (I won't use the word 'upgraded' here) with gold Schaller tuners replacing the original chrome Ibanez VelveTune II tuners, and the body is well-worn with several battle scars, but the finish on the neck is still perfect.







They look very similar, but the differences discussed in the above indeed produce two very distinctively different instruments. Whereas the 1981 is quite heavy, the 1983 is a true lightweight. Their range of tones is also very different, and ergonomically the 1983 is indeed a more comfortable instrument. I will get into this more closely further on.
I acquired both basses for about 400 euros each but I think I have been very lucky. I've seen these sell for around 800 euros in perfect condition. The 1981 came in its original case and even with the original 1981 invoice, and had been stored in its case in the attic for over 15 years. The electronics suffered a little, and both the pickup selector switch and active/passive-switch required replacing. Luckily I could find a pickup selector switch that fitted the brown plastic tip of the original switch! The 1983 came without a case, and the electronics needed some work too. The active/passive-switch had a loose wire, and the bass pot had been turned up so far that it wouldn't rotate back anymore, and the entire pot itself had turned along, and all wires had been ripped off their solder joints. This was easily solved by taking the pot apart and cleaning it, and resoldering the joints.

[size=4][b]Playability and sounds[/b][/size]
As described above, both basses are distinctively different beasts. The 1981 is a rather long and heavy instrument, smaller players may find it harder to reach the lowest positions on the fingerboard. Being 2 metres tall and having fairly large hands, I personally don't have any trouble with the instrument but I can see how smaller players may find this bass fairly intimidating. The 1983 is more comfortable and easy to play thanks to the reduced weight of the sculpted ash body and the overall slightly more compact construction of the bass, as can be seen in the picture above.
The 1981 already is a great player with a fantastic neck, but being dimensioned fairly similar to a Precision neck, it may not be for everyone. The neck of the 1983 feels just slightly narrower and thinner at the nut. I haven't measured them or looked up the neck dimensions in old catalogs, but will do so, as just the words 'narrower' and 'thinner' aren't exactly very specific.

In terms of tone, the differences are very large. Both basses produce a wide range of tones, the 1981 being a bit more limited in its tonal options due to the lack of a balance pot. The pickup positioning and type of pickups chosen are different on these two basses, which adds further to the tonal differences created by the different body woods and neck dimensions.

The 1981, with its Super 4 singlecoils with large MM-like exposed pole pieces, sounds bright and articulate. The neck pickup soloed sounds big and woody but retains a lot of definition and clarity with plenty of mids. The bridge pickup soloed sounds fairly weak and thin, but adding some bass on the onboard EQ beefens up the tone for a nice Jaco-like growl. The middle switch position produces great tones for both fingerstyle, pickstyle and slap. The preamp is remarkably natural-sounding and adds almost no colour to the tone when the bass is switched from passive to active, and the EQ is very effective. The preamp gain pot is very clever, and has a center indent. In the center position there is absolutely no increase or decrease in volume when switching from active to passive. The gain pot enables you to setup an EQ preset, and boost and cut the overall level so you can switch between two different tones. The overall tone is harmonically richer in active mode though, so I rarely play it in passive mode.



The 1983, with its PJ-style pickups, produces a more balanced tone and is more versatile than the 1981. The neck pickup soloed indeed sounds very similar to a Precision Bass, and is remarkably quiet. The tone is a bit tighter and more refined than that of a real Precision though. The bridge pickup soloed, being placed very close to the bridge, again sounds a bit thin and weak. It's warmer than the bridge pickup of the 1981 though. It's not nearly as quiet as the neck pickup, a constant hum is audible when you're not playing. In the inbetween positions of the balance pot this hum is still clearly audible, but quieter than the bridge pickup soloed.



[size=4][b]Conclusion[/b][/size]
Both basses are great and very refined instruments, and I've quickly grown attached to both of them. The electronics on both basses are brilliant and work great. These basses can easily withstand or even surpass comparison with some high end basses produced today. The 1983 is the more comfortable player of the two and the more versatile working horse. Personally I feel the tone of the 1983 doesn't really distinguish it from its competitors though. Therefore I prefer the 1981, which has a more distinct tone all of its own.

I hope this review has been informative and has provided a greater insight in the MC series and the available (lefthanded) versions for aspiring MC owners. These basses are fairly rare, presumably fewer than 350 lefthanded Musicians have been produced. I don't know how many of each version of the MC924 were produced, nor do I know how many MC940's exist and how many basses have been finished in anything other than the Dark Stain finish, but I presume these are very rare as no Ibanez catalog makes mention of them. They definitely are out there though!

[size=4][b]If anyone has additional questions about these basses or would like to share their own opinions and experiences with these instruments, please feel free to fire them[/b][/size]

Edited October 9, 2014 by LeftyJ

[JPJ]

Here's my Roadstar MC924TV





As you'll note from the photos, its a factory fretless with P & J pickups, three-way switch, volume, passive tone, active/passive switch and two-band (bass/treble) active eq. Bought around 1982 new, still produces a lovely fretless mwahh today, although the preamp does eat batteries compared to more modern basses.

She has a three piece maple bolt on neck, which is probably the nicest playing neck I've owned. The body is two piece and heavy as a heavy thing on a heavy day

[octaedro7]

I have the same MC924 but mine was made in 1982, in a condition similar to your '81 though ;-)
Mine is 100% original. Has the same bridge as your '81, volume, balance and tone knobs are of a lighter color. Everything else seems to be the same except that in your pictures, the poles of the pups seems to be regular slotted screws while mines have Allen type ones. They might be changed. I guess that it's not fair to compare tones between your 2 musicians since clearly the 81' is 100% original pups wise while the pups of the '83 seem modified or repaired.

Here's yours



Here you can see mine (but dark stained) in the '82 catalog with a better detail of the pups:





They are so well constructed and they sound monumental. I've received compliments from both my luthier and my teacher.

[27 frets]

I had a right handed version similar to the 1981 model - fretless, bought used. Pretty heavy. I added a thumbrest too.
Tried it as a fretless for a while, but couldn't get a 'woody tone', so rather than getting rid of it, I went for getting frets put in.
Luthier was rather surprised to find fingerboard was not actually ebony but phenolic resin (though it even looked like it had wood grains), which didn't do much for his cutting blades!
Perhaps that fingerboard was some experimental phase in construction.
Tone controls were a bit unsubtle, but it was early days for active EQs.
Nicely made basses though, 'by the proud craftsmen of Ibanez' as I recall - I traded mine up in 1995 for a Carvin LB75.

[LeftyJ]

[quote name='octaedro7' post='814396' date='Apr 21 2010, 11:19 PM']I have the same MC924 but mine was made in 1982, in a condition similar to your '81 though ;-)
Mine is 100% original. Has the same bridge as your '81, volume, balance and tone knobs are of a lighter color. Everything else seems to be the same except that in your pictures, the poles of the pups seems to be regular slotted screws while mines have Allen type ones. They might be changed. I guess that it's not fair to compare tones between your 2 musicians since clearly the 81' is 100% original pups wise while the pups of the '83 seem modified or repaired.[/quote]

Hi, I hadn't checked out this topic for ages and was just reminded of it because Deezbar is offering his '81 MC924L for sale.

The pickup in the '83 is completely stock. These pickups have seen some changes throughout the years, but this type with the slotted polepieces has commonly been used by Ibanez. My '83 is from december, I suppose they were 'updated' for the new year or something because I see a lot of 1984 Ibanez basses (MC's, RB's) with the very same polepieces as on mine.

In fact, they're pictured on the opposite page of the very same catalog you took that page with the Rolls Royce from, and the basses pictured in front of the Rolls have them too

Edited October 26, 2010 by LeftyJ

[william64]

Not much to be added about these basses as almost everything was said. Nevertheless, you may be interested in my curious story. At the beginning I have to mention that I come from Czech Republic. I bought my MC924 (made September 81') in 1982 being just a 18-year-old guy. It was the era when the communist party run our country. You see, at that time the law was strict and there were many restrictions. It was very difficult to buy an instrument from abroad. Simply, you had to risk and do something illegal. I bought German Marks illegally and sent it to Germany (of course illegally). Later Ibanez Musician MC924 was sent to me as a present, which was one of the ways to get some goods from abroad. You can imagine how happy I was.

Unfortunatelly, several months later Police came and started investigating that issue. They got some prooves and eventually they confiscated my bass. The court said that I was dangerous for our communist country as I endangered our fiscal policy : ) There was no chance to defend at that time. Eventually, the good thing was, I was allowed to buy this confiscated bass in auction. So I paid for my bass for the second time. I keep the bass all the years with one exception of a period when my friend was using her. However strange it may sound, it is a true story : ) Below you can see me at that time and in 2014.

Some years ago I bought another MC924 (May 80'). The first is 4,74kg the latter is 4,45kg. As you all know, Ibanez kept changing the modifications of Musicians all the time. So you can find some differences between these two basses. My 80' has the truss rod nut for a tubular key and the truss rod cover on the headstock is fitted with 2 screws. On the other hand the 81' has the truss rod nut for Allen key (wrench) and the cover has 3 screws. Another difference is the position of the neck pickup. The 80' has the pickup closer to the neck. Regarding the sound, I feel the sound of my 81' to be clean, piano-like. The 80' is a litte bit smoother, velvet-like. All in all, both are great instruments with great sound! Only it seems I will have to sell one of them soon as I have more basses right now than my wife is willing to accept : )

Vilem

[el borracho]

Amazing story - makes you appreciate the ease with which we can buy gear. I have a Musician MC800 - the single pickup passive version. Great to play but sooooo heavy!