LeftyBassist.com

Yowza. Great day for lefties on eBay!

Good deal on this if you're a fretless guy. http://cgi.ebay.com/Pedulla-buzz-bass-l ... 286.c0.m14

I've always wondered about these Ibanez J's...http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-VINTAGE-70S-LE ... 286.c0.m14

I modded a righty 70's era Ibanez like that about 18 months ago - the guy had me load a pair of Darkstars into it.

what I found interesting is that it was a 33-1/2" scale vs. the standard 34" scale Fender uses. that said, it was one of the most comfortable J-bass necks I've ever played. I can't say great things about the multi-laminate plywood body, other than it was sanded and finished well.

all the best,

R

Hey guys, Carmine here. I'm sure many of you (PJ, Andrew and others) will remember me from the Dudepit, etc. where I had posted much of my extensive collection of dozens of lefty basses, only to have that forum go all to hell shortly thereafter. That really soured me on the whole "forum" thing and I have been reluctant join any since, although I do occasionally look in to see what's up. So this is my first post here.

That said, I am the guy selling my Lefty Ibanez Jazz Bass on Ebay- and I'm posting in order to clarify something in Rodent's post above so that no one is misinformed or misled by it. The original poster leftybassatl, and I’m sure others as well, are curious about these Ibanez J’s. So no offense intended, but it's important to be accurate.

I don't know what year/ model Ibanez Jazz Bass Rodent may be referring to, but I can assure you that the body on this bass is definitely NOT "multi laminate plywood", and believe me I know the difference. The body is 2 slabs of hardwood glued together front to back- I've been in the control cavity to verify this.

The 2 piece "sandwich" body technique was used by Ibanez on a number of guitars and basses (it's much easier to see on the clear maple bodies like my Ripper copy), and any of you guys that are well experienced with this era of Japanese guitars probably know what I'm talking about. I hope that clears that up



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Just a general unrelated comment on the topic of multi- laminate bodies: I have 2 very nice vintage Hondo Fame series 830 deluxe P basses (with the Grover tuners, nice flame-ly maple fretboard, matching finished headstock, etc.) that I've dropped better electronics into (this one below has schaller pickup and new pots). They have the infamous “multi laminate plywood", bodies (this one below also has a flame maple laminate top) and they sound and play GREAT. They are absolute tanks and the necks are excellent.

That's not meant to be an endorsement of either "multi laminate plywood" bodies and/or Hondo in general; I've read of others having less successful encounters with both. But only to say that unless you're a purist or a snob (which I ain't), neither should be treated as an automatic disqualification for a good bass. I own them all, from top line boutique to bottom feeders, and the one thing that's taught me is that a good playing and sounding bass is just that, regardless!

hey Carmine,

I haven't seen your specific bass, so I can't make comment on any of the specific on it. if you say it's a maple/maple sandwich I trust you

I noted in my first post that the bass I worked on was a plywood sandwich - I can assure you it was definitely not a 2-piece sandwich (it did have a maple cap on each face, but it was something in the Mahogany family on the inside as you can see here)




the owner never stated the exact year, just that it was a 70's Ibanez and I don't know if they rotated body woods during a given year ... it could very well be. they may even have made changes from week to week.


good news is that you've already done the homework and checked out the control cavity. if it's maple in there it's definitely a maple bass ... I can't think of anyone spending the $$$ to veneer a control cavity (it'd be cheaper to just make a maple body, ya know?)

all the best,

R

Hey Carmine,
Glad to have you here. Peter and I tried to track you down when this place first started but the Dudepit was already gone and we had no contact for you.

Thanks for chiming in on your bass. Be sure to come around here often!
I hope you decide to share some pics of your collection with us in the Gallery.

That's interesting about the scale Rod, did the bass have a Rickenbacker feel?

definitely not a Ricky IMO ... think more of a great playing J-bass on a day when your hand is totally limber and you're having one of those nights when you can reach any not you want.

I know 1/2" spread over 20 frets isn't any great amount on any fret, but that little bit of difference combined with a totally killer rear contour really made for a great feeling neck

all the best,

R

Thanks for the warm welcome Andrew. And thanks to everyone who contributed to making this site a reality, Lefties always really needed our own forum, for lefties, run by lefties. Now that I've re-surfaced, I'll start working on becoming a regular contributor!

Rod's description is spot-on. Not Rick-like at all. Pretty much plays and sounds like a favorite Fender Jazz on a good night- very sweet fast neck, and I seem to be able to dial in a better playing action than on my Fenders as well.

By the way, auction just ended early- sold for the $799 "buy it now" price in a day and a half. Oh well, don't cry for me....I still have another one- that I won't be selling!

Given how quickly it went, in hindsight did anybody think $799 would have been listing it too cheap? I just got an email from another guy offering to beat the buy it now if the buyer doesn't follow thru! Maybe I should have consulted with you guys before I listed it!

Hey guys,some of you know me on here and the Pedulla is mine,if you have any more questions fell free to ask.This a great bass and I'm sorry to have to sell but I'm looking to buy a house and some excellent basses might be going.Thanks.John.

According to the early Ibanez catalogs, the Jazz bass copies (Model 2365B) had mahogany bodies with birch veneers. While that's not as bad as the Hondos were, it's still isn't a solid wood body like a Fender, especially if it's 2 pieces of mahogany sandwiched between the birch veneers.....

Dano, you are exactly right- that was going to be my next post on the topic in response to Rod's comment about what he thought I was describing as a 2-piece Maple sandwich on the Jazz- but you beat me to it, and I should have been more detailed in my initial response. You could conclude that Rod and I are both somewhat right, depending on your definition of “multi laminate plywood". The body construction on my bass is in fact exactly as Ibanez describes- a thick 2-piece Mahogany sandwich with a thin (I assume birch according to Ibanez) veneer/ cap on each face. So I would say yes to “multi laminate", but nothing that fits my defintion of "plywood" body construction (a series of multiple thin sheets compressed together to create the thickness of the body) with a cap on each face, as is the case with the Hondos. It's easy to see the difference when you open em up.