LeftyBassist.com

Hi Guys, just got the Japanese version of Fender's Frontline Catalogue & very few lefties available; no Jazz 5, Jaguar, Aerodyne or even most of the guitar range from last year which were listed in the Japan Frontline. End of an era? I'll keep you all posted but if something rare & affordable comes up, you might regret not grabbing it if you have the lazy dollars. Not red alert panic stations yet, but be aware. Will check into thru some insider contacts & update when I have some more news.

Their website has not been updated yet, I wonder if that will change too:
http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/fender/200 ... fthand.htm

Strange. Are you talking about all MIJ instruments or only ones being exported outside of Japan? It always seemed to me that the Japanese market were the greatest supporters of lefties and could justify the lefty runs because they have one of the largest left handed populations in the world.

Officially, none of the lefty instruments are being exported outside of Japan

I'm not so sure that is entirely true, unless thing have very recently changed. My local GC's carry CIJ Jaguars. Righty's of course .....
The occasional new righty CIJ Strat in Oly White pops up every now and then as well.

Yes, the righthanded Jaguar is an export model, but the lefthanded version is not. The only current export models are the Aerodyne Jazz Bass, the Marcus Miller Jazz Bass, the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, the J Mascis Jazzmaster and the Richie Kotzen Strat and Tele, but that pretty much sums it all up. The rest are non-export models, including all lefty instruments.

Jeroen, your idetic(sp) memory never ceases to amaze me.

Man, with the current exchange rate for the Yen, these MIJ don't make sense anymore, at least for us USA players. Maybe in Europe they make more sense. I'd rather pay $1400 for a new MIA, than $1200 for a new MIJ, IMHO.

They made sense before, when MIJ were in the $500, and there were no MIA Jazz basses. The only one that is pretty unique is the Jaguar, but I'm personally not that fond.

I used to love MIJs, but I got tired of the weak necks (almost all MIJ Jazz basses I've had could not be adjusted to a straight neck), and the basswood bodies, electronics, and hardware were not that great either, again, IMHO. (Although I did have a circa 1998 MIJ Jazz with an alder body that was spectacular).

And if you are looking for some other color than sunburst and black, you could always assemble a parts bass from USA Custom Guitars. . . for around $1200. . .

I think the '75 Jazz reissue is a nice exception. Ash body, great neck, USA 75RI bridge, decent tuners (although I retrofitted a BadAss II and Hipshots on mine) and USA 70's RI pickups. Great bass. But indeed, far too expensive at this moment (in Europe too). I was lucky to find mine secondhand.

My MIJ Jaguar bass has an alder body. Just to clarify. Not sure about the other models.

How about the Jazz 5 strings from Japan?
Any good?

By coincidence, I am actually in Japan right now. It looks like it's pretty catch as catch can as far as lefties in the mainstream music stores. I haven't been to the lefty specialty shop - probably just as well for my bank account - but otherwise I haven't seen too many lefties.

Agent, if you're in Japan now, try to check this place out:

http://www.taniguchi-gakki.com/catalog/

I MUST know what it's walking into this place.

Like most things japanese, I'm sure its absolutely insane. Walking into southpaw is such a refreshing experience compared to regular guitar stores. Whenever I go there I tend to try and play literally everything they have in the store. I don't do this voluntarily, I just can't help myself. It's such a strange sensation to be able to play everything I'm looking at.