Members iamdenialNJ Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 So what's up with these? I've heard great stuff about Greco Japanese basses and how some are of high quality. I've seen some go for as little as 100 and others exceed 1000. Are these jazz basses worth it? Maybe {censored}ty electronics? Any 1st hand experience opinions welcome. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 The stuff from the 70's is usually pretty good. I've found that the pick ups usually suck though. Ibanez and Hondo basses/guitars from the same era usually have the same kind of quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cpt. Spliff Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Not J's as such, but a friend of mine has a very good Ric-copy.Greco build the Japanese Vintage Squiers for Fender. They build very good instruments at Greco. Edit: The JV's are from '82 forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 I've seen some Greco T-birds that were pretty nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted November 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Would you guys pay $500 for a Greco? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Would you guys pay $500 for a Greco? If it's an '80s Matsumoko T-bird, Ric clone, or Jazz copy, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted November 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 How about this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230405299357&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 That's a bit steep, especially with shipping. Nice bass, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AluminumNeck Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Another cheap knock off. They aren't worth more then you find yourself willing to pay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted November 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Another cheap knock off. They aren't worth more then you find yourself willing to pay I've been doing some searching and the overwhelming majority of people who own Greco's say they have a great build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 Another cheap knock off. They aren't worth more then you find yourself willing to pay Au contraire... The '80s Grecos were produced in the famous Matsumoku factory as rebadged Ibanez instruments. Matsumoku build quality, fit, finish and materials were first rate. The quality was at least as good as US Fenders of the same era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 I've been doing some searching and the overwhelming majority of people who own Greco's say they have a great build. fwiw - everything i've ever had that came out of the matsumoku factory in the 70's has been fantastic ( my main les paul is a matsu made electra that killed alot of gibsons to get where it's at ). matsumoku made guitars for lots of different brands. if you can find one with one of the lesser know brands you'll get the same build quality for alot less money : http://www.matsumoku.org/models/models.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted November 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 fwiw - everything i've ever had that came out of the matsumoku factory in the 70's has been fantastic ( my main les paul is a matsu made electra that killed alot of gibsons to get where it's at ). matsumoku made guitars for lots of different brands. if you can find one with one of the lesser know brands you'll get the same build quality for alot less money : http://www.matsumoku.org/models/models.html Good to know. So...replacing the electronics/pick ups would probably be best investment in owning a Greco or any Japanese model? Would anyone have any websites on where you would order fender japan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted November 29, 2009 Members Share Posted November 29, 2009 So...replacing the electronics/pick ups would probably be best investment in owning a Greco or any Japanese model? Would anyone have any websites on where you would order fender japan? yes.the pickups range from bland to great depending on model but the pots and wire are almost universally crap.for example,my electra still has the stock neck pickup but has a gibson 500t in the bridge and i've reworked the majority of the electronics (it's an mpc model and needs maintenance on the module plug connectors from time to time).as far as ordering from japan the only place that comes to mind that i know is reputable is ishibashi:http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/webshop/global/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sub5ound Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 What's cool is, where a Fender would say JAZZ BASS, the Greco says SPACY SOUND. The Greco's of that era are regarded as high quality instruments by experienced collectors and players. If the neck is good and it works, the price seems about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AussieMark Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 The 80s Grecos are as good as anything to come out of Japan. I'd rate them on par with 80s Tokais and Fender JV/Orville by Gibson era bases. I've owned several Grecos (and other Fujigen Gakki-produced basses), and they've all been top quality instruments .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoomBap Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 The 80s Grecos are as good as anything to come out of Japan. I'd rate them on par with 80s Tokais and Fender JV/Orville by Gibson era bases. I've owned several Grecos (and other Fujigen Gakki-produced basses), and they've all been top quality instruments .... Dude, Orville Rickenbacher must be rollin' in his bound mahogony casket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AussieMark Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 In terms of buying from Japan, as Guttermouth mentioned, Ishibashi are fast, professional and have great customer service. Here's the direct link to their used inventory in English .... http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/ The other good place to find used Grecos (and other brands) is at http://j-guitar.com/sp/sea/index.html Not every dealer listed at j-guitar will ship internationally, and if they won't, a middle man service such as http://obsoleteguitars.com/ is good value. Hideki will buy any guitar on your behalf, pack it and ship it to you for a fee. I used him to buy the hollow body Greco in the post above, as the store wouldn't sell outside Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingeringam Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Your basses give me orgasms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted December 2, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 I got stuck on the look of the Greco jazz bass so I pulled the trigger. I am going to upgrade to a set of nordstrand nj4 pick ups. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to upgrading electronics on a jazz bass? I'm not looking for anything high-end just something better than the crap stock electronics. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AussieMark Posted December 2, 2009 Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 I got stuck on the look of the Greco jazz bass so I pulled the trigger. I am going to upgrade to a set of nordstrand nj4 pick ups. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to upgrading electronics on a jazz bass? I'm not looking for anything high-end just something better than the crap stock electronics. Thanks! You've never owned or played a Greco, yet you're assuming the stock pups are crap? Why don't you just buy an SX or Mexi Fender and put the Nords in it if that's what you want to do. What you're planning to do doesn't make any sense at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members no-logic Posted December 2, 2009 Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have a 1985 Ric copy that I will probably die with. It is an excellent peice of work as close to a real Ric as they get. It has the stock bridge pickup and sounds great, like a Ric. If you see one of these snap it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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