Atelier Z JHJ-189 Natural Flame 2015
Atelier Z JHJ-189, made in Japan 2015, natural oil. Atelier Z is a small Tokyo based builder, founded by luthier Kokichi “Johnny” Motohashi in 1989. They're a big deal in the pro end of the scene in Japan, with a very long artist list and a great rep amongst the top tier players, especially for bass. This example was custom ordered, as is common for the brand, and it's frightfully impressive. When I first picked it up, the thing that struck me was the balance: hold it under the heel, and it sits perfectly balanced on one hand even though it's pretty light for an ash body J. The neck is fast, straight, comfy and carved from some top tier maple and rosewood, it feels fantastic. The body is two piece ash with a centre join, capped with a solid slab of flame maple that's 15mm thick... wild. It's finished in oil, so the natural grain lines pop and the thing resonates like a bell. A standard model, without the flame top, sells new for ¥345000 currently, so I expect a fully optioned example like this with the fancy preamp and top would be close to A$6k new. The pickups: how cool. You get a pair of Jazz-style single coils, which are clear, snappy and immediate with a pleasing low end kick. You also get a MM-style big fat humbucker, which sounds fat and angry with a tonne of midrange growl, and you can toggle between the singles and the humbucker with the mini switch. There's also an active treble and bass boost, activated via the passive/active push/pull on the second knob, which opens up a heap more possibilities. The range and quality of sounds on board is outstanding, this is such a satisfying bass. Needless to say, you don't see many of these around, but this one definitely delivers the goods.
Model: Atelier Z JHJ-189
Made: Japan, 2015, Tokyo workshop
Serial: 151514
Finish: natural oil
Body: ash, solid 15mm flame maple top
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 34" scale, 240mm radius, 38.5mm nut
Weight: 3.940kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Atelier Z JBZ single coil x2, ZH humbucker, Bartolini active treble/bass boost
Accessories: Atelier Z gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end and back and a small dimple on the front near the logo. The is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear and some dimples on the back only. The back has scuffs and surface scratches near the neck join, on both horns, along the belly carve and in the elbow area. The sides have dimples and rub wear in the elbow area and some dimples and scuffs along the back edge, near the jack and on the bottom horn. The front has dimples in the elbow area and around the bridge and knobs, some rub wear above the pickups and spme scuffs from play on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (7.5/10)
Playing Condition Notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 45/105 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only