It’s hard to believe that thirty years has gone by since the debut of the Musician Bass series. The neck-thru-body bass, which found itself in the hands of more than a few famous names, was Ibanez’s real entry into the world of innovative bass making. While the Musician wasn’t the first bass to feature active electronics, it was the first with that technology that most working musicians could afford. Ibanez’s work with active electronics with the Musician led to the development of the active electronics in the Soundgear basses which would take the world by storm in the ‘80s and firmly established Ibanez as the leader in active basses.While this commemorative model of the MC bass is admittedly somewhat more expensive “than most working musicians could reasonably afford,” its hand craftsmanship, select woods, playability and tone make it well worth saving for the serious bassist or collector. Nearly all of the specs are based on the originals, but there are some notable differences. The pickups are the same but their covers are of wood for higher fidelity, and, of course, no standard MC bass ever featured the beautiful inlay work of this very limited edition commemorative model.
