Ibanez Musician Bass MC924 Polar White

The Ibanez Musician series was Ibanez' flagship line of the late 1970s and early '80s, built at FujiGen in Japan during what many consider the golden era of Japanese guitar making. Where Fender offered bolt-on simplicity, the Musician went the opposite way: neck-through construction, active electronics and a sculpted, heavily contoured body — a genuine high-end instrument that aimed at players who wanted more than a standard P-Bass. This MC924 dates to May 1983 and wears the rare, desirable Polar White finish that Ibanez introduced for the MC-924 exactly that year, paired with gold hardware.

From 1982 the MC924 carried a P/J configuration with Ibanez' own Super P5 and Super J5 pickups, and here they do something quite special: the split-coil P5 delivers a big, burly, woody growl, while the J5 at the bridge adds attack and cutting mids. The built-in EQ-B 3-band preamp can be switched in or out, so you can run it fully passive or add hi-fi-style definition on top. For my taste, this is one of the best-sounding basses I have ever played — it bites, it growls, it has that organic woodiness, yet everything stays defined and articulated. P/J basses rarely sound this good.

Construction is proper boutique-level work: a five-piece through-neck of rock maple with walnut strips, a solid ash body, a 24-fret ebony fingerboard with abalone dot inlays, and — for 1983 — the Accu-Cast B II bridge and Sure Grip II knobs. The deeply, beautifully sculpted body and the comfortably rounded neck profile show how much effort Ibanez put into these instruments; you can see and feel that this was designed as a top instrument. For a through-neck bass with a solid ash body it stays at a comfortable 4.58 kg — on the lighter end for an MC924 — and balances beautifully on a strap.

This example is in very good condition and completely original — no repairs, no modifications, all electronics working exactly as they should. Just a bit of honest play wear, visible in the pictures. It comes with a non-original hard case. A professionally set up, ready-to-play vintage bass from one of Ibanez' most respected eras.

Specifications

• Model: Ibanez MC924 Musician Bass
• Year: 1983 (serial E831104, dated May 1983)
• Made in: Japan (FujiGen)
• Body: Solid ash
• Neck: 5-piece rock maple/walnut, neck-through-body construction
• Fingerboard: Ebony, abalone dot inlays
• Frets: 24
• Scale: 34"
• Pickups: Ibanez Super P5 (split-coil, neck position) & Super J5 (bridge position)
• Electronics: EQ-B 3-band active preamp (bass/mid/treble) with active/passive switch, pickup balancer, master volume, master tone
• Bridge: Ibanez Accu-Cast B II
• Tuners: Ibanez Velvet Tune
• Hardware: Gold
• Finish: Polar White (PW, introduced 1983)
• Weight: 4.58 kg
• Condition: Very good, a couple of nicks and some tarnishing on the gold plating.
• Originality: Completely original
• Repairs/Modifications: None
• Included: Hard case (not original)