Lefty Zon Standards coming

[pjmuck]

I just got an e-mail from Martin Peters at Zon confirming that lefty Zon standards will be available in June. if you're not familiar with the Zon standard series, it's their new line of basses produced in Korea. Lefty Zons haven't been available for a while now (Adirondack had a few about 2-3 years ago), and while these basses will still retail at a fairly high price (for a Korean made instrument) of $1599 they will at least be more affordable than Zon's customs and I would expect them to be fairly high quality nevertheless. Here's some more info about the Standard series:

http://news.harmony-central.com/Product ... ard-Series

http://zonguitars.com/zonguitars/imports/

[LefThanDed]

Years ago there was a left handed single pickup all black Legacy in a Raleigh, NC pawnshop. Even with old strings that was the most "slap-happy" bass I ever played. Noticed some type of delamination/cracking on the back of the headstock (definitely from serious abuse!) but still agonized for days about buying. Guy would not come off his "pawnshop price" so I had to pass. They are great basses...

[pjmuck]

Yep. The one thing I noticed in the specs that may or may not be a deal breaker for some are that these imports will not have composite necks but wood, which is not surprising given the price point. But for some, the Zon sound is all about the composite neck.

[Matt R.]

Does it make me a weirdo if I can't tell if I like those or not? Not bashing, I just don't know w hat to make of them aesthetically

[AzWhoFan]

... for some, the Zon sound is all about the composite neck.

+1000

[Jeroen]

Absolutely, that was the first thing I looked for when I clicked those two links, but all imports have wooden necks.

[baalroo]

Does it make me a weirdo if I can't tell if I like those or not? Not bashing, I just don't know w hat to make of them aesthetically

totally agree, they look like the cheesy ibanez copies that used to fill every pawn shop in the 90s to me. Of course it's all subjective though.

[pjmuck]

Does it make me a weirdo if I can't tell if I like those or not? Not bashing, I just don't know w hat to make of them aesthetically

totally agree, they look like the cheesy ibanez copies that used to fill every pawn shop in the 90s to me. Of course it's all subjective though.

Wow, I'm gonna have to disagree. Are you looking at the closeups on the Zon website?:

http://zonguitars.com/zonguitars/import ... dard4.html

It doesn't look cheap to me at all.

[Matt R.]

Oh they look nice, don't get me wrong. Just not sure if they are my style I guess. Just thinking out loud I suppose

[Lefty007]

I've had GAS for a Zon forever, but they are so rare lefty. I think I've only seen two in the last 15 years. And now the US models are just so pricey. . .

I certainly hope these are better than the Korean MTDs, which "look nice" in pictures, but I think they suck. I recently had a KZ for a few months, and although the fret work was good and they are very light, the construction is cheap in general, and as everybody has pointed out on TalkBass, the electronics suck. I could not get a good sound out of that bass. Guess I would have had to spend $400 on a Bartolini electronics upgrade to make it sound good. And the prices they are asking for these basses are simply ridiculous for what they are.

I also bought once one of these from MF that came in damaged, and I got to see how brittle the finish is, and I could see the wood was not of the best quality - I doubt these basses will hold up very good with time.

I say all this because I have the feeling these Zons are made in the same factory as the Korean MTDs. That satin finish and super thin tops have a familiar look.

But what do I know.

I'll be dammed to pay $1500 for a Korean-made bass when I can get a better-quality bass from Carvin, for example.

[AzWhoFan]

I'll be dammed to pay $1500 for a Korean-made bass when I can get a better-quality bass from Carvin, for example.

or perhaps a Regenerate bass, eh?

[pjmuck]

I certainly hope these are better than the Korean MTDs, which "look nice" in pictures, but I think they suck. I recently had a KZ for a few months, and although the fret work was good and they are very light, the construction is cheap in general, and as everybody has pointed out on TalkBass, the electronics suck. I could not get a good sound out of that bass. Guess I would have had to spend $400 on a Bartolini electronics upgrade to make it sound good. And the prices they are asking for these basses are simply ridiculous for what they are.

I say all this because I have the feeling these Zons are made in the same factory as the Korean MTDs. That satin finish and super thin tops have a familiar look.

I'll be dammed to pay $1500 for a Korean-made bass when I can get a better-quality bass from Carvin, for example.

I agree with you on the KZ models. I "lucked" out and managed to get one off of ebay for $600, which I thought was a steal, despite the surprising lack of reviews on them to be found on retail sites like musiciansfriend.com, for example. It's gotta be good, it's endorsed by Michael Tobias, right? I was amazed at how lousy the preamp was. Completely weak and useless unless you have everything cranked fully.

Adirondack used to sell Zons, but I think he's been out of the "real" ones for at least 2 years now. His site still says "On order".) I'll definitely wait until I hear some first hand comments/reviews on the Korean Zons before I consider plunking down the cash, but $1500 is pretty steep for a MIK bass.

[AzWhoFan]

$1500 is pretty steep for a MIK bass.

My understanding is that the price includes two one-way bus tickets to North Korea from Seoul.

[Jeroen]

Adirondack claim they have them in stock now.
http://adirondackguitar.com/zon/lh_sonos.htm

Don't really like the look of them, I usually don't like the look of a thin piece of veneer that stops before it reaches the very edge of the body and I would only consider a Zon with a composite neck.

[pjmuck]

Funny you should mention this. Mine's due to arrive today.

LSB4-L.jpg (18.3 KiB) Viewed 17154 times

Adirondack's quoted price for my Legacy 4 (pictured) was $1169 shipped. For the Sonus 4, it's $1039. I got it for $1120 because I also ordered a case and some misc. stuff. Since I've never played a Zon composite, I can't comment or make a comparison, but I'm of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with wood anyway. A bit of a risk ordering site/sound unseen, but we lefties are used to that. So far, I've read a few first hand reviews of the instruments, and they're getting excellent reviews. If Zon's home base is involved in the inspection and overall approval of quality then I'm hoping this could be an excellent, near-boutique quality bass for a decent price (A Stingray or Fender J will run you over $1300 new).

I'll give my full report once I get it.

[Jeroen]

Cool! Looking forward to your review.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Great looking bass, I can't wait for your review! Funny, I just can't look at a Zon without thinking of Michael Manring...his fretless sound man!...unbelievable!

I've always had good experiences buying gear from Adirondack. Although the first time I talked to Dennis, I was wondering why he kept saying "no problem shipping the instrument abroad, I do it all the time". I had to tell him that despite my accent I was calling form Cali.

So now we know: Adirondack ships outside the US. I just say that in case any of our European/Aussies/... members would be interested. For some products, even with the shipping included it is still cheaper.

[AzWhoFan]

Great looking bass, I can't wait for your review! Funny, I just can't look at a Zon without thinking of Michael Manring...his fretless sound man!...unbelievable!

Manring was doing demos at NAMM this year. I was standing less than 2 feet away from him. The 1st knuckle on his right hand is about the size of my fist.
when he'd slam down on the 1st string of his hyperbass with that knuckle the sting would snap back about 2 inches above the edge of the fretboard (looking at it horizontally) at the 12th fret. unbelieveable!!

[Rodent]

nice body shape IMO, and if Zon holds tight QC these could really be nice

it also looks like the pickups are EMG35 style covers on the 4-strings. this should give you a few options for replacements if you don't like the pickups and decide to try something different


looking forward to the first review on your new bass

all the best,

R

[LefThanDed]

Years ago there was a left handed single pickup all black Legacy in a Raleigh, NC pawnshop. Even with old strings that was the most "slap-happy" bass I ever played. Noticed some type of delamination/cracking on the back of the headstock but still agonized for days about buying. Guy would not come off his "pawnshop price" so I had to pass. They are great basses...

And it reappears on eBay (still in North Carolina)
Zon Legacy Standard Bass (Lefty) $550.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/Zon-Legacy-Standard ... 230b1514bc