1980 Atlansia Garland Vintage Bass, 100% Original w/ Case, Japan

Up for sale, a 1980 Atlansia Garland bass in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. Atlansia is the brainchild of legendary Japanese luthier Nobuaki Hayashi, who is perhaps best known for his time as chief designer at Matsumoku, where he helmed the Aria Pro II line under the pseudonym H. Noble (after starting off designing Singer sewing machine cabinets before Matsumoku switched over to guitars). The Atlansia line are among the most unique (and extremely rare) instruments to ever come out of Japan, featuring a bevy of fascinating features based on Hayashi-San’s years of work at Matsumoku, designed for maximum playability, resonance, versatility, and overall performance.

This Garland, the 28th ever made, boasts individually adjustable pickup pole pieces for each string, a baseball bat neck with a more prominent shoulder on the bass side and very round fretboard radius evocative of an upright bass, intonatable nut slots, a dual-function string-through/toploader bridge, angled componentry for ease of use, and a gloss oil stain finish accented by brass hardware.

Tonewoods include a sen ash body, quartersawn seasoned rock maple neck, and rosewood fretboard, and this Garland weighs 11lbs 7oz. The proprietary pickup design is split into four independent units with two pole pieces each, delivering immediate growl and focused midrange with plenty of low end warmth, particularly wooly and full with the Tone knob dialed back. The smooth trebles are accentuated by the flatwound strings, and there’s loads of punchy upper-midrange burp on tap. This Garland has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 45-100 flatwound strings, easy-playing action, and spot-on intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Seasoned quartersawn rock maple, no truss rod (allegedly done to improve sustain and further contribute to upright-style natural resonance)
-Shape: Very chunky asymmetrical “baseball bat” carve with prominent bass-side shoulder, measuring .950” 1st fret, 1.045” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Rosewood
-Frets: Medium jumbo, virtually no wear
-Scale Length: 34”
-Nut: 1 11/16”, brass with independently adjustable saddles
-Tuners: E, A, and D string tuners mounted to brass inserts (also designed to improve natural resonance)
-Serialization: Neck heel dated to December, 1980 and signed by Hayashi, #28

Body Specs:

-Wood: Sen ash
-Pickups: Proprietary quad pickup design, dual pole pieces per pickup
-Harness: Untouched solder, original full-size Japanese pots
-Hardware: Large dual-function string-through/toploader bridge with independently adjustable saddles (height and distance), large brass knobs (angled), jack cup, endpin
-Plastics: Two-layer tortoise/black pickguard

The hand-rubbed oil stain is sealed beneath a gloss clear coat. This is a very well-kept example, with cosmetic wear on the body limited to one small scuff on top adjacent to the endpin and just a scant few tiny marks on the body as a whole. The neck profile has a smooth satin feel with limited checking and a couple tiny nicks that are nigh imperceptible to the palm.

The original brown tolex hardshell case with form-fit interior is included.