The Hyak Has Landed!
So this one bounced around the internet for a while, we even discussed it here a couple times in the Swap Shop. It surfaced on Craigslist, then disappeared again. Then Reverb. Poof, gone. Finally, this Hyak turned up in the TalkBass Classifieds, ironically with a member I had done a swap-deal with several years ago. He had tried fretless with it, and was giving up. I exchanged several messages, got some detailed pictures, worked out what I thought was fair for a bass that was playable but needed, and really deserved a proper restoration. About the price of a nice imported Fender, if you're curious. I had to save it.
I knew just from hanging around here exactly what this bass was, and generally what to expect... I've read every thread from Michael Delacerda and Eiji-san, even a couple threads where Mica's crew restored a Hyak or two. Hyak instruments' build quality is quite similar to their Alembic cousins, but the electronics are problematic for most shops unfamiliar with them to work on, and the necks depended upon graphite laminates for reinforcement, which often just wasn't enough.
My new-to-me Hyak fretless suffers from both of the common symptoms... even with six graphite layers the neck has too much relief, no way to adjust it any lower, and all that remains of the original electronics are the pickups. Maybe the best news is, those pickups are dead-quiet... no hum, buzz, squeal or crackle whatsoever. They are wired simply to a pair of passive treble roll-off pots, and a 3-position selector switch, and a 1/4" mono jack. Perfectly functional as-is, if a bit anemic without an active preamp to drive things. The socket for the 5-pin is there, but the jack itself, long gone. The action is higher than I like it in the center of the scale, but passable. With a new set of 364 T-I Jazz Flats, it plays... okay.
In the long-term, it's going to be a restoration project. I was thinking this bass was in much worse condition when I bought it than it turned out to be. It was filthy. I spent two night scrubbing and cleaning, then polishing up the metal parts, and when I got through, well... by golly, it didn't look too bad! I have now ruled out refinishing it. I think it would actually be kinda' disrespectful to remove the honest playing wear it has, and the few other bruises and knocks it has just add character. I'm going to address the playability issues first. We'll remove the fingerboard, flatten the neck beam with moist heat, and install an adjustable truss rod. Then it'll get a new fingerboard, probably fretted and with abalone inlay. This truss rod installation will be a little tricky, as the neck pickup is right up against the end of the fingerboard. I'm working on a plan so that the adjustment is easily accessible. Eventually it'll get some new electronics too. I definitely want to keep those original pickups if at all possible, so that'll weigh a lot on what goes in.
It's partly a Showcase for a non-Alembic bass, that I may eventually bring this back as a Shop Thread, but I thought you guys might like a look at my latest rescue. Enjoy the pictures.
