Here is one of rarest of the Daion Basses ever produced. This is the Savage 4 string that carries the model designation of MFL Savage Fretless Bass. It has the wonderful asymmetrical Daion Neck that is thinner on the treble side and is a joy to play. Tobias and some few others have offered this feature but Daion, once again ahead of their time, had it on most of their Basses. What makes this Bass so rare is the fact that Daion only produced 10 each of the White, Blue, Black, Yellow and maybe Red. This Daion Savage MFL (maple fret lines) in White may be the only survivor or at least is probably one of the few remaining ones in existence! I have never seen another one in all my years of collecting Daions. You may see another Savage fretless but it is probably a defretted, fretted one. You can tell the difference if it has fret board dots on it. The real factory fretless Daions had no fretboard dots on the face of the fretboard. This is the real deal in excellent condition with no wear to the fretboard. It has had Thomastik Flat wounds on it since I have owned it and has been kept as a museum piece in my collection. There is paint impact damage spot on the upper rear body but I did not have it repaired so as to keeps this collectable Daion completely original. It has no effect on sound or playability and cannot be seen from the front while playing. This is one of the best fretless basses I have ever owned for sound and feel. This as with all of the Daion Basses has a "35" Inch scale neck!. Again Daion was ahead of their time. The "35" Inch scale four string basses offer a rich full sound that we have come to love. Offers considered.
Guard Dog May Be Required to Protect From Daion Theives!
This is only one of ten Daion White "Savage" factory fretless basses ever made!
THE DAION COLLECTION OF "POWER MARK XX - B", THE SAVAGE BASS AND THE "MARK XX" GUITAR. THE DAION COMPANY ONLY PRODUCED INSTRUMENTS FROM 1979 TO 1984. THEY WERE MADE IN JAPAN AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE MCI COMPANY IN TEXAS, AS THE STORY GOES. THERE IS SOME HISTORY AND INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET AT MIKE CALLAHAN'S SITE, DAION'S ONLINE http://home.att.net/~daion/ AS THOSE OF US WHO TREASURE THESE RARE INSTRUMENTS TRY TO KEEP THE KNOWLEDGE OUT THERE. THE TOP OF THE LINE "POWER MARK XXB" MODELS WERE WAY AHEAD OF THEIR TIME AND WERE COMPETING WITH THE HIGH END BASS AND GUITARS OF THE ERA, LIKE ALEMBIC. BUT UNFORTUNATELY AND VERY MISTAKENLY, THE FACT THAT THESE HIGHLY CRAFTED INSTRUMENTS WERE MADE IN JAPAN, THEY WERE NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY ENOUGH. WHAT A TRAGIC MISTAKE! DAION PRODUCED (AS THE STORY GOES) ONLY A FEW THOUSAND OF THE MARK XX-B BASSES AND YOU ARE LOOKING AT THREE OF THEM. I ALSO HAD THE GUITAR VERSION OF THE SAME MARK XX SERIES. THE GUITAR HAS BLACK BODY WINGS. THESE INSTRUMENTS HAVE GORGEOUS, ASYMMETRICAL 9 PIECE BOUND NECKS AND HEADSTOCK. BRASS NUTS AND EBONY FINGERBOARDS WITH BRASS DOT INLAYS. THE BASSES ARE 35 INCH SCALE 9 PIECE NECKTHROUGH DESIGNS! NOBODY WAS DOING THAT AT THAT TIME. THE BODIES ARE ELEGANTLY CARVED MULTI LAMINATIONS OF EITHER ASH/WALNUT - ROSEWOOD/MAPLE - MAPLE/ASH COMBINATIONS. THE WORKMANSHIP IS STUNNING AND THE NECKS ARE INCREDIBLY STABLE NEVER NEEDING ADJUSTMENTS. THE BASSES USE THE POPULAR P-BASS/JAZZ-BASS PICKUPS WITH EITHER OR BOTH PICKUP SWITCH. THE GUITAR USES HUMBUCKERS WITH SINGLE/DUAL COIL SWITCHES AND EITHER OR BOTH TOGGLE SWITCH. THE WAY THE NECKS FEEL WITH THE ASYMMETRICAL DESIGN IS A PLEASURE TO PLAY WITH. THESE ARE TRULY SOME OF THE BEST INSTRUMENTS EVER PRODUCED. WHAT A SHAME THEY COULD NOT SURVIVE. WHO KNOWS WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE ART OF GUITAR MAKING. FEAST YOUR EYES AND IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT BEING A CARETAKER OF ONE OF THESE LET ME KNOW. IT TOOK ME YEARS TO GATHER THESE AND I ALSO HAVE WHAT MAYBE THE ONLY WHITE FRETLESS DAION "SAVAGE BASS" LEFT IN EXISTENCE! THEY ONLY MADE TEN IN EACH OF FOUR COLORS LOOK FOR IT ON ANOTHER PAGE AS IT IS REALLY RARE. E-MAIL ANY QUESTIONS AS I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT "DAION" INSTRUMENTS. UPDATE! THE DAION GUITAR SHOWN HERE NOW BELONGS TO VIRGINIA GUITARIST "BILLY STRACK" BILLY IS THE PROUD OWNER OF TWO DAION GUITARS!
THE NEWLY ACQUIRED FRETLESS MARK XXB IS A GREAT ADDITION TO THE COLLECTION AND I AM REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND IT. I AM CONSULTING WITH MY EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT, "MIKE CALLAHAN" FROM DAION'S ONLINE http://home.att.net/~daion/ TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THIS BASS WAS DEFRETTED AT THE FACTORY, AS IT WAS BUILT IN 1984 AT THE TAIL END OF THEIR PRODUCTION. WE KNOW THAT THE ONLY FRETLESS MARK XX'S LISTED IN THE CATALOG WERE UNLINED AND ONLY HAVING SIDE DOTS ON THE NECK. THE ONE I HAVE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A DEFRETTED MARK XXB, BUT THE QUESTION IS WHEN WAS IT DONE AND IF DONE AT THE FACTORY AS MAY HAVE BEEN THE CASE JUDGING BY THE INTACT NECK BINDING. DETAILS TO FOLLOW! THE FRETLESS 1984 HAS SOME DIFFERENCES LIKE A STAMPED "DAION" ON THE BRIDGE PLATE, A DECAL INSTEAD OF THE TYPICAL BRASS TUNING FORK ON HEADSTOCK, AND OMISSION OF THE ASYMMETRICAL NECK PROFILE. SO IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT IT WAS A MATTER OF THE COMPANY USING WHAT THEY HAD TO WORK WITH IN INVENTORY ON THE LAST RUN OF INSTRUMENTS. ANY INFORMATION IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED SO FEEL FREE TO ENLIGHTEN ME SOME MORE!
