| Decent price for well-worn '40's M-1?
Just played an early 40's M-1 at a local acoustic instrument shop. It's being consigned by the shop owner's friend, who's owned it for 32 years, so hopefully I could get more info on its repair history if I want.
It looks like a 60+ year old instrument--scratches front and back, a few cracks (couldn't tell if they went through the ply), ancient looking tailpiece/endpin and wire, non-adjustable bridge, the obligatory repaired crack in the neck I've seen on most Kays/Engleharts that've been around. There were thinnish steel strings with black silk on the tailpiece end. Rosewood fingerboard with E bevel. I looked around the ribs and didn't notice any separation of top/bottom and only minimally tattered ply.
In spite of all this, it played really well across the neck and all the way up into TP. It had good growl and sustain, and a loud, pretty full tone--it's one of the 3 best-sounding Kays I've played, definitely more open-sounding than newish Engleharts. Nowhere near as full or thick as my New Standard Cleveland, but a good sound, loud enough for acoustic jamming. And it didn't have any buzzes, rattles, or other weird noises, even when I dug into it.
Asking price was $1200. It would really need a new bridge, endpin, and tail wire, but I actually thought it was set up well for steel strings to the point where it wouldn't need too much fiddling. I have a set of Spiros and a BassMax sitting around that I could put on it
Is that a decent price for a well-worn bass with a repaired neck crack but very good sound/playability? And if I put maybe $300 into it for repairs/upgrades, would I be able to get that back if I sold? Not that I'm looking for an investment, just that I'm seeing how it could be useful to have another bass with a completely different character than my Cleveland. | 
