FT: 2006 Fender Urge II (34", pre-DTuner version)

[DWest1981]

First: eye candy!










(Sorry about the really bad flash, I don't tend to be home very much when it's daylight outside.)

Now the specifics (it's all stock):
-Bright Sapphire Metallic with matching headstock, white pearloid pickguard
-Alder body, modified Jazz body shape
-Maple neck, asymmetrical oval shape, finished in thin satin polyurethane - very smooth and fast
-Rosewood fingerboard with a 9.5” (241mm) Radius
-24 medium jumbo frets
-2 Custom Noiseless™ Jazz Bass® pickups (neck and bridge), 1 Custom Precision Bass® pickup (middle)
-Master volume, pan and a 3-band active EQ with treble, bass and mid knobs
-3-position mini-toggle switch for pickup selection:
Position 1: All three
Position 2: P-Bass only
Position 3: Both Jazz pickups
-Pan Control pans between the combinations of front Jazz and P-Bass pickups, all three pickups, and the rear Jazz and P-Bass pickups.
-Top load or string-thru bridge
-Fender®/Schaller® Deluxe BML tuning machines
-34” (864 mm) scale
-1.59” (40.4 mm) nut width
-6-Bolt neck plate with sculpted heel,
-Posiflex™ graphite neck support rods
-Thin, asymmetric neck profile

Comes with a hardshell case and all case candy that's visible in the photos. No damage that I've seen. Apparently those are the original Fender straplocks, though I am unfamiliar with them and can't vouch for that. The original owner's name was stenciled on the case. He scribbled it out before selling it to me - never got the chance to stop him. Other than that, there's the white stripe which is just loose plaster from my wall that I haven't taken the time to brush off.

Other than that, this bass has received maybe a few hours of playing time and been stored in its case as long as I've had it. The only modification I performed was to remove the plastic on the pickguard. Kind of wish I hadn't now. In transit between my previous home and here, one of the latches managed to get pretty sticky. It opens and the spring functions just fine now, but I don't know if I really want to try locking it again.

Why am I getting rid of it?
I'm just not playing it. It's a beautiful instrument and my favorite long scale to play, but I just can't justify keeping it around any longer when it's really just sitting in its case.

What am I looking for?
Short scale instruments. I'm looking to trade up or down, but I'm specifically interested in Gretchs, early-model Les Paul basses, Coronado IIs, Starfires, JetStar IIs, M-85s, Rob Allen or Landing or Birdsong or Stambaugh would be just fine too! Basically, let me know what you've got with scale length between 30 and 32 inches and we'll talk, though I'm not really in the market for EB or SG-series instruments at the moment. Unfortunately I don't have a spare $5000, so unless you really want to send your SC signature Alembic to a new home where it will be well cared for, it probably won't do either of us much good to offer one.

Will I sell it outright?
Yes, in fact this is what I'd prefer now. €750 (PayPal) plus shipping from Italy.

This is also for trade or sale in the basses classified section.

Thanks for taking the time to read through and comment!
DW

[DWest1981]

Bump for the morning. Anybody looking to trade their Hofner for one of the only Corona, California-built 24 fret Fenders?

[DWest1981]

Price drop bump. Now looking primarily for a sale, due to the new shorty being on the way.

Thanks for looking!
DW

[warwickhunt]

What are the shipping costs to the UK from Italy and do you have an accurate weight for the bass?

[DWest1981]

Thanks for your interest! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get a reply back to you.

Unfortunately I don't have great answers for you. Using some generic numbers, assuming I'll be packing the thing like an armored car (better to survive shipment out of Italy that way) it looks like FedEx is the cheapest alternative of the major carriers for large parcel post. They quoted me at €160 for shipping up to a generic "North of the Tyne" location, guesstimating that the whole package will weigh about 20kg, allowing for roughly a 10lb bass, 15lb case and a fair bit of packing material.

I have no way of accurately measuring the weight of the instrument here at my apartment, other than hopping on the bathroom scale without and then hopping on with and doing the math. I know this is a pretty important aspect of the instrument with many people, so if you're interested in waiting, I should be able to get it accurately weighed some time before next week. Depends on where I can find an accurate scale around here.

All that being said; I have taken multiple measurements using my digital bathroom scale and the weight difference has been - every time - 8 pounds exactly. I've done all I can - including recalibrating the scale before and after each measurement - to generate an estimated weight. I freely acknowledge that this is not what I would consider a precise weight, and will look into getting something more credible as soon as I can.

Thanks for your time!
DW

[warwickhunt]

I'll have to pass; 160Euro from Europe is a bit steep for me!

Thanks any way.

[DWest1981]

Yep, I understand. Thanks for prodding at me, though. It's inspired me to go ahead and get the thing properly measured, weighed and then packed and weighed again.

Once that happens I'll be better able to more accurately calculate shipping rates and such. Hopefully it'll be significantly less than that, as I'll say I was pretty significantly surprised by that number as well. I had a significantly lighter package (one of those oddball Retrovibe MM-Ric4001-style guitars) of roughly the same size delivered here from the UK last month and it was all of £40 for shipping.

I'll be back with more information, but it might take a bit. Until then, happy playing!
DW

[DWest1981]

Hi folks. I had a chance to weigh the Urge on a certified US Postal Service scale yesterday and confirmed my suspicions.

This instrument weighs 3.8kg.

The case adds 7.5kg, and then including about that weight again in packing material for the international trip means the package weight will be around 20kg.

Just to give you an idea...

[ahilgaz]

Is this still available?

[DWest1981]

Well, technically yes. The problem is that I'm not going to be able to do anything about shipping for a little more than a month. I'm floating around on a ship at the moment and won't be able to get home until late September. If you're still interested at that point, I'll be more than happy to discuss specifics!

Best,
DW

[ahilgaz]

Originally Posted by DWest1981

Well, technically yes. The problem is that I'm not going to be able to do anything about shipping for a little more than a month. I'm floating around on a ship at the moment and won't be able to get home until late September. If you're still interested at that point, I'll be more than happy to discuss specifics!

Best,
DW

Hmm, will you be around Turkey, during your boat travel with your bass I was wondering?

[DWest1981]

Drat it all... I left Istanbul this morning. The bass isn't with me though. Small world, isn't it?

[lanternaud]

hi ,
i'm very interested by this one !
i live in Corsica wich is not very far from Italy.
Let me know if it's still avaible when you came back at home.
Thanks

[ahilgaz]

Originally Posted by DWest1981

Drat it all... I left Istanbul this morning. The bass isn't with me though. Small world, isn't it?

It is indeed

[DWest1981]

Originally Posted by lanternaud

hi ,
i'm very interested by this one !
i live in Corsica wich is not very far from Italy.
Let me know if it's still avaible when you came back at home.
Thanks

Hi Lanternaud,

If you're still interested I'm home now. I can find out what shipping might be from Livorno to Corsica, although there's a direct ferry line that might actually be cheaper than post. It's about €85 without a vehicle or €140 with a vehicle. It depends on how close to Bastia you live.

Just using generic measurements it looks like DHL wants €220 to ship it, but I can find other sources if you have suggestions.

All the best,
DW