There’s one thing that keeps spinning through my head. I would really like to see a picture of him using this exact bass. I know the auctioneer says it’s featured on the Fandango cover. But that pickguard isn’t the pickguard that is on this 53. It is smaller and covers less of the body than the one on this 53. I think it looks way more like a Telecaster bass from 68 to 71 with a replaced guard. Check the distance between the guard and the outer rim of the upper horn of the body. There are numerous pics of Dusty using a Telecaster bass with a black guard, but that one always has the transition logo and the smaller newer tuners. Not the pre CBS ones. If someone has a clear pic of Dusty, I’d be very interested to see it.
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$394.000 Precision
- Thread starter MDStingray
- Start date
It's remarkable because there's a thing called Reverb that's RUINED PAWN SHOP FINDS FOR EVERYONE!!! YES I'M YELLING! GET THE F@#* OFF MY LAWN REVERB.COM!!!!!!!
It's also 'hidden' mentioned in an older post, but it seems nobody is noticing - Or nobody is caring.
a $70 pawnshop find turns into almost $400K - I'd say at the least it's remarkable.
The "Legs" bass came close:
I am amazed that some folks pretend that they've never heard of people buying the Things of Other, Famous, Dead People® at astronomical prices.
I wouldn’t call someone who spent over $300K on a bass a “winner”
The man was worth tens of millions, which his family inherited.
I'm sure the person who spent their monthly disposable income on this thinks they are.
It's not a $395k Precision.
It's Dusty Hill's 1953 Precision!
I don't have $400k to drop on a collectible anything, even James Bond's Aston Martin, but that bass has serious history so I don't doubt the bid.
RIP, and Godspeed DH!
It's Dusty Hill's 1953 Precision!
I don't have $400k to drop on a collectible anything, even James Bond's Aston Martin, but that bass has serious history so I don't doubt the bid.
RIP, and Godspeed DH!
I think you’re right lol. That ‘53 pickguard doesn’t match the bass on the album cover.
Fandago era:
That ain’t a ‘53. That’s a tele. And the pg matches the album cover bass. Oops.
Except…eventually the bottom will drop out of the vintage guitar market.
When I go to guitar shows, the predominant hair color is grey.
Some day, names like Jimi Hendrix and Eddie VanHalen will only be know to aficionados - which will drive down the prices on vintage guitars.
Taylor Swift’s acoustic will sell for more than Eddie’s “Frankenstein”…
Ok. But it is quite difficult to tell excactly, if you don’t really see close the decal, string ferrules back, pick up color etc.. On stage and pics a Tele with black PG and an early 50s PB look quite the same from a distance. (I have a ’68 Tele, blonde, black pickguard, and several times bassist had asked is it a 50s PB)
And early seventies he really had and played a Telecaster bass which has a white
pickguard first, then black. Here 1970.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2015/02/zee-zee-top.jpg?w=1200&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=83a60e9e5014be224d3bbc7dd1944dd18f931f78e73d9952bc8b5f8c7de81a3d&ipo=images
And Tele, black PG.
http://www.guitarlifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/zztop-circus_lg.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AUmLaXLQJhU/Thcka2bLY5I/AAAAAAAAHds/ygaiAbyDrhY/s400/ZZ+Top+1972.jpg
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It has the history. Bought by Dusty in a Dallas pawn shop in the early 70's.
Played in the studio and live, also featured on Album-cover :
History or tale?
It is an unclear pic, but the tuners look "big ear" late 60s-70s ones, like a Telecaster bass has. Not Klusons like early 50s PB.
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Like the car market. A good condition 67 Austin Healey for example can be upwards of 60k. Jaguar E type 140k.
A model A Ford 18K. The buyer for the Healey is older than 60. The model A buyers are mostly dead.
Cars are a tough comparison since most of the cars made in the 50s and 60s had much more style and panache than the cars of today…
But mechanically? 100k miles is a minimum expectation for the cars of today, but when a car of the 60s goes 100k, it's a testament to good care and dutiful maintenance.
Add in things like AC, cruise control, road feel, and fuel economy, and nostalgia is the ONLY reason to covet an old car.
On the other hand, a 1957 Fender Precision does the job in the exact same way as a Squier Vintage Vibe P
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People have been saying that for (literally) decades. When I went to guitar shows and vintage guitar shops in the 70's, the predominant hair color was grey then, too. Those old mossbacks are dead. Has the bottom fallen out yet? Quite the opposite. It's not likely to die because collector anything is a farce to begin with, like art. Why is a Monet painting worth its price? If the bottom does drop out completely someday, we'll have better things to worry about than guitar values...like food, shelter, and ammo.
Dunno what's up with Dusty's gear, but are we supposed to believe that he only ever owned one early P bass? The dude spent his life with Gibbons, who according to the lore, was quite the gear whore.
There may be some truth to the axiom: Inside every struggling, starving musician is a gear whore waiting to strike it big in the biz! lol
There may be some truth to the axiom: Inside every struggling, starving musician is a gear whore waiting to strike it big in the biz! lol
I’m surprised they managed to keep the white fur so clean!
Seems for either a Dusty fan or speculator/collector the “Legs” bass should’ve gone for much more than the Fender. It has iconic status and cultural significance far beyond ZZ-Top.
Same guy bought both? If so, three cheers!
