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Highly Modified Does Not Equate To Higher Prices
- Thread starter sonojono
- Start date
Greetings from the North,
I took the time and effort to heavily modify a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz 5 bass and expect to be compensated at least to the amount of a Sodomsky or a Custom Shop Fender.
Ya right. Modifying my Squier was a project I undertook to turn a gift from a loved one into something that I enjoyed playing. I knew from the very thought of changing things around that I would not get the funds back that I put into it even if parted out. When all is said and done I will pass it on (donate) to someone who will enjoy playing a nice sounding and playing active/passive 5 string Jazz.
Rezdog
I took the time and effort to heavily modify a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz 5 bass and expect to be compensated at least to the amount of a Sodomsky or a Custom Shop Fender.
Ya right. Modifying my Squier was a project I undertook to turn a gift from a loved one into something that I enjoyed playing. I knew from the very thought of changing things around that I would not get the funds back that I put into it even if parted out. When all is said and done I will pass it on (donate) to someone who will enjoy playing a nice sounding and playing active/passive 5 string Jazz.
Rezdog
It has reached ridiculous levels.
I see tons of ads for modified Squiers and the sellers calculate the price this way:
value of the bass as new - 10%
+
value of the upgraded parts (pickups, hardware, sometimes finish) AS NEW
Reached 700/800 €.
Not $.
€.
I see tons of ads for modified Squiers and the sellers calculate the price this way:
value of the bass as new - 10%
+
value of the upgraded parts (pickups, hardware, sometimes finish) AS NEW
Reached 700/800 €.
Not $.
€.
I picked up a 30 year old (1992) Fender/Mexican JB a few weeks ago for $350 on Craigslist. The neck and fretboard on that guitar are as nice/nicer than new Fender ProII basses. The maple neck is beautifully (naturally) aged tan and the Brazilian rosewood fretboard on this guitar looks like ebony. So yea, I’m gonna keep the old guts but spring for a set of Fender American pickups (basic ones) and some nice CTS pots.. oh and a really nice Gator gig bag too.
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I'm selling a Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4. $550 new (was $500 until recently), tend to sell for $350-400 used. It had a Mike Pope Flexcore preamp in it, and I thought to sell it for $550 or so, with a note in the ad that I can put a different preamp into it and sell it for cheaper (make an offer).
In the end I took out the Flexcore and am putting a spare 2 band pre into it, to sell it for about $350. I should be able to sell the Flexcore for more than I thought it added to the bass, or just put it in another bass; it's a great preamp, but selling a prospective buyer on that would be a hard sell on a mid-range used bass XD
I think the fallacy is that sellers don't account for the cost of the the original but now removed parts. When you buy a guitar or bass you pay for the pickups and tuners and bridge as part of the instrument price. If the owner then swaps out the original $30 pickup for a $60 pickup, he is adding only $30 to the value, yet when he sells he asks for the entire $60. Some sellers often say they will throw in the original parts but for most buyers this is worthless. Also, a few upgraders seem to think they should be paid for their time - that's not going to happen.
Unless you get a used guitar dirt cheap and pull it apart, you'd be better off building a guitar from scratch (you can buy painted bodies). That way you are not paying for parts that you will discard anyway.
Upgrading a guitar and hoping for a profit in a long shot. Also, an upgraded basswood Squier has limited value no matter which parts you put on it.
Unless you get a used guitar dirt cheap and pull it apart, you'd be better off building a guitar from scratch (you can buy painted bodies). That way you are not paying for parts that you will discard anyway.
Upgrading a guitar and hoping for a profit in a long shot. Also, an upgraded basswood Squier has limited value no matter which parts you put on it.
I modded for me, never cared about resale because no one will like what I've got as much as I do.
I don’t “upgrade” poor quality instruments (i.e. a Squier or MIM Fender) as it’s a waste of money. However, a good setup and say a crown and level to get them to play the best they can is highly recommended.
Sounds like a nice bass, but that's not Brazilian RW...
They weren't using it in 1982, never mind the early 90's!
I'm usually looking for a stock crap bass (well, mostly a guitar). Very often your idea of "upgrades" will be my idea of "stuff I have to toss in order to make the bass the way *I* want it." I could care less about what you've changed.
Mostly I'll consider alternative hardware/electrical a side-grade. The guitar came with two pickups and it still has just two pickups. It came with tuners (that were probably just fine) and now it still has tuners.
Worse, I'll usually reject a guitar that's been "put back to stock" as well.
I bought one guitar (a really rare Carvin) that was advertised as having all original components. Turned out it was "upgraded" and then returned to stock by the owner. By the time I got it, a couple of the pickups barely worked and the soldering job was terrible. In order to bring it back to stock, I ended up buying a whole new set of pickups, pots and switching and I had to redo everything in order to make it usable. These days if I hear that the original pickups, etc., have been put back in the guitar, I'll figure that as a downgrade and adjust my buying price accordingly.
I bought a 1982 Ibanez AR-300 from a guy who'd removed the original knobs and had subbed in an $8 set of speed knobs because he thought the originals looked like skate wheels. When I pointed out that those knobs were currently going for $45 each on eBay and that the price I was willing to pay had just dropped a couple of hundred bucks, he blanched. I eventually scrounged four replacements, but that guitar was *devalued* because he thought he had a better idea.
For a long time I looked for a clean, original Gibson L6S. Most I found online had led a hard life and most were "modded" by people who thought they were upgrading the guitar. The six-position pickup selector had been replaced with a three-position, and the original Bill Lawrence pickups were now Duncans or similar dreck. The mids roll-off pot was usually replaced with a second volume pot. Everyone had a better idea of how that guitar should work. Took a couple of years, but I eventually found one that had literally been under someone's bed and had survived unmolested. They've recently been rediscovered by the "vintage" crowd, and have shot up in value. Except for the "upgraded" junk.
Worth noting that the more you mod the guitar to your liking, the smaller the audience is going to be who will nod their heads and say, "Yeah, that's cool" and who will want to pay for what you've changed. I'm okay with you charging whatever you want for your "upgraded" guitar. It's just that I'm not the one who's going to be buying it.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "I'm keeping this bass/guitar forever, so I'll do whatever I want to it to make it mine, and since I'm not going to sell it, I don't really care about the resale value." And then they get married, need a transmission for their car, decide to quit the band, want to take a trip to Hawaii, need a white one to play in the P&W band, yada yada, and there it is, on Reverb or Craigs.
I've gone to see prospective guitars only to find out that the owner wanted a "VOS" finish, so he took a scotchbrite pad to the whole guitar. He didn't bother to remove the hardware, didn't...oh, you know. It looks like crap. It takes a few minutes to screw up the guitar and hours of work to get it back (assuming you can). I've actually purchased two of them that were done this way, and ONLY because they were extremely difficult to find examples of that particular guitar. I'm done with that, however, and after painstakingly returning those guitars to good condition, I'm unlikely to wade into another one. And those guitars were purchased at a significant discount below their value if unmolested. Much whining ensued from both of us during the purchase discussion.
My wife has observed my guitar accumulation (it's not a "collection") and will occasionally suggest that I take the time to put a piece of paper in each one telling what the hell it is with an approximation of its value. I resist because I know that's just fodder for the divorce lawyer, but if I don't, I'll be spinning at high RPM in my grave if she sells them off cheap after I'm gone.
This is my take on most basses with mods. Occasionally they have been changed to parts I am at least somewhat interested in. Most often, they are not.
That is probably a large part of what I do not find "upgrades" to add much to the price of the bass in my eyes.
"Better" automatically disgorges, "personal taste." I have an LB75 (1989) and I like it as is. I'd probably like your preamp and pickups as well. What you get paid for any of this depends on your sales audience. If you can get potential buyers nodding their head right along with you as you describe your changes, you're golden.
Personal taste is a finicky thing. Mutt Lange was famously auditioning telecasters for "the sound" he wanted to accompany soon-to-be wifey Shania Twain on her first tour. After running through his guitar player's entire collection of teles, the guitar player hauled out a Variax and dialed up the tele model on that thing. And it was *that* sound that went out on tour. Go figure.
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As in beauty, value is in the eye/ear/hands of the beholder. Upgrading an inexpensive bass to make it sound and or play better makes a lot more sense than paying an exorbitant price for a "classic/vintage' bass. Bass guitars are made better and more consistently today than ever before because of the use of CNC machines. "Back in the day" when the wood was hand shaped the metrics varied from one bass to the next and may well have been made by the same Fender factory worker. I'm old so I was there playing bass "back in the day".
When I first saw it I thought it was Ebony. Based on 45+ years of guitar buying, I just assumed it was Brazilian because of it’s density and color? I’ve never seen a Mexican like it. Actually I’ve never seen an American like it.
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I have seen plenty of instruments where the workmanship on the mods was poor and significantly reduced the value.
The most tragic thing I have seen was a 1954 Stratocaster that the owner replaced the body and pickups. You should have seen the guy's face when I told him what it was worth in stock condition.
"Why didn't you just sell the '54 Strat and buy a new Strat, a Mesa Boogie amp and you would have had enough money left over to buy a new car?"
The most tragic thing I have seen was a 1954 Stratocaster that the owner replaced the body and pickups. You should have seen the guy's face when I told him what it was worth in stock condition.
"Why didn't you just sell the '54 Strat and buy a new Strat, a Mesa Boogie amp and you would have had enough money left over to buy a new car?"
I think it will be less sell-able. You will have to demand some good money to cover your costs and that amount will be quite a lot for what is after all a Squier Affinity. It will still have a mass-produced basswood body with just-passable routings, cheap pickguard and knobs and screws, and very cheap electronics (direct replacement costs are just a few dollars). Now add in the risk that your handiwork may be less than professional and the odds of you selling it online are quite low. Maybe you can hook someone local on CL but your necessitated asking price will likely drive them away.
If you ever want to test this out, build such an instrument and then bring it to a local music store for sale or trade and see what you'll get (assuming they want it at all).
A good setup (and leveling if needed) makes in instrument more enjoyable. No financial value in it per se, except that you didn't waste your original investment by leaving the instrument in less-than-good-playing condition. A good set up will help you with an in-person sell or trade - a knowledgeable buyer will notice and confirm that the instrument plays well, the neck is straight, the frets are level, and the intonation is good.
I'm not disagreeing that there are plenty of people who do in fact buy instruments with no intentions of selling them only to end up doing so at a later date. My point is more to the idea that so many people here on TB always mention resale value in regards to buying a new bass, or modifying a bass, etc. I am not trying to dismiss the importance of resale value when making a decision, I am just saying that for me, personally, resale value is pretty low on the list of what I take into account when buying an instrument or modifying one.
I also understand that a lot of members on TB likely move through a lot more gear compared to the average bass player or musician in general. So that probably skews a lot of the opinions that you hear on this site when towards prioritizing resale value when making decisions.
