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$how your bargain bass buys!
- Thread starter ghostinthemach
- Start date
I paid $50 for the '86 Fury and $130 for the Foundation. Great playable basses.
Refinished the Fury to this single color sunburst.
An $80 What The Felgercarb bass, 'cause I dunno What The Felgercarb it is...
but it sounds BEEYOOTIFUL!!
AHA!! Found out what it is!
Antonio Tsai Bass...evidently I lucked out and got a good one, or the last owner
fixed it up so it'd play right, I'm betting that the previous owner changed more than a few things...
Bonus Battlestar Galactica:TOS points for using Felgercarb in a sentence twice
but it sounds BEEYOOTIFUL!!
AHA!! Found out what it is!
Antonio Tsai Bass...evidently I lucked out and got a good one, or the last owner
fixed it up so it'd play right, I'm betting that the previous owner changed more than a few things...
Bonus Battlestar Galactica:TOS points for using Felgercarb in a sentence twice
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I think I paid $120 for this MIM Jazz about 3 yrs ago.
When I bought it, the neck was so bowed, I could shoot arrows with it. It had so much dust and grime on it, I thought it was a cream colored bass. I bought is as a project to try new luthier techniques. It took about 6 months to of messing around with it, and now it's one of my most played bass.
When I bought it, the neck was so bowed, I could shoot arrows with it. It had so much dust and grime on it, I thought it was a cream colored bass. I bought is as a project to try new luthier techniques. It took about 6 months to of messing around with it, and now it's one of my most played bass.
And my other $80 pawn shop find from May this year...
a Schecter Stiletto Custom-5, held by a Coffin Case I paid $5 for at a different pawn shop!
Actually ended up with two Coffin Cases for $5 each, they were clearing out all the leftover
hard cases that had accumulated over the years...the smaller one holds my Les Paul Goldtop!
a Schecter Stiletto Custom-5, held by a Coffin Case I paid $5 for at a different pawn shop!
Actually ended up with two Coffin Cases for $5 each, they were clearing out all the leftover
hard cases that had accumulated over the years...the smaller one holds my Les Paul Goldtop!
Yeah I probably would have jumped on that deal. I've eyed those Stilettos for a long time now.
All three of these workhorses, initial cost collectively (though they were purchased separately), $260.
I got this Kay 1B for $50. The pickguard was in pieces and needed some superglue. After further testing, it will need a new wiring harness. I haven't even tried to adjust the neck.
@Old Blastard Looks pretty close. Only difference I can see is the pup covers.
Is it also bolt on MIJ?
Is it also bolt on MIJ?
Saving money is a popular theme here on TB. In fact, it's almost as popular here as spending money (almost).
It's great fun for me to ferret out buying opportunities that I recognize (IMHO) to be 'worth more than that'.
My first examples are from my local music store. Won't mention a name but the initials are GC:
1999 Suhr era MIM Deluxe Jazz $179.00
View attachment 2796476
Brice fretless active/passive 5 string plays great-amazing neck $179.00
View attachment 2796478
Cort fretless with wenge neck, Bartolini licensed Mk1 system and pups, 'fortress bridge' (this is a main player for me now) $299.00
View attachment 2796480
Yes I know you get what you pay for the vast majority of the time, but each of these is worth more than I paid to me and sometimes that translates to a more universal agreement. What say ye (?)
Show us some bargains to haggle over. Include why it's a bargain to you.
I have made improvements to these basses after purchase costing $0-70.00 max.
I don’t have picture handy , but snagged a Warwick German built Corvette STD 5 string with, active pickups, bubinga body, ovankol neck and wedge fingerboard from guitar center used for $500.00. Came with a brand new Roadrunner case. It needed a neck adjustment, some screws tightened, and a new set of strings. Bass was hardly used.
Bought this 1983 Ibanez RB 920 for $80 off Craigslist. Needed about $100 for cleaning, set-up and binding repair. Sounds killer. Gave it to my son for his birthday.
Bought this Squier J-Bass off Craigslist for $60. Still had the plastic on the pickguard and pickups. Wanted to see if I could get used to the thin nut width (I play Precisions, mainly). Decided I like it, sold this one for $160 and found a great Sunburst Fender Jazz on Craigslist for $350.
Charvel 3B active bass, cost $0 because I found it out on the street on garbage day with its neck broken just below the headstock—the usual place where Charvel and Jackson necks with chicken headstocks break when they fall off a stand. I repaired the neck, touched up the finish and gave it a new battery. Sounds decent and plays well.
Details of the damage and my approach to the repair.
The photo below of an acoustic guitar damaged in air transit a few years back shows same steel mending plates used on the 3B while the glue dried.
Details of the damage and my approach to the repair.
The photo below of an acoustic guitar damaged in air transit a few years back shows same steel mending plates used on the 3B while the glue dried.
I acquired this Epiphone Thunderbird Goth, from a friend, over the weekend, more of a project bass than anything.
Sure it's missing a few things, a screw tore out a section of the neck pocket, wiring is gone, and I had to destroy one of the pickups because the screw head was completely stripped and below the body line so I couldn't get pliers on it (Easy-Outs didn't work either)
But the price cannot be beat.... FREE!!
I don't plan on putting more than $50 into it until I get the neck pocket solid and stable.
Sure it's missing a few things, a screw tore out a section of the neck pocket, wiring is gone, and I had to destroy one of the pickups because the screw head was completely stripped and below the body line so I couldn't get pliers on it (Easy-Outs didn't work either)
But the price cannot be beat.... FREE!!
I don't plan on putting more than $50 into it until I get the neck pocket solid and stable.
The Birdman of TB...looks like you're the right man for the job!
$200. Yes, it's a Squier VM 70s, but look at the quilting on this maple body. Even a plain one would be a good buy at $200 as most are going about $270. So for one this pretty, I say it is a fantastic bargain.
I scored my Carvin LB75A fretless from a pawn shop for $200. I upgraded the pre-amp to a Delano and now it's my main axe. Now, if I could just find such a deal on a Ken Lawrence...<sigh>.
My Kay KB1 Bass. I paid $80 for it at a pawn shop in 2004. I've owned Peaveys, Fenders, Squires, Deans, Yamahas and even a maple Rickenbacker 2001 (which I paid $325 for in 1984). All good basses, but none of them compare to my Kay. To anybody else, it'd would be a piece of junk, but to me it's perfect. The strings are about 3 miles off the fretboard (I've played it so long that they feel just fine to me) and it's got lots of issues, but I love it. Yes, my KB1 is a better bargain than was my 4001.
