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Is it worth it? Tortured Jazz bass content

The neck pocket could tell you everything you want to know. If this "customization" was done with the neck still on there will be finish in there and several markings on the neck itself.

While I agree that parting it out could yield you the asking price or more, the butchering of the head stock makes me wonder what we're looking at here.

All that being said, who the heck goes out of his way to make a bass look as if it were dragged behind a truck on a dirt road and then puts a flashy gold flake guard on it???? I mean, it's his. I'm not angry about it like some here. He can do what he wants with his property. But that part is beyond weird.
 
Definitely a Squier, and I'm pretty sure it's an Affinity. If you look at the headstock, notice how the "relic" job was particularly thorough over two spots - the logo and the curve at the tip. That's where Squier prints the "Affinity" tag. So this was a US$179 bass originally, poorly butchered for a "relic" job, but does have the BAII bridge. I'd give him $100 for it if it plays OK.
 
To me, the lower end of the decal area looks more like the outline of the Fender F.
Still, even if it is the remnants of a Fender and not a Squier, it's in sad shape.
That's not to say that it couldn't sound like angels singing and play like a dream.
I'd have to have my grubby hands on it to determine that.

Either the seller has some overblown sense of what relicing is about or it was,
at some point, stolen.
If I were considering buying this bass, I would approach it with a clear idea of
what the case and bridge are worth and add to that 50 bux or more, if it
should turn out to be one of those gems in the rough when played.
 
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I believe the people who are saying "Squier" are incorrect.

Squiers have truss rod ajustments at the headstock... this bass appears to have it at the body. I don't see an access point at the headstock (though I'm looking at the pics on my phone, not a computer, so it's hard to tell). Also, the outline of the logo looks like an "F" to me, not an "S".

At least to my eyes.

More likely it's a Highway One, given the truss adjustment and the Badass ..... but I'd try to get more pics.

Worth investigating further.

Here's my Highway One headstock compared to the one in the ad ...
IMG_8115.PNG
IMG_8113.JPG



And compare it to a Squier logo, which has a totally different shape and has the Q dipping down below the rest of the logo....as well as a truss rod notch

IMG_8116.JPG
 
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I believe the people who are saying "Squier" are incorrect.

Squires have truss rod ajustments at the headstock... this bass appears to have it at the body. I don't see an access point at the headstock (though I'm looking at the pics on my phone, not a computer, so it's hard to tell). Also, the outline of the logo looks like an "F" to me, not an "S".

At least to my eyes.

More likely it's a Highway One, given the truss adjustment and the Badass ..... but I'd try to get more pics.

Worth investigating further.

Here's my Highway One headstock compared to the one in the ad ...View attachment 1139169View attachment 1139164
Yeah, it does look like an "F" now that you've blown it up a bit. However, the JPEGing does make it a hard call - the Top of the F is goes too low (suggests an S) but the bottom sure looks like the bottom of the Fender F.
However - the other thing to be concerned about is what is left seems to be outline - and it's BLACK - and any decal that broad (IE not 50s spaghetti) has Gold outline OR it is one of the all black ones I ie not much more than $400 new.
As far as the case and the bridge - if those are things you actually want, they have value - and may be worth paying $125 for, but as rule cases add very little to resale value (illogical but true) and mods (even improvements) tend to lower the value of Fenders - even cheapies - 'cause they are (by definition) "not original".

I'd say, $225 is more than fair for that bass with case and bridge, assuming it plays well - remember that all music equipment has gone up 30-35% in the last couple of years due to the downturn in the Loony - so $125 for a playable bass ain't terrible.
But definitely play it and plug it in to be sure it's not as bad as it looks - if it is playable, a little TLC will bring it from "old boat oar" to "road warrior" - a bit of sanding to even the colouring a bit, a new decal and some polishing (and a white, black or tort p/g to make the "old" look right, rather than bling-y sparkle gold which just emphasizes how old looking it is).
 
Yeah, it does look like an "F" now that you've blown it up a bit. However, the JPEGing does make it a hard call - the Top of the F is goes too low (suggests an S) but the bottom sure looks like the bottom of the Fender F.
However - the other thing to be concerned about is what is left seems to be outline - and it's BLACK - and any decal that broad (IE not 50s spaghetti) has Gold outline OR it is one of the all black ones I ie not much more than $400 new


I added a Squier photo to my post. You can clearly see the difference. You can also see that an S does not dip down like that, and that a Q would go below the logo.

As far as the outline, I don't believe that what you're seeing on the for sale base is an outline, but instead is dirt or stain that is a surrounding of the logos outline. It looks to me as if the stain was put on before the logo was removed. I could be wrong about that, but it's clearly not a Squier logo. I'm sticking with the highway one assessment.
 
I added a Squier photo to my post. You can clearly see the difference. You can also see that an S does not dip down like that, and that a Q would go below the logo.

As far as the outline, I don't believe that what you're seeing on the for sale base is an outline, but instead is dirt or stain that is a surrounding of the logos outline. It looks to me as if the stain was put on before the logo was removed. I could be wrong about that, but it's clearly not a Squier logo. I'm sticking with the highway one assessment.
For the record, I think you are right about the "F" - just saying it's a tough call with a low res JPEG like that one - combined with all the abuse the headstock and now missing decal have received.
I also did think of the outline - but HOW does a headstock get stained with a decal on it and THEN have the decal removed all in the space of a very few years (he's claiming a 10 year old bass here) unless some skulduggery is afoot.
 
For the record, I think you are right about the "F" - just saying it's a tough call with a low res JPEG like that one - combined with all the abuse the headstock and now missing decal have received.
I also did think of the outline - but HOW does a headstock get stained with a decal on it and THEN have the decal removed all in the space of a very few years (he's claiming a 10 year old bass here) unless some skulduggery is afoot.

The logo can be removed with acetone and a q-tip. Notice that the whole area where the logo was it is later, less stained ? It just looks like they stained the whole headstock, and then decided to remove the logo...which seems absolutely weird to me, but then again, people do lots of things that seem weird to me! :p


Yeah, I wish these photos were better. They're just terrible quality. Although it makes for fun conversations about trying to figure out what the hell it is! :D
 
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