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Mojo or No-jo?

powellmacaque

powellmacaque

Aug 16, 2006
925
17
36
Clearwater, FL
#1
So both of my basses (Black Fender Jazz w/ Maple Fingerboard and Black Stingray 5 w/ Maple) have been dropped due to faulty straps. There are dings in the paint that expose the bass's wood.

My question is would the value of the basses increase if I were to cover-up the dings, or should I just leave the dings there for mojo and
"road worn" look?

PS - I am going to invest in strap locks.
 
#2
I think most people would pay more money for a used bass if it had no damage. So, in my opinion, it would increase the value of your bass if you ever decide to sell it. On another note, you might want to get it repaired to minimize any harmful effects to the wood since it's now open to the elements.
 
#3
The value will not increase either way. That ship has sailed. You could get a better selling price if you have the bodies professionally refinished, but the refinish might well cost you more than the amount of extra resale value it would bring.
 
#6
powellmacaque said:
So both of my basses (Black Fender Jazz w/ Maple Fingerboard and Black Stingray 5 w/ Maple) have been dropped due to faulty straps. There are dings in the paint that expose the bass's wood.

My question is would the value of the basses increase if I were to cover-up the dings, or should I just leave the dings there for mojo and
"road worn" look?

PS - I am going to invest in strap locks.
Click to expand...

Congrats, you now have a customized bass!

If it has exposed the wood, I'd seal it with something personally. Small dings you could seal with slow-cure epoxy or some other kind of filler.

You should see my tobias 6 string. It had some hefty dings in it when I bought it, but now after a home epoxy job gone wrong on the fingerboard and a couple of different ramps, it's really starting to "relic" out pretty good.

The epoxy ended up leaking out of my sealing job and onto the back of the neck, I actually like the feel of it now because the roughness gives me tactile queues as to my position on the neck. Looks like hell tho.

I've put a couple of ramps on this one too, but eventually discovered I didn't need one once I changed my right hand technique recently. Some glue seeped into where I had it taped on, removing it left some wood behind.

Next thing are some stickers, probably of flames. And I may paint the fingerboard black so it's effectively unlined.....

PS: no it won't affect the value to clean it up. Unless you ruin it like I did my tobias, then it doesn't matter that it's worthless ;)

LS
 
#9
bongomania said:
The value will not increase either way. That ship has sailed. You could get a better selling price if you have the bodies professionally refinished, but the refinish might well cost you more than the amount of extra resale value it would bring.
Click to expand...

I disagree.

I would almost automaticly cut the value of a refinished bass in half of what a non refinished bass is. This would for a farily desirable bass like a Jazz or Ray.

A ding or two will bring the price down a little, but not nearly as much as a refin.

A poor repair job will cut the price down IMO more than just leaving the ding.

Provided it doesn' look like a dog chewed on on it for an entier weekend, I wouldn't suggest trying to "fix" it.



Small dings, even down to the wood, aren't going to devalue it substantialy. A refin usually will. (required IMO)

Bottom line for me is.... basses that get played get dings sometimes. Not a big deal.
 
#10
savit260 said:
I disagree.

I would almost automaticly cut the value of a refinished bass in half of what a non refinished bass is. This would for a farily desirable bass like a Jazz or Ray.

A ding or two will bring the price down a little, but not nearly as much as a refin.

A poor repair job will cut the price down IMO more than just leaving the ding.

Provided it doesn' look like a dog chewed on on it for an entier weekend, I wouldn't suggest trying to "fix" it.



Small dings, even down to the wood, aren't going to devalue it substantialy. A refin usually will. (required IMO)

Bottom line for me is.... basses that get played get dings sometimes. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...


From his profile: this is for a 2005 Jazz and an '07 Ray. The refinished value doesn't come into play for something that recent. I'd argue that a refinished bass from '07 would be more desirable than a dinged up bass - if the refinish is done professionally which would be expensive.

Just let the ding in it. A refinish would cost more than the gain in resale value of a pristine bass. Get some better straps next time!! ;-)
 
#11
Here's the thing... I think you have two really nice basses. That's the good news. The bad news is I don't think they will become "vintage collectors" in your lifetime. The reasons that older Fenders and Rays are collectors now are as follows...
1) It was the beginning of an era
2) The way they were made back then
3) the "limited" (compared to todays production numbers) numbers of them made and/or still around

I don't think that your two basses are rare. I think that they will be easily found years from now. These days hundreds of thousands of those two basses are made each year (maybe not that exact color, but that model). My point is this. I don't think you will hurt the value by fixing them up. Plus a repair on a black finish should be pretty easy to do (color matching isn't as much of an issue...it's black) They are really nice. Fix them up. You'll feel better about them. I hate this happened to you. I feel bad for you. NOW GO OUT AND GET THOSE STRAP LOCKS!!!!!!

Again, I just want to make it clear (before I get jumped on) I think you have GREAT basses! I just don't think that standard production models of 2000's era Fender and MM basses will ever be exrtremely valuable in your lifetime....400 years from now? Maybe.
 
#12
Oh I'm not looking to turn a profit. I just wanna know if i ever need to sell or trade my basses, I'll get close to what I paid for them. I mean I only paid $776 brand new for the Jazz. Paid about $1,000 more for the Ray, but I'm guessing I'd only get about $900 if I tried to trade my Ray anyway.

The straplocks would have saved my Jazz, not the Ray. The strap literally snapped at the bottom.

The guy at the old music store in my town told me that nail polish had the nitro in it of old fender paints. My old MIM P came used with nicks in it, and I bought some nail polish to put on the dings... You can't even tell.

Oh and I know that nobody is insulting my basses. Don't worry, I have thick skin.
 
#15
Honestly, I don't think you'll have any problems with it affecting the wood. The part most susceptible to the elements is the neck and people sand off all the finish. The ding will just let the bad tone out and the mojo in.
 
#16
cybersnyder said:
I'd argue that a refinished bass from '07 would be more desirable than a dinged up bass - if the refinish is done professionally which would be expensive.
Click to expand...

That is a valid argument I suppose, but if I am the buyer, any refin on any bass or any vintage, new or old, is going to be a serious detractor in value. (speaking only for myself).

I'd rather see dinged factory original than a pro refin in most cases, but that's just me.

Then again, I don't see dings from actual use as a bad thing either. They're to be expected on a bass that actually gets used. (again, IMO)


I really don't think you'd recover the cost of a high quality refin at the time of sale.
 
#17
What I was trying to say whe I was talking about matching colors is that I wouldn't think you would have to REFIN the whole bass. If they are BLACK you should just be able to get the finish REPAIRED. I know I'm putting it too simply, but they should be able to slap some black and clear in the spot and buff it to perfection (or real dang close).
 
#18
I wouldnt bother with fixing it or a refin. Natural relic. I haev a guitar or 2 with some dings and while it doesnt look cool like a 60s bass, its just a ding.

I use washers for straplocks. costs less tahn $.50 per bass, but have to have a different strap for each bass. Some people use those grolsh beer washers.

personally I cant stand the shallers or dunlops.
 

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