My 77 Jazz Bass.. I am torn...

[gitlvr]

It was your first bass, I can relate. I can also relate to the guy who posted that even though he now plays bass almost exclusively, he's got 8 or 9 guitars he can't quite bring himself to get rid of. I'm in that same camp with a couple of acoustics. I'll really never play them again because of physical issues, yet I can't seem to sell them either.
That said however, remember the first girl you were ever intimate with? What would your life be like if you hadn't moved on? Alot of us would have missed out on a lot of great things in life if that were the case.
A grand and a fiver P sounds like a pretty decent deal, especially since you mention you like the P better than the J. I'd be torn.
You might also consider that if you don't do the deal, there might come a time when you'd still have to get rid of it, but it would not go to a friend, but to a stranger. That's food for thought, too.
However....

Rule of thumb... if you have to ask that means there is doubt and you should hold off.

To me, this is the most important part of this conversation. If you have to ask yourself more than once "Is this what I want?", you've already answered your own question. This is the single best rule of thumb I've ever known.

 

[Shadi]

I sold my first bass for something I use regularly, but I ache for my first bass (which I found out was refinished, neck defretted)....I wouldn't sell it.

 

[zachbass02]

I would sell it if I wasn't playing it. Too many sentimental people on this board. It's just a bass and quite honestly, if it's not tripping your trigger anymore, get something usable and some cash out of it.

However, I think you'd be getting lowballed if you take the P5 and $1000. Used, a Fender P5 only brings a $1000 tops. I bought one late last year for $850 and one very recently this year for $925. If you can't find one for under $1200 used, then you're not looking hard enough.

I've seen 78 Js going for upwards of $2500-2800. I wouldn't do this deal with your friend for less than his P5 and $1700 (if you still have all the original parts and all). If yours isn't totally stock with everything original, then I would do it for the P5 and $1200-1400. But that's just me. It's your bass and you have to make the ultimate decision to keep or sell.

 

[conqr]

Between your emotional reservations (I can fully relate) and the lowish offer, I'd just wait. If you sell in your current state of mind you'll most likely regret it imho.

 

[Mulebagger]

I sold off my first real bass which was a blonde on blonde 75 Jazz bass and I have missed it since I sold it. I have an amazing 75 RI from 1983 that has taken the place of my original but it's just not the same. Don't sell your bass. Tell him to buy my RI instead

 

[15000volts]

don't sell it. just help your friend find another '77 jazz

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I sold my first real bass and kicked myself ever since.

Don't sell it! Especially to a friend because you'll know who has the bass you love. It would be like your friend marrying your ex wife.

 

[AltGrendel]

Don't do it.

I still have my '77 jazz that I bought new. It's going to stay with me till the day I die.

 

[HolmeBass]

I'm in very similar circumstances with my 77 Jazz, except I don't have such a tempting standing offer. But still, I almost never play it, favoring my Spector now for all of my gigs. I did play the Jazz at a gig a few weeks ago and was struck by how much harder it is to play than the Spector is, but still, nothing sounds like that Jazz on a recording. I say never sell your 77 Jazz, you will regret it.

 

[narud]

I would sell it if I wasn't playing it. Too many sentimental people on this board. It's just a bass and quite honestly, if it's not tripping your trigger anymore, get something usable and some cash out of it.

However, I think you'd be getting lowballed if you take the P5 and $1000. Used, a Fender P5 only brings a $1000 tops. I bought one late last year for $850 and one very recently this year for $925. If you can't find one for under $1200 used, then you're not looking hard enough.

I've seen 78 Js going for upwards of $2500-2800. I wouldn't do this deal with your friend for less than his P5 and $1700 (if you still have all the original parts and all). If yours isn't totally stock with everything original, then I would do it for the P5 and $1200-1400. But that's just me. It's your bass and you have to make the ultimate decision to keep or sell.

in what world is anyone actually selling late 70's j's for 2500-2800 bucks (not just asking 25). if they were going for that id sell mine this second, but another one on ebay for 1500 bucks sell, sell it, rinse and repeat

 

[Madcity Fats]

My first bass was a '68 Jazz. It was a refin and had (prior to that) been routed badly around the bridge pup, which is probably the only reason I was able to afford it (this was in the early 90s before eBay drove the CBS era Fender stuff through the roof). Several years after buying it, I found myself without a band and in need of some cash so I sold it. I kept the G&L SB-2 I'd bought as a backup that, in reality, had become my primary bass. Now I'm looking at unloading that one.

I've bought many basses in the time since, and try to focus on what works for me and sounds good over sentimentality. Over the years, my playing style has changed as has the style of music I play to some degree. Honestly, I still get a little nostalgic when I see a bass that reminds me of the '68 J, but I don't regret selling it. In hindsight, it would have been nice to sell it in today's market, but if you try to base everything you do on some perceived future consequence, you'll go nuts. I sold it for more than I paid, and money has never been the driving force in my life.

Today I've got a handful of great basses, most of which I can't imagine unloading, but I'll never say never. I have kids now, so my priorities have changed and I find myself being much less materialistic than I once was. If anything, "heirlooms" have more value to me now because I have someone to pass them on to. It's not a financial thing.

A lot of people will say (and have) "you'll regret it," but I don't think anyone can know that but you. And even you can't. So don't do anything in haste, but if your ultimate decision is to sell this cherished instrument to your friend ... well, that just makes you a really cool friend. And there's a lot to be said for that.

I'm with the Buddhists when they say, "The root of all unhappiness is material desire." Don't let stuff get in the way of what really matters in life. And as cool as it is, a '77 Jazz is still just stuff.

But whatever you do, save that sticker.

 

[zachbass02]

in what world is anyone actually selling late 70's j's for 2500-2800 bucks (not just asking 25). if they were going for that id sell mine this second, but another one on ebay for 1500 bucks sell, sell it, rinse and repeat

Well Hoss, I dunno what world you're living in, but

Here:
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and another:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-JAZZ-BAS...C-/140461071948?pt=Guitar&hash=item20b421de4c

and a completed listing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1977-78-Fender-...n-/260668768620?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cb111c16c

At Elderly:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


a 1980 for $2200 anyone?
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=649694&highlight=1978+jazz

1977 J for ........(drum roll) $2500!!!!
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The Low End had a 78 that was upwards of $2800, a 72 Refin that was around $2300, IIRC.

But no...not in this world....I guess just in the one I live in.

 

[narud]

Well Hoss, I dunno what world you're living in, but

Here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

and another:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-JAZZ-BAS...C-/140461071948?pt=Guitar&hash=item20b421de4c

and a completed listing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1977-78-Fender-...n-/260668768620?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cb111c16c

At Elderly:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


a 1980 for $2200 anyone?
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=649694&highlight=1978+jazz

1977 J for ........(drum roll) $2500!!!!
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The Low End had a 78 that was upwards of $2800, a 72 Refin that was around $2300, IIRC.

But no...not in this world....I guess just in the one I live in.

like i said, anyone can ask whatever they want. selling is another story.

 

[zachbass02]

like i said, anyone can ask whatever they want. selling is another story.

so I guess closed/sold auctions on ebay no longer mean an item is sold. or closed threads on TB with SOLD in the title must mean the original owner still has the bass. Ya, I'm sure you can find late 70s Js all day long for $1500-1700. I could put you up a list in just 5 minutes of looking. I'm just saying that if his '77 is original with all the correct parts and bits, he could be getting a whole lot more than he's buddy is offering.

so, here's my suggestion....you live in your bubble of denial and I'll live in mine. Let's agree to disagree and....I will guarantee the one one craigslist here in Nashville will sell for pretty close to what he's asking. The vintage market is out of hand here.

 

[ctbass]

DON'T SELL!!!

+1

 

[Spinal Tapper]

like i said, anyone can ask whatever they want. selling is another story.

True. These are all asking prices except for one completed listing.

But that's the funny thing about the vintage market...one 77 Jazz could go for $1700 one day, and the exact same one could go for $2500...

I would expect this to be from a number of things - fretboard preference, weight, original parts, color, etc.

It's all in the buyer, really.

 

[Mark Wilson]

I wouldn't sell it.
I couldn't sell MY first bass.

 

[stu1965]

take it to the grave!

 

[narud]

so I guess closed/sold auctions on ebay no longer mean an item is sold. or closed threads on TB with SOLD in the title must mean the original owner still has the bass. Ya, I'm sure you can find late 70s Js all day long for $1500-1700. I could put you up a list in just 5 minutes of looking. I'm just saying that if his '77 is original with all the correct parts and bits, he could be getting a whole lot more than he's buddy is offering.

so, here's my suggestion....you live in your bubble of denial and I'll live in mine. Let's agree to disagree and....I will guarantee the one one craigslist here in Nashville will sell for pretty close to what he's asking. The vintage market is out of hand here.

in tracking ebay for the last forever, ive seen the percentage skewed much more heavily towards late 70's j's selling for under 2k. as an owner of one, i like to keep track of what theyre selling for. if you think thats denial, i dont know what to tell ya you think i wouldnt absolutely love if the going rate for an easy sell was 2500-2800? id sell this mf'r right now.

 

[mstott25]

if you think thats denial, i dont know what to tell ya you think i wouldnt absolutely love if the going rate for an easy sell was 2500-2800? id sell this mf'r right now.

I've seen some 70's jazz basses sitting forever at around $2500. There is a killer 74 jazz bass at the Guitar Center in Bakersfield, CA that I played when I was going through town last month and the guy was telling me they couldn't sell it at that price.
I'm sure Nashville has more collectors and people who know their stuff but a lot of guys want to put these instruments in their hands and really check them out before they're going to pay top dollar for them, which means you're more than likely to get full price if it's local. I wouldn't pay top dollar for a vintage instrument before checking it out.

Having said all that...I wouldn't do that trade. You could probably find somebody with a Coppollo P Bass or wait a while for someone to fall out of love with their Nordy VP5 and trade for that. I'm not even factoring in your emotional connection with the instrument, I'm just saying you could wait around and find a much sweeter deal.