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My husband died and left a Pensa...

#22
bassloverswidow said:
Could someone tell me approximately the value of it? I know it's a custom and I have a young son and am thinking it would be wise to hold onto it for him and not sell it. He had a LOT of bass guitars and guitars and we won't have room for them all--but seeing the word "custom" on it made me think it was probably something worth keeping. I couldn't find a price on the net anywhere and figured thiis might be the place to come and ask....thanks. Oh, and I'm not looking for a specific price, just ballpark...tks.
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not shure were you live but if your in watorford theres a place called Motor City Guitar and they are some of the nicest people i know did you ever concider takeing up bass your self?

P.S. sorry for your loss
 
#25
I am very sorry for your family's loss. Prayers and thoughts to you and yours.

In determining value, it is good to use an experienced appraiser. I'll note two shops: Elderly Music of Lansing, MI & Gruhn Guitars of Nashville, TN. These shops are known for appraisals. If they are not able to help you in your circumstance, they will refer you to a more useful appraiser. These may not be the best appraisers, according to other TB members. They will likely suggest others, even themselves.

The reason for using a qualified, experienced appraiser, is that they are a disinterested party. You may have to pay for their appraisal service, but they will not try to take advantage of you, or your situation.

They will likely provide several sale premises, such as your direct sale at highest probable price, selling through their store (less a commission fee), or their outright purchase. In the latter case, they will pay about 50% on the dollar, but they will at least tell you that.

An appraisal allows you a base of information from which to take knowledgeable action. It is a starting point for establishing sale or retention strategies.

This is the advice I would give to my own family.

Best wishes!
 
#26
You guys are so sweet.. I'm sorry my husband didn't find this place before he died. I would have had to rip the laptop from him!! He would have loved this site. He died young, left me and the (VERY, VERY young) kids...totally unexpected. I know a bit about instruments, but nothing about this particular brand. He has an Ampeg guitar (think that's the name) and some others..don't know if he has a Fender--though I think there is a Strat in here somewhere.... I really don't want to sell any of them, but I may give some of them away (to family, friends). At this point, I wish I could keep every single one of them. We also have a custom drum set that he had made for my daughter--it's beautiful and was made all in miniature...he was such a musician (and I don't mean that in the mainstream sense..he just had a musician's heart). I'll see if I can get some photos up of the Pensa...I have a feeling I'm going to keep it either way though, for some reason I believe it held a special place in his heart, though in the past few years he didn't necessarily play it that much---but he was doing a lot of diaper changes and playground runs, so that may have been the reason why :)

Thanks again. I could feel your collective calloused-fingered hugs reaching thru cyber-space to me and the kids..
 
#28
My condolences as well. I hope your insurance and finances are OK. I think it is nice to want give some things away, but wait until you post some photos to get an idea what things are worth before you do that. Depending on what your husband left behind, some items could really help to take care of the inevitable expenses you must confront.
 
#29
I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

You can find more info by contacting Rudy's music in NYC. http://www.rudysmusic.com/

Rudy is Rudy Pensa and the basses are made for him with the name Pensa. I had a Custom Jazz bass that was increadible. It is now for sale at Bass Specialties in Bensalem PA. Link Removed

Is it similiar to that one? If so, I would say that $1700-$2000 is a fair price.
 
#30
Dr. Cheese said:
My condolences as well. I hope your insurance and finances are OK. I think it is nice to want give some things away, but wait until you post some photos to get an idea what things are worth before you do that. Depending on what your husband left behind, some items could really help to take care of the inevitable expenses you must confront.
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Yep, take pictures and post them and I guarantee we will help you appraise them. You don't want to be giving a way a 3000+$ bass to a 11 year old if your finances are all jacked up. My condolences of the tragic loss, we wish he would have found the site too!
 
#31
If it's not for financial stress in any way, at least some instruments may be considered priceless to your kids at least later. There's something very personal about gear like this so maybe take your time before making a decision? Given he kept the bass even though not playing much sounds like it meant something. Having instruments is a nice thing, to have a bass that was your dads would be far more meaningful.

Sad to hear about your loss.
 
#32
bassloverswidow said:
You guys are so sweet.. I'm sorry my husband didn't find this place before he died. I would have had to rip the laptop from him!! He would have loved this site. He died young, left me and the (VERY, VERY young) kids...totally unexpected. I know a bit about instruments, but nothing about this particular brand. He has an Ampeg guitar (think that's the name) and some others..don't know if he has a Fender--though I think there is a Strat in here somewhere.... I really don't want to sell any of them, but I may give some of them away (to family, friends). At this point, I wish I could keep every single one of them. We also have a custom drum set that he had made for my daughter--it's beautiful and was made all in miniature...he was such a musician (and I don't mean that in the mainstream sense..he just had a musician's heart). I'll see if I can get some photos up of the Pensa...I have a feeling I'm going to keep it either way though, for some reason I believe it held a special place in his heart, though in the past few years he didn't necessarily play it that much---but he was doing a lot of diaper changes and playground runs, so that may have been the reason why :)

Thanks again. I could feel your collective calloused-fingered hugs reaching thru cyber-space to me and the kids..
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If you do decide to pass on some of the instruments that your husband collected, you may wish to consider some kind of donation to local music arts programs, either in local schools or community groups. In this case, you probably could benefit from tax deductions for the donations...but I might suggest that if you have an Ampeg bass, it could also be worth some larger amount of money.

You may consider selling the instruments and setting up some kind of trust for your children's future or set up a scholarship/fund for local musicians in your husband's name with the proceeds of some of the instruments. I have a friend who did this when his brother died and left a bit of a sum. What better way to remember someone special who had a special love for music than helping others who feel the same way?
 
#33
First, as so many have said, my deepest condolences on your loss ..... there are many bass-playing prayers being sent your way.

Just as a possible suggestion, you could privately contact this bass forums moderators through the Private Message feature, tell them your location and ask if they could possibly suggest a few TB members in your area to help you sort this all out. The Moderators in this forum are

Ryan L
John Turner
Embellisher
Major Metal

All four guys are very well versed and know enough about the various TalkBass members in your area to make some recommedations for a few local players to possibly assist you in some way. At least you'll get some non-biased opinions from people that wouldn't be trying to rip you off. TalkBass is a fairly large, but very close-knit, internet family that most of us here would trust. Maybe we can be of assistance to you ...... :cool:
 
#35
pointbass said:
First, as so many have said, my deepest condolences on your loss ..... there are many bass-playing prayers being sent your way.

Just as a possible suggestion, you could privately contact this bass forums moderators through the Private Message feature, tell them your location and ask if they could possibly suggest a few TB members in your area to help you sort this all out. The Moderators in this forum are

Ryan L
John Turner
Embellisher
Major Metal

All four guys are very well versed and know enough about the various TalkBass members in your area to make some recommedations for a few local players to possibly assist you in some way. At least you'll get some non-biased opinions from people that wouldn't be trying to rip you off. TalkBass is a fairly large, but very close-knit, internet family that most of us here would trust. Maybe we can be of assistance to you ...... :cool:
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I agree. This is a really good idea. These guys are great and really know their stuff.
 
#36
+1000 to what has already been said....

What part of the country are you located? It would be much easier for you to bring your instrument in for appraisal rather than ship them...
Once we know we can direct you to someone in that area who can help you...
 
#39
I'm so sorry for your loss...

Pensa worked in conjunction with Suhr at least some of the time.
You might try contacting these guys:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#40
Please accept my condolences. I know he will be missed.

I, too, would contact Gruhn Guitars of Nashville. If you are in Nashville, you can probably speak to George Gruhn personally. He is world renowned and respected.
 

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