NBD - An unexpected surprise

A bit of backstory first: Yesterday, I got an email from a soon-to-be-retiring coworker asking if I fixed guitars as well as playing. I replied "Sure, what do you need fixed?" He told me that his son had left behind a bass and a guitar and he wanted to give the guitar to his nephew. When asked what kind of guitar and what it needed, he talked of an "Ibeam acoustic guitar that had some kind of sliders on it near the neck it also needs a twisty thing at the top and strings because it has none."

I immediately regretted admitting to working on guitars

He told me that if I could fix it up so that he could give it to his nephew, he'd give me the bass in exchange for my time. I told him to bring them both in and I'd take a look and see what was what.

This morning, I walked in to find a really beat up acoustic case and an orange colored bass leaning up against my desk.

As much as I wanted to pick up the bass and see what it was, check the condition, etc., I had to see this... Ibeam... with my own eyes. I opened the case, took a look inside, immediately laughed and then breathed a sigh of relief.
It was an Ibanez Performance Acoustic Electric guitar. It is missing the low E tuner and strings. It is, otherwise, in great shape! No finish cracks, body delamination, neck twists, bends, etc. I'll pick up a tuner and some strings on the way home, clean it up, repair, string, tune it, put a fresh battery in and be sure that the piezo pup works and get it back to him in the morning

So, what do I get in exchange for my time and effort?

Not bad, right?!

The trans-amber finish is in beautiful shape and, overall, I'd give the bass a solid 8.5/10, only deducting points for some fretboard wear above the 12th fret (almost like it was only ever played on the 12th-24th frets), and his sons initials wood-burned into the back of the headstock.




However, I do have to be the bearer of some bad news to my co-worker... his son is a soulless monster. Look at that stringing!!!




All kidding aside, his nephew will soon have a great beginner guitar and I got a nice bass that I can leave at the studio for guests to play around on w00t!