Have several basses, well maybe more than several, but this is the first time I’ve felt inclined to post a NBD.
Came across a Stingray on marketplace about 6 months ago and thought, “That’s a nice bass, too bad it has autographs on it.” It was listed at $1700.
The good:
White 2008 Stingray HS with original hard case. Never played, hang tag still attached with protective plastic still on the pick guard. All case candy included.
The not so good:
Signed by the band Linkin Park in black sharpie with no way to authenticate.
I know the bass itself would likely bring close to that without the sharpie, and autographs without some kind of verification are pretty well worthless. Never been a fan of Linkin Park or autographs. Bookmarked the listing and forgot about it.
Fast forward to this week while cleaning out old bookmarks in Marketplace I came across the bass again and noticed it was a HS. I somehow overlooked that the first time. Had been looking for a HS Stingray or Sterling at a good price for quite a while and had just missed out on one the week before. I thought what the heck, it had been listed for a long time, maybe he would be open to offers.
Offered $1200 not expecting much, but got a “Let me sleep on it.” Was hit back the next morning with $1400. I countered with $1300 and explained that the autographs, without some way to authenticate, were really detrimental to the value and not knowing if they could be removed was a gamble on my part. After some conversation he really seemed like an upstanding guy and provided photos of himself with the band as he had worked with them on a couple of tours. Logic won out and we agreed to $1300 and setup a meeting.
Picked up the bass today and was kinda spooked a bit when I saw that a battery was in it. A rather corroded battery with an expiration date of 2012. He had never checked to see if it had a battery. I decided to take a chance and went thru with the purchase.
Once I got home I popped the battery compartment out, cleaned the terminals and held my breath. To my surprise the bass worked flawlessly and sounded great. Was tuned a half step down and appeared to really have never been played. The strings even sounded bright and new and didn’t even need a setup. This thing really plays and sounds great! Outstanding build quality. Other than the autographs it looks brand new although the white has started to yellow a bit (a plus in my opinion).
Not in a big hurry to remove the autographs, as this thing is a keeper. Did test out removing the dot of an "i" and the results were encouraging. Came off with minimal effort and a bit of alcohol.
Think I came out on the good side of this one and it will likely replace a few in my collection. Time to play.
Came across a Stingray on marketplace about 6 months ago and thought, “That’s a nice bass, too bad it has autographs on it.” It was listed at $1700.
The good:
White 2008 Stingray HS with original hard case. Never played, hang tag still attached with protective plastic still on the pick guard. All case candy included.
The not so good:
Signed by the band Linkin Park in black sharpie with no way to authenticate.
I know the bass itself would likely bring close to that without the sharpie, and autographs without some kind of verification are pretty well worthless. Never been a fan of Linkin Park or autographs. Bookmarked the listing and forgot about it.
Fast forward to this week while cleaning out old bookmarks in Marketplace I came across the bass again and noticed it was a HS. I somehow overlooked that the first time. Had been looking for a HS Stingray or Sterling at a good price for quite a while and had just missed out on one the week before. I thought what the heck, it had been listed for a long time, maybe he would be open to offers.
Offered $1200 not expecting much, but got a “Let me sleep on it.” Was hit back the next morning with $1400. I countered with $1300 and explained that the autographs, without some way to authenticate, were really detrimental to the value and not knowing if they could be removed was a gamble on my part. After some conversation he really seemed like an upstanding guy and provided photos of himself with the band as he had worked with them on a couple of tours. Logic won out and we agreed to $1300 and setup a meeting.
Picked up the bass today and was kinda spooked a bit when I saw that a battery was in it. A rather corroded battery with an expiration date of 2012. He had never checked to see if it had a battery. I decided to take a chance and went thru with the purchase.
Once I got home I popped the battery compartment out, cleaned the terminals and held my breath. To my surprise the bass worked flawlessly and sounded great. Was tuned a half step down and appeared to really have never been played. The strings even sounded bright and new and didn’t even need a setup. This thing really plays and sounds great! Outstanding build quality. Other than the autographs it looks brand new although the white has started to yellow a bit (a plus in my opinion).
Not in a big hurry to remove the autographs, as this thing is a keeper. Did test out removing the dot of an "i" and the results were encouraging. Came off with minimal effort and a bit of alcohol.
Think I came out on the good side of this one and it will likely replace a few in my collection. Time to play.
