Pawn shop find: Is it worth $110?

[tubatodd]

Soooooo.....what is it? The local pawn shop wants $110.

I know it is a VJ Rendano P-style bass with a humbucker pickup. It also looks like the finish is similar to a Fender antigua finish. The other pictures show that it is in good shape. I've never seen one of these before. I was just wondering if it was worth driving the 40 mins to check it out.

EDIT:

More pictures
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[ICM]

If the tuners are high quality I'd buy it. Good for parts and it may even have a great neck.
It's a nice bridge too.

 

[Laurie Bass]

Sure go check it out..what the heck..it might be a diamond. Bridge looks like a Epiphone.

 

[tubatodd]

I'm more wondering if it is playable condition, is it worth the money? I would plan on actually playing it.

 

[BioWeapon]

I'm more wondering if it is playable condition, is it worth the money? I would plan on actually playing it.

If it sounds good and the neck isn't twisted, and all the controls work, frets aren't too worn, and the truss rod nut isn't stripped, it's probably worth your 100$ bill (or less if you're good at haggling).

 

[48thStreetCustom]

If you dig it and it calls your name, buy it. But if you decide to walk away from it, there's a lot of other comparable pawn shop basses out there at that price. If you're willing to walk away, you might be able to talk them down on the price.

 

[JIO]

looks cool

 

[bassbully]

If it plays as well as it looks hecks yes it's worth 110 bucks.

 

[Ric5]

It's a frankenstein bass ... $110 ... why not?

 

[fenderphil]

Killer bridge

 

[singlemalt]

You are going to have to leave the house to find out. Make it fun, grab some grub while you are out.

Pawn shops bargain. Make an offer if it's solid. You can always throw pickups and a pick guard at it down the road.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

As others have said, I'd grab it at that price for the parts alone.

MONGO WANT BRIDGE

 

[frankenbass2014]

Got the same bridge in the Hondo V I just bought. Buy it already lol

 

[Haji]

Hard to tell from only two photos, but pawn shop instruments are often priced on what the market will typically bear for them. There appears to be a fair amount of rust on the pick up screws and the bridge appears to be pretty tarnished. Now, that's not to say it's not worth a hundred bucks, just that you've got to take a good, hard, critical look at it. For every gem I've found, I've found at least 10 dogs, and I've been blinded by low priced clearance tags on a couple of those. I don't usually expect to find something in a pawn shop that I can flip at a profit because most of the price already takes up where the profit for me to flip it would be. I drive about an hour and a half to get to band practice and drove an hour and 45 minutes to meet a guy to score my current #1 bass, so 40 minutes is an easy commute. I'd go take a look just for kicks.

 

[tubatodd]

More pictures to judge by....

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[Haji]

I'd go take a look at it. I've never heard of the brand, but that doesn't mean anything. The hardest thing about PSB's (pawn shop basses) is that they almost always are in desperate need of new strings and a set up. You have to be able to see what it can be, not necessarily what it is right now, but without rose colored glasses. I still think it's interesting enough to take a drive to see it in person.

 

[SirMjac28]

It reminds me of one of the Fender Black Top series basses

 

[tubatodd]

I'm definitely stopping by the shop on Tuesday when they reopen. I know how to haggle and if it seems like it is salvageable to PLAY, I will get it. I'm hoping it is a diamond in the rough. I don't mind doing some cleaning and a setup with new strings.

 

[VoodooJazz]

I'm a little concerned about how that G string sits over the pole pieces of the pickup. Make sure you plug it in and get a satisfactory volume (relative to the others) from that G. Good luck!

 

[hsech]

It could be a good find or it could be pretty looking junk. Try and listen before you buy. It probably has $110 in parts.