Was considering buying a custom made P bass on ebay for $650. Looks great, and has a detailed description of all parts. I was curious to hear people's thoughts on buying something like that from an unnamed luthier. I suppose there's just no guarantee of quality construction?
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Thoughts on buying cheaper custom basses?
- Thread starter starrtwo
- Start date
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Looks nice from the pix and parts list. Not sure i would call it a custom built bass though. If anything its a really nice parts bass that may be worth the money.
Looks good, strings are centered on the neck which Fender doesn't always do. He calls that a Hipshot bridge but it looks more Squier. One half of the pickup is centered under its strings, the other half is pretty far off.
He says Fender licensed neck but it seems obvious this neck had the face and back sanded incompletely to remove decals. You can see how uneven the finish is where not all of it was sanded to bare wood.
So while it looks nice it seems deceptive so I would pass.
"In addition I have a third party sell evaluation done on every guitar or bass I send out listing in detail every facet of the item described by an authorized guitar tech which will list in detail that the guitar you receive is functioning as it should be. There will be audio tests done and pictures taken of every facet of that guitar before shipment."
Really?
He says Fender licensed neck but it seems obvious this neck had the face and back sanded incompletely to remove decals. You can see how uneven the finish is where not all of it was sanded to bare wood.
So while it looks nice it seems deceptive so I would pass.
"In addition I have a third party sell evaluation done on every guitar or bass I send out listing in detail every facet of the item described by an authorized guitar tech which will list in detail that the guitar you receive is functioning as it should be. There will be audio tests done and pictures taken of every facet of that guitar before shipment."
Really?
If it were me, for that kind of money, I would buy a Fender Player Series P Bass instead.
This exactly. Sweetwater has them in multiple colors, great weights, brand new (not used like the bass you looked at) with a two year warranty and for $699 they'll ship for free to both coasts, and in-between.
nice looking P, high risk considering there's been no basic intonation attempted ...odd
why bother when you can get much better and consistent value for far le$$ elsewhere?
why bother when you can get much better and consistent value for far le$$ elsewhere?
Yeah, that bridge looks like this one.
All Brass 4 String Saddle Bass Bridge for Fender Precision Jazz Bass - Chrome | eBay
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I have a small herd of Wishbasses. All custom. All very inexpensive.
Good looking bass. IMO, it actually looks better than a stock P-bass, others will disagree. Price out the parts individually and see if you can come close. Personally, I have to have a bass in hand before purchase but that's just me.
MDBass
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To me, it depends on the neck - "Fender licensed" means nothing. If it's an Allparts or Mighty Mite neck, I'd probably pass. If it's a Warmoth, I'd be much more interested.
Smooth_bass88
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Looks pretty nice. What's the return policy? Over a thousand transactions with 100% feedback rating. Probably a safe bet buying this.
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I think a parts bass and a custom bass are two different things, although they have some overlap.
With a parts bass add the cost of all the components, and that tells you how much someone is charging to assemble it.
With a custom bass you have to factor lots more in- design, planning, artistic merit, sourcing rare or exotic wood, dealing back and forth with the client on his exact specs, expectations, and dreams. Allowing for possible revisions, and further custom work. Often parts basses are built by someone with very limited workshop space and speciallized equipment, which costs money.
With a parts bass add the cost of all the components, and that tells you how much someone is charging to assemble it.
With a custom bass you have to factor lots more in- design, planning, artistic merit, sourcing rare or exotic wood, dealing back and forth with the client on his exact specs, expectations, and dreams. Allowing for possible revisions, and further custom work. Often parts basses are built by someone with very limited workshop space and speciallized equipment, which costs money.
a parts bass isn't "custom" if you didn't choose the parts
yeah it's "custom" to somebody, in the way a used bass was "new" to somebody
yeah it's "custom" to somebody, in the way a used bass was "new" to somebody
