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Warning: Vintage Bass Candy found in attic

#62
Luke warm said:
I also want to commend PinkFloydDan on his honesty. Well done, my friend! How could you ever play beautiful music on an instrument that you know you had ripped someone off for? It just doesn't work that way.
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Folks in this mold are freaking nuts. A commodity is worth whatever the buyer and seller are willing to settle on - period. Unless they are paid for the appraisal, experts who devote entire lifetimes to gain the knowledge necessary to accurately value an instrument - are NOT morally obligated to price every bass that every person shows them to within 5% of market value. :spit:
 
#63
PinkFloydDan said:
Why would your 73 be worth more than his 72 consider it gets set and cleaned?

I doubt I will be able to buy it from him.

Maybe if I show him the serious comments from here and the avg EBay auction I might be able to get it, or if he has a kind soul, but it's not even close to what I would say is my dream machine.

I need a maple neck and white, black, mocha or blue would get me drooling. But this sucker needs a real clean up and I did not check the truss rod, pups or if the body is routed up. I suspect it is not and the pups could be even older because they looked it.

I will see him again and I will keep everyone posted. Maybe if I got him in touch with someone who knows a little more than me, he could set the guy straight and be like "Look, it is going to cost you some cash to get it cleaned up right, and more to also get it set up which it needs, without the orig pickguard and in a rather common color, and assuming all else is original, you will have a rough time getting $2000 for this bass" and say it with honesty, I'd have a chance to get it.

I am not the type of person to try and rip someone off. I may have boosted his excitement when I saw it and thought, ****, this could be worth $4000, but I wasn't thinking this guy would be likely dead when it is.

My gut tells me most of it is orig and the trus is fine. The bridge needs adjusting as the string spacing from the fretboard increased as we went down. That might be a slight neck bow but I couldn't really tell and I suck at seeing neck bows.

I might be able to get it. But he said he'd keep it if he couldn't get 2500 for it.
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Cleaning has nothing to do with it. I don't think an early 70's P is worth more than 2000-2300 tops in very good condition and all original parts. Without the original pickguard you're taking at least a few hundred dollars of a hit and possibly more. Its also been sitting in an attic. If it has neck problems its worth much less.
 
#66
PinkFloydDan said:
That is my best route I think. I would give him $1000 to 1100 for it as is, clean her myself and get her set up by my tech.
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If I could get it for $1000 then I certainly would....that aside if you really are worried about taking advantage of him then (as long as everything checks out and the truss rod works) $1500 would be much more fair while still getting a decent deal.

My advice....if it doesn't speak to you then don't even spend $50 on it.
 
#67
PinkFloydDan said:
But he said he'd keep it if he couldn't get 2500 for it.
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See, now that's just a greedy owner with a skewed perceived view of the vintage market. Why does he think a natural finish P is worth more than 2500? Is this guy even a musician? What good is it going to do him to "just keep it" because of a dreamed up number that didn't even exist to him when he woke up that morning.

Truth about the vintage market concerning two 72 Precisions: if one is an alder body sunburst, and the other is an ash body natural, the alder body basses always fetch a higher value than the ash ones. Always have always will, because the collectors know the alder basses are consistantly lighter as well as alder having the same tone as the late 60's basses.
2-3 years ago the alder Precisions were getting almost 2500, but today market it's 2000-2250 for them, and the ash ones are getting slightly less-in the high teens.
Let's assume the only non-original piece is the pickguard. At best if you wanted to find an original white pickguard which will set you back 150-200, this bass is 1500 at best.
 
#68
I like the idea of trying to offer him $1000-1500 if you like the way it plays and feels. He can try to scoop up $2500 for it if he wants off Ebay or CL, but I doubt that'll happen. Especially where the market is at right now. Definitely NOT the time to sell, and shipping/insurance/dealing with other people is a PITA sometimes.

You already told him what it's probably worth, maybe he'll cut you in on it for a good price since he had no idea what he had in the first place...$1000 in his pocket and a new bass for you. (BTW, I wouldn't show him this thread, you mentioned that, I'd leave that dog lay)

Someone else could have screwed him bad, and he has no use for the bass, right?

Case in point - I just snagged a 1962 P from an ex-bassist turned keyboard player for $950 because the guy didn't really know what he had and that was his original asking price...

Was I going to tell him it's worth over 5x's his asking price? Heck no!
Do I feel bad that I paid so little for it??? Heck no!
Am I happy with the bass and play it everyday? Heck yes!
Is he happy with his $950? Heck yes!

Sounds like a Win Win to me in either situation. Sometimes the stars align and things are meant to be...I'd jump on that P if it speaks to you, man. Don't feel bad about offering him a reasonable price.
 
#69
[FONT=&quot]You can’t stop people from offering you a bargain if they’ve already come up with a price in their heads…and nor should you feel bad. You don’t have to feel bad if someone asks you to make an offer and they accept it without first doing due diligence. You know? Part of the problem was I think telling the dude that the bass was worth between 2000-4000k is fairly outlandish to start so his hopes are high no matter what. I don’t think that offering 1000-1500 is at all shady. Let him keep it and let him know that you’re willing to pay (whatever) amount you’d like to offer. He may decide that eBay isn’t worth the hassle (packing, describing, doing the right kind of pictures, dealing with the usual eBay jerkholes) and sell it to you for a reasonable price. Or let him post it for way too much and it sits for a while before you offer what you do. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I bought my 73 Precision (sunburst alder, original case) back about ten years ago. I paid 700$ for it (on eBay). It came with EMGs (installed) and 2 other sets of pickups “in the case”, along with strap locks, a strap and the original strap buttons. The only thing that didn’t come with it was covers, which I fished out of a BIG tool box of a local tech along with a nice set of Jazz covers for *free*. Within about 2 hours of having it, I had it back to ‘stock’, minus the original solder. At the time I was told I was paying way too much.[/FONT]
 
#70
I know. I erred in my estimate to him of its worth. I wasn't thinking alder vs ash and other matters.

Maybe I will get it. Stay tuned. I will be sure to let you all know. I think if he realizes he can only get a grand for it, he'd sell it to me. He appreciated my help and seemed like a nice guy
 
#71
PinkFloydDan said:
but man....I'm getting ready to spend 1500 on the beginning of what will be an incredible sound system, starting with a top-dollar record player and amp.
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go join AK...I've got a '73 Sansui Au-9500 and got a mint Rotel turntable in the box at the salvation army and some Klipsch Forte's for $300 bux and it's a hard to beat system. Last month got some Thiel's for 200 bux. You could get a smoking system for 500 bux and put the other 1K towards a great axe that will appreciate in value.
 
#73
electracoyote said:
Okay, I have a quick question about "long lost attic find" guitars and basses:

The attic is one of the places in the house that is subject to climatic extremes. They get hotter and colder than the rest of the house and from winter to summer undergo a fairly wide variation in temperature and humidity levels. Over a period of years or decades, that amounts to a higher-than-usual amount of expanding and contracting on the wood, joints, metal, etc.

Do these attic finds have a higher risk of structural breakdown, twisting, bowing, etc.?
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I have a December 1978 USA B.C.Rich Mockingbird bass.It's owner bought it new in London sometime in 1979 (After Thin Lizzy returned it).The guy then emigrated and placed the Mockingbird,a Thunderbird and a Hagstrom in his Mum and Dad's Attic in 1982.I retrieved the Mockingbird and Hagstrom in December of 2006.The Hagstrom sounded lovely,just not my thing,so I sold it.The Mockingbird was perfect,a slight tweak on the Truss rod and a dead straight neck.24 YEARS in an attic had done the bass absolutely no harm at all:)
 
#74
Now sell it to me for $400

Lorne said:
I have a December 1978 USA B.C.Rich Mockingbird bass.It's owner bought it new in London sometime in 1979 (After Thin Lizzy returned it).The guy then emigrated and placed the Mockingbird,a Thunderbird and a Hagstrom in his Mum and Dad's Attic in 1982.I retrieved the Mockingbird and Hagstrom in December of 2006.The Hagstrom sounded lovely,just not my thing,so I sold it.The Mockingbird was perfect,a slight tweak on the Truss rod and a dead straight neck.24 YEARS in an attic had done the bass absolutely no harm at all:)
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#75
RandyMolson said:
Folks in this mold are freaking nuts. A commodity is worth whatever the buyer and seller are willing to settle on - period. Unless they are paid for the appraisal, experts who devote entire lifetimes to gain the knowledge necessary to accurately value an instrument - are NOT morally obligated to price every bass that every person shows them to within 5% of market value. :spit:
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Hey Randy, I take your point. But in this case we are not talking about a dealer running a second hand guitar business, we are talking about someone who asked advice in good faith from someone they obviously trust. Or have I misunderstood the situation?

If someone came and asked my opinion, I'd tell the truth. I'd hope someone would do the same for me if the roles were revesed. I believe in karma.
 
#79
Call me stupid, but I think the right thing to do would be to contact the original owner, and give it back to him. It's bad enough times got tough enough he lost his home, and he clearly would not have left this behind without it being a mistake.
 

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