Wondering where to go with this.

[grrg63]

Great score for $65.

 

[Big Hoss]

I personally would get it restored...

 

[drummer5359]

It is absolutely PERFECT as it is.


I own a good many vintage instruments (mainly drums and cymbals) and sometimes wonder about the history of a particular instrument.

This bass wears it's history on it's sleeve, please don't change a thing.

 

[DwaynieAD]

The fact that the headstock is hideous is part of the charm

 

[PortlandBass77]

I would restore the head to natural, that greenish color is just flat out ugly. I would keep everything else the same, even the price tag.

 

[rtslinger]

Pre CBS jazz pawn shop bass. Let me say I am a guitarist. Played for almost 50 years but I have always loved the bass line. I do play a bit of upright. I could leave it just like it is-got mojo and plays great. You either love the green headstock or hate it. If I paint a custom color I could paint the headstock. I always loved a natural bass but matching the headstock may be hard. I could sell it but love thumping it. Love a tortoise pickguard. What would you do? What preserves the most value? Pickups are not original nor pickguard.

I agree, leave it as is just change the strings. It has aged beautifully

 

[Dogbertday]

I'd change the headstock but I love the body finish... If only it had a single split coil pickup instead of the two skinny ones....


Please accept my humor and don't start a flame war.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Fender would charge big bucks for that kind of relic'ing work.

I would leave it as-is, green headstock and all!

 

[PokeyPrasch]

"relic" the green right off the headstock, toss the Gretsch knob and call it good.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

I tell ya what
how 'bout I give $66 for it, then you can stop worryng about it
and be able to say you turned a profit?

 

[Malak the Mad]

If it were my bass, and if the headstock's grain wasn't a good match, I'd have the head refinished in glossy black. A black headstock can go with almost any body finish.

 

[Kenny Wiebusch]

I have not been able to bring myself to remove the sticker. It is another moment in the guitars history. When I took it to the counter the man said something about me buying a boat paddle. I just grinned. If I gave 64.95 for it they probably had $30 in it. What is crazy is I think I had seen it in there before and ignored the poor thing, neckplate and all. Thing is somebody loved that bass for a long time and was probably a good light touch R&B player. There is some fret wear but not a ton for wound strings. Maybe it had flatwounds most of it's life. A pawn shop ending is never a good story and it does make me wonder about the owner. It doesn't seem like he would have let it go for $30.

 

[Arizona Jones]

Incredible find for $64! What you do with it is your business. Me? If I had the $$$, I have it restored in a custom color with matching headstock.

 

[j.kernodle]

I'd raise the pickups if I were you.

 

[jd56hawk]

Punk rock bass. Some people go out of their way to achieve such a look. We're not talking about restoring a '59 Cadillac. I'd rather play it as it is and be asked about it after every show than have it restored and be afraid to take it out of its case.

 

[tangentmusic]

A pawn shop selling that bass for 65 bucks is a fantastic deal!

Shoot, our local pawnshops try to sell beat up Squiers for more than they are brand new at GC...

 

[NightCat]

I don't think I could take the head stock either. I'd strip it and try to make the headstock match the body.
I am definitely going to add the external grounding wire to my Faux '51. Looks cool. Mine is internally grounded but I like the look.

 

[Anthony Fury]

NICE! Personally I love everything except the ground strap, despite its MacGyver-like ingenuity. (avoids flying tomatoes from the crowd) I'd fix that and rock it the hell out, wonky knobs/green headstock/pricetag and all.

 

[JustForSport]

Great find-
I'd play it like it is ('cept for the green) w/clovers- I'm not Irish...
If it sounds good, plays good, I'd just re-fin the headstock to match the body ('n' maybe do something with the elec tape).
Look what Minnie Pearl did with a price tag...

 

[tubatodd]

I would fix the ground and use paint stripper on the headstock. And however gnarly the headstock turns out it will be better than the green and still have the raw character.