worth it?

[DRN-PWNS]

While, in June i bought my first legitimate fender! only to have it stolen a month later. The bass was a lake placid blue MIA deluxe jazz bass (yes a large chunk of money went into it). Since it got stolen i have been down to playing a squire affinity jazz 5 and an ibanez sr400. but i really miss my fender. while browsing kijiji today i found this

Its a fretless MIM in a very similar blue. Would it be worth it for me to pick up this beauty for $450 then get the neck fretted(by a professional Luther).

Ive been scouring every internet and local classified looking for something anything that could get me my tone back, this bass is the closest thing i have found yet. Also does any one know a good luthier in teh calgary area who could do this for me?

 

[blendermassacre]

Not worth it. Considering from what I've seen average fretting is $10 to $20 per fret x 21 frets. Even for that bass $450 is pretty high.

 

[DRN-PWNS]

what do you think i should offer for this bass?
Ive never bought one used and every bass ive sold was garbage, so i really dont know what its worth =[

EDIT: i shot the guy an email and I offered 375. lets hope he says yes =]

 

[daveo119]

I'dprobably just wait for one exactly liek what you want to come up for sale. Getting it refretted would be more than you'd want to spend on a bass like that.

Fenders come up fairly regularly and usually for a decnet price.

 

[ZombieBRAINS!!]

Yea don't by that, you can easily get a MIM for 250 with a lil bit of shopping around

 

[RickenBoogie]

It's a fool's errand. Don't do it. Be patient, something worthwhile will show.

 

[Headless Llama]

for what you'll spend you could build one how you want through warmoth. may have to do some looking around for a decent bridge and pickups, but it will be what YOU want.

 

[Prime BASS]

dont buy quick and cheap... thats what my guitar teacher said, i brought a crappy ibanez, dont even know the model is was so crap, and a week later spent £700 on a glorious fender jag.

Save up, and buy the model MIA deluxe again, if it means that much to you it would be more worth it than wasting it on a mexican, and paying extra to get the neck fretted.

If my fender got stolen, after tracking down the culprit and cutting off his gentlemens area, i wouldn't waste time and money buying something like it, I would save up and buy the same model again.

 

[savit260]

Not worth the effort IMO.


A MIA J Deluxe is a different animial than an MIM Standard, fretted or not.


That bass should sell for around $300 tops IMO.

 

[svp]

As far as my thinking goes, fretting or de-fretting a fingerboard involves more than just adding or removing frets. The nut should be changed (the height at which the strings set in the grooves), the neck pocket ( the height at which the neck sets), maybe that can be handled by bridge adjustment. I am not a luthier but I would think all these need to be considred to do it properly.

 

[savit260]

It would be cheaper to buy a new neck with frets, than to have frets installed in that neck.

 

[bassplayer8953]

Hard to get frets installed for this kinda price:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-DELUXE-S...emQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item20adada83d

I'd agree with those who said to just buy another neck...or a different bass altogether.

 

[DRN-PWNS]

I doubt taht Ill be able to EVER afford another American deluxe, the only reason i was able to in teh first place was because my car got written off and I used most of what i got for it to buy the bass. Now i don't have a car or my bass.

 

[groove pump]

Patience!

If you grabbed that bass and then did the fret job you're thinking about, you'd only be guessing at how it might come out. Much too easy to be disappointed, especially considering the cost of the bass, plus the bill for the work on top of that. I tried to cheer up a mediocre bass with a top shelf electronics package and believe it or not, after I got that awesome system installed... still mediocre.

Keep shopping and don't assume that you'll like or hate something until after you've played it. I've been routinely impressed with the Mexican active J-basses I've seen in recent history and the used ones can come with a sweet bang-for-the-buck price tag. Fender has also been copied quite nicely by a few builders with more than half a clue.

My workhorse Jazz is a parts bass with a Warmoth neck (ooh-la-la!) that's certainly not going to be high on the list for any thieves at my shows, etc. The thing is, I never find any current Fenders, including the US models, that compete with this instrument. Just saying that it's a rare and excellent fit for me. Seach around for your own "happy accident" (diamond in the rough?). It will play like a dream for you and you won't have to sweat it when the thing is out of your sight for more than three minutes at a time.

BTW, I don't want to sound like a heartless tool. Sorry that you got ripped off - a lynch mob can be a good thing. Hope you can find a worthy replacement - just don't insist on some showpiece when a true road warrior is within your reach.

 

[Headless Llama]

Not worth the effort IMO.


A MIA J Deluxe is a different animial than an MIM Standard, fretted or not.


That bass should sell for around $300 tops IMO.

yeah, this price is right. There are a few on music go round right now! And bonus!! They come with frets!!!

 

[tmax]

Check out the one I'm selling in the Classifieds. Its upgraded already and I'll ship it up there. -tmax

 

[savit260]

If you figure $375 to buy the bass, then AT LEAST $300 to have that neck fretted by someone decent, you are in Used MIA Jazz Deluxe price range if you do a little hunting.

Check this one out on ebay right now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-American...QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item33568415ea

 

[Johnny Alien]

What everyone said. If you don't want to pay MIA prices then keep your eyes open for a MIM bass just like that one but fretted. That bass is nothing more than an Agave Blue MIM Fender Jazz. They pop up frequently and you should be able to get it cheaper than $375 plus not have to pay to fret it.

 

[addylewis]

Get it, if its a GOOD one - try it out first if you can...some mexicans are pure gold!

 

[Prime BASS]

If you figure $375 to buy the bass, then AT LEAST $300 to have that neck fretted by someone decent, you are in Used MIA Jazz Deluxe price range if you do a little hunting.

Check this one out on ebay right now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-American...QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item33568415ea

that would be so harsh if that was his stolen one, but a bit too dark.

How on earth did it get stolen, would be interesting to know, so others now what to look out for?

I would suggest as well, since you know what kind of price range you are looking at, just go to a local store and try as many basses they stock as possible, you never know what you might find.