Would you buy/bid on this????

[Ric Vice]

I don’t think the OP ever said exactly what Gibson bass was for sale. If he did I didn’t see it in the thread.

 

[bobyoung53]

I don’t think the OP ever said exactly what Gibson bass was for sale. If he did I didn’t see it in the thread.

He didn't.

 

[ashtray]

Try Auctionsniper.com, it bids for you automatically and it works like ebay, will only bid one to 5 increments over the last bid cast, you can bid a reserve as high as you want. That's probably what happened to you, plus you won't drive the auction price up as it doesn't bid until 7 seconds are left or even less depending on where you set it hence you won't get in a bidding war and send the price soaring. That's probably what happened to you. I was complaining about the same thing when someone turned me on to it. It's very cheap too.

yeah, I likely got sniped by a bot of some kind, but I bid on ebay auctions all of 2-3x/yr, so no big deal.

 

[bobyoung53]

yeah, I likely got sniped by a bot of some kind, but I bid on ebay auctions all of 2-3x/yr, so no big deal.

They're not bots, they're companies that take a very small percentage of the bid, like maybe a dollar out of a $1000 bid. Nowadays with high speed internet you can swoop in right in at the last second but not years ago. You don't even have to look at the auction, it bids for you. If you REALLY want a certain thing, you just put in a sky high reserve and you will win, the beauty of the thing is that no one knows about it as it doesn't bid at all until the last second, it stops people from bidding you higher and higher, it's great for buyers and not so great for sellers and ebay.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Basically if it went super cheap. Like at a price where I’d even be happy to hang it on a wall as a display piece I’d be in. But without being able to hold it in my hands and look it over I wouldn’t spend a ton of money.

 

[BigAlBass69]

VINTAGE GIBSON RD ARTIST BASS GUITAR 71169104 +ORIG GIBSON CASE 1970s NO RESERVE This is the actual listing, 13 hrs left, currently at $1225

 

[Ric Vice]

VINTAGE GIBSON RD ARTIST BASS GUITAR 71169104 +ORIG GIBSON CASE 1970s NO RESERVE This is the actual listing, 13 hrs left, currently at $1225

Scroll through all the pictures and take a look at the close up shot of the back of the neck at the headstock. There’s a long hairline crack running down the back of the headstock down into the neck. Not something I’d want to deal with.

 

[Callou2131]

That makes it a No from me

 

[BigAlBass69]

@RicVice do you think it took a fall or wood so old and without tension just split?

 

[Ric Vice]

Could be either of those two things, their were a lot of Gibson Thunderbirds that had neck breaks, I don't know exactly why. My non reverse T Bird had one, which lowers the resale value of the bass.
I just wouldn't go down that road. I remember when these basses were first introduced as one of Gibsons "answers" to the Alembic, they had tried earlier circa 1969 with the Les Paul Recording Bass (the Music Man Stingray was Leo Fender's) they didn't sell as well
as Gibson has hoped they would with a modern take on the Thunderbird. Like anything else, the beauty of a vintage bass is in the "eye of the beholder" but my take is to move on to another one. Just my take however.

 

[Green Knight]

I did this with a medium scale SB-1000 that had been sitting in a pawn shop in Japan for some time, had no saddles, and was never tested for basic operation. In that case, it was a true find. It could as easily have gone the other way, I suppose ...

 

[bobyoung53]

@RicVice do you think it took a fall or wood so old and without tension just split?

It's a laminate, those headstocks were constructed like that, I can see the same thing on my EB4-L headstock, it's just the finish from flexing most likely. That's what I meant in an earlier post. That picture was an extreme close up, this is the same area, barely noticeable.

 

[bobyoung53]

Here's another one of the same area:

 

[BigAlBass69]

It's a laminate, those headstocks were constructed like that, I can see the same thing on my EB4-L headstock, it's just the finish from flexing most likely. That's what I meant in an earlier post. That picture was an extreme close up, this is the same area, barely noticeable.


View attachment 4584272

To understand this, in your opinion is a superficial issue and not a potential fatal flaw?

 

[bobyoung53]

To understand this, in your opinion is a superficial issue and not a potential fatal flaw?

That's what I would say, the paint is broken, it's not on mine but change of temps could do that.

 

[ashtray]

They're not bots, they're companies that take a very small percentage of the bid, like maybe a dollar out of a $1000 bid. Nowadays with high speed internet you can swoop in right in at the last second but not years ago. You don't even have to look at the auction, it bids for you. If you REALLY want a certain thing, you just put in a sky high reserve and you will win, the beauty of the thing is that no one knows about it as it doesn't bid at all until the last second, it stops people from bidding you higher and higher, it's great for buyers and not so great for sellers and ebay.

Well, I was bidding against a computer doing someone’s bidding - which is fine, it’s just that ebay refreshes every second, and counts down the seconds left and will update with bids as they come in, but I was high bidder with 5 seconds left, and I watched it click down to 0, and it showed me as high bidder - then a screen refresh to list the ayction as ended and that I won - except it said I lost! No big deal - it was some nonsense I was bidding on. But it was weird that I saw the auction end and they never showed that 0-second bid.

Last thing I won on ebay, I did the low opening minimum bid of $5. Shipping was $7. The auction was worth about $20-25. My opening bid was a placeholder so ebay would tell me when the auction was ending, or when I got outbid. But no one was bidding. I logged in the last minute, trying to figure if I was willing to go to $10 (plus shipping and tax) and as I sat there watching the auction, the minute ticked by and not one other bid. Poor seller got $5 before paypal and ebay fees for something worth $20-25. Ouch!

 

[bobyoung53]

Well, I was bidding against a computer doing someone’s bidding - which is fine, it’s just that ebay refreshes every second, and counts down the seconds left and will update with bids as they come in, but I was high bidder with 5 seconds left, and I watched it click down to 0, and it showed me as high bidder - then a screen refresh to list the ayction as ended and that I won - except it said I lost! No big deal - it was some nonsense I was bidding on. But it was weird that I saw the auction end and they never showed that 0-second bid.

Last thing I won on ebay, I did the low opening minimum bid of $5. Shipping was $7. The auction was worth about $20-25. My opening bid was a placeholder so ebay would tell me when the auction was ending, or when I got outbid. But no one was bidding. I logged in the last minute, trying to figure if I was willing to go to $10 (plus shipping and tax) and as I sat there watching the auction, the minute ticked by and not one other bid. Poor seller got $5 before paypal and ebay fees for something worth $20-25. Ouch!

Yes, it blanks out (overloads?) if more than one bid comes in during the last few seconds. No bids and you'll see it count down to zero but it still then takes a few seconds to register. I watch the end of my auctions even when I use auctionsniper. I'm watching this one, I bet it will be wild tonight during the last ten or fifteen seconds.

 

[JIO]

It's a laminate, those headstocks were constructed like that, I can see the same thing on my EB4-L headstock, it's just the finish from flexing most likely. That's what I meant in an earlier post. That picture was an extreme close up, this is the same area, barely noticeable.


View attachment 4584272

I agree - mostly cosmetic/superficial. My '64 T-bird II has fb/neck separation near the nut (both sides) It's been like this for decades, so long in fact you can see how the clear-coat edges are worn down/smooth from being played (by me!). I can't recall if it was like that when I bought it in '78. It did slide down a wall it was leaning against at one point. Never changed a thing, it's a monster bass.

 

[Panek]

Real life problem for the experts:
Vintage bass comes up for auction. Been eyeing this model and color for nearly 3 years. Being sold by an auction house that has no ability to test a musical instrument. Reportedly found in a closet of a well kept home and acquired as part of an estate sale. Many high quality pictures posted allowing for high resolution inspection. Everything looks good for a bass over 40 years old. Few nicks and scratches but nothing seems mortal. Few screws on the treble side of the pickguard are rusted. HOWEVER, cannot check the electronics and not anywhere near where one could go there and try it. Seller, a very large auction house, has no interest beyond what is posted, in determining if it works. Therefore no reserve and on a six day auction to the highest bidder. Sale is final and will NOT accept returns for any reason.

So based on pictures alone and your lust for this bass, would you buy it/bid on it, potentially getting it below market value????

I hope you bought it already, right? DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's nothing a good luthier won't fix, and every bass needs a check up anyway.

STOP READING THIS THREAD, BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bobyoung53]

e***7Feedback Score (242) has bid a whole lot of times and only bids the minimum amount so it's very easy to figure out what the current bid is if he's on top. I would guess it is at about 1400.00 right now, it shows $1375.00 with e***7Feedback Score (242) top bidder. Lots of beginner bidders there.