My wife is enrolling in grad school so this and several other basses are on the block.
It is one of the original MVB-1s, not the current collapsible model, which sells for $3800. The electronics include an Underwood piezo and Bartolini magnetic pickups feeding into a Merchant Mixer, which is an active blend module mounted with Velcro to the bass' body under the fingerboard. The controls are rotary volume, rotary blend, rotary midrange boost/cut, treble cut switch and active/defeat switch.
The bass appears nearly unplayed. There are several small nicks and knocks in the finish, but those are the only visible damage. The original owner told me he bought it in Merchant's shop about 15 years ago, practiced on it for a while and put it away after one gig. The original Thomastik Spirocore Weichs are still on the bass, and sound fairly fresh considering their age. Includes the false bout which attaches to the body with a brass door hinge and Mooradian bag which is also in near-new condition.
Please contact me by e-mail for pictures. I took several outdoors in natural light this week, which are a little dim but represent the bass well.
It's hard to ascribe a value considering how few of these are floating around. The last five-string Vertical Bass I am aware of sold through talkbass.com for $1500 several years ago, and it had been messed with and repaired. How about $1500 plus shipping or picked up in Albany, NY? I will deliver it within a reasonable distance but that might cost a little extra. Thanks for reading.
