I did it!
Have been staying in the background until I saw what I did, but, I've been wanting one of these for a while (almost bought one from a member) and the price seemed right. Until the stuff about the neck surfaced.
So here's what I found. Bass in pretty good condition (a little rash on the back, but not through the finish) and a nick here and there (including at least one small one that's all the way through the finish). All in all not bad.
The neck was fixed. I still need to get the details from Dale (the seller), but I can see a darker area on the top (E side) all the way to the fifth fret and on the bottom (G side) at least to the third fret. If that's where the problem was, then it looks like someone used to play this with a studded glove on his hand--I can't imagine how else that kind of wear occurred.
The repair is good enough that I might not have noticed if I hadn't read about the problem (looks like a darker grain--the outside wood on the neck is already a darker wood). Now that I know that there is/was one, I feel a little tackiness in that part of the neck, but nothing that's affecting how it plays. Hoping Dale will have a little more info on what was done.
Last night was just unpack and play unplugged. It plays great. I'll report after plugging it in (by the way, I didn't know the five pin was side mounted--that looks pretty cool).
dw
