Author Topic: Old basses being sold for silly money (Read 1400 times)

slawie · « **Reply #15 on:** March 29, 2011, 04:24:15 AM »

I have a 77 Jazz bass that plays great because of the way I do the setup. Just the way I like it.
By installing Alembic pickups I have changed the way it sounds . Just the way I like it.
I was offered $3000.00 for it on the condition I had all the original hardware. Which I do, however
I wont sell it because it is.... Just the way I like it.

slawie

lidon2001 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:52:11 AM »

Fender Factory

Maybe they are treasured because, just like the instruments we come here to discuss, they were hand made back in the day. Many people prefer the CNC'd fast growth wood of today. I certainly do not, and think MIM's, Skylines, and others like those feel cheap and almost like fake wood.

As George says, whatever floats your boat...

lbpesq · « **Reply #17 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:25:06 AM »

When it comes to Fender, the line of demarcation, IMHO, is pre vs. post CBS. I've never played a post CBS (after 1965) that felt or played nearly as well as my '61 Strat that I picked up in around 1975 for $125 (those were the days!) CBS changed production techniques (one of their first changes was to eliminate dipping the pickups in wax - saved a few minutes of workers' time, but, according to everything I've read, had a serious detrimental effect on the sound of the pickups. I believe they figured this one out pretty quickly and at least started the wax dipping process again). But is my Strat worth the going rate today? Of course not, it's crazy - but if I can pay for a year or two of my kid's college with the Strat I ain't complaining!

Bill, tgo

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #18 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:30:55 AM »

The CBS era definitely has its flaws. I've been considering for some time the possibility of Black facing my pre-master volume Pro-Reverb. It doesn't sound too difficult, but I like the sound of it pretty well as it is. It's a 1972 (I think), but it has incredible clean headroom, and the tone is pure Fender. I just wish I could get it to break up a little bit before it reaches a deafening volume.

tubeperson · « **Reply #19 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:55:17 AM »

A word of acution to those who love the current Fender Custom shop. I have purchased two basses out of that shop, a NOS 1959 Precision, and the 60th Anniversary Jazz bass. The neck of the Precision warped within the first year of ownership and had to be replaced, with a piece of lumber that did not have the figuring of the original neck.

For the Jazz Bass, there is a lot of discoloring on the neck, under the finish. Obviously someone was careless and did not clean their hands before applying the clear nitro neck finish.

What ever happened to quality control? That is why they prefer to make relics, so that the flaws are hidden. Sam Ash in Manhattan orders relics for that very reason!

Based on my experience, the Fender Custom Shop is producing inferior in quality instruments. Just my 2 cents.

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #20 on:** March 29, 2011, 08:57:02 AM »

Here's an example:
http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/2292573786.html
SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! I bet it plays great and sounds wonderful... but... SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS! Yikes.

(Message edited by Benson_Murrensun on March 29, 2011)

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #21 on:** March 29, 2011, 09:21:51 AM »

BTW, the same thing is happening (to a lesser extent) with older Japanese motorcycles. Late '60's and '70's bikes in good shape are being advertised for three or four times their original prices when new. Guess the old dollar-per-cc rule is long gone! Yeah, the Honda CB-350 was a very good bike (for it's time), but would you pay upwards of $3000 for a 40-year old example now?

jack · « **Reply #22 on:** March 29, 2011, 10:46:50 AM »

I wonder what the demographic is for purchasers of these instruments- whether this bubble is driven by a large number of folks reaching a certain age (ahem), have put the kids through college and paid off the mortgage, and have some disposable income to pursue the relics of their youth (no offense to anyone intended). Seeing the prices for not just basses, but parts, cases, etc., growing by such a significant amount over the last ten years, I wonder how sustainable that all is, and whether the market for these types of things will dry up.

On the other hand, it's probably safe to say there are a lot more bass players now as a percentage of the population than ever, and the market is globally accessible, and perhaps there will always be a demand for vintage fenders.

I guess what I'm asking is whether the bass players who grew up in the 80s and 90s will be more interested in vintage fenders or 80s Arias and BC Richs? Should I dig the ol Ibeenhad EX404 out of the closet?

I'm thankful I play 5 stringers exclusively- much less temptation.

bigredbass · « **Reply #23 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:18:17 AM »

Yes Jack, playing fives only has saved my bacon more than once !

But IF I were gonna collect, you hit my nail on the head: I'd have an Aria SB (the 2 p/u version in that orange-y stain), the Ibanez Musician (the generation with the fat neck pickup and the skinny bridge, both soapbars), a BB2000 Yamaha (baseball bat neck!), a Daion XX, and a TUNE Bass Maniac (hopefully NOT in some 80's video color). If I had to find a Fender, I'd dig VERY deep and find one of the 'red neck' Tokai's, where they stained the whole neck in see thru red instead of clear, preferably one of the three-Jazz-pickup versions just to be even more unnerving to the uninitiated !

But . . . they're all four-strings, so I'm off the hook !

J o e y

bigredbass · « **Reply #24 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:21:22 AM »

Oh yeah, forgot: A first generation ESP Horizon /PJ EMG's. Gotta love a carved top with that huge V-shaped tummy cutout and the Gumby headstock.

J o e y

george_wright · « **Reply #25 on:** March 29, 2011, 01:09:29 PM »

I play saxophone more frequently than strings (at least until I retire, which is coming right up!). That means I see some pretty outrageous prices for saxes on woodwind boards.

The ridiculous prices are for Selmer Mk VI tenor saxes within a certain serial number range. The real reason for the prices is what several have said here: it's what the traffic will bear.

But.... One seller claimed that his particular instrument really WAS worth that much. That's because it was made from brass recycled from spent artillery shells scavenged from the battlefields of France. Turns out artillery-fired brass has some magical tonal properties. Who knew?

So I'm thinking maybe if we could have guitars and basses made from wood salvaged from the flight decks of old aircraft carriers we could really be on to something! Well.... Maybe not.

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #26 on:** March 29, 2011, 02:57:15 PM »

Here's a Benedetto made from wood that was attacked by Ship Worms, speaking of recovered wood.

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #27 on:** March 29, 2011, 02:59:12 PM »

That Fender video is so cool! I learned my first chords on a '66 Tele, and since have played a goodly number of '59-'66 Fenders. I have yet to find a bad one (my cutoff is '67, Bill - there was some residual Leoness for about a year) but current prices, though lower than a few years ago, are obscene. The current ones are OK, but not worth what they want. More than $400 for a '70s Fender? They have yet to make the drug that would get me high enough!

Peter (who also loves any '50s Gibson with ES in it's name - but not enough to pay for one)

lbpesq · « **Reply #28 on:** March 29, 2011, 03:54:46 PM »

Recovered wood?

Jerry Garcia's Bolt guitar was made by Stephen Cripe out of wood that came from an old opium den bed. (Seems appropriate).

And a few years ago, Taylor made an acoustic guitar out of an old fork lift pallet!

Bill, tgo

crobbins · « **Reply #29 on:** March 29, 2011, 04:32:49 PM »

If I had any of the guitars or basses that I owned back in the 60s and early 70s(before they werevintage) I would certainly take advantage of this phenomenon..