interesting fretless essence jsut popped up on eeek!-bay

[BeenDown139]

in my so far fruitless hunt for my dream fretless (described elsewhere on this site) this popped up this morning on my daily cruise thru the netherworld of used instrument sales.  it was interesting enough to catch my eye.  when i copied the link i got this bizarre string of text.  it's an actual link, i checked it:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267473296659?_skw=alembic&itmmeta=01KA3WK45418JZ4ZE8B12P9SX0&hash=item3e46a69d13:g:8~oAAeSwPqNpF-3k&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1f4oyb7dRvCBPISD7BcLqcRlmTwywUnpT92cxcOdtAwKw%2BA4KFNt0cZZokSuIFwPQW2vX6wbMZpOjJRRlrSvmEjxdZtiC%2FQslzivPG8o%2Fj%2F2ey3yyVxl8Dj2PknSGglSFn1bvUH7XPYjEH0uYICemuYv4MW4M5e7mo0Syz4uozHgtpzIXqAWOXW9rwYmsjpxiNjJ%2F0mtkkq%2FQKOJ9cZqeyMVZRvtewnwHyKa1MJgfAaG1IO%2Fk96fTzCkmZVnZvAqFBSKLb29xbNLO6w8Sln%2FDiz%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9LCzPzQZg

looks like maybe a nice custom ugrade?
located in japan. 
from the seller : "The neck-side LED option was available, but unfortunately it doesn't light up.".  that's a big negative.  could be anything from dead batteries to operator error to we gotta peel the fingerboard off to fix it.
i see a bunch of knobs and switches that you normally don't find on an essence - upgraded electronics?
is that thumbrest part of the original build?

if this was in the US and from a seller i could halfway trust, i'd give them a ping.  as it stands, looks like a very pretty bass with problems and a 3x premium over a regular used essence.  thanks.  but no thanks.  good luck to all!

[pauldo]

That’s a very nice looking fretless.

I prefer my fretless thumb-rest aligned with the top edge of the PU’s, like this:

[BeenDown139]

That’s a very nice looking fretless.

oh yes it is. did i forget to mention that?  i think we had this thumbrest discussion in some other thread.  also forgot to mention the 3+2 fretless  headstock vs. 2+3 for fretted.  pretty sure i've mentioned that before.

it so happens that i own the less dressier version of this instrument.  it's a nice bass.  no way is it worth that kina scratch USD.  i really wanna upgrade it to a series or anneversary.   i want stereo output.  and built-in LEDs (mine has a FretFX strip on it). and a thinner neck (preferably with ebony lams).  unlined board.  long scale.  5-strings.  yadda yadda.  kinda like to find one before i kick the bucket.

good luck to all!

[honkylips]

I’m guessing it’s Rogue/Europa electronics, which is what I have on my “Essence.”

[sonicus]

A thumb-rest on any bass is in my way, as my right-hand technique implements three fingers and my thumb. I need to put that thumb to work, as my left-hand fingering can only accommodate three fingers. My right-hand thumb is busy with muting and double and triple stops.

[BeenDown139]

looks like some other "seller" hopped on hte bandwagon.  added another $5k USD to the price.  didn't mention the dead LEDs and says it's fully operational.  re-enforces my ban on ebay purchases from japan, especially musical instruments.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187757539934?_skw=alembic&itmmeta=01KAF0JF4GNAA9NZWCQ06KHG0K&hash=item2bb738b25e:g:H1QAAeSwUTlpHjIg&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAAwFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eDR7jlxxWKl4Spg8yN4TtT1ef%2BLNHw04g7DLiu%2BQWm5%2Bg8HvXi3AnLcqWMsVo2dIlwMB4YJs4U2aLOceEJtqA7kbuyHPkP861OcfYrWNcgH803AFFQPkWc62TRoQfzOy%2BilgoQs7A6UbLrzp0vpydQ4k3Ypm3jDqlg4RxgZd3r%2Bolbcsyul4kj7in0%2B44oL2JKtovLWxDsWtonkzCZoLqjExeHYW2zjeHlWz7VhqsnhQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR67yyeDTZg

dunno why the links copy that way.  somebody else from japan has it listed for $8600 USD.  can you say fraud fraud fraud?

also now on ebay.

maybe we're better off with the internet broken.   i dunno.  time to get baked.

[sonicus]

BeenDown139,
With regard to the same instrument having multiple eBay sellers listing it, it is an issue that I have noticed as well. Unfortunately, the propensity for this multiple listing scenario seems to be prevalent with listings from eBay Japan in my observations.  (I in no way disparage anything Japanese).  One can contact eBay for them to look into such multiple listings of the same instrument, and they might take some of them down, perhaps.