Rocking horse sh*t, It actually exists!

[pst62]

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1976-GIBSON-Thunderbird-IV-Bicentenial-Bass-/151097100345?pt=Guitar&hash=item232e16c839"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1976-GIBSON-Thunderbird-IV-Bicentenial-Bass-/151097100345?pt=Guitar&hash=item232e16c839[/url]

[timmo]

Descriptions do make me laugh. They are saying that white ones are impossible to find, and here they are with one for sale. I gotta admit I would think that £100 is over the top.They look like a plank of wood with strings.

[flyfisher]

That's my feeling too (though you might have been generous with the £100 figure ) but these sort of things take on a life and mystique of their own and it's all down to waht people are prepared to pay - and it's usually nothing to do with the item itself and all to do what crazy collectors/investors can afford.

How about splashing out $140m for this when it has absolutely no intrinsic value whatsoever beyond a few hundred dollars of oil paint and canvas. Funny old world.

[attachment=144917:No._5,_1948.jpg]

[pst62]

Try and find one then "Timothy"

[timmo]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1380471356' post='2225744']
I guess that is directed at me, although I am not called Timothy. The point is, they are not impossible to find as someone has one for sale, meaning it is not impossible as there is one for sale at this very moment. Maybe very difficult to find, but not impossible.
[/quote]

Edited September 29, 2013 by timmo

[Oopsdabassist]

That beige colour make me think of council housepainting schemes from the 70's...I'm out

[cytania]

Isn't it stamped 'Second' on the back of the headstock?...

[BigAlonBass]

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1380488150' post='2226151']
Isn't it stamped 'Second' on the back of the headstock?...
[/quote]

Yep, with an "explanation" in the description.

[waynepunkdude]

Get it cheaper than that

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1380471398' post='2225747']
The point is, they are not impossible to find as someone has one for sale, meaning it is not impossible as there is one for sale at this very moment. Maybe very difficult to find, but not impossible.
[/quote]

It's quite a common expression employing hyperbole. I don't think anyone actually thinks that they are impossible to find.

[quote name='pst62' timestamp='1380470726' post='2225727']
Try and find one then "Timothy"
[/quote]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PIckHrZ0o

[discreet]

Love it. It's just the sort of thing I'd stupidly buy if I had more money than sense.

[discreet]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1380464578' post='2225628']
...it has absolutely no intrinsic value whatsoever beyond a few hundred dollars of oil paint and canvas.
[/quote]

That's just your opinion. The fact that you can't appreciate its value doesn't mean that it has none.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='BigAlonBass' timestamp='1380525285' post='2226416']
Yep, with an "explanation" in the description.
[/quote]
I don't buy that explanation. My dad used to sell Gibsons in the 70s and 80s. The woodgrain thing is true, but they would just make it a solid colour, to cover it, end of. What constitutes a 'second' is usually more than something that is a no longer an issue when you paint it!

Actually Gibson had two grades of seconds, slight seconds had a star stamped on the back of the headstock, the really bad ones had 'SECOND' stamped just like this one.

It is possible that whatever the issue was is no longer an issue, as the bass is old, but it means that it could not be sold at full price new because of some flaw. Either the finish went off wrong, or there was an issue with the neck / truss-rod for example. Generally something like a defective pickup would be resolved at the factory.

Also, many gibsons of this era were appallingly made. the QC was not great. Not to say this one is a bad buy, but I would certainly want to check it over very thouroughly before buying!