yorks5stringer Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 I'd not be buying it based on the description and 2 distant photos... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1958-Fender-Precision-Bass/254771399361?hash=item3b518f0ac1:g:H9kAAOSwy11fpq8b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 As he says..."The Bass has its originality issue "... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 1 hour ago, TheGreek said: As he says..."The Bass has its originality issue "... Yep, and if I was asking for £7k I'd be showing its originality too. Not suggesting it is fake or misrepresented but some neck pocket and serial numbers would be helpful rather than conjecture about the hardness of the wood... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 First line of description. 'Original 1958 Fender Precision Bass'. Second line of description. 'Restored about 12 years ago.......' and goes on to say that nearly every part of it has been messed with. Soooo, talk to me about this word 'original' that you led with. 🙄 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 I guess by ‘original’ he means not a reissue? It’s not a poor listing to my mind, but price is probably optimistic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 10 hours ago, Maude said: First line of description. 'Original 1958 Fender Precision Bass'. Second line of description. 'Restored about 12 years ago.......' and goes on to say that nearly every part of it has been messed with. Soooo, talk to me about this word 'original' that you led with. 🙄 Don’t forget how original Trigger’s broom was......🤫 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Seems quite an honest description to me, can't really fault the seller for listing everything that might put buyers off. It's a 60yr old working instrument at the end of the day and has had some work done to keep it going, could do with more pictures but I assume anybody spending £7k on a bass is going to be checking it out first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 I'm really hoping that his bass really is worth £7k. If a bunch of replacement parts and after-market paint, all of dubious origin (no provenance or documentation, just what he claims the previous UK owner told him) is worth that much, then my all-original, unmolested 1957 P is worth a lot more than I ever realised. I wouldn't touch this listing with a bargepole. This is not a reflection on the vendor's honesty, more on the sanity of anyone who would buy this bass at this price. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 What about a bargain price case ? https://m.befr.ebay.be/itm/1961-Original-Fender-Jazz-Precision-Bass-Case/254587209415?hash=item3b469486c7:g:54sAAOSwr9RerzSW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Good grief! He's a bit of a card, this chap, isn't he? I can't wait for the original ashtrays to appear, at £500 each ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Hellzero said: What about a bargain price case ? https://m.befr.ebay.be/itm/1961-Original-Fender-Jazz-Precision-Bass-Case/254587209415?hash=item3b469486c7:g:54sAAOSwr9RerzSW c'est exotique! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 9 hours ago, Happy Jack said: I'm really hoping that his bass really is worth £7k. If a bunch of replacement parts and after-market paint, all of dubious origin (no provenance or documentation, just what he claims the previous UK owner told him) is worth that much, then my all-original, unmolested 1957 P is worth a lot more than I ever realised. I wouldn't touch this listing with a bargepole. This is not a reflection on the vendor's honesty, more on the sanity of anyone who would buy this bass at this price. My favourite sellers are the antagonistic ones that want to sell a vintage bass for £3000 but won’t ‘take it apart or photograph it’. ”Just trust me, it’s definitely legit. Honest...” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 23 hours ago, Happy Jack said: I'm really hoping that his bass really is worth £7k. If a bunch of replacement parts and after-market paint, all of dubious origin (no provenance or documentation, just what he claims the previous UK owner told him) is worth that much, then my all-original, unmolested 1957 P is worth a lot more than I ever realised. I wouldn't touch this listing with a bargepole. This is not a reflection on the vendor's honesty, more on the sanity of anyone who would buy this bass at this price. it is worth a bit more than £7k... https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/fender-precision-bass/products/1957-fender-precision-bass-2-tone-sunburst-2 In my search for a precision I actually ended up chatting to the seller the OP links too about vintage fenders. From chatting to him I think you're right that the vendor is probably ok, the sanity of vintage fender prices.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 2 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: it is worth a bit more than £7k... https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/fender-precision-bass/products/1957-fender-precision-bass-2-tone-sunburst-2 In my search for a precision I actually ended up chatting to the seller the OP links too about vintage fenders. From chatting to him I think you're right that the vendor is probably ok, the sanity of vintage fender prices.... Blimey Luke, talk about apples & pears! That Andy Baxter bass is a genuine, all-original Precision from one of the UK's best-known and most reputable dealers. It is also IMHO horribly over-priced, and it will only be worth that amount of money if someone buys it for £13,500. Which patently has not happened. Yet. 😉 The bass in the OP for this topic may very well be built on a genuine 1958 but there is no way of knowing. With no provenance, no evidence, but plenty of admissions about refins and parts replacements, it could be just about anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 25 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: Blimey Luke, talk about apples & pears! That Andy Baxter bass is a genuine, all-original Precision from one of the UK's best-known and most reputable dealers. It is also IMHO horribly over-priced, and it will only be worth that amount of money if someone buys it for £13,500. Which patently has not happened. Yet. 😉 The bass in the OP for this topic may very well be built on a genuine 1958 but there is no way of knowing. With no provenance, no evidence, but plenty of admissions about refins and parts replacements, it could be just about anything. That's the reality, this came up in another thread, a 100% honest seller does not mean that s/he is sufficiently expert to know what they're selling. There are some very dishonest and sometimes simply careless dealers out there selling some very honest payers some very dodgy basses. When I was looking for my '64 - Jack, you were there the day i found it you may remember - I went into a lot of the big name shops. Even those guys would say things like "I'm not taking the neck off, it came from ....... who used to play in ........ so I know it's kosher". On this basis I was assured by a very well known dealer in SW London that a lovely Precision they had was June '64. I showed them my card and said that I would take it away that day if they're prepared to take off the neck and pickguard and prove it to me, because I didn't think it was, but of course there's enough wiggle room around various indicators for me to not be 100% sure. Neck was '67 Bottom line, as Jack said, if the only evidence is 'what the previous owner told me', you are essentially gambling. You might get lucky and buy a '67 and find it's really a '62. But by the same token, Trump might concede defeat and the UK Government might get track and trace working..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 1 minute ago, Beedster said: Jack, you were there the day i found it you may remember I remember it well, Chris. I was desperate to like Jazz basses and had no idea how to identify a 'good one' ... your help that day was invaluable. Plus it was fun too. And no, I still don't get on with Jazz basses. It took me FAR too long to realise that the sound in my head was a Precision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 (edited) 42 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: Blimey Luke, talk about apples & pears! That Andy Baxter bass is a genuine, all-original Precision from one of the UK's best-known and most reputable dealers. It is also IMHO horribly over-priced, and it will only be worth that amount of money if someone buys it for £13,500. Which patently has not happened. Yet. 😉 that's from the "sold" section of his website... but I get your main point RE this bass Edited November 13, 2020 by LukeFRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 1 minute ago, LukeFRC said: that's from the "sold" section of his website... Oops! Sorry mate ... Any chance you could put me in touch with the buyer? I reckon I could do business with someone like that. 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 The Andy Baxter bass is still up on Reverb, maybe they have marked it sold on their site due to lockdown? Incidentally Reverb list selling estimates for a '58 between £6.5k and £11.5k so the eBay bass is at the lower end of the scale. Tbh if I came into possession of that bass then I'd be looking to milk the ridiculous vintage Fender market for as much as possible too, no point giving a couple of grand away for no reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 (edited) Funny to see that those established resellers always use the Blue Book maximum quote for their prices... If you understand these pricings correctly, the bass on eBay is worth around £1500 at the max, after having checked all "original parts" carefully, of course. For those who remember it, I wrote a mémoire about vintage electric guitars and basses (free for reading, in French) and also another one about how to decipher a vintage Fender (I don't share this one anymore as there are too many informations for the fakers...). Here is the Blue Book quote for the early Fender Precision Basses up to 1958. Edited January 7, 2021 by Hellzero 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 (edited) On 13/11/2020 at 11:07, Hellzero said: For those who remember it, I wrote a mémoire about vintage electric guitars and basses (free for reading, in French) and also another one about how to decipher a vintage Fender (I don't share this one anymore as there are too many informations for the fakers...). have you got a link to your Memoire? Be nice reading if Google translate is up to it! Edited January 7, 2021 by LukeFRC Clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 3 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: have you got a link to your Memoire? Be nice reading if Google translate is up to it! There it is : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14bent_Two9apqU44qPxGepgRFpsl0DaI?usp=sharing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 I'm guessing those $prices turn into £prices in the UK, and on a 1:1 ratio. If that's the case, then happy to see that my personal estimate for the value of my April 1957 Precision is absolutely ballpark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 That's indeed a common "lack of availability in Europe" way of pricing the American vintage instruments, a 1:1 ratio being it for € or £. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 5 hours ago, Beedster said: That's the reality, this came up in another thread, a 100% honest seller does not mean that s/he is sufficiently expert to know what they're selling. There are some very dishonest and sometimes simply careless dealers out there selling some very honest payers some very dodgy basses. When I was looking for my '64 - Jack, you were there the day i found it you may remember - I went into a lot of the big name shops. Even those guys would say things like "I'm not taking the neck off, it came from ....... who used to play in ........ so I know it's kosher". On this basis I was assured by a very well known dealer in SW London that a lovely Precision they had was June '64. I showed them my card and said that I would take it away that day if they're prepared to take off the neck and pickguard and prove it to me, because I didn't think it was, but of course there's enough wiggle room around various indicators for me to not be 100% sure. Neck was '67 Bottom line, as Jack said, if the only evidence is 'what the previous owner told me', you are essentially gambling. You might get lucky and buy a '67 and find it's really a '62. But by the same token, Trump might concede defeat and the UK Government might get track and trace working..... Now you are being ridiculous....! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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