Happy Jack Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270476840705&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] I'm definitely in the market for a vintage Jazz that's a genuine "investment bass" as well as a player. This one is a re-fin (body only, allegedly) but to balance that it's a 1965 (allegedly). I've emailed to ask for further and better photos and, at a pinch, I could always drive down to Billericay. Meanwhile, I'd welcome any comments about what's right / what's wrong with this bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Hi Jack if you are going to spend that sort of money I would ensure the bass is original and not refinished as this will have a major influence on re-selling the bass in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Based on a quick look at the pics, it looks OK to me... If I was buying, I'd be get myself down to Billericay to check it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilb Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Agreed, the refin reduces its value IMHO, you could get a non refin for the same money I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Paul, Neil, thanks for the feedback - I do realise the implications of the re-fin, but remember it cuts both ways. The only reason the asking price is [b][i]only [/i][/b]£3250 is because it's a re-fin. As to getting a non-re-fin for the same money, I'm afraid I can't agree with you. £3250 will get you a nice, clean early 70's bass (assuming you can find one). It won't even get you into the same post code as a nice, clean 1965. Here's a real beauty from 1968: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180420676768&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] Sold for $5300, and that's before despatch, import duty or VAT. Call it >£4000 to London. This is an all-original 1974: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180420695361&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] By the time that reaches London it will have cost >£3300. Staying in the UK, here's a claimed all-original 1972: [url="http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/web/our-catalogue/Fender/Electric-Basses/item/6322"]http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/web/o...asses/item/6322[/url] I've played this one several times in Denmark Street, haven't seen the neck pocket or the pot-codes, and I'm not convinced by the neck, so I've asked Andy Gibson to review the bass for me. They're asking £2850 and there will be a certain amount of haggle-room. What I'm really after is a 3TS like the one at V&R, and in excellent condition. One possibility would be to buy a really old Jazz that already has an ugly re-fin (therefore at discount), and then pay some serious money to have it properly re-fin'd in 3TS by someone who knows what they're doing. NOT relic'd, but as if it were a brand-new bass. As long as everything else was genuinely all-original, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Am I mad? Or can anyone else see where I'm going with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' post='642447' date='Nov 1 2009, 12:15 PM']Am I mad?[/quote] Partly. [quote name='Happy Jack' post='642447' date='Nov 1 2009, 12:15 PM']£3250 will get you a nice, clean early 70's bass (assuming you can find one).[/quote] I got this all-original '71 for a shade under 2K from these very pages: You seem resigned to paying retail prices. IMO you could get an all-original 60s for £3K or thereabouts... and if you're looking for an investment, you should be looking for all-original. ...but that's where patience comes into it. How long are you prepared to wait? Edited November 1, 2009 by wateroftyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='642457' date='Nov 1 2009, 12:26 PM']I got this all-original '71 for a shade under 2K from these very pages: [/quote] Michael, I'm guessing that this is the one that was sold by slobluesine? I looked long and hard at this one before you bought it but I was put off by the other photos that show the extreme wear along the bottom of the body. All entirely natural and explicable BUT not what I'm looking for. [quote name='wateroftyne' post='642457' date='Nov 1 2009, 12:26 PM']You seem resigned to paying retail prices. IMO you could get an all-original 60s for £3K or thereabouts... and if you're looking for an investment, you should be looking for all-original. ...but that's where patience comes into it. How long are you prepared to wait?[/quote] Oh, there's no urgency at all. I have more basses than I can play anyway, and the longer I wait the more I can save up. But I'm also aware that prices for good-quality vintage Jazz basses have not really dropped, despite the Recession, and that they will probably (if anything) pick up over the next year as more economies come out of Recession and back into growth. It's been strange monitoring this over the last year. P-basses have done exactly what you'd expect, with prices falling fairly sharply for those that have sold, while vendors who kept their prices high failed to sell. J-basses seem to be completely different, and virtually immune to the Recession. Believe me, if I could find an all-original 60's Jazz ([i]in good condition[/i]) for £3000 I'd buy it in a heartbeat. After nine months of looking, I ain't seen one yet ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='642460' date='Nov 1 2009, 12:36 PM']Michael, I'm guessing that this is the one that was sold by slobluesine? I looked long and hard at this one before you bought it but I was put off by the other photos that show the extreme wear along the bottom of the body. All entirely natural and explicable BUT not what I'm looking for.[/quote] Well, it's worn along the bottom, 'cos for most of its life it was played by a guy who sat while he played: It has a lot less wear than most - it's remarkable, in fact. Invisible from the front. And, importantly, those magic words apply to it: 'all-original'. Crude, I know, but we are talking about investments here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) I'd want to see it first hand, whether £2k or £3k. Either way, that's a bundle of cash for a bass with a nasty gouge out of the edge of the headstock just below the logos. Apropos of nothing, the phrase 'Fender Detectives' conjured an image along these lines: Edited November 1, 2009 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Five Escape From Fullerton? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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