Case: None supplied but we will be ship in a secure hard case dependant on available stock.
General Condition: 8/10
Body: Now by 8/10 I don't mean it's like new, I mean that for a 1960's bass this really is in good condition. The wear and tear is all good honest use, not artificially relic'd. Loads and loads of dents and scratches and worn through to the wood - see photos.
Neck: 4/10
The rosewood is in lovely VINTAGE 1960's condition, so has very visible signs of wear and tear but all exactly as you would expect, and a lot better than most.
Frets - are in fair condition. Worn but with life in them still. Believed to be original.
The binding is good, with a few minor blemishes, looks well attached still.
Inlays are all present, look correct and in good condition. A few have gone slightly transparent (see pictures)
THE WARP:
On most vintage instruments when you 'sight' down the neck you'll see imperfections. They are rarely dead true but truss rod adjustment and a fret dress can usually sort that out HOWEVER, this neck is quite un-even and has excessive neck relief. The truss rod is at maximum adjustment and can't be tightened any more (by us !!).
It's strung up with a new set of Fender 45-105 and in concert pitch it buzzes a bit above the 12th / 13th frets.
Downtune it to Eb and you can then play the intro to Sweet Child of Mine, with a some rattle and buzzing.
Might be worth sticking a set of 40-90 gauge strings on and seeing how the lower tension works.
The professional remedy is to de-fret it, shoot the finberboard flat and re-fret it, but, honestly that would be a shame.
The widow of the owner does not want any work done to this bass otherwise we would have experimented with different string gauges etc.
PRICED ACCORDINGLY !!!!!!
Hardware:
8/10 Lots of tarnishing and rust spots. Tuners work fine.
Electrics:
Well, upon inspection there appears to be a non conventional wire used between pots (see pics). Certainly not standard for this era. The rest looks all original so it's weird that it has this thick black wire. Maybe it's a factory error or there was an issue at some point. We don't know. The pots and socket all look original, as do the pickups.
Th epots seem to work fine but damn, they are ancient so please expect a little crackle now and then. When it tested it, everything seemed fine and when you adjust the volume and tone sometimes it did crackle a bit now and then. May get worse, it's old !
PRICED ACCORDINGLY !!!!
Playability:
See notes about the neck above.
We've had the neck off, adjusted the truss rod. It plays as good as it can.
It plays fair up to the 12th fret so GREAT for rock n roll, jazz, r'n'b, motown etc.
Case: will be shipped in a sturdy hard case depending on what cases I have in at the time.
Shipping
FREE Next Working Day Courier deliver to Mainland England, Wales and Scottish Lowlands only all other areas are chargeable.
International Shipping:
We use eBay GSP (Global Shipping Program) so if you see delivery is
available to your country then that's all good then. If you don't see it
then that means that ebay GSP doesn't ship there. If they don't then
sure as hell we don't !
About Guitar Mania - MULTI award winning shop
We first opened our doors in 1994. Since then we have expanded and grown in size and popularity to become one of the South's leading guitar shops. Our commitment to a friendly, knowledgeable and personal service has won us a collection of awards. These include: Three times winner of the prestigious FENDER EUROPEAN TOP DEALER AWARD for service, knowledge and commitment to Fender products. (They only presented them for three years) And SEVEN times award winners at the Poole Retail Awards 'Top of the Shops' event, including overall Best Independent Shop and Best Customer Service.
Our aim is to provide the highest
levels of customer care, to offer a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere
and still offer the lowest possible prices.
Because we are all passionate guitarists ourselves note that all our guitars are dispatched: