Mystery bass

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Jess Ting

Thanks for the input Ken. Are you available Saturdays? I recall that I looked on a map and your location was a good 2 hours from Manhattan. Otherwise, I would have come by already. 4 hours travel time plus a couple of hours to try basses = the entire day for me. I'd need a serious fun pass from the wife in order to leave her the entire day with our 3 young children on a weekend...

I think you are probably correct that I haven't tried enough instruments yet to make the best choice. Perhaps I'll hold off for now and spend more time visiting other shops, including yours. It just seemed to me that the Tom Martin bass is a good value. I tried a newly-made Italian instrument selling for $35k that I didn't like half as much as the Tom Martin. Even a high end Shen lists for $12k these days.

I have done Saturdays and evenings as well but only when pre-arranged. Just call me directly at the Shop to discuss it. I have two fairly modern Italian Basses (Lombardi, 1981 and Sirleto, 1992) and one English (Lott copy, 2007/8). All of them are currently in restoration getting fixed and getting improved. None of them will reach the 35k mark in my Shop even after all the work is done. I prefer the Basses that I sell be either in tip-top shape or be sold as-is if necessary but with full disclosure of all the work that is needed. I have one old Bohemian Bass that has had restoration work but could use some TLC that I am selling as-is well under the 10k mark. Basses can be so different from one another so choosing which bass is the best deal for you or which shop is the best to deal with if there is more than one that has a bass that you like is not always such an easy decision.

On the prices of Basses you have to take into consideration the 'shop' profit. A 12k Shen might cost 8k in real. 'List' means nothing really. It's just a starting point. Also, shops usually sell mainly consignment basses when it comes to the older ones so the condition is usually how it was delivered by the current owner. Shop owned inventory might be different as they have to power to invest or not invest in their own product restorations. All of the Basses in my Shop are mine so I don't need anyones permission to have repairs done or to set prices.

I can't tell you how many Basses I have bought from shops that needed tons of work that were either privately owned or shop owned. You must know this business and must know basses to make a well informed buying decision. I trust very few people in the buying and repairing game as far as basses go. Just because the car looks pretty on the Lot doesn't mean it's good under the hood.