Beedster

Now you’ve decided that I’ll mention fret wear also, could in theory mess with things

….and the side dots invisible 👍

I must have missed the posts where people weren't? We've a shop selling for a very large amount of money an instrument that I doubt they have the expertise to fully evaluate (examples being misinterpretation of serial number, supposed originality of case, and the fact that if you go back through their sold inventory they generally deal in basses that sell for a small percentage of what they're asking for this), and a few folks have pointed out some of the issues. Even if the PG were original - which seems unlikely - the finish looks like no other '62 I've seen - and yes while each instrument fades differently there are some boundaries to how far that difference operates. I won't go into details but I suspect at least one member here has been drawn into buying a 'rare' bass from a reputable seller only to find that it's not what they believed they were buying and the seller hiding behind the commission sale excuse. Feels this thread and the other thread about the same bass are doing a public service? OK, might be 100% genuine and original, but there's nothing like enough info from the shop to suggest that's the case, and a lot of reasons to suggest it's not?

Ironically indeed mate

Completely, it's either branding genius or the opposite, I suspect the latter

And then there's the various SUB configs....... 🤔

Think we’ve been over this instrument a few times already, incompetent sale at best, dishonest sale if not

No need, once you've tuned up and down your strings a few hundred it's job done 👍

But damn, even mention of the words 'Prodigy Four 88' has sparked by symptoms again

Probably cheaper to replace the pub?

Lovely, totally agree re backline, my heart no longer misses several beats when I see either/both of the words 'Mesa' or 'Boogie' on BC/eBay/Reverb

Damn, so far from being the disease, Basschatitis is in fact the treatment?

An effective treatment for me has been switching almost exclusively to upright, where the costs and logistics of gear experimentation and switching are so ludicrous as to force me to stick with the same two instruments (one of which I've owned since 2015), strings, and PUPs for several multiples of their electric bass equivalent. That for largely audio reasons I need to use PA rather than backline adds a further layer to the treatment 👍

Lots of symptoms, not seeing many treatments?

That's a level expertise and experience that does it for me 👍

Irrespective of the above buy him a 2008 Fender - a Precision if of course the best bet - that'll alway be his YOB bass bought by his parent(s) and which he may well keep for life on that basis 👍