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Value of 1978 Mustang Bass


rushers
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I've had this beauty for a few months now and I got a very good price on it via ebay

It's a 1978 American Fender Mustang Bass in (what I'm told by the previous owner) is a custom shop colour - Cappuccino

I'm just putting out a few feelers as to how much I should be asking for this, from what I can gather it seems about £1,100 - but I'm not entirely sure.

What do you guys think? - (see pics below)

Cheers

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eetzxj1ep073k4j/p92Tzerfha

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[quote name='rushers' timestamp='1373998568' post='2144112']
I've had this beauty for a few months now and I got a very good price on it via ebay

It's a 1978 American Fender Mustang Bass in (what I'm told by the previous owner) is a custom shop colour - Cappuccino

I'm just putting out a few feelers as to how much I should be asking for this, from what I can gather it seems about £1,100 - but I'm not entirely sure.

What do you guys think? - (see pics below)

Cheers
[/quote]
If you bought it a few months ago then surely you know it's value.

I'm sure that they haven't gone up in price in just a few months. :rolleyes:

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You'd be paying over the odds at £1100, some colours are more desirable than others, its not a common colour but I don't think it's 'custom shop'. It also comes from a notoriously poor period for Fender. The most valuable Mustangs are the very early ones with competition stripes and/or matching head stocks. There's a mint 70's one going for £850 at the moment and its not shifting. My early 70s one in original condition went for under £500. Today's market is incredibly unpredictable and being a shorter scale model it's not exactly 'A' list. Play it and enjoy it and hang on to it for another 20 years!

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[quote name='ash' timestamp='1374000642' post='2144146']
You'd be paying over the odds at £1100, some colours are more desirable than others, its not a common colour but I don't think it's 'custom shop'. It also comes from a notoriously poor period for Fender. The most valuable Mustangs are the very early ones with competition stripes and/or matching head stocks. There's a mint 70's one going for £850 at the moment and its not shifting. My early 70s one in original condition went for under £500. Today's market is incredibly unpredictable and being a shorter scale model it's not exactly 'A' list. Play it and enjoy it and hang on to it for another 20 years!
[/quote]

Yes I agree, the guy who gave it to me just kept saying 'custom shop colour' and I didn't really know what he was on about.

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That Fender colour is normally called Mocha. It's one of the less common colours, but it's not a custom shop colour. I'm fairly certain that Fender Custom Shop didn't exist until the mid 80s at least.

Re value - wowser! I bought the same 70s Musicmaster Bass for £50 on no less than 3 separate occasions. But that's now a very long time ago, so I don't even know why I told you that.

CB

Edited by cloudburst
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[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1374005608' post='2144217']
That Fender colour is normally called Mocha. It's one of the less common colours, but it's not a custom shop colour. I'm fairly certain that Fender Custom Shop didn't exist until the mid 80s at least.

Re value - wowser! I bought the same 70s Musicmaster Bass for £50 on no less than 3 separate occasions. But that's now a very long time ago, so I don't even know why I told you that.

CB
[/quote]

Fender Custom Shop started in 1987 , but Fender did offer certain colours and features like matching headstocks as custom options available to special order through Fender dealers going back to the early 1960's . C.B is absolutely right though , this was never a custom colour .

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I am an avid collector of the coffee coloured Fender custard shop bass.

I have Jazz Basses in Macchiato and Corretto. Also in my collection is a Precision in Viennese plus a Stratocaster in Shakerato, a Telecaster in Cappuccino Estivo, a MIC (made in Colombia) Jaguar in plain old Latte and none of them costa fortune.

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1374060964' post='2144786']
I've seen nice late '70's Mustangs sell for as little as £400 - £450.
[/quote]
I regularly look at the price of these and haven't seen any for sale in the UK at that price recently although you may find them at that price in the U.S.

Most of the 70s Mustangs are now usually £600+ in the UK.

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[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1374066515' post='2144889']

I regularly look at the price of these and haven't seen any for sale in the UK at that price recently although you may find them at that price in the U.S.

Most of the 70s Mustangs are now usually £600+ in the UK.
[/quote]

It's possible the last couple I saw we're US ones. I leave my search open to worldwide on things like this as I'm quite happy to bring stuff over.

A £400 US bass would come in over here at £585 so that's more or less the same as a UK one at £600.

I've seen some listed at much higher prices but they haven't sold (a bit like 60's Fender J's - some ludicrous prices on UK EBay for these but they never actually sell!).

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1374076960' post='2145052']
It's possible the last couple I saw we're US ones. I leave my search open to worldwide on things like this as I'm quite happy to bring stuff over.

A £400 US bass would come in over here at £585 so that's more or less the same as a UK one at £600.

I've seen some listed at much higher prices but they haven't sold (a bit like 60's Fender J's - some ludicrous prices on UK EBay for these but they never actually sell!).
[/quote]
Yes i agree. I really only mentioned the price because i've been looking for a 60s or 70s Mustang Bass since the beginning of the year. They seem to have increased a lot in price in the last 1/2 years, maybe because the price of similar age Fender bass is going off the scale making them one of the few affordable vintage Fenders. There was a 70s one on BC last year for £700 and before that a 1969 for £1250. I'd better get one quick!

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[quote name='rushers' timestamp='1374060491' post='2144775']
Yes, I bought it for £700
[/quote]
Thanks rushers. I think what you paid was a fair price. I can't see you would lose money on it as these have risen in price a lot in the last couple of years.

Have a look at this link as this is what dealers in the U.S. are asking for them. http://www.gbase.com/gear/find?keyword=fender+mustang+bass&temporary=True&m=250

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[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1374078454' post='2145076']

Thanks rushers. I think what you paid was a fair price. I can't see you would lose money on it as these have risen in price a lot in the last couple of years.

Have a look at this link as this is what dealers in the U.S. are asking for them. http://www.gbase.com/gear/find?keyword=fender+mustang+bass&temporary=True&m=250
[/quote]

Maybe the Mustang has become a 'hip' bass to own :)

79's Jazz and Precisions have definitely gone the other way. Early ones holding up OK but late 70's, especially P's, have really drifted badly.

I know someone who bought a lovely early 70's P recently for just £1,200 and you can definitely get '78/'79 P's for that sort of price.

Even dealers are dropping early '70's P's to about £1,650 and they have a lot of overheads to cover in that price bracket.

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