Advice needed on a Tacoma Thunderchief 5 String Fretless

[SaulGuud]

Hello All

I am the proud owner of a 5 String Fretless Tacoma Thunderchief.

Unfortunately I am having to sell it. I love it but it's the bass I play the least.

I cannot find another one out there in the interweb, so knowing how much they are worth is tough.

I know they are highly regarded, and found some reviews but to get a price is tough.

It has the Fishman preamp and has fret lines.
It's it immaculate condition, and hardly played (i'm predominantly a 4 stringer)
Comes with a Tacoma fitted/fur-lined hard case (this does show signs of wear)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The only advice I have had is from a dealer who said "not interested as these are very specialised instruments"
...not very helpful really.

Thanks in advance

[philw]

If only I had the dosh Saul I'd probably make you quite a silly offer for it.

Thunderchiefs, as you've discovered are pretty rare and, if the one I once played was anything to go by, they are truly lovely instruments. Some say they are the best of the ABG breed (although I'd say that honour goes either to my current Veillette or the Ribbecke Halfling Boby Vega I once played).

The problem of course with valuing anything "niche" is that to some extent it's worth is defined simply by what somebody is willing to pay. If it were me, and I had the spare dosh, I wouldn't balk at something way north of £500, but that's because I've always wanted a fretless Thunderchief. Others of course, either because they've not been previously seduced by a Thunderchief, or because they want one even more than me, might be of a completely different opinion.

Can you post some pictures just so I can drool/dream a bit?

Phil

Edited October 2, 2013 by philw

[alittlebitrobot]

Well, here's one going for 900 buckaroos [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tocoma-Thunderchief-5-string-bass-guitar-/290987702666?pt=Guitar&hash=item43c037f98a"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tocoma-Thunderchief-5-string-bass-guitar-/290987702666?pt=Guitar&hash=item43c037f98a[/url] (that's about £550/€650) but the seller mentions a repair job and, therefore, a low reserve. I'm not sure about that "$1900" but philw's right, there may be someone so desperate to own one that they'd pay double that. I suppose you could put it up for sale and overvalue it, to see what kind of offers you get.

[SaulGuud]

Yeah I saw that one, but that is fretted.

Initially I was thinking the £1200 mark, when released these had an RRP of £2000 (ish)
Now they are rare and out of circulation.

@PhilW : I do have pics can upload soon, (just can't get them off my phone atm)

Thanks again.