Sick as a parrot!

[OutToPlayJazz]

Okay, so I'm doing a two week show (Singing in the rain) with an amazing pianist who mentioned the other evening that he'd recently bought this 'bargain' 5-string bass. He brought it tonight, saying that he thought it was a cheap catalogue bass because it had "Empire" on the headstock...

Nope, it was a bloody Fodera NYC Empire 5 in translucent blue with a stunning quilt maple top! And the worst part? He got it at Barnsley Cash Converters for £80!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're $4100 US new!

AAARRRGGGHHH!

[Musky]

And you didn't offer to take it off his hands for £100?

[Bassassin]

Bloody hell.

And I thought I'd done OK getting an old Japcrap Jazz from there for £25...

Jon.

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='Musky' post='280794' date='Sep 9 2008, 11:42 PM']And you didn't offer to take it off his hands for £100? [/quote]

LOL! Yes, I did suggest it, but I was honest about it & told him to get it insured for £1500 at least!

[doctor_of_the_bass]

Sounds a little dodgy to me; someone owning a bass like that would not sell it via Chav Conversions...I'd be very surprised if it had not been liberated from its original domestic location in the middle of the night by said aforementioned chav etc!

[Machines]

Yeah definitely of questionable heritage. I think he should contact Fodera to check the serial and find the original owner !

[Paul Cooke]

I'm surprised... cack converters are normally very up on the real value of a bass or guitar and will hide the really valuable ones away until the redemption (loan) period is over and they can move it on via eBay...

must be because it didn't have a "well known" name on the headstock like Fender/Rickenbacker/Gibson... and very likely because person getting a loan on it didn't know what the real value was either so didn't push it...

[spacecowboy]

Im also very concerned for the heritage of this bass like, cash converters must have only paid what? £40 tops for that bass? incredible! somewhere, someone is upset.

[Kev]

aye, theres a bargain, and then theres plain wrong. there is no way in hell a fodera owner would sell their bass to crack converters for £40, sounds almost 100% stolen to me

[MuseMatt]

[quote name='Machines' post='280825' date='Sep 10 2008, 07:17 AM']Yeah definitely of questionable heritage. I think he should contact Fodera to check the serial and find the original owner ![/quote]
big + f*ck*ng 1 to that

[noelk27]

I have to agree, that the provenance of this instrument sounds somewhat dubious. I’m sure it would be possible to validate the instrument’s heritage.

But here’s a thought, would it be a workable idea to establish a thread on the forum where members could list stolen items – limiting content to musical instruments? I know it’s real needles in haystacks thinking, but having had much-loved instruments liberated from my domestic premises in years past I’d have found it something of a consolation.

[dangerboy]

Is there a Fodera database? I know that one of the reasons people put their guitars and basses onto the Travis Bean database is in case they get nicked. There aren't many so they're easy to track.

[Waldo]

If this story is true, it's blatantly a stolen bass. No matter how destitute you are, there's no way you'd sell your $4000 bass to crack converters for a tenner. He should try and find the owner, I know if I was the owner I'd buy the bass back off him for a damn sight more than £80!

[Alastair]

Itd be nice to track down the owner. I'd do it even if I only got my 80 quid back for it (tbf I probably wouldnt be too bothered if I didnt get anything back from it, good karma and all that! )

Dont like Foderas anyway

Edited September 10, 2008 by Alastair

[yorks5stringer]

On the subject of Crack Convertors knowing the price of things...I pop into my local one 2 or 3 times a week, often on a Monday for obvious reasons.
However, today noticed a pair of marked s/h Mackie C300 z PA speakers and enquired as to the price as they were unticketed.
"£399 mate" was the answer, "Does that include the stands?", "No", was the reply.
Just had a look on ebay, a pair of new ones, BIN £319!!!!
Someone is having a laugh....

[thebeat]

[quote name='Waldo' post='281010' date='Sep 10 2008, 11:51 AM']If this story is true, it's blatantly a stolen bass. No matter how destitute you are, there's no way you'd sell your $4000 bass to crack converters for a tenner. He should try and find the owner, I know if I was the owner I'd buy the bass back off him for a damn sight more than £80![/quote]



The 'owner' wouldn't have to pay anything...a stolen bass is a stolen bass even if you've bought it in good faith...it still belongs to the original owner...or the insurance company if they paid out.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes, it is true. My pianist friend has the receipt to prove it. I think it probably got through the net because the Fodera badge is tiny on the headstock. It looks as if it could be a cheap brand bass until you look at the detailing.

As for checking whether or not the bass was stolen, that's down to the current owner to decide if it's worth pursuing.

[YouMa]

Unless smack convertors have a very honest interested bass player working at this particular branch i would say the bass is nicked.It would be easy for a high end bass like this to slip through the net as they do look plastic. In my opinion,natural wood always seems to look more expensive.Saying that! I dont know a lot about furniture but im sure id know quality if i was holding a chippindale compared to an Ikea lazy boy!

[EBS_freak]

Ah! You've found my bass. I'm so happy!!


hmm... bet that's not going to work..

[markytbass]

If it were me, I would check to see if it was stolen. The price is too good to be true.

[Mokl]

Mein gott! It makes me feel ill to think of one of my basses ending up in one of those places. The place I work in is very closely located by two of these types of shop, and while there is plenty of legitimate stuff in them, there is no doubt in my mind that a substantial quantity of the stock is of dubious origin. You see the same dodgy-looking dudes waiting outside for the doors to open most mornings.

Having said that I've picked up a couple of bargains there myself, but nothing I felt was dodgy - and in one instance the original sales receipt was supplied (bicycle!).

[Waldo]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='281056' date='Sep 10 2008, 01:01 PM']On the subject of Crack Convertors knowing the price of things...I pop into my local one 2 or 3 times a week, often on a Monday for obvious reasons.
However, today noticed a pair of marked s/h Mackie C300 z PA speakers and enquired as to the price as they were unticketed.
"£399 mate" was the answer, "Does that include the stands?", "No", was the reply.
Just had a look on ebay, a pair of new ones, BIN £319!!!!
Someone is having a laugh....[/quote]

This is why I can never believe stories like this, everytime I go into crack converters they have nothing but stupidly overpriced, often unbranded tat.

Unless the original owner had some sort of mental disease that made him go and sell his bass to them, it's been stolen.

[Mokl]

LOL, the Crack Converters near me has a second hand Qwik Tune guitar tuner for £29.99. You can get them new for a tenner!

[Brave Sir Robin]

The honest thing would be to talk with Fodera to find out who originally own that bass. I mean, for £80, you could be saving a life! (I might go near suicidal if I got my A.C.G. nicked ), and to look around to see if anyone is looking for it.

Seriously, this needs to be sorted the proper way. I'd feel ashamed if I got a Fodera or a Wal for 100 nickels and planning on keeping it, knowing full well there is a good chance it's been inappropriately appropriated. Of course he wasn't to know, but now he knows...

If nobody registered or is looking for the bass, or by some miracle, was really sold legally (relative's death, or whatever), then it can be is and he will have a free conscience and a stunning bass (that you can buy of him for £100 ).

Come on, good Karma and all that... That's what separates us, the regular good guys from the crackheads.

[spinynorman]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='281056' date='Sep 10 2008, 01:01 PM']On the subject of Crack Convertors knowing the price of things...I pop into my local one 2 or 3 times a week, often on a Monday for obvious reasons.
However, today noticed a pair of marked s/h Mackie C300 z PA speakers and enquired as to the price as they were unticketed.
"£399 mate" was the answer, "Does that include the stands?", "No", was the reply.
Just had a look on ebay, a pair of new ones, BIN £319!!!!
Someone is having a laugh....[/quote]

I bought a C300z pair recently and did some research on prices. Depending where you look they can be vastly different, up to £799. Got mine from Thomann for £399, which at the time was the best deal, there was nothing on eBay. So CC are just hoping for someone who's only seen the list price.