When is a Music Man not a Music Man?

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

I'm guessing when it's got an EMG pickup and no logos on the bridge or tuners.

This popped up on one of my local sales sites. To be fair the seller does state he doesn't think it's an original.

Still....... Worth a punt at £230?

Edited August 29, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

Bigwan · August 29, 2018

That's as fake as a really fake thing... Even ignoring the cheap bridge, tuners and pickup, the body is wrong, the headstock is wrong, the "made in..." decal is wrong. So much wrong...

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

5 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

That's as fake as a really fake thing... Even ignoring the cheap bridge, tuners and pickup, the body is wrong, the headstock is wrong, the "made in..." decal is wrong. So much wrong...

So....no then?

Happy Jack · August 29, 2018

Just because it looks (a bit) like the real thing doesn't mean that it will play or sound even remotely like the real thing.

dlloyd · August 29, 2018

I wouldn't have that in my house.

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

7 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Just because it looks (a bit) like the real thing doesn't mean that it will play or sound even remotely like the real thing.

Fair comment, but I've no idea what one sounds like anyway. I've never played the real thing and probably never will because I don't have a grand to throw at a bass to play in a band that's just a weekend hobby. So given what it is. A cheap imitation with a half decent pickup?

Edited August 29, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

Happy Jack · August 29, 2018

???

If you have £230 available then buy a decent pre-owned Squier. That would be a much better bet IMHO.

chris_b · August 29, 2018

Why spend any money on a fake? That's £230 not going towards a proper bass.

So, no, it's not worth a punt at £5 let alone £230.

pete.young · August 29, 2018

That bridge reminds me of something- maybe an early OLP? Should be able to pick one of those up for £150 - £200 , preferably a later one with a better bridge. Jack's right, there are far better things you could do with £230.

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

9 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

???

If you have £230 available then buy a decent pre-owned Squier. That would be a much better bet IMHO.

Yeah I get what you're saying, and I know this is probably sacrilege to say on here, but I can't stand Squier, or for that matter Fender guitars. I know to many they're the holy grail. But damn those things are ugly.

4 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Why spend any money on a fake? That's £230 not going towards a proper bass.

So, no, it's not worth a punt at £5 let alone £230.

Because it would look good with my Nuke trainers and Aditoff T shirt.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

Just to clarify. I'm not even looking for another bass. I just saw that popup and wondered what the consensus would be.

Bigwan · August 29, 2018

If you have £230 to spend buy an Ibanez ATK used. Better than the real thing in my opinion... and I've owned both...

songofthewind · August 29, 2018

Ain't like no Music Man I ever heard of!

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

6 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Why spend any money on a fake? That's £230 not going towards a proper bass.

So, no, it's not worth a punt at £5 let alone £230.

Interesting comment. So because it has a fake logo it's not a proper bass? So say for example if it had the original branding, let's say for example OLP. Then would it be a proper bass? Or is it not a proper bass because it's perhaps cheaply made? In which case, how would anyone who doesn't have 5 grand to spend on an instrument ever become a musician? I'm not disagreeing with your comment. Just playing devil's advocate.

uk_lefty · August 29, 2018

For that kind of money you may be able to get an SUB. Also the fakery is done very badly, if it's a "vintage" say, then it would have been better off remaining a "vintage". And there's nothing wrong with OLP or SUB basses, not sure why the person has bothered, particularly with the "made in" decal on the back of the headstock!

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

10 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

If you have £230 to spend buy an Ibanez ATK used. Better than the real thing in my opinion... and I've owned both...

I agree. I've always been a fan of Ibanez. My old guitar player used to swear by them and he sounded fantastic. Great gear for the money.

chris_b · August 29, 2018

3 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Interesting comment. So because it has a fake logo it's not a proper bass? So say for example if it had the original branding, let's say for example OLP. Then would it be a proper bass? Or is it not a proper bass because it's perhaps cheaply made? In which case, how would anyone who doesn't have 5 grand to spend on an instrument ever become a musician? I'm not disagreeing with your comment. Just playing devil's advocate.

It's a fake because it's not what it says it is. And if it's not what it says it is. What is it? Do you think spending £230 is a good way to find out?

That should be enough of a warning to save you wasting your hard earned cash.

Maybe it isn't. I don't care if you buy it or not, but you did ask for opinions.

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

1 minute ago, uk_lefty said:

For that kind of money you may be able to get an SUB. Also the fakery is done very badly, if it's a "vintage" say, then it would have been better off remaining a "vintage". And there's nothing wrong with OLP or SUB basses, not sure why the person has bothered, particularly with the "made in" decal on the back of the headstock!

Yeah I agree. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to to fake something badly. Maybe it's a movie prop? It could be worth millions! 😂

Bigwan · August 29, 2018

Just now, Newfoundfreedom said:

I agree. I've always been a fan of Ibanez. My old guitar player used to swear by them and he sounded fantastic. Great gear for the money.

I compared an ATK300 alongside 2 brand new MM 4 strings a few years back. No comparison to me. I'd already owned 4 MM basses (Stingray 4 & 5, Bongo 4 & 5) by that point. A £300 Ibanez wasted the lot of them...

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

1 minute ago, chris_b said:

It's a fake because it's not what it says it is. And if it's not what it says it is. What is it? Do you think spending £230 is a good way to find out?

That should be enough of a warning to save you wasting your hard earned cash.

Maybe it isn't. I don't care if you buy it or not, but you did ask for opinions.

Indeed I did, and again, just to clarify. I have no intentions of buying it. I just saw it and wondered what people's opinions were. I'm not disagreeing with anyone's posts. Just marshalling a debate on whether a copy is worth the asking price. If it's a copy does it mean it's a bad instrument? If it's a bad instrument does adding branding make it more or even less valuable?

dlloyd · August 29, 2018

42 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Indeed I did, and again, just to clarify. I have no intentions of buying it. I just saw it and wondered what people's opinions were. I'm not disagreeing with anyone's posts. Just marshalling a debate on whether a copy is worth the asking price. If it's a copy does it mean it's a bad instrument? If it's a bad instrument does adding branding make it more or even less valuable?

It doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad instrument, but it certainly isn't of the quality that the person who applied the decals wanted people to believe it was.

To play devil's advocate, it has some value. It's probably an OLP MM2... some of those are okay basses. Worth maybe £100 to £130 in good nick... which this isn't.

The pickup, if it's an original EMG, is worth something. I'm wondering if there's also a half-decent aftermarket preamp in there. You could maybe squeeze £50 from that, but the rest of the bass isn't worth much as parts.

Yes... putting a fake decal on any bass will devalue it.

Newfoundfreedom · August 29, 2018

1 minute ago, dlloyd said:

It doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad instrument, but it certainly isn't of the quality that the person who applied the decals wanted people to believe it was.

To play devil's advocate, it has some value. It's probably an OLP MM2... some of those are okay basses. Worth maybe £100 to £130 in good nick... which this isn't.

The pickup, if it's an original EMG, is worth something. I'm wondering if there's also a half-decent aftermarket preamp in there. You could maybe squeeze £50 from that, but the rest of the bass isn't worth much as parts.

Yes... putting a fake decal on any bass will devalue it.

Damn it! That's the last time I'm wearing my Rudolph Lauren shirt in public. 😂

bassmachine2112 · August 29, 2018

Hiho I have a USA SUB bass got it new in 2003 still got it .It's the real deal apart from the industrial finish and slab body.Sounds the same as a classic when I A/B them through my own rig.