BassAgent Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 So here's a story for you. I am a music teacher at a secondary school here in Amsterdam. About five minutes walking from the school is a pawn shop, which occasionally sells guitars, mostly cheap knockoffs and old Cimars, Sigmas and the likes. I was checking out the Dutch marketplace website for acoustic guitars and there was a Fender guitar which I wanted to get (nylon strings but a slim neck, perfect for my students). And then I saw it: they were selling a G&L SB-2 for a little over €200. I thought: wow, a Tribute SB-2 for 200? That's a great deal. So I walked to the store and checked out the bass. It wasn't a Tribute. It was a 90's era USA SB-2! The neck was very hollow but not warped and it had some stickers on it. I even got a discount because it's damaged (it has some damage on the finish). This is how I got it: After a good clean, new strings, new pickguard screws and the likes, it now looks like this: I have to wait what the neck will do overnight. Hopefully it'll settle a little bit so it's more playable, but the whole bass works, the pots are silent and that MFD split coil is freakin' loud! Now, there's one more question: how can I date it? I've had the neck off and I can read "Jun 13 xxxxx" but the xxxxx is unreadable for me, I also can't read the date in the neck pocket. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 These are great basses. Great result for you Just hope the neck is ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I have one of these and they are great basses. For 200 euros thats a great deal Enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubster Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Mine, thanks to bdgotoh (TB), has an El Toro pickup in the bridge position and wow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andruca Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Already saw that in TB, gorgeous. Immense deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Wow, what a steal. My Dad once got a new USA Gretsch Firebird marked up as an Electromatic for £299 from SoundControl, he even asked them to check the price was right ! I don't think they're doing so well nowadays... Edited February 8, 2019 by Machines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki1984 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I love that finish! 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 42 minutes ago, Machines said: Wow, what a steal. My Dad once got a new USA Gretsch Firebird marked up as an Electromatic for £299 from SoundControl, he even asked them to check the price was right ! I don't think they're doing so well nowadays... The weird thing is they originally advertised it for 220, and I got it for 200 "because it's so damaged". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Wow, what a steal ! Lucky you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 From an unashamedly evangelical G&L fanboi- welcome to the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 What a find! Well done!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 On 07/02/2019 at 17:28, BassAgent said: Now, there's one more question: how can I date it? I've had the neck off and I can read "Jun 13 xxxxx" but the xxxxx is unreadable for me, I also can't read the date in the neck pocket. Read the date codes on the pots, that'll give you a good clue - lovely bass, bargain of the year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 Good one, forgot about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Until recently I had one of those in that finish, but with a rosewood board; it was a '95, as they didn't do that finish for long, yours is probably from around then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 So let's bump this topic for a surprise twist to this story. I restored it in the past week so I could put it up for sale, which I did yesterday. Within a few hours, I got a message: "I saw your ad for the G&L and I think I recognise it as the former bass from [Dutch bass player], which was stolen a few years ago. The bass has a huge sentimental value for him (if this is it). Could you please get in touch with him before you sell it?" So I got in touch with the guy and there's no doubt about it: it's his bass. The stickers check out, the damage, the story, everything. It's his. So he's getting it back from me next Wednesday, and I hope the stupid pawn shop will give me my money back, for selling a stolen bass. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 7 minutes ago, BassAgent said: So I got in touch with the guy and there's no doubt about it: it's his bass. The stickers check out, the damage, the story, everything. It's his. So he's getting it back from me next Wednesday, and I hope the stupid pawn shop will give me my money back, for selling a stolen bass. Shame about that, but you're doing the right thing. Lets hope that you get your money back too. Good luck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 It seems tough but it's the only decent thing to do. Good on you. Hopefully, the pawn shop have the details of the guy that pawned it - who may be the lowlife who nicked the thing in the first place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Kudos man, a credit to bass players! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lardy Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 9 minutes ago, Skinnyman said: It seems tough but it's the only decent thing to do. Good on you. Agreed. Well done BassAgent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Contact me when your subs are due and I’ll give you a free pass, my man. Good on you 👍🏼 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 Thanks guys! I am going to offer him to buy the bass from me. I've put quite some money into it (€275) and I think that's a pretty decent way of rewarding me for finding it. Legally, I'm not even obliged to give him the bass back, especially since he never filed a police report. It's legally my property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 Well, the story is at an end: I drove to his house today to deliver the bass. He paid me everything I put into it and that's that. The weird thing is if something like that would happen to me, I would be overjoyed that I had the bass back that got stolen seven(!) years ago. I'd buy the finder/buyer a good bottle of wine and be super duper excited that I had it back. I would be a tiny bit sad that my old stickers were removed, but I would also be happy that the new owner refreshed the strings, gave it a good setup and some love. But there was none of that. He even seemed a bit offended that I removed his precious stickers and made him pay for the bass. He didn't seem happy at all, to be honest. Such a weird guy. He had told me that he played John Peel sessions with it, the Lowlands festival (60,000 people) and so forth and I was hoping he'd share the story of this bass with me, but it seemed he wanted me out as quick as possible. Left me with a bit of a weird feeling. Did I do the right thing? If I knew he'd react this way, would I have acted the same? Meh. Weird. I thought I'd be happy with the result, but I'm not, actually. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andruca Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 It'd be nice to have a "jerk detector" to avoid doing good things for people who don't deserve it. Still, a good deed is a good deed, even done for jerks that aren't worth it. Keep checking pawnshops often, he might need some dough for meth. Hope it happens before the bass is left in decay again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 18 hours ago, BassAgent said: He even seemed a bit offended that I removed his precious stickers and made him pay for the bass This. He can’t see past this and recognise that you’ve actually done him a favour. He should see that what he’s paid out was a reward for the recovery of his bass. What he’s actually thinking is that he’s just paid to buy a bass he already owns. Given time, he might come round - but, frankly, why should you care? You’ve done the decent thing. You’ve reunited the bass with its original owner. You didn’t have to do that, but you did. So move on and let him come round in his own sweet time. To paraphrase what Andruca says, the people you do a good deed for don’t have to be nice people - but that shouldn’t stop you being a nice person yourself. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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