Considering buying a fender second hand

[Bankai]

Hi, I'm considering getting another bass off my friend. It's a fairly recent mexican fender jazz bass.

He's told me it needs a quick MOT, bridge resetting etc. and also one of the knobs has come off.


Any ideas on how much it's worth?

Edited December 22, 2009 by Bankai

[Musky]

With the work need, £225?

I'm a little wary of basses that need just a 'quick MOT' to get playing as they should though. If it's an easy job why hasn't it been done yet? Having owned one of Fender's 70's lemons, I tend to not to assume that everything will be fine with a quick set up.

[Cat Burrito]

Without seeing it I'd be a little bit concerned that the bridge needs resetting. The knob is a quick fix and easy to pick up but make sure you are 100% happy the work will be both economic & actually fix it. I would say around £200 depending on condition so agree with Musky's estimate.

[Bankai]

Ok thanks for the tips. It's my friend selling it who I've known for years so I do trust him not to pass on some bodged nightmare . As for the reason for not fixing, he upgraded and got a musicman and stopped using this. He then stopped playing all together about 3 or 4 years ago now.


As you can see from my signature at the moment I have a shine warrior 5-string. I like the action on it but I'd like to get something better. I'm draw to Fenders and I'd ideally like to get a '59 Jazz but there's a slight problem, money... As such I'm looking at something slightly lower but still with the great Fender sound.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Bankai

[bubinga5]

thats cool if hes a friend, but what does he mean by the bridge need resetting? does he mean intonation, or saddle adjustments?

[Bankai]

I do not know. He said it'd be the kind of thing a local shop could do for a small fee. I would presume saddle adjustments Edited December 22, 2009 by Bankai

[7string]

Doing work on a Fender bass is no problem and even, at worst, if the bridge needed to be taken off and repositioned it's not a big deal. Knobs are freely available and easy to replace and saddle adjustment is a routine job within the remit of a setup.

If you're not confident doing setup work yourself just take it to a shop and ask for a setup which should be around £30 + strings. Don't ask for anything special like bridge resetting as some places will fleece you! Also, if they say they can do a setup without changing the strings walk away as you can't properly setup a bass without them. There are loads of weird rattles and general weirdness which can be down to knackered strings!!

Every bass players been through what your thinking about at the moment, so don't worry about it. Find a shop with a tech and let them sort it. If you're in Glasgow (your name doesn't say where you're from) I'll do the work for you

[Bankai]

Surrey A bit too far.

I will get the money together and get it off him in the new year. I'll also keep an eye out on here in case a better deal comes up.


Thanks.

[gjones]

This will help. It's Fenders guide to setting up you bass guitar. It's not difficult to adjust your bass to get a decent basic setup [url="http://www.fender.com/support/bass_guitar_setup_guide.php"]http://www.fender.com/support/bass_guitar_setup_guide.php[/url]

[Bankai]

alright, cheers


If I get this all fixed and good any idea what price it might go for?

[Hamster]

[quote name='Bankai' post='695189' date='Dec 28 2009, 09:24 PM']alright, cheers


If I get this all fixed and good any idea what price it might go for?[/quote]


I've seen these go (or not go) on the forum for around £225, which is cheap as chips for a nice one