Home Forums Guitar Discussion Guitar Hi I’m new and I’ve got a question…Bass Help?

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    • #74635
      1bassleft
      Participant

      [quote]stereo posting? people posting at the same time? (that just came to me and i hope thats it cause it makes sense.. [/quote]

      Yep, that’s what I meant. Crikey, I’m making sense…

    • #74637
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      stereo posting? people posting at the same time? (that just came to me and i hope thats it cause it makes sense..

      i sound like such a dunce on this website, i am truly out of my element. im going to stick around for sure, i might just learn something…

      im actually not stupid, really, in other areas im a flippin genius! (more self aggrandisement, [to stay away from the inevitable horn tooting joke that was almost ‘released’])

    • #74625
      1bassleft
      Participant

      Stereo postings again 😯 . Australia, Blighty, LA. Very spooky

    • #74629
      1bassleft
      Participant

      Side-stepping any horn-tooting jokes… Do flag up the link to the auction when you put it up, I’d be interested to watch it – if that’s OK. Also, come back here if the marker pen won’t shift.

    • #76040
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      thanks very much michael…i will do…i dont know anything about guitars (as seen already) but ill be sure to keep an eye on things and definitely keep you all posted as far as the sale of my bass, be it a success or a total and ultimate failure ha!

      xxxx Brandi

    • #74600
      Michael
      Participant

      Well do stick around here what ever the case Brandi.

    • #76022
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      i think that (not to toot my own horn here or anything) having looked at several other of the help valuation questions people didnt post pictures and seemed to post once and then go away and wait for someone to tell them everything..

      and perhaps that is why, in addition to 1bassleft’s explaination, he has been do delightfully helpful…

      ill set to work cleaning the dear old thing this evening and then take a deep breath and take the plunge and hope for the best on ebay…

    • #74597
      1bassleft
      Participant

      [quote]Especialy from Bass, Ive never seen him work so hard on a valuation[/quote]

      Lee, you’re not accusing me of doubling my efforts for the girlies are you? 😛 All the other value Qs have been for obscure, Chinese acoustics. This is, finally, a bass Q. I happen to have an interest in basses (my s/n gives a clue) 😆

    • #74617
      lee_UK
      Participant

      Especialy from Bass, Ive never seen him work so hard on a valuation, I reckon the stickers off, and the pen marks too.

    • #74627
      Michael
      Participant

      Awesome help given there GL and 1B. Keep it up.

    • #74631
      1bassleft
      Participant

      I agree. Probably a Japanese made Epiphone (although I can’t be 100%). Worth mentioning this in your Fleeb-listing. The big two (Fender and Gibson) started producing their lower-budget makes in Japan but later moved production to ever-cheaper labour markets. The upshot is, the Japanese-made guitars attract higher prices.

      Squier (Fender) guitars made in Japan now fetch almost silly prices. You won’t get a bucket of money because (a) it’s a bass and (b) Fender basses are more popular than Gibsons. This Epi is, anyway, a “metal”-ish Fender copy. Still, I reckon on a respectable price. Get rid of the pen markings, and I’m beginning to think about getting rid of the stickers. If you do leave them on, just mention that they can be removed easily. Somebody might like the look, though.

    • #76004
      glw
      Participant

      Well, assuming that the serial number given adheres to the Gibson serial number system (and I don’t see why not), then your bass was built and finished on the 9th February 1988.

      Serial number: 880400557

      88 = Year of production
      040 = day of year – this works out as 9 Feb
      0557 = plant designation and/or instrument rank (this isn’t so easy to look up)

      Seeing as the bass appears to be from the tail end of the 1980s, the chances are that it is indeed Japanese, and not one of the less desireable Korean made Epiphones.

    • #74659
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      ok…heres a picture..is that what you wanted to see? the numbers on that sticker?

      #http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b266/Whipandhighheels/Bassheadstock004.jpg

      i hope thats what you wanted?

      xxx brandi

      sorry its a bit blurry..its 6am here and i havent slept in a couple days…AND im drunk!

    • #74609
      glw
      Participant

      The sticky out bit at the end of the neck with the tuners on it!

    • #74598
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      i really appreciate you putting so much effort into helping me glw 😳

      now…the headstock? which part is that? i can take a picture though…if you tell me where it is…ha 😯

    • #76020
      glw
      Participant

      Any chance of a close-up photo of the back of the headstock? I’m wondering what it says on that label.

    • #74655
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      thank you so much for helping me you guys…i really appreciate it. I’m going to put it on ebay but i have to put a reserve…i cant not, im too afraid that it will sell dangerously below what its worth..and i really need the money…so im going to put the reserve lowish…but i cant go without the reserve…im too big of a wuss…its a gamble and i really hate gambling ha!

      thank you so much for the help you guys! 😀

      xxxxxx Brandi

    • #76008
      glw
      Participant

      I found a similar bass using Google image search:

      http://www.kytty.com/~jreeder/Epiphone%20Bass.jpg

      Note how this one doesn’t have “Epiphone by Gibson” on the headstock, but simply “Epiphone” with the Gibson name appearing on the truss-rod cover. I reckon this must be a later version of the same model.

    • #76035
      1bassleft
      Participant

      Two “Merits” for glw. One for directing you to Guitarsite, and one for “Kerplunking” my memory cells. I’ll try to keep the interesting bits to the top, and the bass-drivel lower down:

      Good news. That marker pen around the frets is no problem (certainly no prob compared with, ripped, filled, replaced). Just get some more of that windshield screenwash to wipe it off. If it doesn’t, check if nail polish remover effects the lacquer by rubbing it on an unobtrusive spot. If the lacquer stays firm, then acetone will definitely get rid of the marker pen with a quick wipe.

      Secondly, glw has reminded me that your bass may be made in Japan. Is there any clue on the neckplate or elsewhere? A Japanese Epiphone will fetch more than the later models from Korea.

      I used to work for a mag and, IIRC, “Epiphone by Gibson” was used as a tag shortly after their rival’s “Squier, Fender”; around about the very late 80s. Epiphones may well have still been made in Japan at this point. If mentioned in the listing, the price should clear $150 quite easily for a Japiphone.

    • #75997
      glw
      Participant

      It was me that sent you here, Brandi. I still reckon the bass might have some appeal as it is a discontinued model and the Gibson name is quite prominent on the headstock. I never thought it would earn you big bucks, but I don’t think you should have to part with it for peanuts either.

    • #74599
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      thanks 1bassleft….as for the frets..i retardedly in my youth, i was 13, drew with permanant marker around each fret, i thought it looked ‘cool’ i wish i hadn’t but there you go…

      ah, well $150, well, I’d be glad to get that much. I need cash and I didn’t think it was worth a fortune. I asked some folks on the damned message board about it, thats how i got referred here…

      its not really bad news, i appreciate the info…very much so:D thanks a bunch…ill post a link when i put it up on ebay…im going to try and sell it off ebay first and if that doesn’t work then ebay here i come and i’ll take your advice, scary as it sounds haha…

      thanks again xxxxx

      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Brandi 🙂

      and, duely noted about UPS! haha, saw them propping up a ramp with a package one day!:O

    • #74613
      1bassleft
      Participant

      ps, if you do Fleeb it; avoid big, brown “Ur Parcel’s Shagged” as the shipper. Horror stories abound on what they do to a guitar across a continent, and getting back the insurance money is like grabbing the soap bar at the bottom of a muddy lake.

    • #74651
      1bassleft
      Participant

      Hello Brandi. I feel a bit rotten. You’re new into the forum, have an excellent s/n and here I am posting a “bad news” reply – some welcome, isn’t it?

      Still, here goes. I’m afraid the bass won’t let you retire comfortably just yet. This type of Epiphone was made in Korea to a fairly basic spec and a bit of “rad” styling. On eBay, I doubt if it would clear $150 as a good one. Yours has a couple of issues, though. The worst is, it looks like someone once ripped the frets out, then replaced them whilst using some filler. Still, the handwriting can be easily got rid of. Some windshield wash (isopropyl alcohol) should wipe the pen without affecting the body paint. Nail polish remover (acetone) will definitely wipe the pen marks but will probably hurt the paint, so avoid that.

      I’d leave the stickers on, if I were you. They’ll have an appeal. Your target market is the skint student working on his goatee. Sounds risky, but I’d put it on the Fleeb at $1, no reserve and see it through right to the end. In my exp, a start-bid (or reserve) of $100 gets you no bids and no interest (or, worse, just one bid at the last minute). $1 gets people “watching” the item and placing bids. In the last few hours, people bid more than they really intended and that works in your favour.

      I’ve sold a couple of so-so basses for reasonable money using this route. Sorry if I’m bringing bad news, but it’s the best advice I can give. At least I can promise I won’t flag you up in the “optimistic eBayers” thread 🙂

    • #74621
      Whipandhighheels
      Participant

      as some added info to my above post…

      Its really heavy, not sure how heavy..more than ten lbs id say? I guess thats not REALLY heavy but it seems heavy…i believe it was bought used in 1994…i dont know about model numbers or anything else about it really…

      i need to sell it but i dont want to end up on your ebay joke thread! haha

      xx Brandi

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