Request for opinions on EB-2D bass, sparkling burgundy but with some "ouchies" .

[bostonguitarrepair]

Hey guys - I'm looking at a local EB-2D bass - its in the original sparkling burgundy - in nice condition, appears to have all the original parts - even the covers and mutes - BUT has one big ugly, dark colored patch at the headstock/neck joint where apparently 2 different repairs have occurred over the years.

Asking price is around $1400 - which is high enough to give me pause - but there may be SOME bargaining room.

I was contemplating taking it on as a project - refinishing and blending the repair area - and then reselling it (while of course representing it as repaired !) - so question is - how much does an unrepaired, complete, clean Sparkling Burgundy EB-2D go for in today's market ?

I figure even with everything else perfect - because of the headstock repair this bass would sell for around 50 - 60% of an unrepaired bass.

Oh yes .. and your estimates do not constitute an obligation to buy this bass from me down the road !! 

thanks!

Krishna

[Dave W]

What year?

[chromium]

I haven't noticed that sparkling burgundy fetches a premium over a regular finish on them, so $1400 would make me pause too.  This beautiful SB 232, for example, has a dealer price of $2300 - which seems to be the high end of what a regular old cherry EB-2 will apparently fetch.

The dual pickup will command more interest, and an early version with the bar-bridge will fetch a bit more.  My opinion is that you'd probably be able to get mid 1K range out of that when you are done, though, so hopefully the seller will come down a bit.

[Barklessdog]

I would say if you could go down a bit and be able to repair it yourself it may not be too bad a deal. Depends on the repair I guess, it depends on how much you have to rebuild it.

Maybe try the Black light trick to see how much wood is left?

[eb2]

That is a too high to incorporate your time and material and get a decent payback.  Plus, as many of us have discovered over the years, removing the finish to see what repair work is already under there can be a disheartening experience of the can-of-worms variety.  The sparkling burgundy finish is often seen as a rare custom finish, which it is to some degree, but it is not that rare.  They used it on quite a few ES bodied guitars and basses in the mid 60s to salvage flawed laminate cracks and sell them as first quality.  The two pup basses are cool and rarer in their own right, so it would be something that would get some interest, broken head and all.  It maybe a good candidate if you can talk the deal down or throw in stuff you aren't in too deep on to make it a better deal for you.  Good luck.

[Barklessdog]

Kevbo wants $2500 for his EB-2 D

http://www.goodguysguitars.com/fridge-open.htm#

Prices have gone up on the two pup ons in the last year or so. When was the last one you can remember that sold for $1500?

Also post a link to these prices.

Look at Ripper prices lately. $1200 + for a Ripper as of late.

Show me the $1500 EB-2D's

[chromium]

I don't know how much Goodguys budges on their prices, but assume he sells that one for $2300 - and it's unbroken.  Knowing there's a break makes people squirly.  Maybe even moreso since with a SB finish its painted over and you can't really get a good feel for the extent of the repair.  That's the main reason I'd be afraid of it taking a hit.

It depends on the venue too.  Kevin can ask a bit of a premium because if you buy one from him you know the bass is gonna be right, and that he'd stand behind it.  When I bought my EB-3, he had just like it up for $2500, when they were routinely selling for $1600-$1700 on Ebay - because of the "unknown".  If Krisha sells this EB-2D to someone who knows his work, he'll probably get more than throwing it up to strangers on Ebay.

You're right, though, prices have gone up.  I wish I could show examples of 2D selling prices - but there aren't any!  So that's something right there - there's probably some pent-up interest for a 2D.  When I got mine around 2002, EB-2Ds with reparis were going in the 800-$1K range.  Now, $800 will get you a project carcass!

[Barklessdog]

I'm also not sure about Eb-2's if they are like EB-3's, Newport/Embassy's, Triumphs & Tbirds where a solid broken headstock repair does not diminish the value greatly?

[chromium]

I didn't think of this before I had a pot of coffee in me, but Krishna's usual photo chronology will probably help ease the buyer uncertainty factor a bit.  In this case, people *will* be able to see what is under the paint.

Breaks on EBs do seem to affect the selling prices, but I don't recall it being as dramatic as 50-60% like Krishna mentioned.  The neck-heel break EB-0 I bought from him is one example - that was probably more like a 30% hit.  I don't think most buyers know that breaks can be just as good or stronger than original.  And every once in a while you hear of that bad repair that fell apart and had to be redone.

It's hard to compare a rare sparkling burgundy EB-2D to a run-o-the-mill EB-0, though.  That gap might be even less - especially if its on Ebay for a week, $1 starting bid, no reserve, great pics, the crowd goes wild, bidding frenzy ensues, and auction closes on a Sunday night.  It'll be a gamble.

[drbassman]

Well, I agree that the sparkling color isn't that big a deal.  I had one for a couple days and sent it back to the seller.  They typically don't age well if not cared for.  The main issue here, IMHO, is the neck repair.  My policy is neck repair reduce the value of a bass, no matter what.  If they didn't do a very good refin over the repair, it lowers the value even more in my estimation.

I paid $1400 for my EB-2  (no D) and it had no breaks, some worn finish on the back of the body and all original parts. 




So, if it were me, and you did ask for opinions, I wouldn't pay a dime over $900 for this bass.  But I am an old curmudgeon when it comes to bass prices!

[bostonguitarrepair]

Hey Guys - thanks for all the input - it is hard to find any EB-2Ds that have sold recently, which is part of the difficulty in assessing the actual potential of this bass, in terms of resale.  If I were looking for an EB-2D for myself I'd grab it actually, but thats because I know I could make it look the way I'd want it for my collection.

As it turns out - the seller seems to be less than enthusiastic about selling it - and actually expressed concern that I wanted to refinish the repair (??) - another flakey Craigslist transaction, what can I say.

Here's the link to the online photo album: 
http://www.theallens.theallens.com/clist/index.html

And here's his email address - have at it - I'm passing on this one:
billyclaire411@yahoo.com

[drbassman]

Looks good.  I'll bump my top price up to $1100, but I still think that's generous.  And I'm not interested but thanks for the offer!

[eb2]

That repair defines ISH.

[leftybass]

Here's mine, factory double large mudbuckers and stereo outputs. Bought it at a pawn shop in Austin in 1990 for $200. Missing pickguard, has non-original knobs, no breaks.

[bostonguitarrepair]

Here's mine, factory double large mudbuckers and stereo outputs. Bought it at a pawn shop in Austin in 1990 for $200. Missing pickguard, has non-original knobs, no breaks.

Hey!! - that logo on your double mudbucker - is that original or is it patched up ??

It looks like a pearl block with the letters then painted on - I think Chromium and I had a discussion a while ago as to whether or not that was something Gibson did at one point - it may be that you actually have an example of it !??

Oh .. and the relevancy is that I have a dormant EB-3 project with an inlay like that - which I was convinced was a replaced inlay ..