It all sounds like a bit of a horror story. I hope that by the time you pay for the conversion, added to the initial cost of the bass, that you come up with a bass that will be solid and play well for you for years to come. And, it's in the cost ballpark of a an affordable new one.luperry wrote:Correction: I went to a smaller luthier today, thinking I would just get an estimate on much I could sell the righty bass, (hoping I could turn around and use this money to buy a lefty upright.) Out of curiosity, I had him assess how much it would cost to convert the bass to a lefty. In my case, he quoted at $800 to do it... still a pretty penny, but the fingerboard on my particular bass is mostly symmetrical. If you try to convert a bass to a lefty, DO NOT take it to a large string shop that specializes in doing a lot of work for school instruments really quickly. They give you cost prohibitive estimates on labor intensive work because they can make a lot more money doing 100 easy, quick fixes. Try to find a small luthier, preferably one with some time on their hands. I decided that I could swing the $800. I'll post pictures after it's done in a few weeks.
-Luke Perry (not the bad actor)
Will be looking forward to your pictures and review....