'75 Precision Bass @ Elderly Instruments

[basslefty]

Check it out...

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/56U-184.htm

Nice looking bass...

[Addison]

Wow, she's purty.

I'm surprised to see that they finally sold that $5,500 4-string Wal bass... I wonder if someone actually paid that for it.

[gravesbass]

If John got $5,500 for that Wal, good for him. He might have pulled it also as he mentioned keeping it for a bit. Now is the time. Turnaround is long and prices are skyrocket right now even new.

[johntheleftybassist]

Actually the wal went out in a trade to the guitar broker in Florida.as Jim knows I buy alot of gear that's not just lefty basses.got a 74 Les Paul custom as the main part of the trade.the wal is for sale at 5,000.

[Addison]

Actually the wal went out in a trade to the guitar broker in Florida.as Jim knows I buy alot of gear that's not just lefty basses.got a 74 Les Paul custom as the main part of the trade.the wal is for sale at 5,000.

Ah, right on... I've already talked to him about the bass. Funny that it's the same one.

He told me $6,000 at first... I told him I could literally almost buy two new ones for that much. I'm not sure if he knows that Wal is alive and well and building new basses again. He then offered me a "quick sale" at $4,500 but that's still too much, IMO.

I would rather pay $5,000 for a brand new Wal, built to my exact specs, and wait 18 months for it than pay $4,500 for a used bass... even if it was in like-new condition.

When you're at that price level, unless the bass is considered a "classic" and has high collector's value with lots of growth potential, it's worth it to pay $500 more and wait for one that was made specifically for you.

[Basshappi]

That Precision looks practically new!
Beautiful bass.

[cangaroo]

I know i can sound like an a*****e, but i'm always suspicious about old basses having the original pu exchanged. IMHO there is a good chance that the bass sounds so-so and changing the pu resulted in a not-improvement at all ...

[fivebass52]

My first bass was a 1974 Sunburst P-bass, and I was never happy with the sound, nor the weight and neck dive. I replaced the original pickups with Basslines as I remember, and it still sounded dead to me. I made a mistake though and traded it straight across for a '94 or so Ibanez SR800 - all Black, which sounded so much better, looked cool, and had that nice thin neck they're known for.

Of course I knew nothing about Fenders at the time, and no idea that they were appreciating in value. As you all know, the Ibanez is worth $100-$200 on the market today, and my '74 P-bass is worth probably $2000 by now! Great trade numb-nuts! Oh well, that's how you learn.... I did sell the original pickups on eBay awhile back for $130 or so, which, deducted from the original price I paid for the bass - $400 - back in '76 is some small consolation.

Even though I would like to have it for the investment, I have no real fond memories of that bass and its tone. But, it got me on the road to becoming a bass player, and for that, it is remembered.....

So with that in mind, here's the budding bassist at a wild party with his P-bass... think I have a front view of it somewhere, but I thought you guys might like a chuckle over this! This is sometime in 1977.....

[Matt R.]

Ha I dunno if it's just the weird overall color cast on this old photo or not, but you look totally baked.

[fivebass52]

You would be correct in that assumption Sir! It was the swinging '70's baby!

[AzWhoFan]

It's still there, and it seems to me the price has droppped by $200 to $1800? I coulda sworn it was originally listed for $2K