Looking to sell heavily modded 1983 SB-2, how much ?
Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:52 pm
Greetings all!
I came across a vintage SB-2 (serial #B012121) several years ago on Craigslist. It's a nice, playable bass, and being fairly ignorant of SB configurations I originally I didn't know how different it was from stock.
Cut to the chase: someone in years past took out the neck pickup and re-routed it to put in a split P-bass style pup, leaving it in a P/J configuration. The 3 knobs now appear to control (from left to right looking down at them while holding the guitar in a playing position) neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, and overall tone. It makes for some interesting variations in tonal quality that I find very useful.
The guitar's overall condition is decent for one that's obviously gotten a lot of use in its nearly four decades of existence. It was apparently a dark red/crimson shade at birth, but sometime ago was painted over with black metalflake - even the headstock, which I presume to be the original Fender-style. The maple neck is straight but the fretboard shows a lot of wear, however it is still very playable.
I almost hate to get rid of it because I'm pretty sure it's not going to be worth much based on my cursory research here, but I'd like to see it go to a good home. Any input from you G&Lers as to a worthwhile asking price would be much appreciated
Here's a link to pics on Talkbass.com: https://www.talkbass.com/media/albums/1983-4-g-l-sb-2.2060 A couple of samples showing the body and pickup placement are below. Thanks!
I came across a vintage SB-2 (serial #B012121) several years ago on Craigslist. It's a nice, playable bass, and being fairly ignorant of SB configurations I originally I didn't know how different it was from stock.
Cut to the chase: someone in years past took out the neck pickup and re-routed it to put in a split P-bass style pup, leaving it in a P/J configuration. The 3 knobs now appear to control (from left to right looking down at them while holding the guitar in a playing position) neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, and overall tone. It makes for some interesting variations in tonal quality that I find very useful.
The guitar's overall condition is decent for one that's obviously gotten a lot of use in its nearly four decades of existence. It was apparently a dark red/crimson shade at birth, but sometime ago was painted over with black metalflake - even the headstock, which I presume to be the original Fender-style. The maple neck is straight but the fretboard shows a lot of wear, however it is still very playable.
I almost hate to get rid of it because I'm pretty sure it's not going to be worth much based on my cursory research here, but I'd like to see it go to a good home. Any input from you G&Lers as to a worthwhile asking price would be much appreciated
Here's a link to pics on Talkbass.com: https://www.talkbass.com/media/albums/1983-4-g-l-sb-2.2060 A couple of samples showing the body and pickup placement are below. Thanks!
Re: Looking to sell heavily modded 1983 SB-2, how much ?
Thu Feb 25, 2021 3:58 pm
Firstly, it's most likely an SB-1 that has had a J pickup added, not an SB-2. The rear pickup rout hints at this, and pulling the guard to see the shape of the control cavity could confirm it.
Aside from it being a working musical instrument in its own right, it does have some minor amount of value in the neck and hardware...if the headstock face was not sanded or stripped before it was painted black. Looks like the neck seriously needs frets too; they are hanging by a thread (though hard to say for sure, because the photo of the neck is not in focus or exposed properly). That fret job is a $200 (minimum) expense for whoever buys it. The body is almost certainly not worth restoring. These are cheap basses on the used market, even in great condition with OHSC. Even very clean SB-1s with OHSC will likely sell for $750 maximum.
I think you need to price this at the potential value of its parts.
A wrinkle coated bridge with serial number, and matching un-stamped neck plate might fetch $200 on a good day, if sold as a set (which they should be, since their features match, and are from a relatively brief period). That bridge is a match to no other style of neck plate, and vice versa. If they were super clean, you might be able to get more...but they are not that clean.
An early SB-1 neck, well worn, badly in need of frets, with the original decal covered up, with original G&L tuners in perfect working order? $150 TOPS, in my opinion...and even that might be a disappointing expenditure for the buyer, if, in fact, the original decal was sanded or stripped away prior to the headstock being painted, or if the neck was non-correctably bowed (as many old G&L necks are IME).
The body alone: practically worthless. Not worth the labor of restoring. I would pull everything off of it, salvage the micro-tilt hardware and put the body on E-Bay at a $1 starting bid with no reserve. I would be surprised if it got bid up to $50.
Micro-tilt hardware? Priceless to the right person...but there are only three of those people in the world. It would not actually sell for much in the end.
The pickups that are in it? Who knows what they are...but maybe worth $50 or $100, if they are a halfway decent brand like actual Fender, Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. But based on the ugliness of the work that was performed on the bass, I would not expect the pickups to be very high end.
Pickguard and pots? Not worth any money at all.
I'd say you have a reliable $400 worth of parts, if sold separately. But to sell together, you'd really have to find the right buyer. There are two types who would buy that. 1) Someone who doesn't care about it's deviations from original, and just likes it aesthetically and wants to play it as is. This person likely will know nothing about old G&Ls. 2) Someone who always has restoration projects under way that require some "vintage" parts, and a good deal of know-how/skill.
In either case, I would say, as is, about $400 plus a reasonable shipping charge (say $30 to $50).
Often times, the price gap between a really nice old G&L, and one that is only good for parts, is quite narrow. Like I said, if that bass was in stellar shape, all original, with case, I might expect it to hit $750. In standard condition, with OHSC, more like $600. In beat but original condition with OHSC, a $500 bass IMO. Go any lower in terms of condition, or take away the OHSC from that last condition level, and you start overlapping with the price of a bass that is only good for parts/salvage. SB-2s, same idea, but maybe $150 to $200 more across the board.
If you had the original pickup, that would make the bass far more appealing – "far" meaning about $100 more in price, but also that it would likely sell more easily. Those soap-bar MFD neck pickups are the best, and most unique, parts of the early SB-1s and SB-2, and they haven't been made in about 35 years.
Aside from it being a working musical instrument in its own right, it does have some minor amount of value in the neck and hardware...if the headstock face was not sanded or stripped before it was painted black. Looks like the neck seriously needs frets too; they are hanging by a thread (though hard to say for sure, because the photo of the neck is not in focus or exposed properly). That fret job is a $200 (minimum) expense for whoever buys it. The body is almost certainly not worth restoring. These are cheap basses on the used market, even in great condition with OHSC. Even very clean SB-1s with OHSC will likely sell for $750 maximum.
I think you need to price this at the potential value of its parts.
A wrinkle coated bridge with serial number, and matching un-stamped neck plate might fetch $200 on a good day, if sold as a set (which they should be, since their features match, and are from a relatively brief period). That bridge is a match to no other style of neck plate, and vice versa. If they were super clean, you might be able to get more...but they are not that clean.
An early SB-1 neck, well worn, badly in need of frets, with the original decal covered up, with original G&L tuners in perfect working order? $150 TOPS, in my opinion...and even that might be a disappointing expenditure for the buyer, if, in fact, the original decal was sanded or stripped away prior to the headstock being painted, or if the neck was non-correctably bowed (as many old G&L necks are IME).
The body alone: practically worthless. Not worth the labor of restoring. I would pull everything off of it, salvage the micro-tilt hardware and put the body on E-Bay at a $1 starting bid with no reserve. I would be surprised if it got bid up to $50.
Micro-tilt hardware? Priceless to the right person...but there are only three of those people in the world. It would not actually sell for much in the end.
The pickups that are in it? Who knows what they are...but maybe worth $50 or $100, if they are a halfway decent brand like actual Fender, Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. But based on the ugliness of the work that was performed on the bass, I would not expect the pickups to be very high end.
Pickguard and pots? Not worth any money at all.
I'd say you have a reliable $400 worth of parts, if sold separately. But to sell together, you'd really have to find the right buyer. There are two types who would buy that. 1) Someone who doesn't care about it's deviations from original, and just likes it aesthetically and wants to play it as is. This person likely will know nothing about old G&Ls. 2) Someone who always has restoration projects under way that require some "vintage" parts, and a good deal of know-how/skill.
In either case, I would say, as is, about $400 plus a reasonable shipping charge (say $30 to $50).
Often times, the price gap between a really nice old G&L, and one that is only good for parts, is quite narrow. Like I said, if that bass was in stellar shape, all original, with case, I might expect it to hit $750. In standard condition, with OHSC, more like $600. In beat but original condition with OHSC, a $500 bass IMO. Go any lower in terms of condition, or take away the OHSC from that last condition level, and you start overlapping with the price of a bass that is only good for parts/salvage. SB-2s, same idea, but maybe $150 to $200 more across the board.
If you had the original pickup, that would make the bass far more appealing – "far" meaning about $100 more in price, but also that it would likely sell more easily. Those soap-bar MFD neck pickups are the best, and most unique, parts of the early SB-1s and SB-2, and they haven't been made in about 35 years.