plucked out blog

Overpriced telecaster #1

Overpriced telecaster #2

Obviously it’s up to the individual how much they list their guitars for on eBay, however I feel it’s important to point out where people have got it hopelessly wrong. The first link takes you to a used standard USA Tele, in sunburst – nothing special, and non-original as someone has Nashville’d it with an extra strat pickup (not in itself a bad idea, but it is a customisation that not everyone will like). It’s up for £600 starting price, with a buy it now of £700. The second is a early 90s USA Tele in black – absolutely nothing special about that. Up for £500 start, £600 BIN.

Now, consider that you can easily get a brand new USA Highway 1 Tele for £479, in a range of colours or alternatively a brand new USA Standard Tele for £749 and you can see why I think these eBayers have massively overpriced their listings. It’s easy to get carried away on eBay but you should always do your research first, and that should include the price of new guitars online.

UPDATE: 27/08/09 | I have been in contact with the seller with my concerns and to his credit, he has acknowledged these and updated the listing to make it clearer that this is a copy. The price hasn’t been reduced however but he has stressed the “make offer” functionality.

Alleged Fender Japan Precision

Definitely not a genuine Fender. Where to start…the font on the serial number is too big, and the wrong colour for the year – should be gold/silver. Also the heel looks the wrong shape, every bit of hardware has been replaced and despite what the seller says the logo on the headstock is badly placed. In addition, if it was a 70s reissue then it should have a bullet truss rod too; I am prepared to be proved wrong but I don’t think any 1970s reissues were made by Fender Japan in 1985.

Another warning sign is that the seller has gone to great lengths to point out that it may not be genuine. When people do this, it’s generally a sign that they either know, or greatly suspect, that it’s not.

It’s very easy to fake Fenders, but not easy to do it well. Save your money.

Incidentally, with all the non-original parts this would be overpriced even if it was a genuine 1980s Fender Japan P-bass.

Telecaster Elite

OK, full disclosure upfront: I have one of these, in this colour. And it’s fantastic. But it’s not this one; I won’t be selling mine.

Sounds nothing like a Telecaster, but don’t let that put you off – they have a huge range of sounds, thanks to the strange little mini humbuckers (which I’m amazed Fender have never reused) and the active electronics. Yes, active; and on a guitar, not a bass. It makes for a guitar that is almost silent between songs or more importantly in the studio – it also looks superb and is genuinely rare, having only been made for 1 year. You won’t come across many people playing one of these – unless you’re sharing the bill with the Kinks (Dave Davies used one) or me.

Warwick Dolphin

I’ve never been a massive fan of Warwicks, mainly due to their thick wenge necks not fitting my small effeminate hands. However, there are two models I’ve always had a soft spot for: the Fortress and the Dolphin.

The Dolphin is a very odd, but endearing looking instrument, with a very comfortable playing position and a wide range of sounds, very jazz bass oriented as you might expect but also more modern sounds available, at least from the one I’ve played. This example isn’t unfairly priced given the (relative) rarity, but they’re not as much in demand as other Warwicks due to the unusual looks so I would definitely make an offer.

[Full disclosure: I do not own any Warwicks, nor have any connection with this seller]

Be careful about this bass

Here’s a prime example of some of the bullshit that makes it onto eBay. I barely know where to start.

“Found in the loft of a house…which I am told was previously owned by John Entwhistle”…but no proof. “A 1959 body…” despite the fact that the Jazz Bass wasn’t in production until 1960 and it didn’t have 3 controls until 1962 (although I suppose that could be a retrofit) – but still no proof. This sort of unverifed crap should sound warning bells and I hope no-one gets caught out.

The neck may be original, it certainly looks the part, but it could equally be a copy – there were lots of good copies of 70s Jazzes doing the rounds in the late 70s and 1980s. If you’re still interested, I would ask for more detailed photos and only bid on it from the perspective of the neck’s value.

There is no one policing eBay listings so as always, caveat emptor. However, crap like this should hopefully be obvious to all.

Fender Lead II

Here’s an example of an often overlooked and underrated 80s US Fender, the Lead. If you’ve never played one, they really are worth checking out, especially the II variety – halfway between a Strat and a Tele is for once, an accurate description. Nice and lightweight too.

This one is worth keeping an eye on, although one note of caution: the seller mentions that the action is set “pretty high” so I suggest you contact them to confirm that there is no underlying reason why e.g. a dodgy or twisted neck.

It’s not 100% original so £400ish is a fair price. It’s likely to at least keep it’s value, and probably appreciate a little in future.

Overpriced Precision Deluxe

Here’s a classic example of delusional pricing; a Mexican P-bass deluxe, with Japanese Aerodyne neck on sale for £600. This is completely over the top for a second hand, highly customised Mexican bass even if it has been improved – you can buy a new Highway 1 Precision for £550 which will hold it’s value much more.

This is a perfect example of mistakenly thinking that the price you paid for something lends it some intrinsic value. Anyone paying £700 for a Mexican bass (as this seller claims) has been ripped off in the first instance. Secondly, anything you buy new loses value as soon as you’ve taken it out of the shop, and that includes pickups. This bass is worth £400, £450 tops.

Yamaha archtop

Here’s a very interesting old Yamaha – not many of these around, particularly not in the UK. I don’t even know what model it is, but believe it’s from the SA series – it’s not covered on the Yamaha guitar database. Definitely one for a collector, but I think what the seller is asking is too high – not enough people collect Yamahas and that’s vintage Fender and Gibson money. Definitely worth making an offer on this one if you’re interested though, as it’s a real niche and I doubt there will be too many more opportunities to get hold of one outside of Japan.

Yamaha RX550M

Given the resurgence in popularity of 1980s styles in terms of dress and actual music, I’m a bit surprised that this hasn’t been replicated in the instrument world, especially given the fact that lots of 80s looking guitars are very cheap to buy. Perhaps the renaissance is overdue and just around the corner…

Now I have always had a soft spot for Yamahas of all descriptions, as they are almost without exception very well made, reliable and great to play – the only things that always seem to need replacing are the tuners. Never understood why they can’t make (or buy) decent tuners.

The link above takes you to a lovely example of one of the mid range RBX basses currently for sale on eBay – the RBX range was my least favourite, because they look so *RAWK* but the 550 and 800 from the 80s (and the RBX-JM more recently) are great basses if you can find them, and well worth looking out for. The price that this seller is asking for this 550M is definitely fair and you could do a lot worse. They are vastly superior to any recent Squiers for example and should certainly hold their value, among afficionados of the style – but beware: anything that has a distinctive look can drop out of fashion as quickly as it came into fashion…