Help me date this bass. value?

[Zippydog]

Help me date this bass and tell me what its made of + value?

Hi!

Just picked up a Musicman Fretless 5. Really nice bass - my second Musicman, so I guess I'm really in the club now!

A few pics in this post and also below. The pics are strings and knobs off, some paper towel lint and gross stuff....I've been working to clean it up today. Body is in amazing shape - only a couple of very small nics. Everything you see in the pics is either lint or bad light reflection.

Beautiful color - not sure what it is. Could it be Red Hot??

Color is a translucent deep red/burgundy. Head and entire neck is like a birdseye maple (?) and fretboard looks like it is probably pau ferro.

Pick guard is a flat black and looks like crap (replacement gloss black on order).

Hoping to figure out the specifics of the bass (color, woods, etc.), find out about how old it might be and estimate its value.

Serial number is on the bridge: 54064
Seller dated it back to 1992-1993.

Thanks in advance for any insights/tips/suggestions.


Cheers,
-Paul

 

[Zippydog]

Pic

 

[Zippydog]

Head

 

[Spectre]

Greetings Zippydog and welcome to the forum.

Post your serial number and request for build date to the following thread:
Music Man Serial Number Database
(it's the 3rd sticky thread)

great birdseye on the headstock - grats

 

[Zippydog]

Thanks Spectre!!

I've posted into the thread as recommended - would be cool if I can learn more there!

Yeah, the burl is amazing - -its not just the head, but the whole neck!!

Fret board is also really beautiful. Somebody played rounds on it (some mild indentations) but just amazing wood and inlays.

The new pick guard I've ordered is gloss black with a cream inlay to match the fret inlay color. Should look even better then!


Cheers!

 

[Spectre]

Very cool. You should post a new picture when your done with all the TLC.

Be patient and watch the serial number thread, come monday.
5Stringer doesn't work weekends.

 

[Zippydog]

Thanks again - I'll be sure and get a couple of final pics up for sure!

What a great thread and service to MM owners. I can't wait to learn more about this great new (to me) bass!

 

[RobertB]

Sorry, no help here. I'm out of the dating game. I'm married to my 30th now.

Cool bass, congrats. Very nice birdseye (not burled) maple neck!

Robert

 

[Zippydog]

Very nice birdseye (not burled) maple neck!

oops.

Thank you for the correction. I'll fix it above.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

The colour almost looks like honeyburst, but there's no real burst to it.

 

[silverburst]

That is really a gorgeous bass, thanks for sharing it with us! I've not seen one that color before.

 

[MrMusashi]

looks almost like the crimson red on the 30th sr4

congrats with the bass and welcome to the forum!

MrM

 

[the unrepentant]

That's pretty nice man, the fretboard isn't pau ferro though, i'm pretty sure they've only ever made rosewood and maple, nothing exotic, and the body is most likely ash or alder i'd have thought...

 

[RobertB]

That's pretty nice man, the fretboard isn't pau ferro though, i'm pretty sure they've only ever made rosewood and maple, nothing exotic, and the body is most likely ash or alder i'd have thought...

<insert loud annoying sound indicating a wrong answer, here>!! Pau Ferro is used on the fretless fingerboards, unrepentant. Maybe not on all, I'm not sure - I haven't ventured into that world yet - but it's definitely available and frequently used, at the very least. And Zippydog's does look like it to me.

Check out the fingerboard info here, on mmonline.

Robert

 

[MrMusashi]

hehe.. iron wood.. roundwounds still manage to dig in on it. i might have to swap to flats on the fretless

MrM

 

[oli@bass]

I'd say the colour is Trans Red. Body probably ash.

 

[the unrepentant]

<insert loud annoying sound indicating a wrong answer, here>!! Pau Ferro is used on the fretless fingerboards, unrepentant. Maybe not on all, I'm not sure - I haven't ventured into that world yet - but it's definitely available and frequently used, at the very least. And Zippydog's does look like it to me.

Check out the fingerboard info here, on mmonline.

Robert

Ah fair enough, i didn't know that. I thought it was rosewood because it looked like someone had just pulled the frets out, never seen a fretless EBMM wit fretlines.

 

[bigvissch]

Sweet bass Zippydog. I have been seriously scouting for almost exatly that bass (White P/G and P/U preferably) for months. Where did you pick it up?? Don't tell me eBay or I'll cry.

 

[the unrepentant]

And if all of the above don't help, you could always bring it some flowers/chocolates

C'mon, someone had to make that joke, albeit a bit late

 

[kompressaur]

Its the same finish as my '89 Silhouette which kennethB owns nowadays. I seem to remember Musicman used to have a finish called transluscent cherry and this could be it.Its a fair bit darker than the current trans red we normally see on these boards. at some angles and under certain lighting it goes a deep opaque blood red probably nearer to rolls burgandy than the trans red we have now.
I read in a few MM reviews that sunburst(now honeyburst) and natural were ash bodies and that trans red finishes were over alder so chances are this is what the SR5 is as well

the first pic is kenneths