Usually not, but that board is screwed. I mean, the body and the electronics are worth a few dollars, but the idea of saving that fingerboard.....I don't know, maybe Corey would like to offer an opinion.
If so, it could be pulled off and a new one fitted, though that would likely cost several hundred dollars at a well-regarded luthier's shop. I would not take on such a job myself for a paying customer, not having enough experience to be sure I could do the job right. (Upon thinking about it for a minute further, yes I could.)
If it is a one piece neck, the prognosis is not good. Again, it could be done, probably with a milling machine, but it'd be expensive, and quite difficult from the luthier's point of view...you have to make sure you get the board thickness correct and still have a functioning truss rod in order to be able to warranty your work. The least expensive path would be a replacement neck, if EBMM sells those.
(I do not know if they do, best to ask customer service, do not PM big Poppa, and please tip your waiters.)
So how did this seller on e-bay ever get through high school without blowing himself up or something?
he wont ship outside usa,pity i would have bought it just to rescue the poor old thing,makes me sad to see a great bass end its life like that.
would it not just be better to put a new neck on her?
Damn, that is sad _and_ silly. That guy is just about to lose a huge amount of $$$, just because he prefered taking the risk of ruining a Sterling (and he succeeded in doing that) instead of experiencing fretless play on a cheapo before acting.
When eBay launches stupid seller rating, he'll get the five stars right on.
guys I have been repairing guitars for 20+ years now, I tell you that thing is a mess but i have a wood filler that can be color matched and the fretboard can be patched reradiused, reslotted and new frets installed. as for the body I guarantee that is a shake and shine spray ca job, I could refinish that thing easily. I'm going to bid on it and If I get it I will post pics of it's rebirth.
No mistake, you're right, but who wants to put filler in a maple board? Plus you've got to get whatever crap he's got in those gouges out of them and the rest of the board to begin with.
It'll never look quite right, and you're going to cause more chipping and gouging while trying to get those orphaned fret tangs out of the slots, plus making sure you've got good slots afterward to fit frets into...it's a lot less work to simply start with a fresh board, if possible.
I concur on the finish bit, though. Not too rough a job, if you've got the time.
you would be suprised at what I have done with some really bad fretboards. I have repaired broken headstocks on guitars and basses that you couldn't tell were broken after I was done, and pulling fret tangs from slots were the frets have been filed down, not that big of a deal, and like I said the epoxies and other filers that can be colored are amazing, and the major tang chipping will be covered by the new frets. I didn't say it would be a quick job, but if I can get this thing for $300-$400 it woild make for a fun project, and I love challenges!!