Not sure "new" is right term: NGD 1987 Bass-5

shinksma

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So I decided to pick up a 5 string bass for my wife (and me, I will admit). Found this online at GC. Single photo was the usual GC quality (i.e. looked like it was taken by Mr Magoo, after several martinis). Arrived today, and I checked it out at lunch.

I'm a little disappointed that there is more "road wear" than usual, and wasn't really described. But the price was pretty good for something of this vintage, and I must admit it feels pretty good to play.

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Brazilian FB feels nice and slick. It seems to have "faded" overall, but is dark where played a lot (from natural body oils, I guess) - is that typical?

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Here's the rode-hard-and-put-up-wet bits:

Top of front, there is more "scratchy" stuff going up to the bass horn:
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Back, belt buckle rash I guess:
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There is also a good gash on the headstock:
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Here's the SN on back of headstock - so it is a 1987, not the 1986 it was advertised as:
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The mini-toggle seems to switch from active to passive modes. It is quite "loose" (can spin around in the switch housing a bit) when passive is selected. I will probably swap that out. I do not have a 9VDC battery handy, nor a good screwdriver, so active mode testing will have to wait until I get home.
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Still, despite all the wear and tear, it is the 47th bass ever made by PRS!

It did not come with OHSC, so GC threw in a "free" Road Runner case. The PRS is a little loose in there, so the case is already dinged from the bass horn strap pin slamming into it during shipping.

Got the bass for under half what a couple of SE basses street for, which is a whole lot less than some of the listings out there for other similar-vintage specimens (albeit in a lot better condition).

But I'm annoyed at the condition being just on the verge of "fair" instead of "good".

Good: This product is completely functional and shows some signs of use. It may have surface scratches and/or dings and dents.

Fair: This product is functional but shows signs of heavy use that could include, but not limited to; scratches, dings, dent, chips, and worn parts/controls.

But I will probably keep it, since it is a piece of PRS history that I am unlikely to find at a comparable price (there is a 1990 Bass-5 at a GC in Manhattan for a similar price, but looks to be in slightly better condition based on the better photos). Everything else is easily double the price, or more.

So, does anyone know how the active controls work on this model of bass? Obviously once I get the battery (or batteries?) installed I will be able to experiment, but an actual "user guide" would be nice.

@Shawn@PRS , anything in the PRS document vaults?
 
Well I just called them, and they said "well, it came from another GC, so I don't know anything about the guitar or why it was marked with the wrong year. It already dropped in price a large amount, so I can't really do anything for you. Do you want to just return it?"

More than likely someone else bought it online, had it shipped to them where they live, somewhere near this GC store, and they took it back for a refund.

Hmm. Maybe I'll see what my wife's reaction is.
 
Play the heck out of it! It looks pretty darn cool to me! No idea about the electronics though.
 
It’s actually pretty cool and interesting!

As an aside, BRW varies in color quite a bit; sometimes it’s dark, sometimes has lots of grain in various colors, but it can be brown, reddish, etc.

If the wear bugs you, there’s always restoration by the PTC...
 
Does it play well and sound how you want to to?

If yes, keep it and enjoy it for what it is.

It’s still a lot of guitar
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement!

Didn't need it though - you should have seen my wife's eyes light up when she opened up the case! I had warned her that it was "not new" and had some battle scars, but she didn't care! And she was super impressed by it being the 47th bass ever made by PRS!

She's quite happy to explore the passive mode sounds (there are five), so I'll play with the active stuff whenever I get a spare afternoon - probably not for a few months, festival season is upon us, and we're slammed pretty well every weekend until late-April with either running sound or just "simple" band gigs.
 
It’s actually pretty cool and interesting!

As an aside, BRW varies in color quite a bit; sometimes it’s dark, sometimes has lots of grain in various colors, but it can be brown, reddish, etc.

If the wear bugs you, there’s always restoration by the PTC...
Nah, the wear doesn't bug me, it was the failure to disclose that really bugged me.

And it means she doesn't have to worry about putting a small ding in it.

I was curious about the Brazzy RW because there are so many guitars out there these days that have such dark (Indian) rosewood that they almost look like ebony. And I thought I had read that BRW darkens over time, so the relative lightness you see in the photos above was a mild surprise. I'm not concerned one way or the other, just curious.

EDIT: the Brazilian rosewood back on this guitar goes from heartwood to sapwood, and it appears the rosewood on "our" bass would come from the middle section - the "outer heartwood":

https://www.dreamguitars.com/shop/2...e-brazilian-rosewood-swiss-spruce-426-60.html

(Just a random search result that showed me what I was looking for!)
 
I dig it! And you're not helping my PRS bass GAS situation either...
As far as GC, I always take their descriptions with a grain of salt, that way I can be surprised if it actually does match when I get it.
 
I'm a little disappointed that there is more "road wear" than usual, and wasn't really described. But the price was pretty good for something of this vintage, and I must admit it feels pretty good to play.
First of all, it's new to you, so yes, new. Frankly, I don't think much of brand new guitars anymore, as typically they are overpriced, and haven't earned their "stripes."
And the road rash--well, that's proof that it was played and LOVED. Plus, takes away the worry that you might scratch it.
Congrats, and enjoy!
 
First of all, it's new to you, so yes, new. Frankly, I don't think much of brand new guitars anymore, as typically they are overpriced, and haven't earned their "stripes."
And the road rash--well, that's proof that it was played and LOVED. Plus, takes away the worry that you might scratch it.
Congrats, and enjoy!
Indeed, my wife is quite happy with it, so no complaints! And yeah, the wear and tear on it means that it will be difficult to feel any regret should a new ding appear (or even notice it appear).
 
So here is my wife posing with her Bass-5. I told here to make serious bass-face. :D

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The shirt matches by happenstance, and she is also using one of my wireless systems that also happened to color-match.

EDIT: I just noticed, the Snark tuner also matches.

Oh, and yeah, she has discovered the freedom of a wireless system, so now I have to get her one. I will experiment to see whether the Xvive is compatible with the active electronics of the guitar (apparently Xvives don't like active pickups, including the piezos on my P24/P245 and HB, but they are OK with piezos on my acoustics).
 
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