1985 Jd Thumb

gasserx

gasserx

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Hi guys!
Recently a 1985 JD Thumb popped up for sale locally. It looks to be in fair good condition, but has of course been used, and thats visible. Nothing bad though, just what you would expect from a used bass, but not in MINT condition.
Question is... what would be a fair pricerange for this rare beauty?
 
gasserx said:
Hi guys!
Recently a 1985 JD Thumb popped up for sale locally. It looks to be in fair good condition, but has of course been used, and thats visible. Nothing bad though, just what you would expect from a used bass, but not in MINT condition.
Question is... what would be a fair pricerange for this rare beauty?
Click to expand...
Can you show a picture?
 
thumb.jpg
Her ya go..
 
Hmmmm, barts. Not sure if those are OEM...
Here in France I'd say around 1200€, depending on the actual state (fretwear if any, scractches or deep dings, neck...) might be more.
Very nice example, by the way.
 
I think i read somewhere that bartolinis was available as an option... not sure
 
Does the serial says K256 on the one you have linked too Toepfer???
 
It's really hard to see - not a good picture - but possible
Gold Hardware - Seymour Duncan PU's
 
Sure i have looked at it, but its a very bad pic... haha.
The one thats for sale here, is K259 :eek:
 
Toepfer said:
There is one for sale on Ebay Kleinanzeigen for 1.800€ at the moment
warwick thumb von 1985
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This one is prety rare. The Seymour Duncan Pickups have the integrated switch to change the wiring. Not sure if it will sell at this price, too. In my experience, the Thumb NT4 is sold around 1500€ if in good state with a hard shell case... n,ow it all depends on the buyer. For me, a JD with barts is worth more than a recent thumb with MEC. As Gasserx said, the one he looks at has battle scars, so it lowers the price.
I would definetely try it out anyway, this JD with Barts.
 
Ohhh yes. Me loves me some JD's.

These two look to be "medium horns", version 3.

If those Barts are original...it's the first '85 JD I've seen with em'. Though the pup screws look to be silver...and I'd think those would have been black screws from the factory (with the black hardware) if original. So I'm a bit doubtful.

"K" would have been either the end of October, or early November. These are right on the cusp of (up until now) the first known 3rd version (Entwistles #269). And as Henry pointed out....#256 is a more rare one, with the Duncan's, but manly due to it having the gold hardware option in my opinion. That's the first '85 JD I've seen in the wild with gold. And with the pup screws being gold as well....I'm inclined to think it's all original. Pretty cool. That price seems very reasonable to me.

There's nothing like an '85 JD. If you're able, I highly recommend getting it. Or both ;)

Here's some more info on '85's if you're interested...
 
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Thank for the input. Im trying to arrange to have a look at it before next weekend.
 
I have agreed to look at it this weekend.
How much would various scratched and modifications affect the price? If its a good player, i would like to buy it, but not at any price. He is asking 1600 euros originally, but has agreed to lower it a little bit (without saying how much yet).

There also looks like there has been drilled out a hole in the head once...wich is "repaired"... not sure, hard to see from the picture.
More pics :)
 

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gasserx said:
I have agreed to look at it this weekend.
How much would various scratched and modifications affect the price? If its a good player, i would like to buy it, but not at any price. He is asking 1600 euros originally, but has agreed to lower it a little bit (without saying how much yet).

There also looks like there has been drilled out a hole in the head once...wich is "repaired"... not sure, hard to see from the picture.
More pics :)
Click to expand...

Very strange place for someone to drill a hole. Wonder what that's all about.

1600 euros is an acceptable price, as is, in my opinion. Anything below that is great. Neck looks to be crack free. I'm guessing those squirly scratches below the E tuner, are just that....scratches. Definitely ask him about the drill hole when you see it. And of course make sure the neck is straight, with normal relief.

As I mentioned before, those Barts might not be original. Checking the control cavity should give you the answer for sure.... but I've never seen an '85 JD with Barts. And those silver screws look out of place. You can always email Hans Peter and ask if they ever put Barts on the first JD's.

With that said, 1600 for an '85 JD is a very reasonable price. One that was more minty could easily go for 2000. #42 sold for 3000ish just a few months ago. Granted, it was owned by Pino.

If he's willing to drop down 100 or 200....bonus. Good luck!
 
Thanks again Hoggles.
Kind of excited to check it out, but im a little bit sceptical to the scratches... and a drilled out hole :confused: We`ll see on saturday.
Wonder if it can be gently restored/refreshed by a luthier? And of course replace the screws etc.

Pictures tend to lie...
 
gasserx said:
Thanks again Hoggles.
Kind of excited to check it out, but im a little bit sceptical to the scratches... and a drilled out hole :confused: We`ll see on saturday.
Wonder if it can be gently restored/refreshed by a luthier? And of course replace the screws etc.

Pictures tend to lie...
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pics aren't the best either. Seems like that hole repair could have been done better. Still curious what that was ever for. And we still haven't seen the back of the body.

If you do get it, you could easily refinish it yourself, instead of a luthier. Save a lot of money.
 
There was a pic of the back also.
I can swap out screws myself of course :D How about wood..? Are we talking about gently sanding it down with very fine paper?

thumb6.jpg
 
gasserx said:
There was a pic of the back also.
I can swap out screws myself of course :D How about wood..? Are we talking about gently sanding it down with very fine paper?

View attachment 17557
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Yeah, it's quite easy...though it requires some patience. You use about 3-4 stages of sandpaper. Never taking off much wood. Only enough to remove the old wax...and maybe to try to get some of those scratches out. You always have to take extra care around the top of control cavity, because the wood is thin there to begin with. And doing a JD that has the amazing scalloped back of the headstock... You would want to be very careful not to mess up that ridge down the middle, or any of that incredible luthery.

I used one can of Warwick wax to refinish my '04 Thumb. Wax needs to be applied hot/melted, for that initial coat. It's a project, no doubt, but you'll save hundreds doing it yourself. You can find threads of people who've done it. If you do buy the JD and decide to do a refin, feel free to ask a bunch of questions. Luthier/professional or not....I would never trust my Wicks to someone else for a refin. That's just me.
 
Had a look at it today. No cracks, but a few scratches... some small and some a little bigger.
No story about that hole, and its not that nice fixed either, but can surely be redone. It plays good and feels good.
A nice player for sure, but i would have preferred a little bit better condition... but still.... i have given an offer for it, so now i just have to wait and see.
 
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