I took what he said that guitars like Fenders with the opaque finish might not be solid wood
@Wombat-metal Yup thats what I got too from his first paragraph. In the second he mentions solid wood may only be used for stain/ clear coat finish. Iâm just saying because it has a clear coat it doesnât mean itâs only one solid piece. It can be solid wood with a veneer on top.
Either way I have had 2 plywood builds and they were both cheap models. Never heard of a quality plywood bass, but maybe? They were not a pleasure to work on (route holes were rough and chipping can splinter) and I could not see any advantage over solid wood such as the mentioned stability of plywood. Not to mention the squier was much heavier than my solid VM. But if someone does find it advantageous thats great too.
One thing for sure is the value of a plywood guitar will not compare to its solid wood counterpart. When I do buy guitars and basses I do want be satisfied with the feel, look and sound but its value for resale is always a factor. I know I am not one to get attached cause to me they are just tools.
1 Like
One of the biggest reasons to never buy new. Used obviates this problem as you let the previous seller absorb that cost.
Very true, unless you get a great deal, twice. Lol.
This is a big exception.
Last year I wanted a P bass and Amazon had a Fender P MIM for $670 and I jumped on it. It wasnât a warehouse deal and the prices in CDN were already at $900. Then I saw a PJ Jaguar in Tidepool. It too was way below at $650 CDN. Now that order took till either this year to come and I wasnât charged till it shipped. When I got it they were listed for $1050 everywhere. I think they had a few left at that price and I posted the link in GAS for barney, McCan and Celtic but they were gone in 12 hours.
So ya get it used. My only dilemma with that lately is the amount of scam artists I have come across. Its almost not worth it anymore in my neck of the woods. And if it wasnât so bad I wouldnât be thinking of liquidating my Warwicks. I think I should pocket the money these days as a mid tier bass is probably all I need.
Mind you if I was in Japan like you, from what I see in the classifieds, I would be broke. Lol
1 Like
Iâm all for buying used, but you can work deals on new sometimes, so new or used depends. The Charvel San Dimas basses I bought new for $800 each, which is the price they go for used on Reverb. They are $999 street price.
And the Ibanez MDB5 I will be getting new, the previous versions, MDB3 and MDB4, are so seldom sold they fail the search on Reverb, and donât show up on eBay either.
I have about a 50/50 split on new/used in my rack, and when I cull I will get as much if not more for my used basses. But you can deal on new often. Which I wish I knew starting out.
2 Likes
Itâs true; I turned a profit selling a discounted floor model I bought new once. So special cases do exist.
Itâs insane 
1 Like
That purple stingray i just bought used on reverb is a 2020 and cost me a few hundred over its original list price. Could i have maybe gotten him to come down a little, maybe. But i wasnât going to lose it to someone else over a few hundred.
2 Likes
Sometimes resale isnât a factor at all
3 Likes
Very true. If you can find something that checks all the boxes and ends all the needless GAS, there is no need for resale. Wish I could find the bass that does that for me. In the long run it would be much cheaper even if it was a $3000+ bass.
2 Likes
Yep @howard sometimes you get lucky. Iâm so very happy with this one.
6 Likes
Love the black hardware and pickguard. Great color combination too
2 Likes
I would probably find that one pretty boring, and then⌠the pickguard stripe totally makes it for me.
1 Like
Strandberg has it all worked out.
4 Likes
Troll Level: Expert 
1 Like
Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding, like a Nerf ball.
4 Likes
Gregorâs opinionâŚ
4 Likes
Lars could make a piece of plywood sound good
3 Likes
plywood does not sound bad at all, especially for a bass
4 Likes
Itâs so good they made aircraft out of it.
4 Likes
and I never heard anyone saying that a plane made out of plywood does not sound as good as a solid wood one ! 
7 Likes