Thompson Upright Double Bass Scratch & Dents

Most all of our Thompson upright basses are first ordered and then shipped quickly to just about any city in the world.  Every detail of the order is tended to (triple checked!) and then lovingly packaged and shipped to our customers.  We have always taken great pride in the way we do this all here and quite simply, the basses must be perfect in every way when they go out.  While these are all hand made, we expect the finish, the body and everything on the bass to be free of any flaw and be very attractive to the customer waiting for his/her bass upon arrival.  Customers depend on us to do this and we totally understand.  Having said this, (that we strive for perfection here!), sometimes accidents happen.  For instance, a bass here might accidentally have gotten bumped or scratched.  Just a little bump or mark is usually enough to 'pull' the bass from our inventory and not ship.  After more than 15 years of selling our Thompson basses to thousands of players, we have a small amount of basses that while still perfectly sound, still with full waranty, might have something or another on it that we can now offer at a very nice discount.  Most usually in the past we would simply keep this kind of bass in the shop and only sell it in person so they can inspect and see it first.  It's been our experience that they will usually always buy them when they see them because again, they are nicely discounted and the flaw is a none issue.

Here's a sample list of what we have available and a brief description of the particular issue that allows us to offer at the discount.  The bigger the flaw or issue, the deeper price reduction.  Again, the most important thing to remember is that every bass here comes with the same exact warranty as any other bass ordinarily will.  While everyone loves to get their new bass "new", let's all admit, as we use and play them (usually with a bass it is all about moving them!), dings and scratches happen.  These types of 'Second'  are great for public schools, because as teachers all know...the minute the bass has the cover removed (the first day!), the bass will probably have a scratch on it somewhere...by day's end!

Scratch and Dent List:

1. Bass has a slight scratch on the top or small mark (bump) on it that more than likely happended in our warehouse or shop by having too many basses too closely together and then collided with something else (usually another bass.)  $100 off our reg. $1,485, so $1,385. Some of these marks on these basses, we have trouble even showing up in a photo.
2. Once in a blue moon we'll pull a beautiful new bass out for a customer to begin the set up process (takes about 1-2 days here) and we might discover (about 2 hours into the process) that under the top layer of fingerboard ebony, there might be a lot of lighter colored wood (brown).  This still is good ebony, but again, players/customers expect the best and we aim for all solid black boards.   Most all think the brown/black combination is quite beautiful, but again, we show photos of nice black 'boards' (a little brown is ok and is normally expected) but when it is as much as say, 30-40% brown, there's a nice discount there too, less $100-200 depending.
3. Fingerboard issue.  While the neck of the bass is totally sound (straight), the lower half of the ebony fingerboard (in upper positions towards near the bridge side), might slope downward just a tad. Most folks would not even notice this, but it can make an ever so slight difference in the very high positions whereas the string height might go up (because the board is lower) in that register.  Maybe 1-3mm only.  So for a Rockabilly player or someone who never ventures past the G harmonic, or even higher, this will not make the slightest difference to their playing.  Again, even the most 'persnickity' player might not even notice this flaw, but a nice discount here, -$200, or $1,285.
4. A couple of basses here have a small issue with the top layer veneer showing "checking", which is a very superficial crack in top layer laminate.  It doesn't pose any structural problem, but up close, you can see the marks in the top.  This one is $1,085!
5. We now have a Hybrid (RM-200) bass (with carved spruce top) that has a small lower crack on the top near the tailpiece. In this case, we skillfully remove the top, repair and reinforce the top crack, and glue it back.  Usually, you might not even notice or see the (former) crack repair and it's important to note the most expensive basses in the world all have cracks somewhere on them. Some more than others, but when they are repaired correctly, they are usually never a problem ever.  The regular every day price on our Thompson hybrids, ($2,185) take off $300, $1,885. 
6. We have a nice Rogeri bass (made in China).  This bass cracked all by its lonely self a few years ago!  A top crack and it will be offered for $3,950. Still, nice bass and will look very nice and attractive after it is repaired.

Our plan here (soon!) is to show some good phots of each one of these basses.  In the meantime, if you are interested in saving money and do not care about blemishes or whatever here, you can get a great price for a nice bass.  Some basses might have more substantial accidents (all repaired and all full warranty) but saving substantially more, $300-400 less, as needed and depending on its condition. 

No mail-order 'surprise brides' here!  Any bass that we sell at discounts as a 'Scratch and Dent' we are happy to first send photos to our customers to see and pre-approve.   Again, while we are already known for selling great quality basses at affordable pricing, these discounted basses are a real bargain for those that won't care about aesthetics and/or just want to save substantially.

Let us know if you are interested.  You can email us here, or just call, 480-785-5491 and ask for "Scratch and Dent Steve"!