I've kept in occasional contact with ex-Roxy bassist Sal Maida since our online interview and he's asked me to mention on VRM that he wishes to sell the bass guitar which was his reserve instrument when he toured with Roxy.

It's a white 1965 Fender P-bass; if anyone has a serious interest in purchasing it, I'll happily forward any requests for further info. If the instrument fetches a good price, Sal has indicated his willingness to bring it from New York to the UK in person.

Get ready to come up with more than $12,000 for Sal's "reserve" bass... See

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Fender-Pre ... 4d29193fc9

So by reserve does he mean it was the one he didn't usually play unless his primary bass went out of tune? If so, that doesn't seem like a valuable selling point.

Maybe the Sal Maida name carries cachet among bass players these days, but I wonder out much of premium it will bring in the marketplace...

As the eBay item's in Ohio & Sal's in New York, I'm assuming that DCJ isn't suggesting that this is the exact bass (or did I miss something in the auction listing?), although it is the model in question. It does highlight that a good Fender with a bit of a history is going to demand a good price, though.

Although Sal told me that he used a Rickenbacker bass for most of his Roxy work, I could swear that I've seen the Fender in photos from that time. He's since come to the conclusion that the Fender is the nicer instrument in some ways; I haven't asked why he's selling it, as I didn't feel that it was my business.

As for the degree of cache that his name might add to the bass' value, that's rather hard to gauge from this side of the pond; although Roxy and (probably) Sparks had bigger European followings, fans in the USA probably associate Sal more with Milk 'n Cookies and his current band Cracker.

Would this one be the Rickenbacker?

I'm not saying that the eBay bass referenced is Sal's bass. I offered the link as a context for understanding what Sal's bass will likely cost if you want to add it to your collection of vintage guitars...

That's what I thought you were implying, DCJ.

As a non-musician, I don't know anyone with a collection of guitars, vintage or otherwise, but the prices seem quite eye watering!

Your link seems closed off to me, Roxy...

Vintage Les Paul, Fender, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, etc guitars that pre-date 1970s are much sought and coveted by electric guitarists. After 1970 the materials and quality began to decline and interest drops off for the classic brands...

Guitars from the late 1950s seem to have particular cachet among the cognoscenti!