Ibanez PGB1L (ATK) at GC

[Carmine]

Saw Paulo's post about this bass in Southpaw Spotted the other day. The pic in the listing was dark and blurry, but you could see there was graffiti all over the front and the condition was rated 2 stars, so my expectations were low. But since the GC in question is only a 30 min. drive, I decided to give them a call. Talked to a young lady who said yeah there was graffiti all over the front written in paint pen, but otherwise the bass was in pretty nice shape, so I thought it's a Sunday afternoon, for this price I better drive over there today and take a look...

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I get there and what do you know: 1) The bass is actually in EXCELLENT condition, even better than described... other than that graffiti. 2) The "paint pen" graffiti is actually silver Sharpie pen, and can definitely be removed with a little effort and the right chemistry. 3) The "graffiti" (which you can't make out in the listing) is actually the signature of Paul Gray (and several other members of Slipknot)! Ok... I don't claim to be any kind of huge Slipknot fan- but of course I know who they are, and I know Paul Gray is deceased, and this signature on his signature model bass might be at least a minor point of interest worth mentioning. You'd think the youngsters at GC would know this too, right? Nope. So I walked in, observed all this for a couple minutes, said 3 words to the young lady- "I'll take it"- and promptly left the store.

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So now I've got it home, and my first impulse is to just clean this baby off and have a perfectly nice PGBL1 with no issues. I also did a bit of Google research, these signatures definitely appear to be authentic but I have no way to validate them or previous owner backstory to lend additional provenance. But assuming it's legit, I think I'd feel badly about removing Paul Gray's signature? I guess there may be someone out there who would really appreciate it...

I'm curious to hear what you guys think/ or would do with this?

[superheavydeathmetal]

Sweet score, man!

I would absolutely leave the writing. It adds character. Think about this: if you think you want to remove it, wait until tomorrow. You can always remove it tomorrow, but you can never put it back on.

[paulo]

Wow! That's awesome! The bass is beautiful!
I would also keep the signatures, i'm not a big fan but it is really nice to have his signature on it!

[danomite64]

I'm not sure what I'd do with the signatures, but I do know I'd love to have a PGBIL.

[J-meister]

I'm curious to hear what you guys think..

Ok, so you have a fine example of a Paul Gray signature bass, with his actual signature on it...

I think that is a very lucky combination, considered Paul was also a lefty, so...

Keep it that way! (and let'r rip!)

[Jeroen]

I agree with the gentlemen above, I would leave it as it is. It adds character, butt-ugly or not
Is it still set up to be tuned in B, as they all left the factory?

[Carmine]

Yep Jeroen, it is still set up BEAD as from the factory. And so far I've taken everyone's advice and resisted the temptation to do anything to it... haven't reversed strung it righty as I have to do to play it; thought about removing all the signatures except Paul Gray's, but haven't done that either. Don't know why but it's having a strange psychological effect, this Slipknot bass... if I cleaned it off and reversed the strings I'm sure I'd be playing the hell out of it- but the way it is now, I just sit and stare at it...and it stares back...

[AustinLeftyBass]

Yep, remove all but Paul's was my first thought.

[Matt R.]

My god, man. Leave the sigs!

[Stingray5]

Agreed, don't change anything!

[superheavydeathmetal]

Rather than remove the signature, you could sell it and buy another ATK. Granted, you don't see these every day, but they are around, and someone would love the signature.

[Smo]

I would leave the signs especially since Paul Gray isn't with us anymore. I think it's a good idea to sell this bass to someone (maybe a Slipknot fan) if the sings bother you. There are other ATK's around if it's a bass you really want.

If I had that bass I would rock it out just like as it is. Nice find.

[fivebass52]

For $290? Score! Leave the sigs, and rock on!

[Jeroen]

The -133- signature is also of a Slipknot member, Craig Jones:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Jones_(musician)

[iome]

I can't see the problem, why don't you just reverse the strings so you can play it? Then you decide later on what to do with the signatures..just my 0.02$

[bbl]

... if I cleaned it off and reversed the strings I'm sure I'd be playing the hell out of it- but the way it is now, I just sit and stare at it...and it stares back...

Don't even stare at it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-NgeXl-PPA