dave_bass5

Its sounds like you might more luck now your cutting out the middle man. Keep the good news coming. EDIT: I still think you should get your money back in your hands before going any further.

Another vote for the Wizard Thumper, or a Fender Original (62RI). Both sound quite similar to my ears and both give you that woody P tone but with a bit more punch/thump in the low mids. I have one in my CV P and it really made a nice difference. Same goes for the Wizard 74's in my CV Jazz. The Fralin is a fantastic pup but costs quite a bit more than the others.

When i got my first "real" 5 string, a Lakland 55-01, i got it on a Thursday, took Friday off work to learn some new songs (was going to do that anyway) and did a 3 hour wedding gig with it on the Sat. No point hanging around, especially after spending loads of money on it.

I had one a few years ago and loved it. I really regret selling it now. I never had any problems with the low B and could get a nice low action from it. The only reason i sold it was i was tempted back to Lakland with their slightly later necks. Ended up being a big mistake.

Now you can afford to get a CV :-)

Good for you. I cant understand how a company cant guarantee 100% delivery for goods worth this much. What do you do now? Nothing. Bank the money (or pay off a CC etc) and enjoy what you have for now.

I think you just need to shop elsewhere rather than give up on the Ray. If you are thinking of going to Florida that would be the ideal time to go in to a shop, choose the perfect bass and get it shipped back here. It might not work out much cheaper, not like it used to, but at least you can hand pick the bass. What's Darren's take on all this?

Agree with the last few posts, after waiting 7 months, plus another 3 weeks on top i would take my business elsewhere now.

I'd like to know how involved the BM are in this, especially as the original order was place with them. In my experience that's the first, and should be the only point of contact, if nothing else to keep things simple. I dont know if Gareth is dealing with S&T directly or through BM so it's hard to get a clear picture of who is messing him about. The issue with the van could mean it broke down, no driver (surely they would have a stand by) but I'm reading it as maybe it wasnt actually arranged properly. To me this makes more sence than to assume a van is off the road, I would assume there would be other orders on board so I doubt S&T would want to let multiple customers down. Just my thoughts while I'm sitting on the bog bored.

If memory serves me correctly this isn't the first time S&T have done this to you is it Gareth? Seems like a pretty lame excuse considering the amount of money involved here.

I must admit I didn't think it would happen today. It sounded all to easy. I can tottaly understand your feelings Gareth. This can't keep happening, and you haven't even seen the new basses yet. I personally think you are just getting messed about and I would call thier bluff and cancel the lot.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1319210544' post='1411402'] Im REALLY hoping this is the end of it. [/quote] Im sure we all are, fingers crossed and make sure you report back.

The only thing ive forgotten to take has been a strap with strap locks. This has actually happened twice so now i leave a spare with the band. I did also forget to take a working bass to a gig though. I had changed the pups in my CV Jazz but not wired them in. The problem was i put the bass in he wrong gig bag and ended up taking this bass to a gig instead of the correct (working bass). I did manage to get it all up and running with the help of Gaffa tape. Oh, and this bass didnt have strap locks on it but my strap did and these are permanently fixed to the strap with no way of getting them off at a gig.

[quote name='shinhoman' timestamp='1318975376' post='1408596'] What's new about it? [/quote] What's nice about it? :-)

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1318772434' post='1405991'] Don't know if anyone is following this thread anymore (least of all G30 users), but I have one coming and I'd like to use a different bass>transmitter cable (I favour right-angled jacks out of the bass). What's a comfortable cable length and I'll get an order in with our very own OBBM. Cheers Paul [/quote] i actually use quite a short one with my AKG so my transmitter sits just up from the strap lock. Ive got two of OBBM's, both right angled, but i found having the transmitter sitting further up the strap, against my back, felt uncomfortable. I also use mine upside down so the lead exits from the bottom.

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1318885729' post='1407481']Hang on a minute, are we saying that all 'real' Americans and English folk are white Anglo Saxons? The US and United Kingdom are multi cultural societies and US citizens include a fair few people who originated in Mexico .[/quote] Well my comment was meant as a joke. I put no importance on where or who makes my gear, as long as it works. In fact other than a SUB last year and a Fender P5 (and not including the MIA's I had and returned) I don't think Ive ever owned any other basses made in the USA.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1318867731' post='1407137'] Which guy? one from the neck making team, or one from the body making team? or the neck finishing department? or the body finishing dept? or the guy who bolts necks to bodies? or the setup team? They probably just got their pay, the bare minimum EB could get them to work for, and went home. [/quote] Just like Fenders MIA, MM are probably made in the USA by Mexicans (not knocking the Mexicans)

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1318854909' post='1406870'] Good post. I myself can't see the point of buying decent basses of any price anymore as whatever I see I know I can build... I miss bass GAS. [/quote] Same here, although there are a few basses i would like i dont have any GAS at the moment. [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1318854909' post='1406870'] I remember your Fender debacle and that really was out of order but somehow I'm not seeing this on the same scale. I'm sorry.[/quote] I only brought that up to show how i feel about issues, then and now. Mine was just poor CS, this goes a lot deeper.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1318854479' post='1406856'] FWIW, it's rare for them to have issues IME. [/quote] Agreed. They are generally very good, especially their Cable broadband. I think because it works so well when it does go down its a bigger deal because we arent used it.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1318852689' post='1406797'] This is the first time I've been able to access the site for nearly 2 days - I've just had fast fibre optic broadband installed & everything else is hurtling along so I don't think the problem is with my computer. [/quote] WOT has posted in another thread that Virgin are having issues. If your on VM then that could explain it.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1318852331' post='1406783'] Diff'rent folks, diff'rent strokes. [/quote] That was based on waiting for 7 months, If it was a case of send it back and receive another in a few days then i certainly wouldn't give up on it. [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1318852331' post='1406783'] I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing this from a player's point of view then. [b]I agree 100% that if the customer is not happy with the product (for whatever reason) then they should by all means return it [/b]but "sub par for the money" is subjective, it function's as it should and the "problem" appears to be easily rectified... but this, it seems would not to be an option for Gareth or yourself. £1500 is not a lot to spend on a big brand bass when you are seeking perfection. How much is a decent CS Fender these days? [/quote] To be honest ive seen just how well made much, much cheaper basses are so i personally wouldn't spend £1500 on a bass now. I see no need to, my Squier (with large neck pocket gap now it has a smaller neck on it) is doing just fine. Im happy to put up with the poor neck pocket because this bass wasn't brought for its looks. As some know i had 3 MIA's last year and each had poorly cut out pickup holes. Not all the same but each was worse than any bass i have owned. All were very playable and i do regret sending the last one back. I felt that spending £900 should get me something better. Its only a few pieces of wood that come of a production line but £900 is a lot of money, irrelevant of how much more i could spend. To spend £1500 i think your right to expect perfection, and not settle for less. We've had a few analogies so i wont bother with one here, but do feel that almost any bass (within reason) will be playable with a good set up, its the workmanship and quality of materials we pay a lot more for, and when its this area thats lacking then i think its justified to send it back if your not happy.

Personally i would kick up a stink and go elsewhere. No matter how far MM bend over backwards, Gareth has waited long enough IMO and its already taken 2 weeks just to get a reply from them. This will drag on to long if MM offer to sort him out a new bass IMO, and if another bass is sent who knows what it will be like. Personally i dont think its unplayable at all. I do think its sub par for the money and wouldn't want to keep it, so im with Gareth on that but i dont see any indication (unless i missed it) that its not working as it should.