Machines

I have a range of instruments that fit particular niches and don't think there is any one that could do them all, I also like the range of different styles of instrument, i'd get bored of playing the same thing all the time.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1509374241' post='3398397'] And yet we see oodles of posts drooling over the visual appeal of such-and-such a bass..! 'Wow; that's gorgeous..!' 'Great finish..!' 'Such luscious figuring on the neck..!'. One is allowed to compliment an object on its appearance, but not a person..? How about cuddly kittens..? Is that 'over the top', too..? Hmm... [/quote] This is a logical fallacy.

It's quite different from the J's I've had before. It's a lot snappier and the neck is wonderful. I can't decide on whether i'll fit the neck pickup cover or not yet.

Like all the best purchases, this was on a whim. I had Saturday to myself and a moderate GAS itch. I popped to GuitarGuitar Birmingham and they had a superb collection of Fender Js. I had been lusting after a 4 string Jazz for a couple of weeks after selling my Lakland 55-60 a few months ago, but wanting a 4 string replacement as my Bongo is the ultimate 5 string for me. On the hooks was a rather snazzy looking natural ash Jazz with maple neck and blocked inlays. I love the Marcus Miller look (apart from the extended pickguard) so this looked very appealing. I asked to demo this along with a standard MIM (CAR, maple neck) for comparison. The setup on the Deluxe was a little disappointing, pickups and action too high so it was hard to get stuck in. The Standard was a lot better, so I asked for a few tweaks to make the Deluxe playable which the shop were happy to oblige in a few minutes. After this - everything fell into place, the preamp was not overly powerful and quite usable at it's extremes (unlike the crazy Bongo preamp). I was getting instant classic tones from every pickup combo and I rather quickly was smitten. Took it home after did final tweak setup (damn those imperial sized bridge screws !) but now it is [b]perfect[/b]. Sorry for the library image:

I have this with my B3. Seems to colour the tone a lot even with no patches enabled. My L-2000 sounds like a different instrument entirely through my TC combo. Less obvious with other basses oddly.

I've been told the refund has gone through and should be in my bank in a few days. It's strange as when I paid the money was taken immediately. funny world.

[quote name='mr4stringz' timestamp='1507794767' post='3387943'] If they still haven't refunded you contact your card issuer. Whether credit card or debit card you have chargeback rights regardless; effectively your bank would contact the merchant's bank under chargeback rules to obtain refund of the sum due to goods not being delivered. Hope that helps. [/quote] Just had a look at the process. It could take weeks to get any response from that but it's a good backup cheers.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1507739045' post='3387636'] If it's any help, it could be suggested that the members of staff in the actual shop are just as frustrated over the difficulties with the part of the business they have no control over too. [/quote] The attitude I received was only acceptable after I phoned and was quite firm. Via email it was dismissive.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1507735807' post='3387611'] Did you order on a credit card? Is this something you could take up with your credit card company? Companies tend to be a lot more attentive when the credit card companies come knocking. [/quote] No normal debit. I called to chase and he said refund would be done today. It hasn't.

On a whim I ordered a J&D 1975 Jazz bass (as per http://www.dv247.com/guitars/jandd-jb-vintage-1975-sfgr-bass-guitar-surf-green--201561) last Tuesday, with the website advising 2 working days for delivery. I started tracking the order and noticed on Wednesday it still wasn't shipped. I contacted DV247 and was informed that due to a national holiday in Germany, it would be received Friday and not Thursday, fair enough. I opted to work from home Friday (which requires juggling) and the package was out for delivery from 7am. Roll on 7pm, nothing. I contacted DV247 on Monday and queried this, they advised me to register on UPS and have the package redelivered to a local UPS delivery point (a newsagent less than a mile away) which I did at 11am. As a gesture of goodwill, they generated a £10 discount code for a future order (assumptive that I'd even risk using them again). By 5pm and the redirect request still pending, I contacted UPS. They said they didn't know where it is and to wait. I contacted the newsagent who advised nothing had been delivered at 6pm and the UPS driver had been already but not with my parcel. Tuesday - still nothing, still pending. I cancelled the redirect and at the point of sheer boredom and frustration, asking DV247 to cancel the order which they were fine with. This morning I have an email from them stating UPS have lost the parcel, and they will refund me when they have found it and it is returned to DV247. I have queried this logic, as it is not my problem and why should I wait ? It was never delivered and my contract is with DV247, not their courier. UPS have been pretty useless and cannot track anything in their system any more so than I can on their website. To me, DV247 haven't really taken great ownership of this issue and passed the blame to the courier. I await their response on my last email but thought it better people be aware of this in case they want to order from them in the future.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1506523189' post='3379330'] I was going to mention the ATK's, but never having played one I wasn't sure. [/quote] My ATK does more than a Ray does with the 3 way coil selector. The neck position is unique never heard anything else sound like it. Slightly 4003 perhaps. I may record a demo.

From experience, the Cort basses sound nothing like a Musicman (even my Bongo isn't that close to a Stingray). The closest i've had is an Ibanez ATK, it's killer.

My solution was not to have a main and a backup but rather 2 decent basses. At the time this was a Lakland JO5 and a G&L L-2000 Tribute. So rather than have a backup I just had 2 basses i liked and it didn't matter which one was 'main' for that day.