gary mac Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I've seen so many favourable reviews of this bass in recent times, and thought it might fit the bill for me, for an economical back up bass. So, a couple of days back I went to the local music shop to test drive one. Got to say it was a very disappointing exercise. I understand that this is a budget model but the saddle screws were protruding to such an extent that it was very uncomfortable to play. Yes I know that they can be removed, cut down and refitted. The action was way too high, again, I know it's adjustable. The strings just didn't resonate and I don't know if that would be solvable with a string change. I suspect that the strings were at fault, they looked, felt and sounded awful, but it may have been the nut and or bridge at fault. I pointed this out to the salesperson, who told me that the strings get corroded sometimes during shipping To be fair he offered me a discount, but wasn't willing to change the strings. So I guess I'll never know, unless I risk a purchase and do the mods. So, what do you think; was it just a ropey one or what you would expect from this model. All the best Gary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 one that hasn't had any love in the shop and they don't give a ... just want to get rid of it and also have the cheek to want you to buy new strings too... the strings that come with it are Fender strings... they're fine when they are cared for... nothing special though... I suspect this bass has been there for some time and no-one's been cleaning the strings after they've been used... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 +1 to what Paul said. The VMJ's are generally very good, there's been no report of a bad one on BC/BW/BT, I know mine came fairly well set up. I'd say you just got hold of a typical "out of box, onto shelf" one in a shop that doesn't care too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdphysio Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 [quote name='Buzz' post='145730' date='Feb 23 2008, 08:30 PM']....... I know mine came fairly well set up.......[/quote] +1. mine was very playable, & only needed a little personal 'tweaking'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Yup - I've got a VM 70's jazz. Stuck an East retro and a Gotoh bridge on and it's as good as anything else I've got. Decent action, great looker, even tone across the board, minimal dead spots. Only gripe is it's a little heavy being maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Thanks for the replies chaps. Think I will have to try out another one then. Any recomendations for stockists around Herts/Essex? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 [quote name='gary mac' post='145838' date='Feb 24 2008, 08:53 AM']Thanks for the replies chaps. Think I will have to try out another one then. Any recomendations for stockists around Herts/Essex?[/quote] Mine's a good 'un. Now wears a BadAss II and DR FatBeams plus a FatFinger. Changed the control knobs to black Schaller ones with "dents" in so I could see how they're set. Left it passive with original pick-ups in. Sounds great to me. Plays well, too. Mine came from GAK and was ok from the box. Essex / Herts? PMT (Southend/Romford) Allegro Music (Chelmsford / Colchester) The Chelmsford branch had one with a nice 2 piece body a few weeks back. Try phoning to see if they've got them in stock... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Thanks for that, probably give them a call next week and may also have a look over at Machinehead in Hitchin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigjf1969 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='145841' date='Feb 24 2008, 09:11 AM']Changed the control knobs to black Schaller ones with "dents" in so I could see how they're set.[/quote] Hey Lfalex,where did you get hold of these as i want to put some on mine aswell,cheers Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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