NBD would you return this?

[shoulderpet]

Hi

Have today received a Squier classic vibe Jaguar bass from Gear4music, the bass sounds good, feels good and I have been able to drop the action low on it without issue (1.7ish mm on the E string 17th fret, 1.5ish mm on the G) however whilst the neck is in good shape in terms of the frets not buzzing with the low action there are some flaws on the finish on the neck, wanted to know what other thought , would you return it or live with the flaws in the finish as the neck is good? Some pics below (sorry for the poor quality phone camera pics) the are some imperfections on the finish along the side of the fretboard.  Some small white indentations in the finish and also with the finish it looks like someone has gone a little overboard with the tinting and the fret markers are a kind of off orange colour rather than white, let me know what you think

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by shoulderpet

[Romeo2]

if you can't feel it under your hands when playing then I would say live with it but email pics with concerns of QA to the shop, you may get a discount/store credit in the process

 

but we also want pics of the whole bass!

[shoulderpet]

9 minutes ago, Romeo2 said:

if you can't feel it under your hands when playing then I would say live with it but email pics with concerns of QA to the shop, you may get a discount/store credit in the process

 

but we also want pics of the whole bass!

Of course, sorry for the poor quality, a decent phone is next on my list of things to get

 

[shoulderpet]

Just noticed also that the colour of the neck is slightly but visibly more orange from around the 11th fret to around the 13th fret

Next to my VM Jag for comparison, an orange hue that Trump would be proud of

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by shoulderpet

[shoulderpet]

Ok I have made up my mind and am returning the bass, I have requested a replacement, it was the 2 tone neck finish that was the decider for me

[prowla]

Even though it's only a Squier, I would say those faults are unacceptable for a new instrument.

[shoulderpet]

Thanks for the replies

 

12 minutes ago, prowla said:

Even though it's only a Squier, I would say those faults are unacceptable for a new instrument.

Thanks, makes me feel better about returning this bass, is a shame about the faults because it practically plays itself and it sounds great , the funny thing is this bass has Squiers quality control tag attached, makes you wonder what the ones that failed were like

Edited November 14, 2020 by shoulderpet

[Doctor J]

The hue of the side dots is due to the colour of the tinted finish and surely supposed to be like that? Both those necks have wood of the same colour, just one is sprayed with an orange tinted gloss to give it the... well... classic vibe you paid for. There's nothing there which would bother me but if you feel you must return it, go for it.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Doctor J

[shoulderpet]

10 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Surely the hue of the side dots is due to the colour of the tinted finish? Both those necks have wood of the same colour, just one is sprayed with an orange tinted gloss to give it the... well... classic vibe you paid for.

To some extent yes I would expect the side dots to have a tint to them, unfortunately due to the camera on my phone (I will try and get a better pciture tomorrow when there is natural light) the pictures dont show just how orange the sid dots are, they start slightly orange  which would be expected and then around the 12th fret where there is the 2 tone neck issue they literally look like someone has smeared them with red shoe polish.  

Edited November 14, 2020 by shoulderpet

[uk_lefty]

B stock bargain coming up, then! Can see why it would bother you, hopefully they swap it over for you with no fuss. 

[Drax]

If it felt good, and sounded good, I'd say they're not flaws but 'character' and keep it. But you've gotta be happy yourself, if you're not happy absolutely swap it. I must be easily pleased

 

[shoulderpet]

Ok now that it is daylight again I managed to get a slightly better picture of the 2 tone finish.

[LukeFRC]

on a budget mass-produced bass retailing for £330 I would think that looks all ok to me. 

[CookPassBabtridge]

I think you've done the right thing by returning it. At the end of the day there's no point you keeping an instrument where you'll be worrying/stressing about the finish every time you play it. The whole point of the bass is to enjoy it, so if anything will impact on that, definitely return it and get something that you're 100% happy with.

[Kev]

At the price point, you have to expect little things like that to be honest.  Chances are the replacement will have something as well.

[Geek99]

I don’t agree - there will always be some flaws - it this particular OP cannot live with them comfortably then that’s reason enough to ask for a swap

[Beedster]

There've been a few threads on here recently relating to what people believe justifies returning a bass. All I can say given the pics here and elsewhere is that the buyers in question should see what we had to put up with in the 70's and 80's, and at far higher price points relatively speaking. Try and return a bass back then - and boy by today's standards there was serious cause - and the shop would likely say "We don't know when we'll see another bass guitar, and when we do, there's a good chance it'll be worse than this one"

[Doctor J]

Imagine how busy the Fender Returns department would have been towards the end of the 70's 😂

[shoulderpet]

30 minutes ago, Beedster said:

There've been a few threads on here recently relating to what people believe justifies returning a bass. All I can say given the pics here and elsewhere is that the buyers in question should see what we had to put up with in the 70's and 80's, and at far higher price points relatively speaking. Try and return a bass back then - and boy by today's standards there was serious cause - and the shop would likely say "We don't know when we'll see another bass guitar, and when we do, there's a good chance it'll be worse than this one"

Yeah, some of the 70s basses were real turds and would be firewood today, it always make me laugh the price that vintage Fenders go for when a lot of those 70s Fenders were absolutely terrible basses , then you have the stuff that was considered low end back then like Teisco and Kay that usually weighed a tonne, had pickups you could sing into and hear yourself through your amp, those terrible bridges the sliding bar that many of them had and the tuners that were like bronco tuners but worse.

[Old Horse Murphy]

Being the proud owner of three expensive Gibsons, I'd say that you got off lightly in terms of shoddy finishes 😉

[Geek99]

Buying one expensive Gibson might be considered a mistake, buying two expens....

[Lfalex v1.1]

Buying a third Gibbon..

(Back on topic) Assuming it plays well and sounds good,  I'd not send it back. 

The cosmetic issues give it some character. You'd recognise it if you saw it again.

[Bassfinger]

I'd return it.  You wouldn't see that on a Harley Benton at less than half the price, so I wouldn't accept it on a 330 sheet instrument.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Chances are high that you won't get one with as perfect fretwork if you return it, especially considering that it's a budget instrument to begin with (1.7mm action on low E string 12th fret without any fret buzz would be good even for a higher end large factory production instrument from stock).

Frankly I'd much much rather have that on a bass than it being perfect cosmetically.

I wouldn't return it if I was you.

Edited November 15, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[Mokl]

For me playability followed by tone rule at this price point.  Sounds like it's a player - I'd hold onto it!