NBD would you return this?

[Kev]

19 hours ago, Geek99 said:

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

Nail on the head, there will always be some flaws.  A replacement bass may have dodgy frets, wonky bridge, banana neck etc.  If he’s got a good player and an unevenness in tint is the only fault, why risk the swap? He’d be better off getting a refund and buying something else, or waiting until he can see the instrument first.

[Sean]

I've recently paid £135 for a brand new Ibanez and it is absolutely perfect so at £300+ any faults, send it back.

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, Mokl said:

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

... and you like the instrument...if you don’t gel with it it’s a non starter 

[Baloney Balderdash]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

... and you like the instrument...if you don’t gel with it it’s a non starter 

Yes, but I think it is important to make sure that OP actually realizes that he is most likely exchanging perfect fretwork for better looks if he swaps that bass, in this case and in this kind of price class (even higher end big factory production basses will often have less perfect fretwork than the bass he got now, as he mentions allowing for a 1,7mm action at 12th fret for the low E string without any fret buzz, and as this is a budget bass the risk is even higher that the new better looking one won't have as perfect fretwork, in fact I would say that it is even to be expected to be the by far most likely scenario).

If he knows that then he got a fair chance for making a qualified decision.

Not informing him about this risk, and how high it actually is, is not really helping him making a fully informed and qualified decision. 

The actual choice however is of course still entirely his and his alone, but I assume he made this thread and mentioned the state of the fretwork and action he was able to get on the bass in question for a reason. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[mr zed]

Do Fender put off white markers in there to match the tinted neck? They all might be the same. I don't know because I've never been close up to one but someone may know. The replacement may be the same.

[Beedster]

26 minutes ago, mr zed said:

Do Fender put off white markers in there to match the tinted neck? They all might be the same. I don't know because I've never been close up to one but someone may know. The replacement may be the same.

I imagine the replacement will be the same.

I was in an Indian Restaurant in Southampton in the early 80's after a gig. My two onion bhajis were stone cold. I called the waiter over and told him; the ambient volume level in the place dropped to almost anechoic chamber levels, and I heard someone whisper "flip me, he can't be from around here, he's sending the flipping food back". The bhajis that came back to the table about 15 minutes later were, I suspect exactly the same ones that had left 15 minutes earlier at exactly the same temperature as before if not a little cooler. I was going to say something to the waiter but gut instinct said "leave it Beedster, leave it". And no, I most certainly did not eat them. But I did learn that the emotions associated with wanting what you paid for are not always helpful 

[Rich]

On 14/11/2020 at 19:11, shoulderpet said:

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

Yup, that would have been the clincher for me too. I'd be sending it back if it was mine.

[shoulderpet]

4 hours ago, mr zed said:

Do Fender put off white markers in there to match the tinted neck? They all might be the same. I don't know because I've never been close up to one but someone may know. The replacement may be the same.

Tbh its not the markers so much, when the bass arrived I noticed the markers, then I noticed the white indentations in the finish on the side of the fret board and was weighing up me options about whether I should keep or return.      I was very strongly considering keeping the bass ,  then about an hour later I noticed (and I have no idea how I didn't notice this to start with) that the neck around the 12 fret was practically cherry red (the poor quality photos really dont show the extent of the difference in colour) and that was the decider for me

[shoulderpet]

2 hours ago, Rich said:

Yup, that would have been the clincher for me too. I'd be sending it back if it was mine.

Yeah, the photos dont really show just how different the 2 tones of the neck are but around the 12 fret its practically cherry red and the rest of the neck is (varying shades of) amber ,  even my wife (who thinks all of my basses look the same) could clearly see that something was up with the neck

[stingrayPete1977]

I wouldn't recommend the OP orders a Rickenbacker any time soon 😂

[shoulderpet]

18 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I wouldn't recommend the OP orders a Rickenbacker any time soon 😂

Honestly at Rickenbacker's price they have no excuse for sloppy quality control, if I paid that much for a bass I would expect a lot

[shoulderpet]

And DHL seems to have lost the replacement , can't fault gear4music, they collected from me and sent out the replacement quickly but thumbs down for DHL whos tracking advised of a delay on Friday that means it wouldn't be delivered so I arranged on their online system to collect from the depot today only to get there and they couldn't find it.

[Bassfinger]

That'll  be for sale on a DHL drivers ebay account.

[shoulderpet]

1 hour ago, Bassfinger said:

That'll  be for sale on a DHL drivers ebay account.

I will give them till Monday, if they still don't know where the bass is then I will contact gear4music

[Kev]

If DHL don't delivery Saturdays, it could well be that it's loaded in a van for Monday?

 

[shoulderpet]

On 21/11/2020 at 14:26, Kev said:

If DHL don't delivery Saturdays, it could well be that it's loaded in a van for Monday?

 

I really hope that's the case, starting to wish I had put an ad in items wanted instead of buying new 

[mcnach]

On 14/11/2020 at 19:32, shoulderpet said:

Thanks for the replies

 

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

 

Personally, if the sound and feel is really good, I can tolerate cosmetic issues. Especially if ordering online so you don't have a chance to try a few and choose the best... the next one might not be as nice to play, because instruments can vary a lot between them.

However... it's you, not me, and what matters is if these things bug you enough. If the fact that it sounds and plays great is not enough for you to enjoy it without being annoyed at the look... then it should probably go.

[shoulderpet]

Ok so I got the replacement, sadly the replacement is dodgy too 😡 the alarm bells started when i unboxed the bass and the action was about 4mm, I lowered the action to about 2.5mm and there was a horrific buzz on the D string at the 9th fret so I think they caught the fret buzz at the factory and jacked up the action to compensate.

As this is 2nd time unlucky I think I'm going to return it for a refund and wait till lockdown is over so I can try one out in person

[Kev]

2 hours ago, shoulderpet said:

Ok so I got the replacement, sadly the replacement is dodgy too 😡 the alarm bells started when i unboxed the bass and the action was about 4mm, I lowered the action to about 2.5mm and there was a horrific buzz on the D string at the 9th fret so I think they caught the fret buzz at the factory and jacked up the action to compensate.

As this is 2nd time unlucky I think I'm going to return it for a refund and wait till lockdown is over so I can try one out in person

I think that’s probably best mate.  It’s a gamble that rarely pays off.

[shoulderpet]

9 hours ago, Kev said:

I think that’s probably best mate.  It’s a gamble that rarely pays off.

Yeah, its a shame as I really like the look and feel of the bass but imo a bass should be playable with medium action without horrendous fret buzz and should not require the action to be super high to compensate. 

Always seems strange to me that as musicians we tolerate so much in terms of faults with a bass, we wouldn't tolerate a washing machine with a faulty spin cycle or a tv we could barely hear or a pc that crashes frequently just because they are cheap but with an inexpensive bass we end up justifying issues that shouldn't be there to start with.

[Bassfinger]

A Hardly Bent one at a third the price wouldn't be likely to have such faults.  Squier are taking the pith.

[Rich]

12 hours ago, shoulderpet said:

Ok so I got the replacement, sadly the replacement is dodgy too 😡 the alarm bells started when i unboxed the bass and the action was about 4mm, I lowered the action to about 2.5mm and there was a horrific buzz on the D string at the 9th fret so I think they caught the fret buzz at the factory and jacked up the action to compensate.

That's disgraceful. Minor finish flaws are one thing, sending it out with a boIIocksed neck is quite another. There's no excuse for that at any price point. 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by Rich

[Doctor J]

Did you adjust the relief when you lowered the action? If the truss rod is not as tight as it should be, around the middle of the neck is where you can expect buzzing to start. If there was high action across all strings, it's quite likely the neck has settled a bit since it left the factory and a truss rod adjustment, rather than a bridge adjustment, is the first step.

[shoulderpet]

36 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Did you adjust the relief when you lowered the action? If the truss rod is not as tight as it should be, around the middle of the neck is where you can expect buzzing to start. If there was high action across all strings, it's quite likely the neck has settled a bit since it left the factory and a truss rod adjustment, rather than a bridge adjustment, is the first step.

I didn't, the thing is as it is only on one string at a particular fret it seemed more likely to be cr*ppy fretwork, I will give it a try later tonight

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, shoulderpet said:

Yeah, its a shame as I really like the look and feel of the bass but imo a bass should be playable with medium action without horrendous fret buzz and should not require the action to be super high to compensate. 

Always seems strange to me that as musicians we tolerate so much in terms of faults with a bass, we wouldn't tolerate a washing machine with a faulty spin cycle or a tv we could barely hear or a pc that crashes frequently just because they are cheap but with an inexpensive bass we end up justifying issues that shouldn't be there to start with.

 

The thing is that unlike those appliances, in a guitar usually all of those things can be adjusted relatively easily in most cases... but you need some experience. Or help from someone with experience. 

I would expect a better setup than what you describe from the box, but the truth is I always end up setting instruments to my taste, so a setup is always factored in. It's very rare I find an instrument plays right for me from the start. Basic setups are something worth learning to do early on. It'll save you a lot of hassle down the line, plus you may find some bargains along the way too as sometimes people sell instruments they don't get along with simply because the setup is terrible (once I had a guy giving me £20 back after I had decided to buy his bass, because the action was too high - but everything worked, it was an OLP Stingray clone with the wheel at the body end, and easy to check on the spot, which I did when I noticed the crazy amount of relief...)