Anyone know if Bassdirect is trading?

[visog]

Bought my Two Notes Le Bass pre-amp from them. First unit developed an intermittent power loss. They took it in - verified the fault and replaced it as soon as new stock arrived. Not dealt with them over the Internet but would buy from them again. Frankly it's a great resource with tons of unusual and exotic stock you simply don't get in PMT, etc.

[51m0n]

20 hours ago, Doddy said:

I can't say anything bad about Bass Direct. I've always been treated well even when I haven't bought anything for a while. But then, I bought my Bergantino cab and Genz Benz head off Mark when he was still operating out of a barn.

I bought my ae410 from the barn, that was a really peculiar experience 😆

[AndyTravis]

I buy my strings from them because they stock Sadowsky strings - they always arrive within a couple of days. And they’re cheaper than buying from Thomann (even before B-sit.)

Haven’t bought anything else from them though.

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I buy my strings from them because they stock Sadowsky strings - they always arrive within a couple of days. And they’re cheaper than buying from Thomann (even before B-sit.)

Haven’t bought anything else from them though.

Not for much longer. They’ve stopped making strings unfortunately...

[AndyTravis]

35 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Not for much longer. They’ve stopped making strings unfortunately...

Ah poo. Need to figure out who made their blue steels then. FFS.

Bought 4 sets, should’ve bought 12

[Doddy]

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Ah poo. Need to figure out who made their blue steels then. FFS.

Bought 4 sets, should’ve bought 12

Labella, I believe.

[Belka]

Mixed opinions - I took a bass up there to have an issue looked at with their tech. The email communication in advance of my visit was super efficient and friendly, but when I arrived I didn't feel welcome at all - was actually asked 'why are you here?'. The tech they had was friendly and dealt with the issues, and I enjoyed talking to Mark when I met him - he's certainly knowledgeable. When the bass was fixed, I asked if I could play it through an amp to make sure the issue was resolved for myself - was told 'why would you want to do that - I already checked it?', although in the end, begrudgingly, they let me do so. 

It's a great shop and despite the issues I would buy from them if they had something I wanted, but it was a weird experience. I always enjoy visiting the Gallery and have found everyone there extremely helpful and approachable, and Wunjo are also very good, and therefore I would always use them ahead of Bass Direct (unless it was something I couldn't find elsewhere). It's a shame they can't sort out their customer service  - I really want shops like that to succeed as they have such great stuff but I can see why some people would never use them again.   

[AndyTravis]

3 minutes ago, Doddy said:

Labella, I believe.

Mr Sadowsky confirmed that labella made their nickels, but for whatever reason would never say who made his steels and apparently they were different factories.

Might have to start trying different companies again, had just got used to them so I can learn again.

Tried some Ernie Ball steels and they were ok, a bit rough at first.

[chris_b]

17 minutes ago, Belka said:

I always enjoy visiting the Gallery and have found everyone there extremely helpful and approachable. . . .

The Gallery is a great place for a visit. I haven't bought much/enough there, but always get a "long lost friend" greeting from Martin. I still don't know if that is for me or whether he does that with everyone.

[Paul S]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

The Gallery is a great place for a visit. I haven't bought much/enough there, but always get a "long lost friend" greeting from Martin. I still don't know if that is for me or whether he does that with everyone.

Martin bought my Thunderbird to put in the shop (note to self - sold it too cheap!) and when he came to collect he was really chatty, despite standing on the driveway with a mask on in the cold  

[ezbass]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

The Gallery is a great place for a visit. I haven't bought much/enough there, but always get a "long lost friend" greeting from Martin. I still don't know if that is for me or whether he does that with everyone.

Sorry to burst your bubble, Martin has always been friendly and chatty with me also, even though he might just be passing through the shop whilst you’re served by someone else. I’ve never found him pushy (or any of the staff for that matter) and always seems eager to help. I was once trying out numerous basses and I felt one needed a truss Rod adjustment. There was no, “I’ll do it in a minute,” or, “Why do you want that done?” he just did it straight away, with no complaint. I bought that bass. 

[CookPassBabtridge]

I've had generally good experience with Bass Direct, they have always responded very quickly to my enquiries and were very patient when I tried out a number of high-end basses at the shop (pre-lockdown!). The website does need an overhaul though, it's rather outdated and I've been caught out a few times ordering something which is actually out of stock. But I believe they're looking at launching a new one this year.

They've proved to be a bit of a lifesaver for me, they sell stuff that I wouldn't be able to obtain or simply ask questions about easily anywhere else. So I echo a lot of the other comments - they may not be perfect but the bass playing community is a better place with them around.

Edited February 9, 2021 by CookPassBabtridge

[thodrik]

I generally get good service there. They also have no problems sending gear up to the Scottish Highlands and don't charge extortionate rates for doing so. 

They always reply to my emails within 24 hours. The replies are usually brief, business-like and to the point. I appreciate that but I could see how people used to 'how are you doing buddy? Many thanks for taking the time to provide us with your ever so special inquiry' ultra friendly tone of correspondence would find the tone of the correspondence a bit unfriendly. 

I will certainly continue to use them. Though, obviously given my location I am unlikely to actually visit the shop in person.

 

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, thodrik said:

They always reply to my emails within 24 hours. The replies are usually brief, business-like and to the point. I appreciate that but I could see how people used to 'how are you doing buddy? Many thanks for taking the time to provide us with your ever so special inquiry' ultra friendly tone of correspondence would find the tone of the correspondence a bit unfriendly.

I don't think anyone has a problem with the style or friendliness of an email, I certainly don't - its the 'not getting a reply' thing which is my problem (and the reason for this thread)

[thodrik]

3 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I don't think anyone has a problem with the style or friendliness of an email, I certainly don't - its the 'not getting a reply' thing which is my problem (and the reason for this thread)

Getting no reply to an email is always annoying and off putting. To be fair I haven't emailed them since last July or so, but the lack of reply has never been an issue before and that has been over the course of about ten years. I might be lucky in that respect as there certainly seems to be good, bad and indifferent experiences from the looks of this thread.  If I had a serious email inquiry that was  ignored it would certainly put me off spending loads of money in a shop. Likewise with rude customer service in a shop which is why I pretty much stopped going to Sound Control in Glasgow after about 2005. 
 

[Beedster]

It's funny, but there was another thread a while back on which i mentioned that the guy in question hadn't replied to my emails, and when everyone else came on and said 'He always replies to mine" it made me even more angry! I wonder if shops realise this 

[Woodinblack]

23 minutes ago, Beedster said:

It's funny, but there was another thread a while back on which i mentioned that the guy in question hadn't replied to my emails, and when everyone else came on and said 'He always replies to mine" it made me even more angry! I wonder if shops realise this 

haha - yes, it would be more acceptable if everyone was ignored, otherwise it seems personal!

 

[lou24d53]

 

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, lou24d53 said:

 

[thodrik]

8 minutes ago, lou24d53 said:

 

Honestly, at this point I have would have much higher levels of confidence in a Spector made Sadowsky than the Warwick made Sadowskys we are seeing at the moment. 

[ped]

3 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Honestly, at this point I have would have much higher levels of confidence in a Spector made Sadowsky than the Warwick made Sadowskys we are seeing at the moment. 

And then Warwick could copy the Spector made Sadowskys and balance would be restored

[Ltsal]

I’d love have Shop like Bass Direct or Bass Gallery in mainland Europe.
Because german custom wants something like 30% tax on imported stuff and that hurts my wallet a lot. 

[CookPassBabtridge]

3 hours ago, Ltsal said:

I’d love have Shop like Bass Direct or Bass Gallery in mainland Europe.
Because german custom wants something like 30% tax on imported stuff and that hurts my wallet a lot. 

I think Bass Direct will deduct the VAT for you if buying from outside the UK, you pay it when it arrives in Germany. So the only potential additional cost would just be a handling fee and whatever the difference is between UK and German VAT. 

[Paulhauser]

1 hour ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

I think Bass Direct will deduct the VAT for you if buying from outside the UK, you pay it when it arrives in Germany. So the only potential additional cost would just be a handling fee and whatever the difference is between UK and German VAT. 

This!

[Ltsal]

7 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

I think Bass Direct will deduct the VAT for you if buying from outside the UK, you pay it when it arrives in Germany. So the only potential additional cost would just be a handling fee and whatever the difference is between UK and German VAT. 

This way it’s still not really worth the hassle with the tax and so on.
It had to be something special that I could only get there.