Brian18242 Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I'm currently looking at the various headless bass options under £200, but not sure if to order? Yes, I know AliExpress can be hi risk and obviously at that price the bass certainly won't be Fodera quality 😉 Anyone have any good or bad experiences ordering from here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I've bought a few smaller items - pedals, a USB mic etc and they've all be fine. Delivery times vary - can be a few weeks but it saved me money. Not bought a guitar from them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian18242 Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 At £170 I know it won't be great but could be good for a mess around bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I've had a few things from Ali... scratchplates and odds n sods - All Good Had a Ric-o-like, main issue is the lay-back of the thru neck. With a bolt on neck, you have way more wriggle room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Edge Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I’ve only bought home automation stuff off there, plus some Apple Watch straps (quality as good as Apple and very cheap). Everything arrived as listed and surprisingly quickly. I don’t think I would buy a guitar off there as the returns process is probably an expensive nightmare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Bought a 51 P-bass neck to check the quality. At £50 delivered it came in £20 more than I'd be for the parts/materials. Neck passed muster with flying colours so ordered up another 4 🙂 Way I normally buy from Ali-Ex is by prices, if the product is say £200 from Europe and there's an Ali-Ex seller asking £70 and another wants £35; buy the one at £70 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I bought an acrylic light-up 5-string bass from Music Zoo. One LED didn't light up, they sent me a replacement neck (which I have yet to fit). Someone on Talkbass ordered a custom bass from them and it worked out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 8 hours ago, Brian18242 said: At £170 I know it won't be great but could be good for a mess around bass. Looks cool, but the tuners on that bridge look much longer than you see on other headless bass bridges. No idea if that's a positive or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I always felt I'd like a Korina Explorer. Never had the confidence to pull the trigger on an AliExpress one. Don't need any more basses. Oddly, despite it being. Chibson, I'd still like a G***** name on the headstock. Maybe. Later this year, perhaps. No idea of how to go around doing this, best sellers etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 10 hours ago, Brian18242 said: At £170 I know it won't be great but could be good for a mess around bass. I wouldn't chance it - those may turn out to be the actual colours. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Forrer Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I've purchased a couple of basses over the years. They've turned out to be very good. Frets, tuners, bridges etc have been fine. The only thing with them is if it's active, they always use the Ming preamp, which isn't bad, but they always wire it wrong so that the battery is constantly being drained. This is a very simple fix and usually just involves changing the connections on the output jack socket. Overall I find them OK, especially if you're looking for a modding platform. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 hours ago, Marty Forrer said: The only thing with them is if it's active, they always use the Ming preamp I've heard it's merciless. Chortle. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 9 hours ago, Marty Forrer said: The only thing with them is if it's active, they always use the Ming preamp, which isn't bad, but they always wire it wrong so that the battery is constantly being drained. I don't know what preamp was in my Iyv headless but the pots seemed to be random and poor quality. I just dumped the whole lot out and put in an Artec SE3 which works well (the pickups are OK). The Iyv basses can only be found on ebay.com - there's a 4-string version https://www.ebay.com/itm/404763623508. Shipped with the neck detached to keep shipping costs down. Fotoflame body, tuners have good and bad points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I've bought a ton of stuff from AliExpress over the years, from cheap accessories and guitar parts to electronics costing a couple of hundred, I'm currently waiting on some bits and bobs from there at the moment in fact. Last year I came very close to buying a beautiful headless 5 string as I found some reviews of the manufacturer (Mountain/ZLG although probably renamed now) and they were shocking. Like the truss rod access being incorrectly routed so it couldn't be adjusted and neck not being radiused fully before the frets were installed. A mate of mine bought a Chibson Slash copy and while it is playable there is a bump in the fingerboard, same deal where it has been rushed out and not been profiled correctly. Maybe worth the risk if you can do the work yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 hours ago, lemmywinks said: A mate of mine bought a Chibson Slash copy and while it is playable there is a bump in the fingerboard, same deal where it has been rushed out and not been profiled correctly. Maybe worth the risk if you can do the work yourself. I was chatting to a guitarist at an open mic night recently and he'd bought a Chibson and was absolutely delighted with it - he'd replaced the pickups and electronics but didn't say how much of an improvement that was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 minutes ago, tauzero said: I was chatting to a guitarist at an open mic night recently and he'd bought a Chibson and was absolutely delighted with it - he'd replaced the pickups and electronics but didn't say how much of an improvement that was. I think if you spend a more reasonable amount of money then they'll build you a proper one, my mate got the Slash sig for around £150 delivered and when he complained about the issues they knocked another £30 off. It looks the part, sounds ok and is playable with a bit of buzzing if he wants a lowish action so not a complete write-off. He mainly bought it for fun and as a bit of a wallhanger knowing full well that it might be trash, the same week he ordered it he bought a Korean Epi gold top LP off Facebook for not much more which is a solid instrument. The headless basses on there do look tempting though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I bought some IEMs on Alliexpress, and one earpiece was dead. Seller refused pay for postsge back unless I sent him a video of the fault, which I could not do since the window of opportunity for uploading videos closes as soon the fault is registered. Sent the earbuds back at my expense and the buyer chose not to collect them from the depot where they were taken because he was not in to accept delivery. He then refused to refund me because he hadn't had them back. I eventually got my full refund, partly through Alliexpress and partly through Paypal, as a goodwill gesture. Buyer beware... David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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