Will a great setup seal the deal for you?

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by chubfarm2001

I was at a Sam Ash in Columbus the other week and I was really excited to see they had a bass I have been really wanting to try out. Well the sales man gets it down for me, really nice guy, and as soon as he hands it to me I am completely turned off. The action was insanely high. I tried playing it and it just wasn't happening. This is a fairly expensive bass, too, (Fender Am jazz D V) brand new.I have played some older ones and I really liked them, and from what I gather on here, the new ones are top notch. I would think they would put the time and a little coin into a good setup on more expensive basses, if not all of them. maybe not even any coin, just a guy to give it some attention (there always seems to be someone standing around) The setup doesn't have to be perfect, but at least in the realm of decent. I was completely sold by a setup a few years back. I tried an Ibanez BTB 1206 one time, not really looking to buy but just wasting time, and the setup was so impressive, I couldn't put it down, and I went home with it. (I still love it.) Has anyone else felt this way?

+1!!!!!

Rant coming!

For what these things cost they should all have a complete set-up!

Everytime I've went to either my local mom 'n' pop music stores or my closest G.C. there's always sales reps standing around looking for something to do.....here's a suggestion to them to help pass the time (and sell instruments).....dust em' off, set em' up, make sure the strings aren't dead, make sure the batterys aren't dead, that all the pots work, that the instruments are accesible, that there close to being in tune, that there's a "working" cord available to audition the instrument into a amp with, that the amp is plugged into a working electrical outlet, ect., ect., ect.


I feel better.....

[chubfarm2001]

Originally Posted by shoot-r

+1!!!!!

Rant coming!

For what these things cost they should all have a complete set-up!

Everytime I've went to either my local mom 'n' pop music stores or my closest G.C. there's always sales reps standing around looking for something to do.....here's a suggestion to them to help pass the time (and sell instruments).....dust em' off, set em' up, make sure the strings aren't dead, make sure the batterys aren't dead, that all the pots work, that the instruments are accesible, that there close to being in tune, that there's a "working" cord available to audition the instrument into a amp with, that the amp is plugged into a working electrical outlet, ect., ect., ect.


I feel better.....

I completely missed the whole "Never an instrument cord anywhere" and "NOTHING is ever plugged in" side of the story. Thanks for reminding me.

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by chubfarm2001

I completely missed the whole "Never an instrument cord anywhere" and "NOTHING is ever plugged in" side of the story. Thanks for reminding me.

I had "alot" more that I wanted to add, but for the sake of time, I didn't.....

[SquierJazz72]

I would judge mostly by the sound and overall feel of the rest of the bass. If I liked it, and the setup was not too far out, I don't mind reworking it myself. I usually do anyway, just to get my preferred setup going.

But, if the action was way too high, I might question why, especially if it were a new instrument. Was the store too lazy too set it up, or is the high action hiding something.

When I bought my Squier Jazz bass, used, the action was a bit high. When I got it home, and lowered it, fret buzz across all four strings at the 14th fret.

In looking, it turns out someone had shimmed the neck badly and they, or someone later, cranked up the action to compensate. Easily fixed, but what if the excessively high action was hiding a true flaw in the instrument?

[chinjazz]

A bad set up used to be a deal breaker for me.

I've learned to see and feel/hear beyond a bad setup. I used to not have time at all. Now that I learned to do my own set ups, fret and nut adjustments, it's a different story.

I recently went to a local GC and found a less expensive bass (Squire VM Jag), and I mainly needed to know if the truss rod would work (the play action was sky high when tuned up).

Now I'm tweaking it to get it to fit like a glove and it sounds really good. Anyway, my 2 cents.

[phillybass101]

I look at it this way. You are single and meet a beautiful young lady but at that time you personally have a bad set up. What's going to happen? If it looks, feels, sounds,plays like crap, I'm not interested. If I am and the shop is seriously interested I would expect to be offered a nice setup as part of the deal.