GARGANTUAN Deal? :D

[backline112]

So after saving up from work, and sacrificing much-needed adolescent parties, alcohol, and going out, I bought a "real" bass at Sam Ash:

-Ibanez BTB 785 PB AM. Poplar burl top. $749.99 ($799 on tag)
-Schaller Nickel Straplocks $19.95
-Perri's (?) Black leather wide strap $9.99
-High Beams 5 string set $29.99
-2 year guitar setups $100

Total: $969.07 (Taxes included.)

Managed to get a free gift, Hartke HT20 Chromatic Tuner.


Was this a good deal? What do you guys think? I just want to share my excitement, and to make sure I wasn't ripped off!!!

[Bluesy Soul]

You should be excited to have a new bass and accessories, whether it's a GARGANTUAN deal or not.

It appears to me that the prices you listed for the bass, the strings, the strap and the strap locks were all good prices, and the free tuner is cool, of course. I called it so-so, however, solely due the $100.00 for 2 years' worth of setups. IF you use your setup entitlement and get at least a couple of setups a year, AND IF GC does good, reliable setup work for you AND IF it turns out to be quick and convenient to get your setups done at GC, then I've been too cautious and you got a great deal!

I get to know all my basses and I always do my own setups, so I wouldn't have spent that $100. Nonetheless, if you can satisfy all the "IFs" above, you will have received good value for the $100 spent on setups.

IMHO, YMMV, etc.

Congrats again on the new bass!

Bluesy Soul

[RustyAxe]

Depends. Did ya buy it to get the deal, or to get the bass? If the latter, then ya done good, cuz it's yours!

[backline112]

There was no deal in the first place. And I bought it for the bass. I was between this one, and this MTD:
http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/sto...tegorySA-10001

Oh, I will DEFINITELY go every three months for them to clean it and perform a routine check.

I love the bass. As I said, I just wanted to share the excitement of buying the first serious bass and to see if I spent more than I should've or not. Cool.