Help! I've been ripped off.

Vanceman · #1 10-08-2010, 09:50 AM

I'm sick to my stomach. I took my beloved Fender American Deluxe Jazz to a reputable shop to have the nut replaced. Picked it up yesterday, and last night I noticed something wasn't right. I believe the electronics were swapped out.

The pots don't feel right, the electronics are noisy, and it sounds terrible. What do I do? I think I'm going to puke.

How do find out if in fact this has happened. I just know it. I can feel it. I'm am so angry!!!! HELP!

Dr. Toboggan · #2 10-08-2010, 09:53 AM

open it up and take a picture, I'm sure someone here will be able to compare and tell you if its the stock goods or not.

anonymous02282011 · #3 10-08-2010, 09:53 AM

what shop? where?

Have you been back there to talk to them about these issues?

LaklandBass · #4 10-08-2010, 09:54 AM

Well for starters I'd say open up the control plate and take a look inside. Find yourself an image of the stock electronics and see if all adds up.
If it doesnt Id be calling that shop and talking to the owner right away.

Evil Undead · #5 10-08-2010, 09:55 AM

Hmm... I dunno... I can't imagine that confronting the shop owner would do any good as he probably wouldn't admit it, and might get nasty.

Tough one... I'm really sorry to hear about that though. It never ceases to amaze me (not in a good way) the things folks will do.

LaklandBass · #6 10-08-2010, 09:58 AM

Id imagine talking to the shop owner would be ok if he's not the one that did the work on the bass.
Sometimes honest business owners employ a Dbag and cant do anything about it untill they find out.

Evil Undead · #7 10-08-2010, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaklandBass

Id imagine talking to the shop owner would be ok if he's not the one that did the work on the bass.
Sometimes honest business owners employ a Dbag and cant do anything about it untill they find out.

You have a good point there.

I usually (mostly incorrectly) assume that the tech is the owner, mainly cos I'm from a small town with only 2 techs, and that's the case at both shops!

anonymous02282011 · #8 10-08-2010, 10:01 AM

It's not a big deal. You go back to the shop and calmly explain the situation.

Keep your cool no matter how they react.

LaklandBass · #9 10-08-2010, 10:05 AM

adbass is totally right.
Find out if its true that your eq has been swapped....
Then go to the shop in person with your bass and calmly explain to the owner of the shop.
If he tries to say youre lying or it didnt happen.... etc... just calmy say nothing and call the police right in front of him. Have the police come down to the store and figure it out from there.

dmclane · #10 10-08-2010, 10:10 AM

If all the pots still have the same function I would be wondering if maybe they spilled something on them. I had a friend spill a beer on my Music Man's preamp and a couple of the pots sounded really scratchy till I replaced them.

anonymous02282011 · #11 10-08-2010, 10:12 AM

The cops might help, but that seems a little dramatic. Hopefully they will be cool about it and there will be a simple explanation.

Maybe they accidentally just cut the ground wire. In any case, if the work was recent and the shop is reputable, they should offer to take care of you.

hdracer · #12 10-08-2010, 10:13 AM

Three screws. Is it that to hard to do? Verify that thing are swapped before you slander someone. Are the pup's correct? Is your battery dead? The Fender pre is nice but not worth stealing.

odin70 · #13 10-08-2010, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaklandBass

adbass is totally right.

calmy say nothing and call the police right in front of him. Have the police come down to the store and figure it out from there.

I dont know about the UK, but i would like to see the police where i live, show up for a crime like that.

lx_night · #14 10-08-2010, 10:29 AM

I have a fender jazz deluxe as well i would gladly open it up and take pics for a comparison with your bass, let me know if you need them.

Sorry to hear what happened, i hope all goes well.

Vanceman · #15 10-08-2010, 10:32 AM

Wow, you guys are quick!

I will confront him, and he does have an assistant. I will bring a large friend with me. I'm not really good at confrontations, and end up saying things that don't help. I've played this bass 1000's of times, it's really obvious, the shafts on the pots are loose and rattely, and the sound is awful. I'll go home at lunchtime and take a picture, and check the battery.

I have a friend who is a detective, so I should give him a call. Maybe we could get fingerprints off the internal parts. I don't want to mention the shop at this time, as he services the L.A. area, with the autographed band/artist and TV/movie personality pics hanging on the walls.

hdracer · #16 10-08-2010, 10:35 AM

I would VERIFY that something has been changed fist. CART-HORSE. Oh and check your battery...

Chasarms · #17 10-08-2010, 10:39 AM

The greater crime would be someone actually installing Fender stock preamps!!!!

Just kidding! I actually think the deluxe pres are pretty nice. I really liked the one in my ADPV although it was noisy. Just thought a little ice breaker was in order!!!

Rick Auricchio · #18 10-08-2010, 10:44 AM

And you're sure it's YOUR bass they gave you back? Is it possible they accidentally switched with someone else's in the shop?

**barebones** · #19 10-08-2010, 10:48 AM

A couple of thoughts jump out at me on this. One, have you ever looked inside the electronics cavity before? If you don't know what was in there before, you can't really accuse someone of stealing what was in there based on "feel." Two, I have a hard time imagining a shop going to the trouble of stealing a used preamp when they can get any preamp they want at cost.

Still, it COULD happen. Maybe if one of the lackeys working there has the same bass with a bad preamp or something and saw an easy replacement opportunity... But then I guess you're still facing the prospect of accusing someone of theft based on feel. As someone who spent three years catching shoplifters and employees ripping off the store, I can tell you that feel might get you started on an investigation but doesn't hold up as any sort of proof.

dalkowski · #20 10-08-2010, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barebones

A couple of thoughts jump out at me on this. One, have you ever looked inside the electronics cavity before? If you don't know what was in there before, you can't really accuse someone of stealing what was in there based on "feel." Two, I have a hard time imagining a shop going to the trouble of stealing a used preamp when they can get any preamp they want at cost.

Still, it COULD happen. Maybe if one of the lackeys working there has the same bass with a bad preamp or something and saw an easy replacement opportunity... But then I guess you're still facing the prospect of accusing someone of theft based on feel. As someone who spent three years catching shoplifters and employees ripping off the store, I can tell you that feel might get you started on an investigation but doesn't hold up as any sort of proof.

This.