Some of you may have seen the thread I posted about the G&L LB-100 that I ordered back in August and how basically the whole experience has turned into one giant pain.
Long story short for those of you who don't know, I ordered a G&L LB-100 back in August and it arrived in November with a twisted neck. I didn't get it back until yesterday which meant that I waited longer for the replacement neck than I did to get the bass built in the first place. This was frustrating, but I gave G&L a chance to make it right.
Yesterday as I said the bass came in and while the good news is that the neck is fine and it plays great (there are a few "oops" marks from the fret file that I am choosing to ignore, but that's a minor gripe in my book). The issue now is that the input jack is very fiddly and keeps cutting in and out. Also, there is either a ground or shield issue and the bass (split coil P) is extremely noisy when the tone is all the way open if I'm not touching the strings. More so than would be acceptable. There is even a "pop" or "ping" when taking my hands on and off the strings.
We only have one G&L dealer nearby and they don't really do electronics work. But still, the owner is working with the warranty guy at G&L and is going to try and fix the problem. I'm accepting of this, though he doesn't seem very confident in his ability to fix the humming issue depending on if the usual suspects are ruled out (ground continuity, bad connection). So it's possible that he might not be able to fix the problem 100%. If that's the case then the only option is to send the bass back to G&L.
If this happens, I am DEFINITELY asking for a refund because having to ship the bass all the way across the country for an electrical issue, and having to wait ANOTHER 3 weeks minimum to get it fixed (given shipping times) is in my opinion unreasonable at this point. I've already spoken to the rep at Jim's Music (where I bought it) and he is in 100% agreement with me since he has been essentially suffering along with me since Day 1 and he knows all the crap I've dealt with.
Now to my dilemma: I think it's understandable that at this point, I'm worried that I'm no longer in love with the idea of owning this bass. Maybe once (and if) it's 100% fixed I will forget all about it, but this was my first custom build. I poured over my options and planned this out daily for a few months. It's like having a dream turn into a nightmare and I'm just tired.
So, lets say that the bass does get fixed 100%, would it be understandable that I'd be considering forgetting the whole thing and returning the bass for a refund based on the fact that this entire experience has essentially shaken my faith in the brand and I wouldn't feel like I had an instrument that I could depend on? The rep at Jim's Music knows how I feel and I believe he supports me returning it for a refund if I just wasn't satisfied with it. It's a unique situation after all since according to him, he has never encountered this kind of hassle and delay with any G&L bass he's ever ordered for a customer.
I'm still going to give it a shot to have it fixed and then see how I feel after. But I'm just trying to be realistic with the fact that this whole experience has tainted how I feel towards owning this instrument.
Long story short for those of you who don't know, I ordered a G&L LB-100 back in August and it arrived in November with a twisted neck. I didn't get it back until yesterday which meant that I waited longer for the replacement neck than I did to get the bass built in the first place. This was frustrating, but I gave G&L a chance to make it right.
Yesterday as I said the bass came in and while the good news is that the neck is fine and it plays great (there are a few "oops" marks from the fret file that I am choosing to ignore, but that's a minor gripe in my book). The issue now is that the input jack is very fiddly and keeps cutting in and out. Also, there is either a ground or shield issue and the bass (split coil P) is extremely noisy when the tone is all the way open if I'm not touching the strings. More so than would be acceptable. There is even a "pop" or "ping" when taking my hands on and off the strings.
We only have one G&L dealer nearby and they don't really do electronics work. But still, the owner is working with the warranty guy at G&L and is going to try and fix the problem. I'm accepting of this, though he doesn't seem very confident in his ability to fix the humming issue depending on if the usual suspects are ruled out (ground continuity, bad connection). So it's possible that he might not be able to fix the problem 100%. If that's the case then the only option is to send the bass back to G&L.
If this happens, I am DEFINITELY asking for a refund because having to ship the bass all the way across the country for an electrical issue, and having to wait ANOTHER 3 weeks minimum to get it fixed (given shipping times) is in my opinion unreasonable at this point. I've already spoken to the rep at Jim's Music (where I bought it) and he is in 100% agreement with me since he has been essentially suffering along with me since Day 1 and he knows all the crap I've dealt with.
Now to my dilemma: I think it's understandable that at this point, I'm worried that I'm no longer in love with the idea of owning this bass. Maybe once (and if) it's 100% fixed I will forget all about it, but this was my first custom build. I poured over my options and planned this out daily for a few months. It's like having a dream turn into a nightmare and I'm just tired.
So, lets say that the bass does get fixed 100%, would it be understandable that I'd be considering forgetting the whole thing and returning the bass for a refund based on the fact that this entire experience has essentially shaken my faith in the brand and I wouldn't feel like I had an instrument that I could depend on? The rep at Jim's Music knows how I feel and I believe he supports me returning it for a refund if I just wasn't satisfied with it. It's a unique situation after all since according to him, he has never encountered this kind of hassle and delay with any G&L bass he's ever ordered for a customer.
I'm still going to give it a shot to have it fixed and then see how I feel after. But I'm just trying to be realistic with the fact that this whole experience has tainted how I feel towards owning this instrument.
