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$67 Glarry P-Bass

#361
One of my co-workers wanted a cheap bass to play around with. He's a guitar player, but wanted to learn to play bass. I told him about the Glarry and he ordered one. I told him I'd set it up for him.

Upon first inspection, I noticed some buzzing caused by a high 19th fret, but other than that it seemed fine considering the prices.

I got it home and stripped it down to put some Tru-Oil on. The factory finish looks like nothing more but a sanding sealer. There isn't any sort of finish on the neck. The back of the neck had some dings and scratches and the back of the body had two good sized dings in it.

The pots feel fine and work fine. And the pickup seems to be pretty good. Not a lot of big bottom end, but it's not awful. The bridge was properly grounded.

The tuners are really poor. I mean...they are crap. I greased them because they were hard to turn even off the bass. That didn't help much. The rosewood board was bone dry and it soaked up guitar honey like crazy.

The neck pocked had TWO shims in it and it was excessive. Saddle height was sky high to compensate. I removed one of the shims and lowered the saddles. The bridge, like the tuners, is crap. I thing a couple of the intonation screws were bent and the saddle height screws appeared to be rusted. I had to break them loose to turn them.

The nut was a little high, but not enough for me to fool with. Frets were not sharp on the ends and there is no fret sprout. That was surprising.

After about 5 coats of tru-oil on the neck and head stock, I lightly sanded the back of the neck and waxed it. I threw on some used Labella Deep Talkin' flats I had laying around (basically added 50% value to the bass! LOL!) and did a set up.

I couldn't get the action super low, but a good fret dressing would more than likely fix that. I don't have the tools to do it.

All in all, you're a set of tuners and a bridge away from a really decent bass and add in a fret dressing and you might have a pretty good bass. But then you're looking at spending $150-$200 on parts and fret dress and you can't pick up a Classic Vibe P for that money and it's a better bass.

If you are buying a bass to screw around on, or for a beginner, this sucker is fine. Really amazing for the money.
 
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#362
chadhargis said:
One of my co-workers wanted a cheap bass to play around with. He's a guitar player, but wanted to learn to play bass. I told him about the Glarry and he ordered one. I told him I'd set it up for him.

Upon first inspection, I noticed some buzzing caused by a high 19th fret, but other than that it seemed fine considering the prices.

I got it home and stripped it down to put some Tru-Oil on. The factory finish looks like nothing more but a sanding sealer. There isn't any sort of finish on the neck. The back of the neck had some dings and scratches and the back of the body had two good sized dings in it.

The pots feel fine and work fine. And the pickup seems to be pretty good. Not a lot of big bottom end, but it's not awful. The bridge was properly grounded.

The tuners are really poor. I mean...they are crap. I greased them because they were hard to turn even off the bass. That didn't help much. The rosewood board was bone dry and it soaked up guitar honey like crazy.

The neck pocked had TWO shims in it and it was excessive. Saddle height was sky high to compensate. I removed one of the shims and lowered the saddles. The bridge, like the tuners, is crap. I thing a couple of the intonation screws were bent and the saddle height screws appeared to be rusted. I had to break them loose to turn them.

The nut was a little high, but not enough for me to fool with. Frets were not sharp on the ends and there is no fret sprout. That was surprising.

After about 5 coats of tru-oil on the neck and head stock, I lightly sanded the back of the neck and waxed it. I threw on some used Labella Deep Talkin' flats I had laying around (basically added 50% value to the bass! LOL!) and did a set up.

I couldn't get the action super low, but a good fret dressing would more than likely fix that. I don't have the tools to do it.

All in all, you're a set of tuners and a bridge away from a really decent bass and add in a fret dressing and you might have a pretty good bass. But then you're looking at spending $150-$200 on parts and fret dress and you can't pick up a Classic Vibe P for that money and it's a better bass.

If you are buying a bass to screw around on, or for a beginner, this sucker is fine. Really amazing for the money.
Click to expand...
“basically added 50% value to the bass!” Thats SO funny!

Are you sure, based on your description, that this is the second hand bass?
 
#363
chadhargis said:
One of my co-workers wanted a cheap bass to play around with. He's a guitar player, but wanted to learn to play bass. I told him about the Glarry and he ordered one. I told him I'd set it up for him.

Upon first inspection, I noticed some buzzing caused by a high 19th fret, but other than that it seemed fine considering the prices.

I got it home and stripped it down to put some Tru-Oil on. The factory finish looks like nothing more but a sanding sealer. There isn't any sort of finish on the neck. The back of the neck had some dings and scratches and the back of the body had two good sized dings in it.

The pots feel fine and work fine. And the pickup seems to be pretty good. Not a lot of big bottom end, but it's not awful. The bridge was properly grounded.

The tuners are really poor. I mean...they are crap. I greased them because they were hard to turn even off the bass. That didn't help much. The rosewood board was bone dry and it soaked up guitar honey like crazy.

The neck pocked had TWO shims in it and it was excessive. Saddle height was sky high to compensate. I removed one of the shims and lowered the saddles. The bridge, like the tuners, is crap. I thing a couple of the intonation screws were bent and the saddle height screws appeared to be rusted. I had to break them loose to turn them.

The nut was a little high, but not enough for me to fool with. Frets were not sharp on the ends and there is no fret sprout. That was surprising.

After about 5 coats of tru-oil on the neck and head stock, I lightly sanded the back of the neck and waxed it. I threw on some used Labella Deep Talkin' flats I had laying around (basically added 50% value to the bass! LOL!) and did a set up.

I couldn't get the action super low, but a good fret dressing would more than likely fix that. I don't have the tools to do it.

All in all, you're a set of tuners and a bridge away from a really decent bass and add in a fret dressing and you might have a pretty good bass. But then you're looking at spending $150-$200 on parts and fret dress and you can't pick up a Classic Vibe P for that money and it's a better bass.

If you are buying a bass to screw around on, or for a beginner, this sucker is fine. Really amazing for the money.
Click to expand...

Nice review but how are a bridge and tuners $150-$200? A high mass can be had on eBay for $50 and you can get a good set of tuners for like $25. I already added it up. I could do a new bridge, tuners, Quarter Pound and CTS pots with orange drop all for around $175. So around $250 total including the bass. The new CV 60s P Bass is $350. I’d rather have the Glarry with the Duncan pickup and better bridge, tuners and electronics with an extra $100 in my pocket.
 
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#364
mbell75 said:
Nice review but how are a bridge and tuners $150-$200? A high mass can be had on eBay for $50 and you can get a good set of tuners for like $25. I already added it up. I could do a new bridge, tuners, Quarter Pound and CTS pots with orange drop all for around $175. So around $250 total including the bass. The new CV 60s P Bass is $350. I’d rather have the Glarry with the Duncan pickup and better bridge, tuners and electronics with an extra $100 in my pocket.
Click to expand...
Bear in mind that 24 mm CTS pots DID NOT fit the body route in my Glarry P. I used 14 mm Bourns pots in my electronics redo, and also used the Sprague Orange Drop .047 mfd cap.

IMO, that was a significant cost for an insignificant improvement. If you like the white pickguard, and if the existing pots, wiring, and capacitor are working correctly, I’d suggest saving your money.
 
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#365
mbell75 said:
Nice review but how are a bridge and tuners $150-$200?
Click to expand...

That price includes the labor and fret level as well as buying new hardware.

I typically do all my own work, but many don't. So by the time you buy the bass at $70 and add a couple hundred to get it up to snuff, you're in CV territory.

I think the win on this bass is to buy it, set it up as best you can, and play the snot out of it. It would be great for someone to learn on or to use as a backup bass or bar gig bass where you don't want to take your expensive bass. It's fully functional right out of the box after a good setup, but I suspect the tuners are going to be the first failure.
 
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#366
chadhargis said:
That price includes the labor and fret level as well as buying new hardware.

I typically do all my own work, but many don't. So by the time you buy the bass at $70 and add a couple hundred to get it up to snuff, you're in CV territory.

I think the win on this bass is to buy it, set it up as best you can, and play the snot out of it. It would be great for someone to learn on or to use as a backup bass or bar gig bass where you don't want to take your expensive bass. It's fully functional right out of the box after a good setup, but I suspect the tuners are going to be the first failure.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. Even if I factor in another $125 for labor costs, thats $375, only $25 more than a new CV. I have a new CV Jazz but Id take a modded Glarry with superior pickups, bridge, tuners and electronics for an extra $25 over the CV all day long. Not to mention I much prefer the beefy neck of the Glarry over the modern C necks.
 
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#367
mbell75 said:
Ah ok. Even if I factor in another $125 for labor costs, thats $375, only $25 more than a new CV. I have a new CV Jazz but Id take a modded Glarry with superior pickups, bridge, tuners and electronics for an extra $25 over the CV all day long. Not to mention I much prefer the beefy neck of the Glarry over the modern C necks.
Click to expand...
+1
...I like Big Necks & I cant deny!
 
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#370
smcd said:
To put things into perspective, $69.00 in todays money was the equivalent of $10.75 in 1970. Think about that. It's like walking into a music store in 1970 with $11.00 and walking out with a completely functional, decent quality bass. And getting 25¢ change!

I can't fathom how this is possible.
Click to expand...
My first bass, as a 14 year old in 1969 was a used $14 Silvertone. It was the worst piece of crap ever. I used to say it weighed as much as a coffee table. These have to be better. I only kept playing the Silvertone as I knew I’d get a new Fender pre one day (1973).
 
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#373
I was thinking of getting the Burleywood P-Bass, however I want to custom paint it (art). Do you all think the best method would be to remove the gloss that covers the wood with 0000 steel wool? Or would it require something more heavy duty like a heat gun? After I custom paint it what would I use to put the gloss back on (or some other finish) to protect the art work?
 
#374
I’ve placed my order, I’ll give you an update on how it looks when it arrives.
dogbone said:
I was thinking of getting the Burleywood P-Bass, however I want to custom paint it (art). Do you all think the best method would be to remove the gloss that covers the wood with 0000 steel wool? Or would it require something more heavy duty like a heat gun? After I custom paint it what would I use to put the gloss back on (or some other finish) to protect the art work?
Click to expand...
I have no clue how you would refinish a guitar, I’m sure there are tutorials online about how to remove the finish and apply a new one.
 
#376
dogbone said:
I was thinking of getting the Burleywood P-Bass, however I want to custom paint it (art). Do you all think the best method would be to remove the gloss that covers the wood with 0000 steel wool? Or would it require something more heavy duty like a heat gun? After I custom paint it what would I use to put the gloss back on (or some other finish) to protect the art work?
Click to expand...
I’d rough the existing finish to have a KEY for the paint and then seal the final finish in clear lacquer
 
#377
Just got the Glarry Jazz and as you can see, it’s a 21 fret model. This one also has the older headstock unlike my P. Like the P bass, this doesn’t have any sharp fret edges, neck just needed a small tweak and intonation is good. Its a bit heavier than the P but still feels under 8 pounds. Same thick neck the P has. I’m thrilled to finally have a light Jazz Bass with a chunky neck profile and a 42mm nut width!

Only real downside is, like the P, the pickups are very average. They are rather bright sounding and lack any kind of punch or depth compared to Fenders, and even Squiers I’ve owned recently. Also a good deal of hum coming from the J pickups even at lower volume, not a huge deal though. I’ve been wanting a bass or two with some Duncan pickups in them, so these are the perfect candidates as the entire bass was less than what the pickups will cost. Will probably be putting Quarter Pounders in both basses this week.
 
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#378
Ok so got the strings changed to Fender 7250Ms, polished up the fretboard, adjusted the neck slightly and its good to go. Now that I have the same strings on both basses, it sounds to me like the J bass is actually a bit deeper sounding than the P. Even the review I saw on YouTube mentioned it was a bright sounding P bass and it is for sure, I prefer more punch and low end. For sure putting a Quarter Pounder into the P bass, might leave the J bass pickups though.
 
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