Bittersweet NBD.....

[russpurdy]

Received my SUB Ray4 today...

Setup is pretty good out of the box. Neck is relatively straight, frets are good, intonation isn't too bad.

Sound is nice. The EQ isn't too extreme, nice powerful snappy tone. I haven't had the same distortion issues with the preamp that I've read about.

My issue, however, is that on the black finish there are a number of large cracks in the poly. Two starting at the pickup and winding around to the battery door and one sprouting 6 inches from the strap button.

I'm bummed because otherwise the bass is great. Already emailed the shop I bought it from and asked what they will do to fix it.

Obviously a replacement would be in order but if superficial cracks aren't going to give me any problems down the road I would also accept a discount if they offered it as a pristine instrument isn't a big concern for me.

Are deep poly cracks a big issue?

 

[LowEndOperative]

I commend you for your not needing a pristine instrument, but I wouldn't accept it on a new bass. I'm also thinking that since the finish is flawed as it is, more cracks may develop.

 

[Sid Fang]

Particularly in this season, I hope you let the box warm up to ambient temperature before opening it. Some finishes are known to crack if they warm up quickly while the body of the instrument remains very cold. Sam Ash puts a warning sticker on their boxes, but not everyone does.

It goes without saying that, if the shop asked if you let the package warm up before opening, you will tell them - truthfully, I hope - that it had plenty of time, but in the future, it's a good precaution for instruments shipped by airfreight, or over land in winter.

 

[inate_hex]

No pics........ No bass ;-)

 

[russpurdy]

I'll post pics when I sort everything out. The box had 5-6 hours to warm up in the house and everything felt "room temperature" when I opened it up.

 

[inate_hex]

I always leave it a couple days before I set up a new bass too. Just to make sure everything has settled.