Buying a 5 String Bass Sight Unseen

[Pings Bass]

Guitar Center and Musician's Friend are the same company. They share the same return policy, with the exception that I'm not sure whether you can return MF purchases to any GC store the way you can an online GC purchase.

Return differs policy for new vs used and ship to store vs ship to home, and all of it may be subject to change. Point being, I won't buy sight unseen unless I know the policy and am willing to eat whatever return shipping is required if I don't like the instrument

 

[Manticore]

I've purchased many basses sight unseen online. Never had a problem. If bought properly, a bass can be sold quickly if it isn't for you.

 

[jVilla76]

If find it to be much like in Harry Potter " The wizard doesn't choose the wand, the wand chooses the wizard". Don't know how many times I fell in love with the aesthetics of a bass then picked it up and played it and it just wasn't for me. The only way I would buy a bass without playing it first is if I could return it if I wasn't happy.

 

[Steve88]

Oddly enough, the three basses that ended my GAS were all purchased online, used, and shipped to me from various parts of the country. All the basses I have bought in person after an inspection and "test drive" have been resold.

Funny how things work out sometimes!

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Buy from guitar center. Get store person to check it out, shipping is MUCH more reasonable than reverb. Plus, if you don’t like it, you can take it back, no questions asked. I have taken back 4 to our local GC. I just didn’t like them. I have another one on my porch right now from GC. Maybe I’ll keep this one.

 

[Jason Hollar]

I’ve played a number of fender and FSO basses and knew I wanted a passive jazz 5 but they are all so frickin heavy. Fortunately the new am pro 2 roasted pine models were coming in under 9lbs which is practically unheard of for most fenders - even the 4 strings jazz basses.

Bought one from Sweetwater with generous return policy and interest free financing. Fortunately it’s a keeper.

 

[seafoamgreenjb]

I went for a six-string not playing it ever before. I think, I had more issues adjusting to tighter string spacing than to the humongous neck (not saying that was easy either).

 

[JIO]

I recently bought a MIC 5-string on line - yet to arrive. I'm a 4-string player but just wanted a 5-string for recording if needed and am not likely to use it live in my bands. So, a basic 5-string and for not a lot of money. But not entirely basic - it's headless, fan-fretted and active. I tried a fan-fret once and liked it. For the low cost I'm ready to adjust/modify it if it's lacking somewhere.

 

[scottycameron]

I buy basses sight unseen all of the time.

I've yet to run into a bad seller on here or Reverb.

I do end up with basses that aren't right for me. I just sell or trade them

Its not a marriage, it's a piece of wood.

All of that being said: At the entry level price point there seems to be a lot of variation in quality from guitar to guitar.

I would try and play before buying if possible.


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[Rich Fiscus]

As a lefty, almost every instrument I have purchased has been online. Make sure to buy from a place with a decent return policy. However, since you probably are a righty, you might consider whether it is worth making a drive to a music shop or two, even if it is a bit farther than you would normally go, so that you can put your hands on some five-string options. Even if you don't actually buy a bass from a shop, you'll at least get a better idea for how some different fivers feel, sound, play, etc. that might make a difference in what you choose to buy, and of course you could get lucky and find the right one in person.

As a lefty, I agree with every word of this. I’ve never ended up with a bass I hated, but if I had the chance to try basses out in advance, I might have made some different choices - or made the same choices sooner and cheaper. I would definitely go pretty far out of my way to try a bunch of basses for myself if it was an option.