That's not GC bashing.... it's just a statement of fact. Obviously the management and/or owners don't really care enough.
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That's not GC bashing.... it's just a statement of fact. Obviously the management and/or owners don't really care enough.
I figured after a week, someone would have spotted this wounded bass and set it up properly...
Not so..
Here it is in a few more angles...
So, I decide to walk it over to their tech...
"Can you please give this neck's rod a few turns to straighten her out because I want to try it out but cannot even fret the strings" He wasn't busy at the time and started working on it right away.. He said the winter has been tough this year because there have been some big temperature and humidity variations... I knew that too but my basses all have survived without injury so far.... He turned that rod about four full turns, got it a bit straighter but did not even break out the saddle wrenches to see if the strings could be lowered. (my guiess is that they could have been brought down a bit but the hump at the neck join means there will be some nasty buzzing somewhere down there and it will need some frets leveled off a bit.
Their tech was cool and we talked bass for a bit . No problems...
Not so..
Here it is in a few more angles...
So, I decide to walk it over to their tech...
"Can you please give this neck's rod a few turns to straighten her out because I want to try it out but cannot even fret the strings" He wasn't busy at the time and started working on it right away.. He said the winter has been tough this year because there have been some big temperature and humidity variations... I knew that too but my basses all have survived without injury so far.... He turned that rod about four full turns, got it a bit straighter but did not even break out the saddle wrenches to see if the strings could be lowered. (my guiess is that they could have been brought down a bit but the hump at the neck join means there will be some nasty buzzing somewhere down there and it will need some frets leveled off a bit.
Their tech was cool and we talked bass for a bit . No problems...
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Here's how it looked after he adjusted the neck.... still not too straight but better and after four turns one has to wonder how many are left in the rod until it's spent?...
Action is a bit lower... but still way too high for most anyone, me at least..
I played the bass (or tried to) after the neck adjustment and it still was terrible. The strings needed to be brought down a bit closer and the neck was still bowed. I noticed five other basses there with necks just as bad as this bass started, one of which bowed up big time upon me tuning it to 440...
The bottom line is that GC has enough employees in the store throughout the week and it takes a customer to come in and ask them to basically do their job.
That bass was probably just fine until it got to GC.
Action is a bit lower... but still way too high for most anyone, me at least..
I played the bass (or tried to) after the neck adjustment and it still was terrible. The strings needed to be brought down a bit closer and the neck was still bowed. I noticed five other basses there with necks just as bad as this bass started, one of which bowed up big time upon me tuning it to 440...
The bottom line is that GC has enough employees in the store throughout the week and it takes a customer to come in and ask them to basically do their job.
That bass was probably just fine until it got to GC.
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I took a look...what do you think??.....
I mean, if playing upright bass is your thing this one comes close.. (10th & 11th frets)
I also visited another GC in my area and they also had at least a half-dozen basses on their wall with necks as bad as these two and one was even worse..
There is no excuse for this.
Maybe the best bet is ask GC to contact you when they get a fresh shipment of new basses in the store so you can pick one out before it gets ignored and turns into firewood.
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Seriously - 4 x 360 degree turns? I wonder if they ship from the Fender factory with the truss rod nut backed off completely?
He adjusted it right in front of me. He thought he turned it enough before turning it two more times. Unreal. I just stood there and was chatting with him as he was doing it. He cranked from side to side eight times, as far left to as far right each time.
They had a Squier Jazz Bass there also that once I tuned her up.....banana neck...
No. They are just not setting them up as they get them and not paying attention to them after they hang them. Every single guitar in the store should be checked WEEKLY if temperature and humidity are such an issue as the tech pointed out to me. Either that or they should have better HVAC in the stores and equipment to stabilize the humidity levels since a large part of their inventory requires it.
That's for sure. That green P/J bass had rounds that might as well have been flats, they were so dead and lifeless.
Yeah, you'd think they'd have some kind of climate control system. Even still, I can't imagine necks getting that far out of whack just because of changes in the weather. Then again where I live the humidity doesn't change all that much.
Or perhaps take your business elsewhere?
I have, more than a few times. At least my G.A.S. bubble has been burst and the only things I buy now are strings and small accessories...
I really doubt GC has any aggressive plan to maintain their stuff. Out of the box and on to the wall.
If I go up to The Music Center in Kenosha, WI (a half hour ride north for me) I'd be able to play every bass in the store because they look after all of their instruments. They want to sell them and be able to back up their good business by not selling something that will need extra time and money to get right. I think they would be embarrassed and it would be a waste of their investment in inventory and time to fix them if they had basses in their store that were presented to the customers that couldn't be played and needed repair to sell them because instead of doing their job, they stood around all day doing nothing about it.
I'd be embarrassed if I owned a guitar shop and a customer came up to me with one of my basses in that condition.
Then I'd have to worry about some smart-ass coming into my store and taking tons of pictures of my neglect and posting them on Talk Bass.
I'm in the same weather zone and yes, this winter has caused me to adjust a couple of my basses already. Not much but they needed it.
I just cannot believe that in a store that probably employs about 20 people throughout the week, they obviously have no real plan to keep their instruments in top condition. At a place called "Guitar Center". It just boggles my mind.
It's like selling a car with under-inflated tires, out of alignment, practically driving sideways, old, thick, dirty oil and clogged up air filters.
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Jamerson would run away from that bass screaming.
I can't even play most of the basses at GC because the strings are a half inch above the fretboard or they're coated in a decade of gum and filth. The Joliet GC has an Ibanez Talman that's so filthy I've seen more than one person pick it up and put it back without even plugging it in.
I know 10 bucks an hour doesn't buy you a luthier but it doesn't take much to soak a rag in a little alcohol and wipe the strings off
I can't even play most of the basses at GC because the strings are a half inch above the fretboard or they're coated in a decade of gum and filth. The Joliet GC has an Ibanez Talman that's so filthy I've seen more than one person pick it up and put it back without even plugging it in.
I know 10 bucks an hour doesn't buy you a luthier but it doesn't take much to soak a rag in a little alcohol and wipe the strings off
If that's a mint green MIM P/J with a Jazz neck i played the same thing in a store in New Zealand just last week. Setup was close to being good and it was in tune enough right off the wall, as was the other three different basses and a guitar that i tried.
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