• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

gear shopping - it's a sickness

DOH!
I'm on the verge of buying another bass.
In the process of talking a newb into a model that I was checking out lately, I started to send him a link to one & right away I thought, "Wait, I'll buy that!".

I've made an inquiry & just waiting for a call back, but now I've got a pit growing in my stomach as I wait for that call back :confused:
This would take me over $1000 worth of gear, unless I sold something...

Just tell yourself "After I buy this, I will need a better amp, a couple effect pedals, strings - small fortune in strings, cables because there is never enough and half the time the ones I do find are broken, more stands..."

Once I put it like that, then I pass on what ever I was looking at.
 
It's not a bass that will require a better amp, just a newer model with the modern accoutrements, the battery access socket & the slip-over truss rod cover, not to mention it's about 2 lbs lighter than my BTB.
I called the store to haggle a discount or a freebie, but they wouldn't even throw in new strings :(

After a few beers I decided to order it anyway, the $20 shipping is far better than driving 6-1/2 hours to check it out in person :bored:
This one might put my BTB into the freezer or even sold...

or I might put a thick set of strings on the BTB for old Sabbath tunes in C# :cool:
 
Wow, that store in North Carolina blows!
They must be seriously overloaded or something.
Callbacks that didn't happen, or took ages & then after making the order it's been 3 days and it still hasn't shipped.

Today I called to complain, because I expected to get the item this week, but now it won't be until next week.
They're not going to charge for shipping now & are throwing some 0.045" - 0.105" strings :cool:

This is why I nearly drove down there on Sunday & in retrospect I should have :bored:
 
PEDALS; Next to strings are the most affordable gear shopping purchases that I can make. It started out with one of those floor tuners, then with a compressor. Then I started to come up with excuses to buy more pedals to cop that sound on those xyz songs and even adding to songs that didn't have fx's. The shopping sickness got worse- I started buying used pedals to experiment with stacking and had to keep a log on what was used with what...and yes I've tried multi fx digitals and I'm impressed with some of them and there are a few that I actually liked but the analog sound is still king for what I want to hear (and I'm old school too). I have what most bass players call 'the essentials', but everytime I see a cool looking pedal my addiction takes over an say ''wow-I wonder how it sound?'' Off to YouTube I go! TB forums don't help cure nothing-in fact its an enabler but I wouldn't change anything either, most addicts won't as long as they can get their groove on 'according to my ex, she should know (long story from the past). The hunt (shopping) is as much fun as the kill (purchasing)-to me anyway. I don't want to be 'cured'.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
Wow, that store in North Carolina blows!
They must be seriously overloaded or something.
Callbacks that didn't happen, or took ages & then after making the order it's been 3 days and it still hasn't shipped.

Today I called to complain, because I expected to get the item this week, but now it won't be until next week.
They're not going to charge for shipping now & are throwing some 0.045" - 0.105" strings :cool:

This is why I nearly drove down there on Sunday & in retrospect I should have :bored:

Take it as a sign to cancel the order because there is something wrong with the bass.
 
You're probably right, because when I finally got someone to call me back about it, he said their tech. had to straighten the neck, because it has some backbow :eek:

The only way I can think of that happening is that someone read one too many GC bashing threads and brought their own allen wrenches to do a quick setup to see if the thing was a keeper or not. Of course they didn't let any time to pass for the neck to settle or have the proper tools & experience...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
I should have left it to fate on Saturday.
It took 5 days to get the bass here & it's got a faulty preamp.
Someone had been into it as well, because some wires were out of their socket.

There's almost no output. I had to turn my amp up all the way & it was still weak.
I checked for grounding points, & the insides of that thing scared me, so I have decided this model is not for me.

Thanks to some goofballs in GC Greensboro, now I get to drive 3 hours tomorrow to return this thing :bored:
Any idiot would have known there was something wrong with this thing if they's just plugged it in :mad:

TBH my SRX & BTB are better sounding. I think I proved that to myself yesterday. I really have no need for that coil tap switch & it makes the wiring exponentially more confusing than either of my current basses.
I think my next crazy GAS attack will be that flamed maple RIC up in NoVa :eek: (and no time soon)
 
That sucks that you have to drive all that way to return it. I would be doing the same thing because my last 2 returns were lost. Here is the head-scratcher: both returns were using pre-paid shipping labels, different carriers, 1 year a part and to the same company.

I saw a musculoskeletal specialist (don't know the exact name but it wasn't an orthopedic surgeon) for a shoulder pain and the person literally took a hammer and chisel to different parts of my body to straighten it out. The philosophy behind it is that the feet & legs have to be level with the ground because that is the foundation of the rest of the body. The other cause might be wear and tear from years of repetitive movement which has gone unnoticed until you started playing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killed_by_Death
Well let's see, since starting this thread I've had two basses delivered that I returned.
one being faulty & the other just not living up to my expectations

While I was returning the SRX700 to GC today I went ahead & checked out their double-locking vibrato system guitars. Ditto for Sam Ash next door.
I really love those newish spalted maple top Ibanez shredders, but they're not easy to spot used.

38397695.jpg


Now that I've determined the two basses I have are the bee's knees, maybe I'll buy a 2nd guitar :eek:
 
Still at it years later.
I told myself I was going to be happy with one amp, one bass.

Then I had this wad of cash in my hand from some things I sold.
On the way to the bank I encouraged myself to check the pawnshops.

Nothing turned up in the local pawnshops, so then I decided to drive 30 miles North to the music store.
Ibanez & Fender, but anything worth having is a 5-string, DOH!

The shop owner tells me that the cheap 4-string P/Js are the best sellers.
Then I'm off to the bigger pawnshop that's not that far from the music store.

Found a 5-string Ibanez in there that's less than 6-3/4 lbs., which shocked me.
Never really wanted a 5-string, but I thought it would be a cheap experiment to see if I could get used to one.

Haven't made sure the truss-rod works yet, but I'll get around to it soon.
I wish I could amalgamate my SR1800E with this one, and have the lightest weight, best-sounding bass I ever owned!
 
  • Like
Reactions: PockySteve

Latest posts