I bought a Lakland 55-02 from the Townson, Maryland store. It arrived yesterday with some issues. It buzzed on the lower frets and had some serious fret sprout. The saddles were jacked way up but the action was low. It played OK, but it just wasn't right. I've been doing my own set ups for a number of years. I'm pretty sure this one had a slight hump in the neck. When I tested the upper frets with a straight edge from the 12th-15th fret, there was some fall away towards the body. It just wasn't right. I returned it and to no surprise, it has been relisted at the North Attleboro store where I brought it back, even though they refunded my shipping, admitting that there was an issue with the bass.
If youve been following the saga on this bass, I just received and responded to an email from the rep who sold it to me. I though you guys might like this:
"Hi, Michael.
I just wanted to make sure the Lakland sounds great. Your feedback is always appreciated.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there is anything else I can do for you.
Thanks again for working with me, and have a great weekend."
I replied:
Hi Tony,
I wish I would have asked more questions about it when I was on the phone. The Lakland arrived with a serious case of fret sprout that was indicative of a lack of care for the instrument. The saddles were jacked way up despite the low action. I tried to rectify it to no avail. I have been playing for 25+ years and setting up my own basses for 10+ years at least and I could not remedy the poor playability of the bass.
At minimum, it needed to have the fret ends filed down and a neck shim, or fret work. It may have even needed a board leveling and complete re-fret. It was in otherwise nice shape, but the neck had serious issues that should have been caught before the bass shipped out, I dare say, even when I was on the phone.
I returned the bass to my local GC for a full refund including shipping. They then turned around and sold it 24 hours later to someone who probably didn't know any better. Quite a shame really.
I have had some great buys from the GC used site in the past and this won't necessarily deter me from making another purchase, in fact, I just unpacked an amp I bought from another GC and I am waiting to test it. This experience has taught me that I need to be a little more cautious and that I need to ask a ton more questions when inquiring about used gear.
So while it was an unsuccessful purchase, I think it was a good learning experience. Although I know it must be hard over the din in the store, I hope that in the future you and your other sales staff will be a bit more detail-oriented when inspecting and reporting on the condition of your used gear.
Have a great weekend,
Mike