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Help! I've been ripped off.

Vanceman

Vanceman

Feb 14, 2007
903
471
So. Cal.
#1
I'm sick to my stomach. I took my beloved Fender American Deluxe Jazz to a reputable shop to have the nut replaced. Picked it up yesterday, and last night I noticed something wasn't right. I believe the electronics were swapped out. :scowl:

The pots don't feel right, the electronics are noisy, and it sounds terrible. What do I do? I think I'm going to puke. :crying:

How do find out if in fact this has happened. I just know it. I can feel it. I'm am so angry!!!! HELP!
 
#4
Well for starters I'd say open up the control plate and take a look inside. Find yourself an image of the stock electronics and see if all adds up.
If it doesnt Id be calling that shop and talking to the owner right away.
 
#5
Hmm... I dunno... I can't imagine that confronting the shop owner would do any good as he probably wouldn't admit it, and might get nasty.

Tough one... I'm really sorry to hear about that though. It never ceases to amaze me (not in a good way) the things folks will do.
 
#7
LaklandBass said:
Id imagine talking to the shop owner would be ok if he's not the one that did the work on the bass.
Sometimes honest business owners employ a Dbag and cant do anything about it untill they find out.
Click to expand...

You have a good point there.

I usually (mostly incorrectly) assume that the tech is the owner, mainly cos I'm from a small town with only 2 techs, and that's the case at both shops!
 
#9
adbass is totally right.
Find out if its true that your eq has been swapped....
Then go to the shop in person with your bass and calmly explain to the owner of the shop.
If he tries to say youre lying or it didnt happen.... etc... just calmy say nothing and call the police right in front of him. Have the police come down to the store and figure it out from there.
 
#11
The cops might help, but that seems a little dramatic. Hopefully they will be cool about it and there will be a simple explanation.

Maybe they accidentally just cut the ground wire. In any case, if the work was recent and the shop is reputable, they should offer to take care of you.
 
#15
Wow, you guys are quick!

I will confront him, and he does have an assistant. I will bring a large friend with me. I'm not really good at confrontations, and end up saying things that don't help. I've played this bass 1000's of times, it's really obvious, the shafts on the pots are loose and rattely, and the sound is awful. I'll go home at lunchtime and take a picture, and check the battery.

I have a friend who is a detective, so I should give him a call. Maybe we could get fingerprints off the internal parts. I don't want to mention the shop at this time, as he services the L.A. area, with the autographed band/artist and TV/movie personality pics hanging on the walls.
 
#17
The greater crime would be someone actually installing Fender stock preamps!!!! :hiding:


Just kidding! I actually think the deluxe pres are pretty nice. I really liked the one in my ADPV although it was noisy. Just thought a little ice breaker was in order!!!
 
#19
A couple of thoughts jump out at me on this. One, have you ever looked inside the electronics cavity before? If you don't know what was in there before, you can't really accuse someone of stealing what was in there based on "feel." Two, I have a hard time imagining a shop going to the trouble of stealing a used preamp when they can get any preamp they want at cost.

Still, it COULD happen. Maybe if one of the lackeys working there has the same bass with a bad preamp or something and saw an easy replacement opportunity... But then I guess you're still facing the prospect of accusing someone of theft based on feel. As someone who spent three years catching shoplifters and employees ripping off the store, I can tell you that feel might get you started on an investigation but doesn't hold up as any sort of proof.
 
#20
barebones said:
A couple of thoughts jump out at me on this. One, have you ever looked inside the electronics cavity before? If you don't know what was in there before, you can't really accuse someone of stealing what was in there based on "feel." Two, I have a hard time imagining a shop going to the trouble of stealing a used preamp when they can get any preamp they want at cost.

Still, it COULD happen. Maybe if one of the lackeys working there has the same bass with a bad preamp or something and saw an easy replacement opportunity... But then I guess you're still facing the prospect of accusing someone of theft based on feel. As someone who spent three years catching shoplifters and employees ripping off the store, I can tell you that feel might get you started on an investigation but doesn't hold up as any sort of proof.
Click to expand...

This.
 

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