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How do YOU make sure you're not buying a lemon...

#25
I don't overthink it. Pretty much any bass can be made to play acceptably and sound decent enough. The only exceptions here are the overly abused instruments and the cheapest of the cheap.

Not every bass has to be perfect, and most can be made to perform pretty well.
 
#27
With all the basses I have bought thru the years I only bought one. luckily it was from GC who took it back with no questions.
It was a VM P bass body with a high end Warmoth birdseye maple neck. The truss rod was stuck like a truck in tar...no movement by my tech or myself.
 
#28
  1. General appearance - dings, scratches, gouges, etc.
  2. Neck is staight - I have been known to ask if I can adjust the truss rod before I buy.
  3. Neck has no twist - sight down fretboard
  4. Frets - check for wear
  5. Controls - they work and don't make noise
  6. It isn't ANOTHER black bass - I already have 2 more than I want :)
  7. Tuners and bridge aren't pitted and work
  8. How does it play and sound?
That's about it.
 
#29
catcauphonic said:
I'm curious what others testing process is when checking out a new USED bass? Particularly if it's sold as is with no return.

From the more obvious ones like looking for scratches or chips in the finish, fret buzz, balance, etc, up to more rigorous detail inspection. What is you're personal checklist of things you always look for before paying?
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Well, one thing I do NOT look at is set-up details. Someone else's bass is almost never set-up to my tastes and needs. The action may be way high (making the bass a bit harder to play) or way low (making the strings buzz). That's all configurable and not a reason to reject a bass.

If you don't want to have to immediately hand over your new/used bass to a tech for repair, check for cracks in the body and neck wood (not necessarily the finish, but the actual wood), issues with the electronics, hardware issues regarding the tuners, bridge, etc., frets seated properly and with some life left (don't reject a bass for fret sprout, that is so common and relatively easy to cure), and give the truss rod a twist both ways to ensure it functions properly. Sighting down the neck is tricky if you don't know what you're looking for, but try to inspect the neck for any obvious curious twisting.

I also take a close look at the nut to see if it's intact and cut correctly. If the slots are a little high, no problem, they can be deepened. If the slots are too low, you may need to have someone cut and install a new nut. I don't reject basses over a bad nut, it's a relatively simple inexpensive fix, but factor in the cost when you negotiate price of the bass.

In short, besides the set-up, you should be able to plug in and have everything function as it should. Test everything thoroughly. If it doesn't function or is wonky, add the cost of repair to the cost of the bass.

It would be ideal to have someone with experience look it over for you. Try to get a return policy, and take the bass to a qualified tech during the return period.

BTW, you can ask all these questions on a long-distance transaction and try to get some answers if you're buying sight -unseen.
 
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#30
if it's over the internet there's absolutely no way to determine if it's a lemon or not. Brand new instruments from word famous brands (yes, Fender, Ricks, Warwicks) can be bona fide lemons from the start on, it's inherent in their designs. Say SOME Gibson EB basses or other old "nice try" experiments. They're too thin and slim and sleek designed. Also, what's a lemon for you ain't a lemon for me. I check for BALANCE, that it doesn't neck dive at all when sitting or standing, so most new basses regardless of brand have great deal of "lemon" in them if they neck dive. And if I am going to be real picky about it, most Fender J and P basses between 1965 - 1985 I consider lemons. Now, however, to most people this is a non-issue, and a too prickly stance to have.

If it's an second hand ad, and I am able to travel to try it out before buy, I can feel it within 30 seconds of playing it. Unamplified. Like most people here already have posted about, dead spots I know where to hear for, neck relief, and if the truss rod's stuck or not. Actually, "playability" is just 50 percent. The electronics, pickups and so on can always be changed out, but then I'll spend more. I don't want to end up having poor pickups laying around, that no one will ever buy. By the way, my interpretation of lemon is that a bass was sore from the start on, that not anything can be done to it afterwards. You can always do a re-paint job, change pickups, de-fret and re-fret, adjust truss rod, solder pots inside, screw output jack back, and so on, screw new strapholders in, etc etc. Lemon, to me, is when it's beyond remedy from the start on. Like if it has been stored in a damp environment and the neck will never come back whatever you do. If I detect that the seller doesn't know what I am talking about, and not even be able to detect these things, I am bargaining down that much, so I can only use it as a spare part thing, i e the hardware. But I bet you, one hundred percent, the seller just wants to pass it on to the next potential buyer that doesn't have THAT much nitpicking and hairsplitting opinions, and can't find that many faults with it.
 
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#34
Sav'nBass said:
Most of the used basses I have bought I got from here... I have yet to be burned with a lemon.
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I have yet to be burned by a lemon, either. I did spill some orange juice into a paper cut on my thumb once. It was awful! Citrus fruits ought to have warning labels. Oh, this was about basses...right. I just go into the store, plug in, turn it up to 11 (or until the walls shake), play some dissonant garbage for a minute or two, then ask if Jaco owned it. By now all of the other customers are running for the exits and the manager offers a great deal just to get rid of me. When I get the bass home if I don't like it, I sell it on eBay and get my money back.
 
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#35
Templar said:
Every gear whore has their set of criteria. Here's mine;

1) Neck issues. That includes truss rod function, fret condition, neck relief, any humps, twists, dips, or any abnormality.

2) Any electronic issues.

3) OEM parts. Missing parts. Replaced parts. Damaged parts.

If any of the above don't pass muster, I'll probably just pass altogether. Not really into "projects", and usually not at all interested in "modded" gear, either.
Click to expand...

Like you said, all is well if the instrument isn't physically damaged, I don't think there is a lemon as such.

Since most n00bs have mistakenly associate a poor setup as a disqualifier, I've never actually seem a lemon caused by the sound it produces nor the setup. These are all changeable or adjustable.

What with all the possible combinations in pots and caps, in pickups and strings, in brands of guitars (but let's just talk Fenderesque units here), there really isn't anything to call it a defect. If the sound isn't right, just fix it the way you want it to be.

Ultimately, if it has a tort four ply pg, is a P or a J with a big F in the nameplate, big gear tuners and the iconic headstock ..... then I'd say it's all good.

At that point it all boils down to price and personal want; satisfy them both and you've got a good deal.
 
#36
It depends on what I plan to do with it. If the bass in question is going to be a main instrument, then all of the usual things are checked with a fine tooth comb: neck, truss rod(s), electronics, finish, tuners, bridge, every inch of it, including the "Where's Waldo" search for out of place items on a supposed classic bass: i.e. wrong decal for the advertised year of production, maple fretboard when only rosewood was offered on that model, that sort of thing. If it's just a fun toy, I give it the same sort of inspection listed above, but not as rigorous. I'll play it unplugged first, then through whatever amp available that is closest to what it will be running through eventually. The only time I didn't do an inspection (other than online deals, where you really can't) was when a bargain outlet had a bunch of stuff from a pawn shop that went out of business. I went in to get a mic stand, and they had this black Hohner P/J fretless with a drippy gold spray painted pickguard and one purple strat knob, the other pot had none. The neck looked and felt good. It cost $102.00, which I was willing to pay just to part it out for toy projects. Got it home, plugged it in and almost fell out of my chair. This thing sounds fantastic. Put on matching chrome dome knobs, painted the guard pearl white (not tort) and still use it. Even did a session with it.
 
#37
The state defines a "lemon car" as a new vehicle that has a single problem (or series of problems) that is covered by warranty that seriously impairs the vehicle's use, value, or safety.
So if we apply this to a bass- it has to SERIOUSLY impair the bass's use or value. The only things most people have listed here that would fall under that would be a busted truss rod or very bowed neck which would make the bass un-playable.
The rest of these "issues" are relatively minor or cosmetic and do not constitute a lemon (including Noisy electronics).
 
#38
Aside from learning how to do your own setups, some work can be too much from simply adjusting the truss rod and saddles.

Have a good tech on standby just incase.

I bought a 1960 Gibson LG-0 acoustic guitar for $25 from a dude on CL. It was completely unplayable and the back was bowed out, and it smelled like mildew. It was about to go in a dumpster. I had my tech set it up and do some wood-work on her for $125. It's my favorite acoustic and it sounds incredible. That was like 5 years ago, and it still plays amazing.

A good tech who can do a great setup can go a long way and give you confidence in buying anything you find desirable.
 
#40
But the thing is that, "Lemon" for me is a dud, something that is fraught or haunted (even cursed) at the manufacturing. In Sweden, we call it a "wolf", bastard, or dud, something that was badly made from scratch by bad luck. Friday afternoon items, the odd one. It lacks that MOJO whatever you try to do. Those ones that are supposed to come out well from the factory, but doesn't, and really passes the QC anyway. Like you can pick two neighboring basses with a serial number alike but one last digit, and compare them, and for some unexplainable reason, one of them turns out to be that lemon.

Lemon for me is not something that you can fix afterwards with a reasonable amount of setup. Lemon for me, is when even a highly skilled luthier can't do anything about it, and says "I've seen much better examples of this". To me, a lemon can even be a design flaw inherent in the bass from the start on. I e that all items spit out from the production lines are so on the verge, that they are about to self-destruct ... but, just a fluke if they make it. I tell you what; I call ALL half acoustic basses, like Hofner basses, and Epiphone 335 like basses, lemons. All electric basses should be solid. Not even boutique "chambered" ones. They just resonate badly and feedback badly at certain notes at low volumes. Dead spots by the truckloads. So I consider them lemons right from the drawing board.

But as always YMMV when interpreting what is lemon and not.
 
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