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How much do you TRUST your favorite bass guitar manufacturer?

#46
Theres two things that have to be concidered when buying online. One allready liking the bass enough from trying them at other stores first or at least haveing enough experience with the brand to like them enough to be able to trust the ordered model will be at least as good as other models made by the mfg which youve played and liked. And 2, buying only from online store with good no hassle return policy if it turns out to not be what you wanted.

I only buy online unless local store can beat or meet online pricing to include online stores no taxes and free shipping price.
 
#49
Gibenbackerbass said:
I think this really gets at the heart of the matter regarding your (mine) comfort level with purchasing a bass (or any other product) over the web.

As we all know, the options, variety, and availability of certain bass guitars is much higher when we shop the web, as compared to shopping locally.

I'm all in favor of purchasing my basses and amps locally, but the truth is, much of what I want isn't available at my corner music store. I have to believe I'm not alone.
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This month brought the closing of one of the three stores in my area that I like. The one that closed was the only one that stocked bass amp heads and cabinets. As far as I can tell, if you live in Oregon you have to drive to Portland or go out of state for a real music store.

So I very much resonate to the idea that the industry is moving away from the ideals of a local music store where you could have a relationship of trust and loyalty. It's kinda sad :(

Interwebs shopping makes people really price sensitive, cuz it's right there, amazon sorts by price as a default. And there's no opportunity for the vendor to add value or service, cuz there is none.

Therefore it boils down to the manufacturer to fill in the trust and relationship that we used to get from the store.

There's some prominent failures and some brands that really attract my attention because the manufacturer seems to really care and/or deliver really good service and/or value.

I'm curious to see what comes up in this thread for bass makers who do a good job. In my reading it seems like there's only bad stories for instruments, whereas for amps and pedals there are some real standouts for good quality.
 
#50
Most of the basses that I've owned they were purchased directly from the manufacturer, sight unseen, thus allowing me to establish a good relationship with most of them. And in several many cases I was a repeat offender (bought more than one bass from the manufacturer, on more than one occasion)

So I can say that I REALLY trust some of them, based on my long term experience as a customer (talking about how the product holds up in the test of time) and the post sales support (if and whenever needed)

Some of the names I've trusted over the years, and their products, as well their overall support, and never failed me, are:

Sheldon Dingwall (Dingwall)
Rob Green (Status Graphite)
Michael Tobias (MTD basses)
Ken Lawrence (Ken Lawrence basses)
Martin Petersen (Sei basses)
Jon Shuker (Shuker basses)
George Furlanetto (F basses)
Jens Ritter (Ritter)

(I reserve the right to edit the list, to ADD names, NOT to remove)
 
#51
mulchor said:
This month brought the closing of one of the three stores in my area that I like. The one that closed was the only one that stocked bass amp heads and cabinets. As far as I can tell, if you live in Oregon you have to drive to Portland or go out of state for a real music store.
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I live in Oregon, there's only one music shop less than an hour away (by bus anyway). But they're pretty good people I think.
 
#53
I`d buy any MusicMan sight unseen. Flawless basses. The tone and neck isn`t for everyone, but they are always of amazing quality and are very solid.

Of course I`d still much prefer to try before I buy, but I`d have no problem buying one online.
 
#55
Well, let's see. I bought both my Sadowskys without playing them first, since they didn't even exist when I bought them. Ditto my three Laklands. I didn't play my Jerzy Drozd first, in fact, I had never played a Drozd before I bought mine. I didn't play my Roscoe first, but I had played one like it. I never played either my MTD 535 or my first F Bass before I bought them, and I had never played ones like them before. I certainly haven't played my Fodera, because it won't be done for another month or so.

So I guess you could say I trust a whole bunch of luthiers.
 
#56
fullrangebass said:
Most of the basses that I've owned they were purchased directly from the manufacturer, sight unseen, thus allowing me to establish a good relationship with most of them. And in several many cases I was a repeat offender (bought more than one bass from the manufacturer, on more than one occasion)

So I can say that I REALLY trust some of them, based on my long term experience as a customer (talking about how the product holds up in the test of time) and the post sales support (if and whenever needed)

Some of the names I've trusted over the years, and their products, as well their overall support, and never failed me, are:

Sheldon Dingwall (Dingwall)
Rob Green (Status Graphite)
Michael Tobias (MTD basses)
Ken Lawrence (Ken Lawrence basses)
Martin Petersen (Sei basses)
Jon Shuker (Shuker basses)
George Furlanetto (F basses)

(I reserve the right to edit the list, to ADD names, NOT to remove)
Click to expand...

+1 re SEI. I find I am increasingly fusy about my basses (:rollno:) and would probably not buy any other make of bass untried or unseen.

Bit more relaxed about amps and speakers, given I do extensive research about each product before buying it (so many reviews / comments typically available). Just about every piece of my amplification set up was purchased unseen and untested, often because its cheap and easily returned (e.g. effects) or I simply cannot find anywhere selling them in the UK to try beforehand (e.g. Glockenklang BAC, REDDI and PJB 24B).
 
#57
Munjibunga said:
So I guess you could say I trust a whole bunch of luthiers.
Click to expand...

Win. I would expect near-perfection from a luthier. Nothing from a manufacturer would surprise me, especially in this day and age.

In 30+ years of playing, buying and selling, I've only bought 2 basses new: an el cheapo Ibby Roadstar (long gone) and an el cheapo Yamaha fretless. I currently play a 78 P, a '90 Guild B-30 and a '07 Bongo -- all bought used. I'd like a Sadowsky or a US Lakland someday, but I'd look first on the TB classifieds.

Gibby, your posts make for great entertainment. I wish I had the money to spend on new Rics and the time to kvetch online incessantly about their flaws.
 
#58
I started buying basses from my favorite company in 1987, never had a defect, never had an issue, never thought about all the other companies out there with production garbage, never had to "try before I buy", because I know what I'm getting before I even see one...

Trust to me in an instrument is having the confidence to just buy as many as I want at will, and not have to worry about mismatched wings, bad frets, terrible electronics or hardware or a paint-job that looks like it was sprayed with KRYLON...sight unseen!!!!

so much trust that I still own over a dozen of them ;)
 

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