Kinda wish I'd tried that. My wife ordered me a Candy Apple Red MIM Fender Duo-Sonic for my birthday. After pushing back delivery dates several times, Musician's Friend abruptly sent me notice that my order was canceled. It was a special color run and turns out that Fender won't be making any more. It was also a hundred off the regular Duo-Sonic price. Unfortunately the only other Fender that really attracts me is the Strat in Faded Cherry Burst, but even with a hundred off that's more than I want to pay. Kinda wish now I'd pushed for a similar discount on a Squier Jazz bass or a Fender Mustang Bass or Jazz Bass. Nothing new that I really wanted the way I wanted that Duo-Sonic though. So I still don't own anything Fender, including Squier.I bought a MiM Strat off Musicians Friend about a decade ago. It was one of the special models made just for them and I got it at a special price. Basically it had the same hardware as US instruments and Vintage Noiseless pickups which were both upgrades.
I think I got $150 off because it was a customer return, or something like that. When it arrived it was perfect except one of the saddles on the bridge was stripped and could not be adjusted. You can currently buy a replacement saddle for $4.50 retail, so maybe I should have just bit the bullet.
I called and asked them to send me a new saddle and they refused. The part and shipping probably would have cost them less than $10, so all of you who think a large chain music store will do what makes sense have got it all wrong. They have all sorts of arcane rules in place, that don't make sense to anyone!
They insisted I had to return the instrument and they did not have another one in stock. I asked if they would give me the same discount on another guitar that was almost identical, and to my surprise they said yes. So I got a brand new Deluxe Player's Strat for $150 off the normal price. Everything is the same, except the color options and the Deluxe Player's Strat has an extra button so you get all 7 pickup options instead of the normal 5. Everything I wanted, except the color.
I really struggled to choose between sunburst and a weird shade of blue. Eventually I went with the blue, but unfortunately in person it's really, really dark unless it's under super bright lights. Shoulda gone with the burst as I think those tend to be brighter in person...I really loved the way that first guitar looked in polar white with gold hardware.
This is not my guitar, but mine is about the same color under bright light. It's actually a pretty nice little entry level guitar with a slightly chunky neck. But I totally understand how it feels to get the rug pulled out from under you. I was super stoked when I unboxed the first guitar.
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I feel genuinely dissapointed.
- Thread starter theavestruz17
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- fender jaguar player series
The seller already picked up two extra shipping costs on a $675 bass. They already burned their profits on these extra shipping charges. Now you think the seller should pick up two more shipping charges in order to exchange it for the first bass again?!?!?!
Wow, really I am surprised at how none of you have any sympathy for this seller. Sorry, but the OP has been playing bass for 10 months. He knows nothing about setups, and he knows nothing about his warranty options. He doesn't even realize that these basses all have identical frets. He probably doesn't realize that different playing attacks require different actions for ideal playability.
The seller accommodated this guy to a reasonable level. Asking him to do more is just abusive to the seller. No one in America has any respect for business anymore. There is this pervasive attitude of "if a businessman has more than me, I have the right to abuse him".
Jeeze, thanks for being the first one to show any empathy for this seller.
I've sold hundreds of instruments in my life. I have never had a single problem with an experienced player. Conversely, I've sold instruments to beginners, and it can be a complete nightmare. Their expectations are often absurd.
This is a great point and I think the OP should offer to cover the shipping back of the silver one. I've never bought an instrument online or even new, but I would think the warranty repair would have picked up the cost on the blue one initially, no? It would have just meant some waiting time for the OP (which I agree would also be disappointing.)
I bought five different player series basses, three of them had dead pickups, the others had worse issues. I kept two of them and fixed the pickup issues... but they were a waist of time and money.
With that said, I own a few much more expensive Fender basses. They are all hit or miss, but when they hit they are definitely keepers.
-ScottM
They should call it the Fixer Series.
I agree that asking the seller to do more would be unreasonable. I don't think asking the seller to repair the first bass under warranty, with the OP paying the two additional freight charges, would be unreasonable, and it's certainly not unreasonable to expect a commercial seller to eat shipping for a defective product. But that's a new series so there can't be any significant design differences in frets or neck - just not enough time for a design or manufacturing change to have occurred - so a decent set-up should be able to duplicate the feel of the first instrument IF the OP can adequately describe it.
I think the correct lesson here is that if you absolutely love an instrument but there's a deficiency in electronics, don't return it. The pickup itself is expensive but probably the least likely part to need replacement to get it working.
Holy crap! Aren't these made in the same Mexican factory as the old Standard series they replaced? My understanding (which may well be faulty) was that more than anything, the new name was an excuse to raise prices.
What specifically did it take to fix the pickup issues?
It would have been cheaper to send him to a local shop that's an auth repair, fix the issues, have the repair spot bill back.
That's the whole point of a network of repair centers stocked with factory parts.
Worst comes to worst the manufacturer authorizes upgrades of known bad runs of parts with "better" ones and they take the data back to the factory. If it's a contracted factory, then collecting defect data is crucial to charging them back.
That's the whole point of a network of repair centers stocked with factory parts.
Worst comes to worst the manufacturer authorizes upgrades of known bad runs of parts with "better" ones and they take the data back to the factory. If it's a contracted factory, then collecting defect data is crucial to charging them back.
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Pump the brakes, Sir..... If you read carefully, I said they have the "right to ask"...not that the seller is obligated. I also said the seller will do "everything possible" to make them happy. That doesn't mean they have to lose money.
As a person who works in a local music store, I am more irritated by people who buy online if they have an opportunity to buy from a local guy.
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I did not read any other replies in this thread, however, if you liked the original, I'd get it back and then have a tech replace the electronics with an upgrade. I would recommend American Vintage pickups and an Emerson pot kit. Will cost you about $300 but then you will have an American Vintage level sounding instrument.
Fair enough.
It's just that the baseline attitude seems to be that the seller should do anything to make the OP happy. In reality, the OP didn't ask for warranty repair, and he agreed to the exchange (all at the seller's expense). Asking the seller to absorb any more loss at this point just isn't being reasonable.
Guitar shops are going away. When I moved to Hollywood there were two solid blocks of music stores. Ten years later, there was nothing left but Guitar Center and Sam Ash (and the modest Mesa/Boogie store). If the entertainment capitol of the world can't sustain music stores, that should tell you how the game is changing. All of you guys that say "I would never play an instrument that I can't play first" aren't going to have a choice if shop owners keep getting battered.
- Sep 14, 2012
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It may have been said, but the likelihood that it needs a new pickup is relatively low. It could just need resoldered. I’d tell the store you want the blue one back, and ask that they either knock it off the price or cover the repair. They may have already fixed it in order to sell it to someone else.
To be fair, it's probably more the cost of doing business in California (especially in LA/Hollywood) that's driving them out. Chattanooga still has several good independent music stores, although we are losing our Yamaha dealer as of Monday. I think though that has more to do with their pricing (high because they're primarily a piano store) and outdated business model - they do not post inventory and couldn't be bothered to tell me on the phone which basses they have left. But in LA, a store needs to have either insanely high profits or deep pockets to pay rent, taxes and payroll.Fair enough.
It's just that the baseline attitude seems to be that the seller should do anything to make the OP happy. In reality, the OP didn't ask for warranty repair, and he agreed to the exchange (all at the seller's expense). Asking the seller to absorb any more loss at this point just isn't being reasonable.
Guitar shops are going away. When I moved to Hollywood there were two solid blocks of music stores. Ten years later, there was nothing left but Guitar Center and Sam Ash (and the modest Mesa/Boogie store). If the entertainment capitol of the world can't sustain music stores, that should tell you how the game is changing. All of you guys that say "I would never play an instrument that I can't play first" aren't going to have a choice if shop owners keep getting battered.
Unfortunately those smaller market music stores don't help the "I won't buy it if I can't play it" musicians that are living in big, expensive markets.
Small music stores are going away in a lot of big cities, not just California cities. There's no doubt the cost of doing business is brutal in big, expensive cities. But, retailers everywhere are realizing that it's cheaper to do online business out of a warehouse (as opposed to a store front). And now we have an even newer generation of retailers that are realizing that they don't even need the warehouse, if they drop ship.
Store front business is largely going away,...unless it's those rare retail shops that corner the "I need it right now business" (groceries, alcohol, hardware stores, auto supply, etc.). It makes me sad, but it's one of those situations where it's jump on board, or be left behind. I live in a huge market, and I already can't imagine limiting myself to instruments that I can find locally.
I might have to pick your brain about music stores around here. My favorite shop was in Hixson but they went out of business about a decade ago. Picker's Exchange has like 5 used bass guitars on the wall every time I go in there, though I bought a guitar from them years back when they were closer to the tunnels. There is Mountain Music but their website lists they only have entry level to mid-range Ibanez bass guitars in stock.
Giant Steps seems to only carry Cort guitars, although if you're in a high school assembly you can probably find some items there. No basses.
Our local GC has 10 5 string basses in stock, 9 of them new and they're all entry to mid level Ibanez, jackson or Squier. Out of the 48ish 4 strings there, most of them are entry level squiers/ibby's/SUB.. wouldn't mind the Aerodyne they have but I'm not in the market for 4 strings these days. They do carry at least a few MIA Fenders.
I didn't even know we had a Yamaha dealer.. but I'm inclined to believe I wouldn't find the yamaha basses I've been eyeballing there.
If you know of nice stores I'm missing - PM me.
Otherwise I don't see a way out of my all my future instrument and pedal purchases being internet orders.
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I think you hit them all, so if you're looking for a non-Fender higher end bass in person, you're looking at a trip to Atlanta, Nashville or Knoxville. The Yamaha dealer is Bill Jones Music in Ooltewah - but only through 5 PM Monday. I didn't even know they carried Yamaha guitars and basses (thought they were exclusively Yamaha pianos and organs) until their going out of business radio adverts yesterday. I called today and the lady told me they have two basses left - but couldn't be bothered to tell me the models. I'm betting they are starter to maybe lower intermediate though, which is fine for me but not for a professional. I seriously doubt I'll even run by this weekend as I have zero interest in Yamaha guitars or in most of their basses. Asking around, the only person that ventured an opinion said they were "very expensive", which is obviously subjective.I might have to pick your brain about music stores around here. My favorite shop was in Hixson but they went out of business about a decade ago. Picker's Exchange has like 5 used bass guitars on the wall every time I go in there, though I bought a guitar from them years back when they were closer to the tunnels. There is Mountain Music but their website lists they only have entry level to mid-range Ibanez bass guitars in stock.
Giant Steps seems to only carry Cort guitars, although if you're in a high school assembly you can probably find some items there. No basses.
Our local GC has 10 5 string basses in stock, 9 of them new and they're all entry to mid level Ibanez, jackson or Squier. Out of the 48ish 4 strings there, most of them are entry level squiers/ibby's/SUB.. wouldn't mind the Aerodyne they have but I'm not in the market for 4 strings these days. They do carry at least a few MIA Fenders.
I didn't even know we had a Yamaha dealer.. but I'm inclined to believe I wouldn't find the yamaha basses I've been eyeballing there.
If you know of nice stores I'm missing - PM me.
Chattanooga is a much better town for guitars, especially acoustic and resonators. The only basses I'd call high end that I've seen in the area are in Rossville - Warrior Instruments and Humbucker Music, which I think are owned by the same people. And Humbucker's almost never open and not particularly friendly unless they know you - but they do sell Suhr. Picker's Exchange and Guitar Center are the only places I've bought instruments, and none were basses.
