never in a million years. each bass is unique even the cheap mass produced ones. Ive had an Import MTD that ive been trying to find a sister to for 20 years. ive played the exact same model numerous times and they are never the same. close but not exact. the feel to me is more important that tone. i can get whatever tone i need but i can't fix feel.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
Who gets a boutique bass built for them with the mindset of return shipping is cheaper? As far as I know, boutique basses are non returnable. You could sell it online, but you aren't gonna get your 4 - 6 - beyond, grand back. That's for sure.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
I bought an Ibanez AS93 from them a while back and it was backordered and then longer than predicted. But when they got it, they sent me the one with the best top out of the batch they got. And it showed up in tune. They're service is great.
I live in very remote Australia...there is literally one major boutique bass specific shop in the whole of Australia and very few others stock much more than the basics and mid level players. We have little choice when it comes to trying before you buy for anything outside the general lines. I have bought nearly every bass I have owned unplayed and the only time it was an issue was when i bought one of those Goth epiphone Tbird bass that was super cool looking but play-ability one tone were not for me. Even the expensive basses I have bought have been sight unseen/unplayed and always will be pretty much..unless i want a new generic Yawn bass.
Of all the dozens I've owned over the last 20 years, I've only played 9 or so in person first. When you only have GC around and they don't carry what you're looking for you don't really have a choice. If you're looking for something used specifically you definitely don't have a choice. Then there's custom basses...
Didn't read them all. Sorry. I've bought 20ish basses and guitars online, sight unseen. 95% of these were exactly correct, though not always what I was hoping for. With all the majors, send it back, no problem, no cost. With GC used, you pay shipping to local shop, try it there...or take it home, or ship to home, for 45 days (I think) then return to store.
The occasional ebay or other (TB??) site, if it didn't trip my trigger, I just put it back up for sale. Lose a buck or two, learn some stuff.
The occasional ebay or other (TB??) site, if it didn't trip my trigger, I just put it back up for sale. Lose a buck or two, learn some stuff.
I did it once, but I knew what I was looking for exactly, it was cheap and I wouldn’t do it with an expensive bass, unless I knew what I was getting (manufacturer that I trust...etc).
The bass I bought without trying is my main gigging bass since I bought it...
The bass I bought without trying is my main gigging bass since I bought it...
All my current instruments I've acquired without playing first. Two of em are GLARRY basses. One is a Gibson. Then I have two guitars. An acoustic MR and an epi sg
Every bass I've bought I've tried out first. Never felt comfortable with the idea of buying a bass or any bass gear without trying it out first.... until now.... awaiting my Sire V7 from Thomann in Germany. never played one and never seen one in the flesh its just the reviews and TBers comments got me all worked up about it, Hopefully it'll live up to expectations!!
All my instruments except the sax have been bought sight unseen, but only because the go-to music dealer in Europe has a very lax return policy. It's become a sport among some to just have a ton of stuff delivered, play on it a bit, then send it back, repeat ad nauseam. No intent of ever buying anything. I don't like it. If I ever buy something it's because I actually want it. I only return when it doesn't work out at all, but the worst I had to do to make one of my cheapos playable was fret dressing, which falls within my realm of expertise. There'd have to be some massive flaw I couldn't deal with.
Exactly, You can return in most cases if it doesn't meet your expectations. Buying used sometimes seller's have 'No Return' policy then there is potential for 'A Problem'
Yes if possible it is best to shop at store have them take out of box and set Bass up, play it and decide.
Makes sense, and I might do the same except that I've found most online music shops here in Australia don't offer returns, or some only accept returns of unopened items, or some have returns policies indicating they'll decide case-by-case whether to accept an item back.
(I'm talking here about the change-of-mind or satisfaction guarantee type returns necessary for trying out an unfamiliar bass; all Australian retailers are legally obligated to provide refunds on faulty items.)
My #1 bass and gear had been spoted a lot of years in internet, before buying. I had never touched it and played it. I'v learned them out from a-z from internet replies and reviews. I had no choice, because they were not found in my country music stores.
I'd do it.
Here's why.
The reality of the world is that stores only have mass produced trash anymore. They never carry anything "nice", so it would come from an order.
Also, some of the the highest quality basses out there are custom, or small "build to order", shops. There is no way to try them out. You either trust the brand or you don't.
Here's why.
The reality of the world is that stores only have mass produced trash anymore. They never carry anything "nice", so it would come from an order.
Also, some of the the highest quality basses out there are custom, or small "build to order", shops. There is no way to try them out. You either trust the brand or you don't.
even the "normal" stuff, lets say you were between a Kiesel or a Sadowsky.
I see those in person (pre-covid, in the gigging days) from time to time, sadowsky basses pretty often. I've played lots of them - but i see a lot of everything, paying and teaching music for a living. A Kiesel is not a wildly unique thing; but a regular dude who plays for fun with a few buddies is unlikely to run into many of them.
then if you decide you're between an Adamovic or a... i don't know, valenti or something like that. well known builders that seem to do good work, but even I don't recall seeing either of those in person.
the trick is knowing what you are looking for.. I can tell from photos, pending an honest seller, if I will like a bass. string spacing, pickups, other specific features. That comes from years and years of not only buying and selling instruments, but playing them for hours and hours per day. I've fine-tuned my taste.
it also really, really helps if you can set it up yourself. Whenever I get something new I know I have to take a few hours and get the neck to .010, strings to 1/16" off the last fret, and so on.
I see those in person (pre-covid, in the gigging days) from time to time, sadowsky basses pretty often. I've played lots of them - but i see a lot of everything, paying and teaching music for a living. A Kiesel is not a wildly unique thing; but a regular dude who plays for fun with a few buddies is unlikely to run into many of them.
then if you decide you're between an Adamovic or a... i don't know, valenti or something like that. well known builders that seem to do good work, but even I don't recall seeing either of those in person.
the trick is knowing what you are looking for.. I can tell from photos, pending an honest seller, if I will like a bass. string spacing, pickups, other specific features. That comes from years and years of not only buying and selling instruments, but playing them for hours and hours per day. I've fine-tuned my taste.
it also really, really helps if you can set it up yourself. Whenever I get something new I know I have to take a few hours and get the neck to .010, strings to 1/16" off the last fret, and so on.
I never played the Wal I bought on ebay, nor the two custom basses I had made, there's just no way to do so, and it all worked out great.
Kinda difficult to play before you buy when mail ordering. Just find sellers with good return policies.
If it's a local purchase, of course I play it first.
If it's a local purchase, of course I play it first.
If you never buy expensive stuff, you never have to worry about buying expensive stuff online.
There's plenty of places around me to find a variety of basses to play, so I'm not in any danger of running out of new things to try. The idea of buying a bass that doesn't 'fit' me for a large amount of unrecoverable coin doesn't sit well at all.
But I'm inherently pretty cheap and have never paid close to $1000 for any bass.
There's plenty of places around me to find a variety of basses to play, so I'm not in any danger of running out of new things to try. The idea of buying a bass that doesn't 'fit' me for a large amount of unrecoverable coin doesn't sit well at all.
But I'm inherently pretty cheap and have never paid close to $1000 for any bass.
Last edited:
