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MIM Precision Bass - diasappointed!

I liked it before ordering, now I don't :woot:

Well if true, then you just made your decision about this bass. Return it, period.

Any mass produced bass is only going to be as good as the sum of it's parts and the person who does the final assembly and setup prior to shipping. Besides this stuff happens even with custom instruments. You can never be sure, too many parts, too many variables in assembly.

If as you say everybody in your area buys and returns then how can you be SURE you didn't get sent someone elses return?

If you really want a P return it and get another. Or take that one to a local Luthier and have the stuff corrected. I've done that before when in a similar situation where I liked the look and sound but the play-ability was dodgy. Sometimes the selling dealer will give you a discount and credit you back for repairs rather than having to deal with a customer return. I once bought a USA Fender 62 RI that had issues and I had a local luthier give me an estimate on repair and setup on to correct it. I contacted the dealer, faxed the estimate, told them I'd keep the bass if they'd refund me the repair costs, otherwise I was returning it. The dealer refunded me the price of repairs. So you have options.
 
Well if true, then you just made your decision about this bass. Return it, period.

Any mass produced bass is only going to be as good as the sum of it's parts and the person who does the final assembly and setup prior to shipping. Besides this stuff happens even with custom instruments. You can never be sure, too many parts, too many variables in assembly.

If as you say everybody in your area buys and returns then how can you be SURE you didn't get sent someone elses return?

If you really want a P return it and get another. Or take that one to a local Luthier and have the stuff corrected. I've done that before when in a similar situation where I liked the look and sound but the play-ability was dodgy. Sometimes the selling dealer will give you a discount and credit you back for repairs rather than having to deal with a customer return. I once bought a USA Fender 62 RI that had issues and I had a local luthier give me an estimate on repair and setup on to correct it. I contacted the dealer, faxed the estimate, told them I'd keep the bass if they'd refund me the repair costs, otherwise I was returning it. The dealer refunded me the price of repairs. So you have options.

That's the point. He doesn't want a P. He wanted to try one free for 30 days.
 
I've had several Fender basses and guitars sent to me direct from a wholesaler's warehouse and none of them came out of the box set up and ready to play, they all had loose strings and truss rod nut.

There have been a few with nut slots too small, but I've yet to run across one cut too large, at least not on a new piece.

The holes in the machine heads for the strings? Never had a single problem with them. Granted, I've never put anything larger than a .115" E in one, but it had plenty of room so a much larger string could have gone in no problem.

As for the one piece look? I've stripped three MIM J bass bodies and they all looked pretty much like this one, and none of them were burst finish, they were all just one color poly finish bodies. All three had three piece cores with a single piece of veneer on top and bottom. Here's one stripped and sanded, ready to finish. Except for minor variation in veneer grain, all three bodies looked just like this.

IMG_3362.JPG IMG_3365.JPG
 
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Reactions: 60bass and petrus61
That's the point. He doesn't want a P. He wanted to try one free for 30 days.

Not saying its good to order basses with the sole intention of sending them back, but is it really that different from going to a music shop and playing a dozen different models but not buying anything? As long as the buyer is on the hook for shipping charges and any damage or wear to the instruments, what's the harm? In any case, I can see how something like this might be common in an area with no local music shops.
 
Not saying its good to order basses with the sole intention of sending them back, but is it really that different from going to a music shop and playing a dozen different models but not buying anything? As long as the buyer is on the hook for shipping charges and any damage or wear to the instruments, what's the harm? In any case, I can see how something like this might be common in an area with no local music shops.

When you are trying it in the store:

1. you only have it for a few minutes
2. Someone can be watching you
3. The store does not incur shipping fees.
4. Stores often have an instrument they know people are using. Here they are shipping is a bass they expect to sell, and generally they are pristine (the fact so many people do it there may explain why op got a less than perfect instrument)

Other than all that, you may be right.
 
No comment on the ethical nature of the transaction, but I've seen some of the same type of problems on MIM's, pretty spotty QC, and I've seen better P and J clones for less money. That Fender decal is expensive! The MIA's are very nice, arguably overpriced too, but most look very well made.
 

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