MIM Precision Bass - diasappointed!

[DavidEdenAria]

If you read every one of my replies here, NOWHERE did I say someone shouldn’t return a defective product. It has less than zero to do with my point.

To me it depends on what the defect is.....i didnt keep track of everyones replies sorry....minor defects that are easily remedied to me are a not a deal breaker IF the guitar has a solid neck and is resonant and the guitar feels and sounds good overall.

Backbow and a broken allen wrench are alarming....i rarely see that with 100's of basses i have checked out but i admit i check more used basses than new.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

most things seem fairly normal ... these don't have a rolled finger board edges .. ( mine does now )

i've got wires stuck under pickguards myself ... simple fix

other parts ... i always upgrade them anyways .. !

to me , i'd spend my time bringing things up to my specs ... or i'd take/send it back , i find complaining to the universe a waste of time , unless i can talk to the exact person who did the work .. !!

these are the reasons i'll just build my own parts basses lately ... and i have seen and had my own share of issues with boutique basses ( $5k + ranges ) .. been there / done that ..

i am a firm believer in the 25% Restocking fee ... which helps eliminate most returns ... having worked in a few music stores over the decades , it is hard to sell an item " as-new " when someone has played it for a while .. !!?? Demos usually get a discount , ... so i would think that if a customer turns a new item into a Demo , then they should be the one paying that discount .. ! ( Restocking fee ) sadly the big box retail stores have made the ' i'll just return it ' mantra , very popular the last couple decades .. !

personally , i feel like a fool if i need to return something .. ! why , because i'm a smart well informed shopper, who makes wise choices .. !! and i'll just fix issues versus whining about them ... ?! YMMV

Now wait a minute, if a guitar is BRAND NEW with backbow and a nut that needs addressed etc, that would be covered under warranty....you are NOT supposed to mess around with a brand new purchase if it is under warranty.

25% re-stocking fee is excessive....if i return an item to say Wal Mart i CLEARLY state WHY i return it....part of the reason Wal Mart is successful is their liberal return policy and they fully refund cash too BUT if something is defective, it gets marked defective.

The OP's bass was clearly not typical of the new MIM basses i have seen at GC in the past 3 or 4 years....ive been very impressed with most all MIM Fenders lately.

 

[slobake]

Don't know if the MIM quality is going down or the poster just got a lemon. Is the quality that is shipped to Europe the same as it is here in the U.S.?
I have had two MIM Precisions and haven't had these problems. One was used and the other was a new 50's Precision. I always play a bass before I purchase it, bummer that the OP can't do that. It would solve a lot of problems. Most of us know that no two basses are alike and for me I need to play a bass before I know if it is right for me. I played four new Am Std Precisions before I found the bass I wanted.
The bass was shipped from Mexico to California, to the Netherlands and then to Germany. Could that be part of the problem?

 

[DavidEdenAria]

With mass production basses, quality control is not very reliable so it is very important to try a bass before buying it.
In my experience, the cheaper the bass model, the more basses I need to try to find a really good one. A blind purchase is a roll of the dice, IMO.

Unless its brands like Ibanez and a few others.....honestly i cannot believe how consistently good most of the cheap Ibanez are.

BUT, the far East Squiers are very good as well and were cheaper than MIM Fenders.

 

[Alex Bass]

Aye, because every other country is a paragon of moral virtue right enough. America has been able to cram a fair degree of nonsense into a short period of time (overthrowing the democratically elected leader of Guatemala for bananas, for feck's sake, takes some beating), but Jeysus, man. Europe carved up Africa with a knife!

Very true no debate about that!

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

You guys in the USA don't know how lucky you are on gear prices. Over here we pay in Euros or GBP what you pay in dollars plus at least an additional 25% in import duties and taxes.

I am looking to buy a G&L Kiloton, I have seen them for about $1200 in the USA. In Europe they are 1500 GBP or 1600 Euros, if you can find one! (The only one I can find is at Thomman.)

I'm not getting into the debate on returning gear other than to say that is how Thomman operate. I knew a guy who wanted a preamp, he ordered 2, tried them and returned the one he didn't want.

Rumor is that Sir Paul plays a Hofner because they were cheap in Deutschland. At the time, he couldn't afford to buy (or didn't want to pay for) a Fender over there. Of course now I think he can swing a Squier or two, maybe even a MIM Fender. Too bad they didn't have CL in Liverpool back then. Now he's stuck with Hoffies, 'cause no one will let him perform in public without one. It just wouldn't look right.

 

[Lownote38]

Something is up with that bass. That neck route isn't right for a brand new MIM Fender Precision, and the frets have wear on them... like it was a floor model. The MIM Standards are not veneered either. I'm not sure what the OP has there, but that's not normal for a newer MIM Fender bass.

 

[Sixgunn]

There's nobody in this thread who hasn't screwed up more than once in their lives, especially musicians, so I would suggest everyone get off their high horse. I know I'm no innocent lamb. But we grow up and learn from our mistakes. For crimini's sake would it hurt any of you to try and teach someone something instead of tearing them up???

No one was nasty or over the top. I'm pretty sure he won't need therapy.

 

[Sixgunn]

Does anyone understand that the people who do this kind of thing are partially responsible for the high prices that y'all are grousing about?

 

[petrus61]

Something is up with that bass. That neck route isn't right for a brand new MIM Fender Precision, and the frets have wear on them... like it was a floor model. The MIM Standards are not veneered either. I'm not sure what the OP has there, but that's not normal for a newer MIM Fender bass.

That's why I asked for front and back headshots...also a pic of the CNC "hole" under the guard would be nice. I don't know why, but when I saw that snapped Allen key, I instantly thought forgery. I could be completely off base with that, of course.

 

[Korladis]

Well,maybe Germany should stop this.
It's likely that the shops are tired of that nonsense and sent you a "stinker"to send a message.

Probably someone else's return.

 

[Mugre]

I don't know about guitars but on (broken) amps costing less than about $200 the warranty station helps effect an exchange and is supposed to remove the serial number and render the amp inoperable before disposing of it*. I wonder if this wreck was shipping damaged, the retailer took the credit and then shipped out anyway by accident or on purpose

*With Fender's permission, we have sometimes taken the serial number off, fixed an easy problem like an unsoldered input jack and donated the amp to nearby performing arts school programs.

 

[TheSlug]

Does anyone understand that the people who do this kind of thing are partially responsible for the high prices that y'all are grousing about?

Are you saying that this is a european thing, and it is partially the reason for our high prices? I hope I missunderstood.

 

[Sixgunn]

Are you saying that this is a european thing, and it is partially the reason for our high prices? I hope I missunderstood.

No. People anywhere who do this.

 

[bolophonic]

Are you saying that this is a european thing, and it is partially the reason for our high prices? I hope I missunderstood.

I understand it to mean that people like the OP, who order basses just to dink around with a free rental for 30 days on someone else's dime, with no intention of keeping them are adding to the overhead of retailers who then pass that cost on to everyone else.

 

[TheSlug]

No. People anywhere who do this.

Ah. I see. I just read some posts about the high prices in Europe compared to USA and presumed you thought that was partially the reason. Sorry. Me and my presumptions.

 

[bolophonic]

Don't know if the MIM quality is going down or the poster just got a lemon. Is the quality that is shipped to Europe the same as it is here in the U.S.?
I have had two MIM Precisions and haven't had these problems. One was used and the other was a new 50's Precision. I always play a bass before I purchase it, bummer that the OP can't do that. It would solve a lot of problems. Most of us know that no two basses are alike and for me I need to play a bass before I know if it is right for me. I played four new Am Std Precisions before I found the bass I wanted.
The bass was shipped from Mexico to California, to the Netherlands and then to Germany. Could that be part of the problem?

I'd be willing to bet that someone ordered that bass, messed around with it until it was unplayable, took off the pick guard for some reason, just like the OP did, then reassembled it and returned it. Then the retailer sent it on to the OP, because they recognized him as one of those customers who order basses they don't even want, disassemble them, critique them, etc., then you know the rest...

 

[stefanb]

Have any of you guys done business in Europe, or specifically Germany? Or know anyone personally in Germany that can comment on the consumer practices of their culture? Thought so...

It's right in the company's fine print guys - they literally encourage you to do what the OP did....which he did as per their guidelines!

Before you can know that an instrument or piece of equipment is really the right one for you, you have to try it out. And this is exactly what you can do with no worries for 30 days right at home. And if an item doesn't fully satisfy you, just send it back to us, covered by your Money Back Guarantee. In most cases, even the return postage is free. Shop in our webstore, secure in the knowledge that you don't have to commit to anything you don't really want.
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[gln1955]

Have any of you guys done business in Europe, or specifically Germany? Or know anyone personally in Germany that can comment on the consumer practices of their culture? Thought so...

It's right in the company's fine print guys - they literally encourage you to do what the OP did....which he did as per their guidelines!

Before you can know that an instrument or piece of equipment is really the right one for you, you have to try it out. And this is exactly what you can do with no worries for 30 days right at home. And if an item doesn't fully satisfy you, just send it back to us, covered by your Money Back Guarantee. In most cases, even the return postage is free. Shop in our webstore, secure in the knowledge that you don't have to commit to anything you don't really want.
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Old news. Nobody is disputing their policy. It's the OP's intent to not buy it from the get go that's causing the ruckus.

 

[stefanb]

Old news. Nobody is disputing their policy. It's the OP's intent to not buy it from the get go that's causing the ruckus.

How else was he supposed to try one? I'm sure if it arrived in better shape the decision wouldn't have been made for him.

Since when do businesses have feelings? The EU distributor already purchased the product so Fender is happy

I imagine what we're seeing is the pre-purchase setup the in-store tech would have done and all the issues would have been corrected before going home with the customer. In this case, direct-to-consumer models shows all the flaws of QC under bright lights rather than being caught at the store level.