NBD...I'm kinda pissed...what would you do?

[nilorius]

I would keep, the prblems are not so bad and expensive to return.

 

[lug]

What would I do? I'm contact my local Shaman and have a curse put on the seller that causes him to badly stub his left big toe at least 3 time a week.......for the rest of his natural life! Then I would see if the neck/string height is adjustable to within specs I like. I sure the pots will probably clean up fine.

 

[Sands]

I feel it's important for sellers to advertise accurately. He was not selling a perfect condition squire. That he was contacted and asked for reassurance should have at minimum prompted him to re inspect the instrument.

This should not be par or typical for a high quality purchase experience.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

the cost of shipping is enough to make me just repair it I guess. I would probably just not leave a review

 

[Bassdirty]

I'd set it up to make sure the neck is OK, then fix the electronics if so. That's probably the reason it was cheaper, sellers lie all the time.

Had to reply as I could only like it once.

Here's ten more likes.

Nothin pisses me off more than lying sellers. Especially when trying to sell stuff that's way overpriced.
And it happens a lot. Once in a while you may get an honest seller, but since ebay came about and now "everything" is "collectable and valuable" … well, I guess the saying : "Buyer Beware" make so much sense these days when (almost) everything is a scam.

YMMV

T$

 

[Drucifer]

View attachment 3915881
Cons
the action is high
battery has nothing to secure it
foam is brittle and broken into pieces
the pots are very scratchy

Pros
this is a bass I've wanted for a long time
The price I paid is much cheaper than other
The finish is immaculate
it has that Modulus piano sound on the notes that I can actually fret
I really am enamored with this thing
the finish matches my Fodera 6 Emperor
Sending it back would be a hassle
buyer pays to return and refunds are minus shipping

Looks like an easy decision

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I agree with all of this. I contacted the seller immediately and told him the issues. He said he contacted reverb about it almost like he's expecting it come back. I just got it yesterday. I told him I want to take it to my tech and get his opinion, which I'm doing today after work. If he tells me the neck is screwed then it'll get boxed up tonight will be gone as soon as I get an agreement in place that puts my money back in my account. Oh and flipping it...the seller says he bought it in 2000. He says he bought it from a store and still has the receipt.its a '93 so taking the seller at his word, who knows beyond when he bought it. But he did say he hasn't played it for a while. So I imagine it's been sitting in his closet for a long time.

Good. It really comes down to the neck. If it doesn't work out, this G Gould is only a few hundred more and almost new. G. Gould GGi6 6-String Bass 2019 Natural Cocobola | Corner Music | Reverb

 

[logdrum]

You can't defend an entire company with untold thousands of employees just from your kin's employment there. I worked for UPS in the Ontario warehouse for over 2 years during school, and there were plenty of bad apples there - lazy, would miss work with no call, under the influence, terrible scanning and sorting, completely abusive package treatment, and oh yeah - rampant theft. And since it's a union gig, which IN THIS CASE has too much power, these guys were almost impossible to fire. Which means that many of them will be in a brown truck leaving basses on curbs and throwing boxes over fences... Yes it's tough work, yes UPS is a bit of a bummer of a boss, but it pays well with good benefits. Its a shame there are bad apples ..

Yeah - over in the TGP forum. some "apparent UPS workers" were basically riling up everyone after someone complained about a forklift stabbing a box/ They proceeded to tell how anything with a fragile sticker gets kick intentionally and bets are made to how fast they can demolish it. There is a forum called the Brown Cafe which is basically UPS employees and they take pride in bragging how they would randomly destroy parcels, just for fun. Not sure if the public can read that forum.

My UPS guy is good guy though. They all have been. And I had one damaged item in 20 years and they paid fast with no hassles.

 

[LBS-bass]

All I wanted to say in this thread is, who the heck suggests replacing a preamp when there are scratchy pots?

K, awesome bass, hope the setup works out for ya!

The beauty of the internet is that everyone can pretend to be an expert!

 

[bfields]

As a non-expert my biggest worry would be that it has some unfixable problem that I won't figure out till it's too late.

So, yeah, sounds like you're doing what I would, take it to a tech.

If it's just a matter of setup and pot cleaning, they should be able to get it into great shape for not a whole lot of money.

In the (hopefully unlikely) case it's a lemon, maybe they can give you a good description of the problem that you can take back to the seller.

 

[Bassdirty]

……. But he did say he hasn't played it for a while. So I imagine it's been sitting in his closet for a long time.

I do wish you luck, and cant wait to hear how it turns out, BUT, what I quoted above kinda bothers me.

Hasn't played it for a while ..because the action is too high.
(scratchy pots are nothing- in the grand scheme)

He also sold it for a lower price than all the other similar (GOOD CONDITION) basses online because action is too high. That whole thing about happening during shipping, I ain't buying. I've seen damaged items during shipping, but in EVERY case, there is visible damage to the outside of the box. If your box was good, I don't think they played kick it off the truck(which I have also seen before- at my workplace- with boxes of aircraft parts.)

IMO,IME,YMMV..etc.
Good luck, keep us posted.

T$

 

[Persona87]

Dumb question, but: If there's not truss rod, does the bass require a very specific string tension vis-a-vis string action? Or is the neck designed to never move under any probable range of string tensions?

I don't have decades of experience here, but when I change the strings on any of my basses at home, I need to make a corresponding change to the truss rod tension. Based on the physics at work on a strung electric bass, I don't understand how you get around that. Although, double basses don't have truss rods, to my knowledge, which implies those necks rely specifically of straightness and rigidness. Just curious.

Graphite necks are supposedly the same. The incredible stiffness is supposed to prevent the neck from moving, period. Turns out that over time, graphite still moves.

 

[MattZilla]

Oh I heard your dogs barking and I was afraid they would get out

I'm not usually into putting effort into getting people fired, but he is in the wrong line of work and his boss should be notified.

 

[39-Bassist]

Keep it IF you really like it that much.
The fix is worth the cost. Especially if you get it at a good price.
Give seller an honest review and move on from there.

 

[casualmadness]

G. Gould GGi6 6-String Bass 2019 Natural Cocobola | Corner Music | Reverb

Man that's a nice looking bass.

 

[lokikallas]

Dirty pots just need a little exercise. A few minutes of rotating them through their range of motion should clear up any crackling.

 

[kirkplunkett]

You can probably fix the scratchy pots issue with a couple of relatively cheap items (that every player should really keep on hand any, IMHO).

Doexit & Pot Cleaning Cap (The cap isn't really needed, but it makes application less of a mess and uses less product.)

 

[Rabidhamster]

I've said several times throughout the thread that there is no trussrod. Others have said it as well.

If the neck is bowed, pack it up, send it back.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

View attachment 3915881


Sigh...so yeah, I just got my long awaited Modulus Graphite 6 Quantum. Been wanting one of these for a while. Finally arrived today. First, the idiot UPS guy literally left it almost on the curb in front of my house. Luckily I was home and saw on the Ring camera that he was out there. I went out and confronted him for leaving it literally just a few feet from the curb rather than bringing it to my door and ringing the doorbell and getting a signature, as is required. His excuse? "Oh I heard your dogs barking and I was afraid they would get out." Really?!? But UPS is another rant...

So anyway, I bought this bass used on Reverb. Lots of back and forth with the seller. He talked about how immaculate this thing was. He described it as "perfect." I asked in convo if there were any issues...anything I should know? "Nope! It's perfect!"

So I pulled the trigger. Today I find, that right out of the bo, the action is high enough to drive my truck under. I mean it's like cheap Squire Guitar Center high action. It's crazy But not a big deal. As I'm holding it and moving it around in my hands giving it a once over, I hear something tumbling. After not seeing anytjing obvious, I open the cavity.

The tumbling was the battery tumbling around in there. The gross, little corrosion on it battery has nothing to secure it. Next I see that the foam is brittle and broken into a thousand tiny, microscopic little pieces. It seems this bass has been neglected. So I cleaned out all the foam pieces and put a new battery in. Plug it in and am delighted to hear it sounds wonderful-like a Modulus sounds. But the pots are very scratchy. Like I'm playing and the volume just decreases on its own. I touch the volume pot and the volume comes back. Turning any of the pots, its very very scratchy.

I immediately reach out to the seller. He's being cordial but he did suggest that maybe this happened during transit. Nope! Try again dude. We're going back and forth at the moment. I will say, he seems to be very cooperative and seems he genuinely wants to make things right. As I type this, I'm cooling down.

So my first thought is; this is a bass I've wanted for a long time. The price I paid is much cheaper than what I see other quantum 6 strings selling for on Reverb. So there's a part of me that say's "Just fix it and drive on" The finish is immaculate-no scratches, no dings, nothing It looks amazing. And it has that Modulus piano sound on the notes that I can actually fret. I really am enamored with this thing. On top of everything else, the finish matches my Fodera 6 Emperor. Sending it back would be a hassle and his store policy is the buyer pays to return and refunds are minus shipping. So I'm out a couple hundred $$ if I return it. If I keep it an fix it...I haven't had electronic work done on basses so no clue what this would cost to fix. But my assumption is, maybe it would be cheaper to fix than to return.

So what would you do?

eta: pics or it didn't happen...

I'm wondering what "other" surprises you may encounter down the road... If it were me, I just wouldn't be comfortable/satisfied with what you discovered. Just my $0.02.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I'm wondering what "other" surprises you may encounter down the road... If it were me, I just wouldn't be comfortable/satisfied with what you discovered. Just my $0.02.

There isn't much else you could hide. It's a clear finish, so nothing hiding under a respray. No truss rod, so it can't be broken. Everything else is a visual inspection. The wildcard is if the neck is in good shape and not bowed excessively.