Return a bass for....smell?

[mcnach]

Don't buy it. Return it. People that can't learn to take care of their instruments are morons.

Have you ever thought of a career in diplomacy?

 

[Pedullist]

My Pedulla Thunderbass had an intense smell of sigarette smoke. It was almost spring, not raining, so I left it a couple of afternoons outside. Almost gone after that. Now completely gone. My new old F-Bass still smells like...storage.

 

[J-Mags]

I one returned a bass for spite. They said it wasn't an acceptable reason.

"I'm returning this just to be an a-hole."
"No problem, dude, the customer is always right."

 

[SactoBass]

Would you return a bass if the bass and accompanying case smelled bad?

If I could, most definitely yes!

I had two separate "smelly gear" scenarios happen to me many years ago.

The first was an Alembic bass I bought on eBay. When it arrived and I opened the hard shell case......BAM.....the stinky smelly GROSS stench of cigarette smoke just about gagged my entire family. SOOOO DISGUSTING!

The second was a bass cab I bought in the TB classifieds. Same as above......when it arrived and I opened the cardboard box.....BAM.....stinky smelly GROSS stench of cigarette smoke. SOOOO DISGUSTING!

Live and learn. What did I learn? I learned that anytime I am thinking of buying used gear, I *ALWAYS* ask if the item has been kept in a nonsmoking home.

I look forward to the day when smoking is prohibited on the entire planet. Wishful thinking, I know.

 

[J-Mags]

It really depends. I wouldn't sell most instruments just because they smelled like cigarettes. I get a little nostalgic for the cig filled past anyway, although not at the end of the night when I go home and my ears don't hurt (ear protection), and I'm not wheezing, because they don't allow smoking in clubs anymore. I even bought an apartment that smelled strongly of cigs. NYC, ya know. Two bedrooms under 100k? I was thanking my lucky stars that someone drove the value down.

I imagine there'd be a big difference for me between a 70s bass that smells like cigs and a new one. I've bought amps that were a big cat pee bummer. At the time I was practicing in a stinky basement anyway and kept them. It was during the grunge rock era. I was like, "Grunge rock means nothing if you can't even have a smelly amp!"

 

[Rnr..........4]

Man, people sure get offended by everything these days..

 

[Iridescentone]

I've dealt with heavy tobacco odors and cat odors on used basses, and inside their gig bags and hardcases. The basses only needed a good cleaning, usually with Windex, followed by a damp cloth to remove any possible Windex residue.

The bags and cases took more effort. Febreeze "fabric" deodorizer worked very well, but sometimes more than one application was needed. Each application took a couple days to completely dry out, either outside in the sun (best), or in the garage. Once the pet and/or tobacco odors were replaced by the strong Febreeze odor, the Febreeze smell eventually completely dissipated. Result: Zero smell. Never had to return a used bass because of bad smells, but fixing the problem wasn't an overnight process, it did take some time and effort.

OTOH, I bought a brand new bass from MF about 15 years ago. When I opened the shipping box I got blasted by the overwhelming stench of cheap colon. I really wanted this particular bass, so a thorough clean-up was not a big deal for me. However, I soon realized that the colon stench was coming from the rosewood board. That smell was not going to come out, and I wasn't going to wait years for it to wear off....returned it, reluctantly.

 

[2F/2F]

I would say strongly of cigarettes, but also maybe cologne too...? Old school bar smell? I let the case sit open last night with the ceiling fan turning gently to air it out a bit. I like how it plays, but I could have paid a bit more and probably gotten the same minus the smell.
The bass is an Ibanez SR1405, so a pretty nice one.

Probably belonged to an indoor smoker. That wreaks havoc on your house and everything in it. But if it's a great bass for a great price, and/or it would be tough to find another one like it, I'd just live with it. Maybe a new case will help in the long run. I would also disassemble the bass and clean every part with a finish-safe cleaner, and give the thing a good polish with a car finishing product. This will help abrade the top layers away. If it has a pickguard, you could replace that too, and maybe new pickup covers. Plastic can hold on to smells quite well. I'd replace the strings too.

If you don't want to try all that, just send it back.

 

[electracoyote]

I've had some new cases that smelled pretty bad because of the materials and glues used.

But I've never had a new bass or case retain that smell if left out for awhile, and setting a case open in the sun usually cures it.

Now, I've had some used basses that have been exposed to some kind of mutant funk that never came out. I recently bought a used Vox clone that has a mild cigarette smell to case, bass, and free leather strap, but it is not oppressive and reminds me of back in the day where everything smelled of smoke if you played the clubs.

 

[ELG60]

Easy fix, just cover everything you own with tomato sauce.

When we moved from Atlanta to Chicago when I was a boy, we brought our mostly white, pointer/dalmatian mix with us. H was a young dog and was used to running free so he'd dig out of our tiny back yard and go exploring.

One night during his travels, he ran into a skunk, and when he decided to come home, reeked to high heaven, so my mom bathed him in tomato juice. We had a pink dog for about a month.

 

[Tony In Philly]

I once bought an Ovation acoustic bass thank stank of stale cigs as soon as I opened the case. It eventually went away over time and I'm glad I didn't return it.