Return or try to get fixed? G&L mj4

[Ethix4]

Bought a g&l mj4 Greenburst Mia from bass guitar center online , had the infamous 6 ft away picture so I had 50/50 hopes.
Was a dirty mess at first but cleaned up like an almost new bass , no scratches or knicks. needed strings like any used bass from gc usually does. So I restrung and started to give a setup.. found the neck is actually pretty straight but that the truss rod is broken. It's loose and rattling around inside the neck. I'm not sure if it broke off the nut or if the whole rod is broken. I can almost pull it out with the Allen wrench.. I'm assuming this is why it was hawked to GC . Too bad, as it cleaned up and played pretty well after I restrung it. Sounds great. I reached out to G&L to see their quote and process on this, and the guitar center rep I bought it with over the phone. I know G&L has usually replaced necks for things like this and ski jump right? I'm local to socal so I could bring it to the Fullerton factory and have it fixed. Maybe they could under warranty , but I feel even if that happened I should get some kind of partial refund for dealing with the matter and drive. I'm debating doing all this or just returning it to gc under their policy and letting it be their matter.
I don't blame the guitar center rep who bought the bass for not catching the truss rod being broken as it's a deeper thing to check out upon buying from customers..
I bought a Schroeder before that had a speaker swapped with a blown one. Another bass that had been rained on (possibly shippers fault)
Needless to say I'm kind of over buying on guitar center used online hoping for deals.
I just got the bass earlier today. I can't upload a video of the issue here or I would show it.
It came with hardshell case but no spec sheet or anything else, no keys etc.

Should I return it or see what G&L and guitar center can do? Do they usually swap necks for this or can they replace the truss rod itself ? I do like the neck profile on this one.

 

[MynameisMe]

Your right it cleaned up nice!
I would reach out to G&L first. What's it going to hurt?
If you got a deal maybe a replacement neck is available.

 

[Ethix4]

Your right it cleaned up nice!
I would reach out to G&L first. What's it going to hurt?
If you got a deal maybe a replacement neck is available.

I wouldn't say I got a deal , I paid the normal price for a G&L , that being said I feel it should be playable and no neck issue for that price.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I would reach out to G&L first. What's it going to hurt?

Potentially, a six month wait for a neck that doesn't work very well, since you're asking

 

[metron]

Without question, take it back. Demand your shipping refunded too because its broken.

A new G&L neck will cost you like $6-700 and they make them the same as they did when that bass was new. Dual action with the nut welded to the rod so if the weld breaks, the neck is shot. They seem prone to breaking. At least more than I'm comfortable with.

 

[Jim C]

Return that dawg.

 

[metron]

GC is a gamble. They definitely dont check setups and sometimes they might not even plug it in. I got a DOA Stingray once. No sound guys!

That said, they are equally undiligent when it comes to nice instruments listed under what they are going for. I buy used gear from them almost exclusively because I expect all this.

Put the broken bass back in their hands. It's their responsibility.

 

[Killing Floor]

Broken truss seems like a reasonable issue to return a bass over.

 

[johnk_10]

i'd return it.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

return it.
But, I have bought several used basses from GC. I get the salesman to touch the bass, look for scratches, fret wear, check the neck, even check the truss rod. On the last one he even described the case that came with it. Remember, buy from reverb, some have a 'no return policy' . At GC you can return w/o any problems.
About the G&L, I have read of truss rod issues, do a search.

 

[J Wilson]

Return it. Since you didn't steal it or buy it as a 'fixer-upper' price-wise, a very professional repair/replacement with an experienced, qualified tech who could do the work beautifully would not be cheap, and a new replacement neck from G+L would cost even more, by my math.

Since you paid full or near full price for an 'as new' (Haha !) bass, I'd return it, the numbers add up to way past what it would be worth. Get your money back and find a new one that's whole.

 

[IPA]

Demand your shipping refunded too because its broken.

GC has always been good about this from my past experience. It's one thing if it's a "I don't like this" or "I changed my mind" but when I got items that were clearly not functioning properly they refunded me the shipping. Takes some of the risk off rolling the dice in their used section.

 

[pjbassist]

@MingusBass thoughts?

 

[john_g]

I would send it back. Does G&L offer a transferable warranty? Otherwise you or GC will have to pay G&L for a new neck.

 

[kmon]

that's a ton of hassle, unless it's your dream bass it's a return

 

[Chrisk-K]

I'd never buy a bass with a broken truss rod.

 

[metron]

GC has always been good about this from my past experience. It's one thing if it's a "I don't like this" or "I changed my mind" but when I got items that were clearly not functioning properly they refunded me the shipping. Takes some of the risk off rolling the dice in their used section.

Same here they are always good with returns. The biggest con to this is that bass goes right back on the site FS. Even if you tell them about the issue.

 

[IPA]

Same here they are always good with returns. The biggest con to this is that bass goes right back on the site FS. Even if you tell them about the issue.

Yep, that part is definitely a bit shady. I got a jazz bass a while back that was listed as functioning/playing just fine. Got it and the neck was completely screwed, even with the action hiked up and new strings, unplayable. I saw it listed back up on the GC used site the next day. Shame, the lake placid looked so nice.

 

[Freekmagnet]

+1 on returning it. Greenburst might be tricky, but you can find another G&L.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Bought a g&l mj4 Greenburst Mia from bass guitar center online , had the infamous 6 ft away picture so I had 50/50 hopes.
Was a dirty mess at first but cleaned up like an almost new bass , no scratches or knicks. needed strings like any used bass from gc usually does. So I restrung and started to give a setup.. found the neck is actually pretty straight but that the truss rod is broken. It's loose and rattling around inside the neck. I'm not sure if it broke off the nut or if the whole rod is broken. I can almost pull it out with the Allen wrench.. I'm assuming this is why it was hawked to GC . Too bad, as it cleaned up and played pretty well after I restrung it. Sounds great. I reached out to G&L to see their quote and process on this, and the guitar center rep I bought it with over the phone. I know G&L has usually replaced necks for things like this and ski jump right? I'm local to socal so I could bring it to the Fullerton factory and have it fixed. Maybe they could under warranty , but I feel even if that happened I should get some kind of partial refund for dealing with the matter and drive. I'm debating doing all this or just returning it to gc under their policy and letting it be their matter.
I don't blame the guitar center rep who bought the bass for not catching the truss rod being broken as it's a deeper thing to check out upon buying from customers..
I bought a Schroeder before that had a speaker swapped with a blown one. Another bass that had been rained on (possibly shippers fault)
Needless to say I'm kind of over buying on guitar center used online hoping for deals.
I just got the bass earlier today. I can't upload a video of the issue here or I would show it.
It came with hardshell case but no spec sheet or anything else, no keys etc.

Should I return it or see what G&L and guitar center can do? Do they usually swap necks for this or can they replace the truss rod itself ? I do like the neck profile on this one.

What was the conditional rating of this bass on the GC web site? How much for G&L want to repair it. Right now you don't have enough information to make a decision. If this bass was listed as "great" or higher you got a bone to pick with GC for overrating it. You can negotiate a discount, but I'm doubtful it will be as much as the repair.