Set up from a retailer

[pigpen1]

Or it could be the surprise people are experiencing that someone capable of a setup would get so torqued over a bass that isn't set up "well," to his taste, or to some generic "factory specs."

Most of us pick up a bass and fully expect it to be way off from our preferences. It's the norm, especially in a retail store with cluesless noob sales clerks running around. Sheesh, most of those guys are still trying to figure out how the cash register works. Anyone who desires to have one of those half-wits set up their bass needs to seriously re-think it.

I'd say questioning the OP's setup abilities is not that far out of line.

My biggest issue with the lack of a basic setup is that you sometimes can't tell if the instrument will ever play to your standards. Just my opinion.

It would take the store 10 minutes to adjust the truss rod (usually tighten lets be honest) and adjust saddle height.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Agreed - it only takes a few minutes, and I would think it would be worth doing that before putting it on a shelf (and checking about once a month) so every instrument is ready to go. Unlike TB members, most players do not know how to do this - certainly most players looking in a store.

 

[electracoyote]

My biggest issue with the lack of a basic setup is that you sometimes can't tell if the instrument will ever play to your standards. Just my opinion.

I agree. Indeed, it's almost never possible to tell exactly how a bass will play with your set up preferences until it has been set up accordingly. And the dude at the music store does not know my set up preferences. But most basses are playable enough to know they probably can be tweaked to preference.

It would take the store 10 minutes to adjust the truss rod (usually tighten lets be honest) and adjust saddle height.

Quoted for emphasis and prosperity:

Most of us pick up a bass and fully expect it to be way off from our preferences. It's the norm, especially in a retail store with cluesless noob sales clerks running around. Sheesh, most of those guys are still trying to figure out how the cash register works. Anyone who desires to have one of those half-wits setting up the basses needs to seriously re-think it.

Also, at risk of repeating myself, IME, the vast majority of basses I pick up at the music store are already somewhere near "factory specs" or I can at least squeeze a few notes out of them to get an idea.

Then I have the 30-45 day return policy, which gives me time to take it home and put my 10- (or 20) minute set up on it and take my time making a final decision. Not some noob's or guitar player's 10-minute set up, but my experienced 20-minute set up.

 

[basscapes]

Intriguing post.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that few basses you've picked up in the store are even playable enough for you to squeeze a few notes out and get some kind of idea. That is sad, and comes as a great surprise to me after decades of buying selling and trading basses. I see basses locked up that badly only every once in awhile, relatively very rarely.



And I'm guessing you are also in the unenviable position of only shopping at music stores with no return policy. Equally sad and surprising (shocking, actually--another extreme rarity IME).

I'd say retail is just not in the cards for you. Too bad, because you're right; if you can't take it home and hunker down over it during a trial period, do some simple tweaking to taste, you are most assuredly leaving some great instruments behind when you exit the music store.

My sympathies on your misfortunes.

Return polices, while great, don't offer solace as far as chunking down the money BEFORE even trying out said instrument (mail order/internet). Why would I PAY for an in order to "take a chance" on it (as well as the risks/hassles of subsequent return shipping damage- we've all heard horror stories of buying stuff and getting kindling in a box- same goes for returns)?

What I'm simply saying is that for a Brick and Mortar store to make a sale (or INCREASE their sales) on something, showcase it in the best possible light! I wouldn't for a moment buy a new car (or a USED one) if I walked onto the lot and said car had half flat tires or needed to be jump-started. My dad was checking out a used car many years ago. 5 minutes into the test drive, it began overheating. The lot had actually forgot to put the coolant in when they were servicing it! needless to say, he returned to the lot, handed them back the keys and left. The same goes with a bass- ski slope necks, action higher than Hunter Thompson, and tuning in the key of Z are fixable things. Brick and Mortar stores need to at least look like they care.

No misfortunes for me- my money is still firmly planted in my wallet, and I have no regrets in that!

Peace.

 

[gln1955]

The big draw of a brick and mortar store is supposed to be that you can try before you buy. Why would anyone buy a horrendously setup bass from a store with the hopes that it will be good or return it if it isn't? Might as well buy online and save time and milage.

 

[Fletz]

Why not learn how to set up an instrument to your tastes, rather than hope it turns up and plays reasonably? It’s quite easy, really. I couldn’t give a damn how an instrument arrives once everything works. I know how I like my instruments to play and it’s the second thing I do with any new arrival - the first is strip snd clean the previous owner’s biocrud

This x10000

 

[fretno]

I can't see how a new instrument setup would be right for everyone , especially a more seasoned player . I think we all lean towards certain preferences like height at the nut and bridge , maybe spacing and neck relief etc etc . IME no matter how well it is set up I always change something to my preferences . ymmv

 

[pigpen1]

This x10000

The big catch is IF the instrument can ever be setup to my tastes. I'm picky. Some of them are such duds they'll never play worth a damn, but they are so far away from decent in the store that you can't tell if they will ever pan out.

One of my jazz basses sound great, but its only an average player even after tons of setup work, swapping bridges, strings, fret/net work, neck shims, etc. Still its a chore to play.

 

[pigpen1]

I can't see how a new instrument setup would be right for everyone , especially a more seasoned player . I think we all lean towards certain preferences like height at the nut and bridge , maybe spacing and neck relief etc etc . IME no matter how well it is set up I always change something to my preferences . ymmv

Same here, but I've seen strings so high that I can actually put a finger under them between the fretboard. I've also seen basses where every note is buzzing not sounding hardly at all.

 

[electracoyote]

Return polices, while great, don't offer solace as far as chunking down the money BEFORE even trying out said instrument (mail order/internet).

The conversation thusfar has revolved around brick and mortar retail music stores, not long distance. That's another kettle of fish altogether.

What I'm simply saying is that for a Brick and Mortar store to make a sale (or INCREASE their sales) on something, showcase it in the best possible light! I wouldn't for a moment buy a new car (or a USED one) if I walked onto the lot and said car had half flat tires or needed to be jump-started.

Yeah...that's quite an exaggerated metaphor. IME, the vast majority of basses in retail stores have not been in that bad shape. Every once in a while, but relatively rare. Again, I feel bad for you if that's your reality or norm. I'd say it's more like walking onto the car dealership and having to adjust the mirrors, seat, steering column, temperature, etc. Relatively minor inconveniences, but in the end you get your unique preferences, kind of that whole DIY vibe, and it's well-worth the effort.

To each his own. Peace out, homeslice.

 

[fretno]

yeah that won't help anyone when it's unplayable . This btw is also the case with the upright and it can take years of struggle to figure out it needs a set up

 

[micguy]

The way GC sets up (or doesn't) their instruments, the couple of times I've bought basses there, I didn't consider them purchases - they were rescues.

 

[electracoyote]

I can't see how a new instrument setup would be right for everyone , especially a more seasoned player . I think we all lean towards certain preferences like height at the nut and bridge , maybe spacing and neck relief etc etc . IME no matter how well it is set up I always change something to my preferences . ymmv

+1

And those of us who play flats (and there are many) have no choice but to take it home and switch out strings. We'll never know how the thing really plays and sounds until we do.

There are countless scenarios and reasons why any kind of generic "one size fits all" set up is still an artificial representation of the instrument.

And all these music stores with nothing but totally jacked up locked up completely unplayable basses, wow, I really had no idea. For decades I have routinely shopped music stores in about six big cities and I'm just not seeing it. I am sad for you folks who have to live through that.

 

[basscapes]

The way GC sets up (or doesn't) their instruments, the couple of times I've bought basses there, I didn't consider them purchases - they were rescues.

EXACTLY!

Unfortunately, the need to rescue has always been negated by the need of my money to stay in my wallet! LOL

 

[el murdoque]

That works for you.

Many players have a heavy or aggressive playing style, and that bass would sound like a buzzy POS in their hands. Unless that's the sound they're going for, they will be faced with the same situation of having to evaluate the bass as-is and project whether it would work for them after they apply their set up preferences, string gauge, etc.

Yeah, that works for you ;-)

As I said, no one ever wonders if the action might go higher. You can basically set any basses action so high that it is too high even for the heavy hitters. But the lowest it will go is something that varies from bass to bass.

 

[electracoyote]

You can basically set any basses action so high that it is too high even for the heavy hitters. But the lowest it will go is something that varies from bass to bass.

Good point, a low-action set up is kind of a challenge even for people with experience. I surely don't expect some noob clerk, or a guitar player, to be able to do it at Guitar Center.

 

[electracoyote]

The way GC sets up (or doesn't) their instruments, the couple of times I've bought basses there, I didn't consider them purchases - they were rescues.

They absolutely are being rescued from the last person who had far different set up preferences from you (imagine that?) or didn't give a damn (like an underpaid or under-qualified factory worker or store clerk--imagine THAT???).

I love rescuing basses. The reward almost always exceeds the investment.

 

[Liam Wald]

I really don't see it as the retailers responsibility to set up new instruments.
Almost all other instruments are shipped from the manufacturers in their best playable condition.
Pianos are tuned and regulated. Saxophones are checked for leaky pads and spring tension is adjusted.

The whole issue of bass guitars being poorly set up is not universal.
There are many bass builders who take enough pride in their products to make sure that they are set up and playable before they leave the shop. Some obviously do not.

High volume manufacturers may likely have QC process by which they isolate instruments that are less than good and send them to big box retailers thinking that they can slide them through and likely not see them again where as smaller retailers may send them back in exchange for better stock inventory.

Those less than perfect instruments that get returned to the manufacturer are then re-packaged (maybe) and shipped off to a big box retailer where they are taken out of the box and hung on the wall.
The good ones sell, the bad ones stay on the wall. Before long as this happens a larger and larger percentage of the instruments on the wall are the duds. Then you end up with a mega store that has mostly crap and the store gets blamed.

 

[el murdoque]

Good point, a low-action set up is kind of a challenge even for people with experience. I surely don't expect some noob clerk, or a guitar player, to be able to do it at Guitar Center.

The next time I set my foot on US soil, I will have to pay a visit to this infamous GC place.

We Germans have Thomann. That is HEAVY competition for any brick and mortar store, so the mom&pop stores are either quite good or went out of business a while back. Thomann has good people on the phone, a top notch website and if you order before noon, your parcel arrives on the next day more often than not.

The whole point of having a physical store here is that you have someone standing behind the counter that really knows his stuff (that and that you can get your grubby hands on the sweet stuff before you buy). In the store I favor personally, the bass guy really knows his way around a bass inside and out and the guy on the counter for accessories is a walking wikipedia database of guitar and bass effects. I know that I cannot set up a bass better than the bass guy in my shop.
So when I ask him if he set the action as low as it gets on a particular instrument and he replies in the affirmative, I know I won't get it any lower. Since I play with my right hand mostly between the bridge PU and the fretboard, I prefer a setup that is slightly higher than the lowest possible (at least on a bass that goes really low) - so most likely I'll tweak it a bit, too - but you never know what you'll do in the future and If there are two basses on display where the only difference is that one can handle a lower string height while the other can't - i'd go with the lower one.

 

[micguy]

They absolutely are being rescued from the last person who had far different set up preferences from you (imagine that?) or didn't give a damn (like an underpaid factory worker or store clerk--imagine THAT???).

I love rescuing basses.

Many of the basses I've seen in GC are not the result of someone else's preferences - yes, some of them are a little higher or lower than I would set them up, but I've seen basses where one or more strings were actually sitting on frets - literally no one would ever be able to play the bass "set up" that way. I've also seen high enough action that you wondered if the truss rod was broken, and which weren't even close to being intonated right for that action.

I wonder if the guitars are typically set up better? Maybe it's because they're "just basses"?