Should I Just Return It?

[sean_on_bass]

Am I the crazy one here? I see absolutely nothing wrong with this bass. Can't you just move the bridge saddles slightly apart if its bugging you that much?

Same here, plus trying to eye a slight misalignment is pretty tough, especially from photos. If the bass plays well and sounds good, what is the issue? If this were my new bass i don't think i would had noticed this. The pole piece thing is pretty obvious, but both of my Fenders look that way so i believe it is normal.

 

[Sub-hoo-fer]

Oh, God no. There's a thread goin on now about how unhappy a guy is with his new G&L Tribute.

edit: Read the thread to the end. the bass is a mess, and echoes my experience with the tribute line.

Bittersweet NBD - G&L Tribute SB-2 - being too picky?

Weird that there are two recent stories of QC issues that I would have expected Sweetwater to catch. In both cases the flaws are clear and should have been caught.

 

[bdplaid]

Weird that there are two recent stories of QC issues that I would have expected Sweetwater to catch. In both cases the flaws are clear and should have been caught.

IMO the Sweetwater 55-point thing is more hype than anything else. Read it closely. You don't get a setup. I think all they do is look it over, check for function and weigh the bass. I'm happy with that. For anything else, there is nothing they could do that wouldn't require some level of surgery that would void the MFR's warranty. I just got an Ibanez EHB1500 that has a gritty finish on the back of the neck. They couldn't fix that without addressing the finish itself. And it's going back. Thanks to Sweetwater for taking it back, and I didn't expect them to fix it before it got to me.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey all,
Recently had a NBD two days ago and have spent a considerable amount of time with my new Player Jazz, however the strings are not entirely aligned with respect to the neck and pickup pole pieces.
I’ve already done the Fender neck alignment trick a bunch of times and even completely removing the neck and putting it back at one point. It is looking better than when it arrived, but still not 100%. I did order a Hipshot KickAss bridge and I will take advantage of the adjustable saddle feature.

The Pros: I have setup this bass to my exact liking, and plays as good if not better than my MIM Deluxe (costs $300 more) which I highly regard. In fact the fretwork on the Player Jazz is better.

The Con: I have OCD. Like, I was diagnosed when I was a kid. Had to take medication for a bit. So this is eating me up. I’ve improved, i’m 26 now and I can handle it MUCH better... but this string alignment thing is still lingering in my head.

Here are some angled shots:

View attachment 3874768

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What do you guys think? My wife thinks it’s a non-issue since I love the playability and sound of the instrument. And who knows maybe the KickAss bridge will finally solve the issue.

My AM PB has saddles that have multiple groves on them which which helps lining up the strings over the pole pieces. It’s not perfect, but pretty darn close.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Actually the product image shown on sweet water are very easy to let buyer check the bass assembly jobs. Just expand the photo and check carefully. Pretty easy. Plus, they show you the bass weight too.
In past, I found lot FMIC bass has crooked bridge assembly issue include the Custom Shop stuff.

But , lot of TB member here always say “ it is shooting angle problem” . I am a 31 years experience photographer and 35 years dark room and colour lab printer, I only trust my eyes.

At age 67, I wouldn’t trust my eyes to notice if a B-52 coming in for a landing was right side up...lol!

 

[P Cheen]

Bass is all packed and ready to go back to Sweetwater! My sales engineer is surely taking his sweet (butt) time providing me with that return label.

Ironically the KickAss bridge arrived yesterday in record time, took only 2 days from Philly to Sac. Looks like it’s going to go to the replacement Jazz!

 

[P Cheen]

My AM PB has saddles that have multiple groves on them which which helps lining up the strings over the pole pieces. It’s not perfect, but pretty darn close.View attachment 3876430

I’d call this one 99.9999% perfect!