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Should I return this?

#123
Bassclef46 said:
Its a $750 bass. Its not a $200 bass. Ibanez can provide excellent QC on their basses less than $500. G&L provides high end QC on their tribute series basses. I dont think anyone is saying custom quality, but at the same time why should a brand new bass have the expectation of being defective regardless of the price.

Where does the price of QC begin? Should it be exclusive to custom quality? Should i expect defects in my $3000 Yamaha? What about my $2200 Stingray? Or my $2000 P Bass? The OP spent $750 on a defective bass and alot of people are telling him to keep it and fix it like its no big deal. So people are saying its ok for Fender to let this stuff slide by QC and I dont agree with that. But to each their own.
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To some of us this is almost as trivial as a loose screw. Returning the bass is a hassle and a replacement in this limited edition color may not be available.
 
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#124
SBassman said:
You don't think price point plays into this? If this was a 200 dollar bass, would you really expect to not see things like this? If the answer to these is no, would you be willing to share what you do for a living?

You are stunned by people accepting this, and I am stunned by people expecting custom instrument quality for burger meal prices. The parts add up to a cost. The design adds up to a cost. The marketing adds up to a cost. The build adds up to a cost. The shipping adds up to a cost. The distribution adds up to a cost.
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Add in gas for delivery vehicles and packaging materials - and it all has impact on the environment. As @Dominic Heynderickx stated "Free-of-charge is definately NOT free-of-charge". The luxury of being anal retentive is such a first-world problem. Sorry, but the 'issue' that started this thread is such a non-issue. But.., as always YOMV :) I'm out.
 
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#125
Bassclef46 said:
he posted $750....but what difference does it make what he paid? Should i expect my $200 TMB30 to be defective because i paid $200 for it?
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You're flipping the argument around. Quality builds require labor from skilled employees which cost money. You may get lucky and get a perfect build on a $200 TMB, but I wouldn't expect $2000 level quality. At $200 bass was built for well under $100.
 
#127
Bassclef46 said:
he posted $750....but what difference does it make what he paid? Should i expect my $200 TMB30 to be defective because i paid $200 for it?
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The fact is, expectations are lower with a cheaper instrument. With a $200 instrument, I expect something playable that will last a while without major issue. With an expensive instrument, I expect something that will last decades without issues, and cosmetically superior.

I've had my Lull for 15 years, with only one minor neck adjustment the entire time. Similar for my Fender, bought used 35 years ago. My wife has owned a 100+ year old violin for almost 50 years, and although she does not play regularly, I expect she could pick it up now and it would sound great and play easily.
 
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#128
Got Dremel?
Dremel.jpg
 
#129
I missed that this was a 750 dollar bass. I Do think at that price point, the discussion changes radically.

200, 300 dollars - where I usually dwell - I suck it up, fix it, or, ignore it, grateful for the value.
750 dollars - I definitely send it back and tell them it is unacceptable.

YMMV.
 
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#136
Spidey2112 said:
The holes on that side weren't drilled deep enough?

It's a thought.
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They use wood screws even though they call them 4-bolt necks, 5-bolt necks, etc. Wood screw would just keep tightening until the wood at the wood screw is tight against the body. That wouldn't necessarily eliminate the gap though if thickness is neck or body is slightly different an inch away from it. You could torque it to the point of stripping the holes without closing that gap.
 
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#138
krfoss said:
1) bring it up to the reverb seller. Mention it and see if they will give you some type of refund. Even a 10% will help a bit since you like it.

2) take those savings, buy some tools and learn to fix it. You'll be getting paid to learn to work on gear which will help you in years to come.
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Considering how easy it would be to fix it, returning or milking the deal would both be bad choices.
 
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#139
Eekum said:
So I got a bass the other day from a music store on reverb. The bass came and everything is great with it except there seems to be a slight gap on one side where the neck meets the body. Here is a pic:

View attachment 4158204

Is this an issue? Should I return this? It doesn’t seem to have any play in the neck, it stays in tune. I tried removing the neck and reattaching it and the gap is still there. The bass plays awesome though. This is a limited edition color and I am not sure I could get another in this color since the store only seemed to have one. Thoughts?
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Looks like the neck is hitting on the bottom corner radius in the pocket. Maybe file the corner of the neck on that side. File a 45 or a radius to match.
 
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