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Sight unseen NBD.....

jnuts1

jnuts1

Inactive
Nov 13, 2007
2,277
1,919
#1
So the thread about waiting for a NBD to warm up before opening got me thinking.
How do you guys do it? I can't fathom buying a bass without playing it first.
every bass feels different even in mass produced ones to me!

you guys are crazy. that's all

well not all, I have another one. Have you regretted these purchases or have you had a more positive experiences?
 
#5
I've only bought new over the internet, and then I knew what was coming. Used would only ever be up-close-and-personal.

While each bass has its own personality, the days when the neck profile, etc., would vary a great deal (due to handwork and minimal technology) are over. These days with CAD/CAM and CNC, only the weight or figure of a particular piece of wood are the only variables in off-the-rack, production basses (small builder basses, however can vary quite a bit depending on the builder). As late as the 70's or early 80's, very particular players could easily try 8-10 Jazz or Precision examples until 'they found a good one'. It's just not the case any more, by and large.

Plus, I've been playing for a long time, adjusting and tweaking my basses for 20-odd years, and I'm just not that fussy about my axes, I can get most anything to play and sound right for me. Sure I don't want a 15-pounder or some baseball bat neck, but the human hand can adapt to just about anything, and the various neck widths, string spacings, etc., don't keep me up nights. And I do a LOT of homework before I press BUY, so it's all gone as expected, all been fine.

I will buy local when I can, and prefer it to the internet.
 
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#7
All 3 basses I have, I bought via “mail order”. A brand new Carvin made for me in 1988, and then a vintage Pedulla Buzz and a NOS PRS SE from Reverb this year.

The PRS needed to be set up and some other work. Honestly, if I had picked it up in a store, I would have passed on it, but since I had bought it, I kept on. After a setup and some other fixes (nut shaping, remove a small piece of wood from under a knob, accepting the fact that the Volume knobs act they way they act, etc.), it works and plays well for me. Purchase and possession is a powerful motivator...

I think that most modern basses are built pretty well and can be setup and tweaked to be good players. There are some lemons, but with CNC building, I think they are the vast exception now. Vintage and hand-made stuff, whole different story.

Maybe I just got lucky, but I’ve always maintained, it’s better to be lucky than good!
 
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#9
I’ve bought basses sight unseen as well as built parts basses. They all ended up being very good after proper set up and correcting minor issues.

One bass I got was a trade. When it arrived it had hideous wiring and one of the pickups didn’t work. It also hummed like crazy. I tore it down, replaced the electronics, installed new pickups, and made sure it was properly shielded and grounded. I changed the tuners to Hipshot US tuners, put on new strings, and refinished the neck (which was covered in sticky gunk). I also refinished the headstock to match the neck as they were both covered in some sort of tinted varnish. It was gross.

It is now amazing. It weights 8lbs. For a 5 string that’s amazing. It plays like a dream. Frets are perfect. It is perhaps on of the best playing basses I’ve ever played.

If you’re willing to put in the time, you can make any bass that isn’t warped amazing.
 
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#10
I bought my Rumblekat new on the internet, sight unseen but after as much research as possible ...mainly here on TB.
Recently at a jam session I came across a guy with probably the only other one in Ireland. For fun we switched and found them quite different. My neck was a lot better finished and more comfortable, his pickups seemed a lot more responsive and versatile. Weight also quite noticeably different.
His was also a horrible blue colour.
I feel I got the better one.:D
 
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#13
If you study neck profiles, and components used in electronics and hardware .. then know your preferences, it is a pretty safe bet you will have a good idea what is on the way to you …. it helps to stay within a particular brand, maybe even models, and the more you have had in your hands the more predictable what you are getting … the unknowns are weight and potential issues not shown in photo's (along with the 'magic' of course) … that is where it comes down to working with reputable sellers … and even then, it takes a while to know how a sellers scale may read, I have learned the hard way on here that there are even very reputable sellers that use scales/methods to weigh that are as much as 2 lbs off … ask questions, don't be shy … and it always helps to know who you are dealing with … ;)
 
#15
I did buy a ESP/LTD D4 sight unseen from GC. As matter of fact, I have never seen one of this particular model. Had great reviews, already had a LTD 5 string that is killer. Actually the D4 is a pretty cool neck thru, easy to play with that great active eq humbucker sound
20190203_154454.jpg
 
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#17
I bought two of the three basses in my avatar sight unseen. They are two if my favorite basses. I'd be wary of a fender un played. But to the other end I bought my Ric that way and I am not the biggest fan of the neck. Played obe once that was fast a d beautiful. This guy is more like a chunky P
 
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#18
I bought three basses sight unseen, in each case I could not try one or even a similar model beforehand:

First was a Harley Benton PB50 because a buddy was ordering from Thomann and asked if I wanted to split shipping. The bass was cheap, got uniformly good reviews, and I wanted to see if the ergonomics of an SCPB suited me. For the price it wasn't much of a gamble and it turned out to be a really nice bass for the money. It would be reasonable to expect poor fretwork, QC issues and sup-par hardware at this price bracket but that was not the case at all.

Next I got a Sire V7, again from Thomann because the first order went so well and it was cheaper than ordering from the US (I'm in Canada). I also got this on the strength of the reviews on here and YouTube, and wasn't disappointed. The only new bass I ever bought that was set up to my liking out of the box, nice work by Sire and/or Thomann. No issues at all and it is a beautiful bass.

Last is a Yamaha Attitude LTD3, brought from someone on Kijiji who won it in a contest. This was the biggest gamble in terms of cost but I had a good rapport with the seller so wasn't concerned about getting ripped off, and the price was so good that I knew I could recoup if I didn't get along with the bass. I also figured there wasn't much chance of it being a lemon having watched the videos of it's construction on YouTube.

All great experiences, but as new basses I'd researched well from reputable sellers, there really weren't many concerns.
 
#19
flojob said:
When I think about it though, many things are buy before you try. Like toothpaste.
Click to expand...

You mean you don't go down the isle opening and tasting various tubes of toothpaste? How do you know you're going to like it if you don't try it before you buy it?

Shopping for toilet paper and condoms must be really boring for you guys.
 
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