They said they were moving to the M2, I am getting the last Blue M3 produced - pending weight verification.
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As much as I must admit your chosen path seems to have worked out for you, I have to say that despite your gratitude to the forum, you have really ignored most of the 'consensus' of advice and made a fairly substantial mountain our of an admittedly annoying molehill.
To suggest as paypal dispute as a last resort rather than a a primary route following failure to agree terms with the seller is a nonsense.
Of course, your own issue has been complicated by the apparent discontinuation of the M3 (I'm glad I just got mine.... unless there is some inherent problem !!). I just hope anyone reading this in the future is not discouraged to take the paypal dispute route, as whilst not pain free, it is probably the least painful route for most cases.
To suggest as paypal dispute as a last resort rather than a a primary route following failure to agree terms with the seller is a nonsense.
Of course, your own issue has been complicated by the apparent discontinuation of the M3 (I'm glad I just got mine.... unless there is some inherent problem !!). I just hope anyone reading this in the future is not discouraged to take the paypal dispute route, as whilst not pain free, it is probably the least painful route for most cases.
I was not skeptical at first, but the OPs unwillingness to take 90% of the advice given here, which was completely correct, tells me why there is the old cliche, there are two sides to every story...and we are only getting one very slanted one.
CairnsFella and mdogs, I posted asking two questions =
1-Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue or get a new M3 Bridge?
2-Anyone want a brand new scratched M3 with the highest E string on the planet?
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I mainly asked these questions because Sire does not sell parts and it seemed like their warranty process was going to be difficult since they do not warranty instruments sold through their re sellers. Also wanted to see if anyone had the same bridge issue (did get a response on how to possibly fix it, greatly appreciated). Lastly the folks I found on eBay that DID LOSE THEIR MONEY from Pitbull Audio concerned me that I would have to at the very least fight a while for a refund.
As far as a slanted a view I have been very transparent, my reluctance to follow the standard suggestions are based on my experience leading the complaint department of the largest mortgage company in America, all complaints sent to the CEO actually went to me and my team, we would investigate to ensure the claim is valid, offer a solution that more than resolves the problem and covers their hassle then follow up to work on the process that failed that customer (we respond with solution within 4 hours during the week and 12 hours on the weekend.) I have gone strait to the top every time I felt a standard refund/exchange was not going to suffice and it has served me well with companies like Sweetwater and BJ's, Ryland Homes and United Airlines .... Ryland's CEO showed up to my house and handed me a check after I bought a brand new house from them that flooded the first night I moved in.
I still appreciate the suggestions and yes in many cases a simple eBay Paypal return is the way to go, this was different, I spent a bit of time researching and then finding this bass, getting a bass in my hands is may main concern, getting my money back just meant I had to start over on my hunt which seems daunting in my current condition.
I am a bit disappointed that some fellow bass players think I am hiding something because I would not follow along with the crowd of suggestions. I wonder how many have the experience with CEO's, CFO's, complaint departments that I do? I assumed that I would find folks on here that have more experience with Sire and Pitbull specifically, I took what I learned and combined it with my needs and my own ideas on how to resolve. Who knows I still might get screwed, no one is right every time, that's what discussion boards are for. Different ideas should NOT be shunned, we all have something unique to offer and we should not have to back up every statement as I have just tried to do.
And again I realize my statements are not as sharp as usual, hence I am on disability and undergoing the most aggressive chemo treatment there is.
If Sire stands by their word I will be satisfied and I believe that going to the top was not enough, this public post also assisted, so while I may not be so eloquent right now I am honest and this has gotten the conversation going with Sire, Pitbull and myself going down the right path. After this post they changed their tune and both Sire and Pitbull have written detailed emails promising to make this right for me.
Thanks to all that offered suggestions and again for those of you annoyed by the post, I apologize for the noise
1-Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue or get a new M3 Bridge?
2-Anyone want a brand new scratched M3 with the highest E string on the planet?
---------
I mainly asked these questions because Sire does not sell parts and it seemed like their warranty process was going to be difficult since they do not warranty instruments sold through their re sellers. Also wanted to see if anyone had the same bridge issue (did get a response on how to possibly fix it, greatly appreciated). Lastly the folks I found on eBay that DID LOSE THEIR MONEY from Pitbull Audio concerned me that I would have to at the very least fight a while for a refund.
As far as a slanted a view I have been very transparent, my reluctance to follow the standard suggestions are based on my experience leading the complaint department of the largest mortgage company in America, all complaints sent to the CEO actually went to me and my team, we would investigate to ensure the claim is valid, offer a solution that more than resolves the problem and covers their hassle then follow up to work on the process that failed that customer (we respond with solution within 4 hours during the week and 12 hours on the weekend.) I have gone strait to the top every time I felt a standard refund/exchange was not going to suffice and it has served me well with companies like Sweetwater and BJ's, Ryland Homes and United Airlines .... Ryland's CEO showed up to my house and handed me a check after I bought a brand new house from them that flooded the first night I moved in.
I still appreciate the suggestions and yes in many cases a simple eBay Paypal return is the way to go, this was different, I spent a bit of time researching and then finding this bass, getting a bass in my hands is may main concern, getting my money back just meant I had to start over on my hunt which seems daunting in my current condition.
I am a bit disappointed that some fellow bass players think I am hiding something because I would not follow along with the crowd of suggestions. I wonder how many have the experience with CEO's, CFO's, complaint departments that I do? I assumed that I would find folks on here that have more experience with Sire and Pitbull specifically, I took what I learned and combined it with my needs and my own ideas on how to resolve. Who knows I still might get screwed, no one is right every time, that's what discussion boards are for. Different ideas should NOT be shunned, we all have something unique to offer and we should not have to back up every statement as I have just tried to do.
And again I realize my statements are not as sharp as usual, hence I am on disability and undergoing the most aggressive chemo treatment there is.
If Sire stands by their word I will be satisfied and I believe that going to the top was not enough, this public post also assisted, so while I may not be so eloquent right now I am honest and this has gotten the conversation going with Sire, Pitbull and myself going down the right path. After this post they changed their tune and both Sire and Pitbull have written detailed emails promising to make this right for me.
Thanks to all that offered suggestions and again for those of you annoyed by the post, I apologize for the noise
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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This was Pitbull's problem, not Sire's. Sire bent their support rules to try to make it right. If shade is getting thrown, throw it the right way, please.
Agreed, at this point it is Sire that is going above their policy to make this right .... and scrounging me up one last Blue M3 while they have several back orders for their line of basses. Sire is also going to do everything they can to keep the weight low and stated if they cant get the M3 to a low weight they will offer an alternative.
Pitbull offered a small partial refund for me to keep the broken bass as/is if I did not want to wait for the new Sire.
While we may not agree with Sire's lack of warranty for products bought from re sellers it is is their posted policy (fine print that I never saw). It seems from my research, which found many happy M3 owners that this is not typical for Sire and they want to turn my bad experience around.
I should not have had to go through all this and now wait for what I should have originally got but Sire is still the one going above to try and fix it. I don't expect any company to be perfect, if one in a thousand bridges is bad hey that can happen, the thing was it seemed it was returned by other folks and Sire had nothing to do with that.
It can take a while to "get through" to Sire that there's an issue due to the E2L issue, but once they are on it, their Customer service reputation is pretty good around here. Their warranty arrangement with dealers is unfortunate, but not unusual in this day and age. Same thing with Thomann in Europe (and there have also been some Customer Service issues in that case.)
Anyway, hoping you get a perfect bass this time around!
Anyway, hoping you get a perfect bass this time around!
I just want to reiterate that I think the op was fully covered through ebay and paypal. I'm glad this seems to be getting worked out but I think a simple return thru ebay/paypal would have been much less stress. I'm not hatin on anyobody, just an observation. I am glad it's getting worked out.
If this is the case, your posts seem to show a lack of appreciation for what Sire is doing for you. They could have just told you to return the bass, we’ll make sure you get a refund, and said “Sorry for the inconvenience, now kick rocks.”
Sire is building you a discontinued instrument to make you happy. IMO, that is special customer service.
I just bought a V7 vintage last week (from Sire) that came with a 3 inch long crack in the neck/body joint! They were very quick to respond to my email and send out return labels. They also got a new in the UPS system the next day with a nice leather strap and T shirt. I still wonder how the hell that happened!!
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Mickey Cho has to be one of the hardest working people in the business!If this is the case, your posts seem to show a lack of appreciation for what Sire is doing for you. They could have just told you to return the bass, we’ll make sure you get a refund, and said “Sorry for the inconvenience, now kick rocks.”
Sire is building you a discontinued instrument to make you happy. IMO, that is special customer service.
I would guess the box got dropped flat on the face side of the instrument. That's one of the stress points on any bass, out of all possible locations for it to crack, not unusual for a crack to happen there. Glad Sire got right on fixing it for you.
Interesting. Curious what was crummy about the build quality from your perspective and which model you played.
It was the new V3. Biggest problem was a few very severe dead spots, some of the screw heads were stripped and annoyingly if you adjusted the bass or treble on the stacked pot they both turned together.
That last bit is a trivially easy fix - lift the top pot slightly - this happens frequently on any bass or guitar using concentric pots. Not a manufacturing quality defect.
Well I finally received my replacement M3 from Sire, they also sent along a T Shirt and Leather Bass Strap, both very nice gifts!
Unfortunately Sire failed to inspect this replacement instrument and this M3 was even more so of a disappointment, their promise to verify the bridge and inspect the bass was empty (my guess is there is not a tech at the warehouse). The E String Saddle will not adjust and again just floats, I can't even push it down, very strange that both instruments have the same exact problem and only on the E String. Also just pulling the Bass out of the bag I immediately noticed that the neck was HEAVY, 3.5" strap did no good. The bass is almost half a pound lighter than the last but the neck dive is the worst I have ever seen I could not play this bass sitting or standing. I am told that this was the last M3, I still have not found anyone that owns an M3 with the downgraded bridge, I would not be surprised if the downgrade provoked the discontinue of the M3 line ... the first instrument appeared to have been returned more than once.
So now they have been very gracious and are going to send me a P7 as that is the next lightest model. I did some research and it seems many complain of neck dive on the P7???
Sire's website has conflicting Bridge descriptions which has me worried that the P7 has also been downgraded but photos on the site are similar to posted video reviews so hopefully I am wrong.
A month ago I paid for this bass and still have yet to receive a bass I can play. Director Mickey Cho has been very nice and responsive and suggested the P7 as a solution, I just think that they have zero quality control, any bass player could have inspected this and quickly found the e string saddle defective.
I will hold out hope for this P7 as I could not find anything in store that was light enough and has a jazz neck, also I have to believe that with so many Happy Sire owners that they must be able to send me something descent.
Hopefully my next post will be filled with praise about the P7.
Unfortunately Sire failed to inspect this replacement instrument and this M3 was even more so of a disappointment, their promise to verify the bridge and inspect the bass was empty (my guess is there is not a tech at the warehouse). The E String Saddle will not adjust and again just floats, I can't even push it down, very strange that both instruments have the same exact problem and only on the E String. Also just pulling the Bass out of the bag I immediately noticed that the neck was HEAVY, 3.5" strap did no good. The bass is almost half a pound lighter than the last but the neck dive is the worst I have ever seen I could not play this bass sitting or standing. I am told that this was the last M3, I still have not found anyone that owns an M3 with the downgraded bridge, I would not be surprised if the downgrade provoked the discontinue of the M3 line ... the first instrument appeared to have been returned more than once.
So now they have been very gracious and are going to send me a P7 as that is the next lightest model. I did some research and it seems many complain of neck dive on the P7???
Sire's website has conflicting Bridge descriptions which has me worried that the P7 has also been downgraded but photos on the site are similar to posted video reviews so hopefully I am wrong.
A month ago I paid for this bass and still have yet to receive a bass I can play. Director Mickey Cho has been very nice and responsive and suggested the P7 as a solution, I just think that they have zero quality control, any bass player could have inspected this and quickly found the e string saddle defective.
I will hold out hope for this P7 as I could not find anything in store that was light enough and has a jazz neck, also I have to believe that with so many Happy Sire owners that they must be able to send me something descent.
Hopefully my next post will be filled with praise about the P7.
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I am gonna go out on a limb here. Loosen that e string then push that saddle down then tighten that string. Is the string stuck in the saddle?
