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The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!

#2,862
MattyMcMattface said:
I believe my tech took photos, but no video. I'm hoping to have the bass back early next week.
I just want the instrument to play as it should, but I'm not sure that'll take the bad taste out of my mouth.
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Sorry that you are going through this experience. Is Adrian completely unwilling to cover the cost and to assist in any way to solve the issue?

That would really be surprising and does not fit to my impression of him. :meh:
 
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#2,865
Fat Freddy said:
Gotta say that I'm equally surprised to hear that Adrian is, allegedly, unwilling to help......:confused:
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I should have been more clear...I'm still waiting to hear what he's willing to do at this point. The bad taste I referred to was more about him assuming that an instrument that can't be played in tune was acceptable, and there "wasn't much he could do".
I let him know the route I decided to take and asked he's be willing to refund me at least a portion of the cost I'm incurring to fix the issue. Awaiting an answer.
 
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#2,866
MattyMcMattface said:
I should have been more clear...I'm still waiting to hear what he's willing to do at this point. The bad taste I referred to was more about him assuming that an instrument that can't be played in tune was acceptable, and there "wasn't much he could do".
I let him know the route I decided to take and asked he's be willing to refund me at least a portion of the cost I'm incurring to fix the issue. Awaiting an answer.
Click to expand...

please be aware he's out of office until Mid July so answer time may vary.
 
#2,867
FYI, the only thing that I was able to negotiate was for the dealer to buy the bass back from me which, after calculations and the hassle, was somewhat a fair amount to part with. Never going to even look at Maruszczyk products again though. Decided to go back to basics and bought a brand new Fender American Elite Jazz bass, directly from Sweetwater and picked it up in Indiana. Bass plays in tune all over the fretboard with no issues. Plays and looks beautifully. BTW, can't believe the BS I was being fed by the tech at Third Coast and South Shore Music dealer.
 
#2,868
TheRealGru said:
FYI, the only thing that I was able to negotiate was for the dealer to buy the bass back from me which, after calculations and the hassle, was somewhat a fair amount to part with. Never going to even look at Maruszczyk products again though. Decided to go back to basics and bought a brand new Fender American Elite Jazz bass, directly from Sweetwater and picked it up in Indiana. Bass plays in tune all over the fretboard with no issues. Plays and looks beautifully. BTW, can't believe the BS I was being fed by the tech at Third Coast and South Shore Music dealer.
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So what does anyone think the problem is? In one of your posts you said there was room on the bridge to intonnate. If the bass also has reasonable relief and action, it's simple physics. It can't not be in tune.
 
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#2,869
gln1955 said:
So what does anyone think the problem is? In one of your posts you said there was room on the bridge to intonnate. If the bass also has reasonable relief and action, it's simple physics. It can't not be in tune.
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Both the tech (who admitted to the issue initially and then raised the pups and claimed all was good) and the dealer (without having the bass in their possession again), at the end, claimed there is nothing wrong with it and out of tune on some frets is acceptable!

I did not have the patience to argue and would not want to offload this lemon bass in Classifieds or Reverb because I know that it would come back to me one way or another. So once SSM proposed the buyback, I had no choice, but to do it. They would not do anything else as it was custom order. I could argue the bass was a lemon and it would not matter whether a custom or not, but I needed a playable bass and did not have any more patience to deal with PayPal claims, etc.
 
#2,870
TheRealGru said:
Both the tech (who admitted to the issue initially and then raised the pups and claimed all was good) and the dealer (without having the bass in their possession again), at the end, claimed there is nothing wrong with it and out of tune on some frets is acceptable! .
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You are saying dealer is wrong, tech is wrong, did you contact Adrian? Did he refuse to check the bass and set it up properly? I don't see him saying no to this.

If the tune is really wrong, it can't be because the bridge is 1/4 inch too close to the neck (as another user reported). This is a non-sense.
The only way is that you (or another user) are seriously out of tune are cheap strings, cheap tuner or more seriously:
- a fret ain't straight
- a fret spacing is wrong (in that case ALL strings are out of tune)
- the bridge is so miss-positioned that you can't pull the saddle back or up (not enough room) in the correct position (which, IMHO, is hardly possible when you use a professional vertical driller designed to fit a bass body...)

If a fret ain't straight you'll see it right away and for sure Adrian M would fix this.
As gln155 said, if you have enough room at the bridge ... it's basic physics and it should be in tune.

I am really curious about this issue, maybe we should open another thread.
Video and sound/records would have been very very helpful :)

Do you mind sharing the dealer's name ?
 
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#2,871
Dealer (South Shore Music) was working with Adrian on this. I did purchase it from the dealer NOT Public Peace directly. I am not a luthier so I would not know what might be wrong with that particular instrument. I was just told number of times that it is OK for the bass to not to be in tune, after which the offer was made since I was not happy with the instrument (how could I BE?). Same thing gln155 was told (the not in tune part).

To test this, tech and I used number of tuners (clip-on and pedal tuners). All showed the same symptoms.

I am not bashing Adrian in any way, but even thought they (SouthShore) took care of the situation, I am not extremely satisfied, as I had to pay for the multiple setups to no avail and lost money so they could take it back and resell. I did not want to get stuck with a non working 2k instrument. Hope that is understood.
 
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#2,872
slyb5 said:
You are saying dealer is wrong, tech is wrong, did you contact Adrian? Did he refuse to check the bass and set it up properly? I don't see him saying no to this.

If the tune is really wrong, it can't be because the bridge is 1/4 inch too close to the neck (as another user reported). This is a non-sense.
The only way is that you (or another user) are seriously out of tune are cheap strings, cheap tuner or more seriously:
- a fret ain't straight
- a fret spacing is wrong (in that case ALL strings are out of tune)
- the bridge is so miss-positioned that you can't pull the saddle back or up (not enough room) in the correct position (which, IMHO, is hardly possible when you use a professional vertical driller designed to fit a bass body...)

If a fret ain't straight you'll see it right away and for sure Adrian M would fix this.
As gln155 said, if you have enough room at the bridge ... it's basic physics and it should be in tune.

I am really curious about this issue, maybe we should open another thread.
Video and sound/records would have been very very helpful :)

Do you mind sharing the dealer's name ?
Click to expand...

Opening another thread might be best, as I'd hate to spoil the general good vibes that this one has. And despite the crap I'm going through to make this instrument playable, I absolutely love my other M.

But to address slyb5's assessment, I understand the physics of the matter. The bridge being mounted too close to the nut/neck is absolutely an issue when the saddle of one string (the low B, in my case) can't be moved far enough back to intonate. We tried different strings (all reputable brands, and different gauges) and different tuners (from the pedal and handheld tuners I own, to the professional Peterson strobe tuner at my tech's shop). We went so far as to see if we could alleviate it by swapping the saddle screw and spring to allow for more travel in the saddle, as well as putting a temporary spacer on the ball-end of the string to lengthen the scale.
Between all of these "low intervention" fixes, nothing solved the problem. Mind you, this is only occurring on one string, which eliminates the a fret spacing/seating problem. I completely agree that it's bizarre and with the modern equipment used to build these basses, it doesn't make a ton of sense. But after playing professionally for over 20yrs, I know enough to know when something isn't right. On the other side of that coin, I've been at it long enough to have an inkling of how little I know and always seek out expert opinions to keep me honest, which is what I did in this case.

Despite the aggravation, I'm looking forward to getting the bass back and (hopefully) making it my go-to theatre bass, as intended.
 
#2,873
Please don't take this the wrong way, but the things we're hearing, some of them second hand, don't seem to add up. There are very few things that could be wrong here and a good tech should have been able to sort it out and make you happy. Sorry that didn't happen.
 
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#2,874
gln1955, what does not add up based on what I have said? I am just curious. I am just reporting what actually happened, not really bashing or offending anyone, at least I hope it do not come across that way. Not understanding your comment here.
 
#2,875
TheRealGru said:
gln1955, what does not add up based on what I have said? I am just curious. I am just reporting what actually happened, not really bashing or offending anyone, at least I hope it do not come across that way. Not understanding your comment here.
Click to expand...

I am very confused on your tech's claim that your bass is 33 inch 3/4 scale. Seems to be "too big to be true" for a mistake?

Same as you. Not saying you're wrong or not, not offending anybody or anything.

Written language can be misunderstood easily , so let's all keep it civil guys :) lol ...
 
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#2,876
TheRealGru said:
gln1955, what does not add up based on what I have said? I am just curious. I am just reporting what actually happened, not really bashing or offending anyone, at least I hope it do not come across that way. Not understanding your comment here.
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Pierre Ganseman said:
I am very confused on your tech's claim that your bass is 33 inch 3/4 scale. Seems to be "too big to be true" for a mistake?

Same as you. Not saying you're wrong or not, not offending anybody or anything.

Written language can be misunderstood easily , so let's all keep it civil guys :) lol ...
Click to expand...

Pierre, I think that was alanhasradar's bass that had the mispositioned bridge that resulted in a 33.75 scale. BassBlue posted that someone looked at his bass and said the bridge had room for intonation.

As slyb5 explained, this does't leave many things that could be wrong. I can't imagine the frets or the nut are misplaced in a production neck. This is what doesn't add up.
 
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#2,877
gln1955 said:
Pierre, I think that was alanhasradar's bass that had the mispositioned bridge that resulted in a 33.75 scale. BassBlue posted that someone looked at his bass and said the bridge had room for intonation.

As slyb5 explained, this does't leave many things that could be wrong. I can't imagine the frets or the nut are misplaced in a production neck. This is what doesn't add up.
Click to expand...

Understood.
 

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