Time to eat some crow

[Old_Noob]

First off, to expect any string instrument hanging on a wall of a store to be in tune in just silly. Seriously. I mean come on.

And I have never picked up any bass and could not tell if I liked it or not because of the string height was not where I prefer. Meaningless when grabbing a bass of the wall to check it out.

Who cares if the strings are higher than you like? Does not effect the tone or the feel of the neck.

Do people bash box stores as a hobby?

1. expecting something to be perfectly in tune is unreasonable, yes....expecting it to be somewhere in the correct octave isn’t
2. again there is difference between action being higher than one would prefer and being so high it interferes with playability.
3. I have always purchased instruments from smaller local shops in the past ( granted 15 plus years ago), but those are few and far between these days. My prior experience shopping for instruments lead me to expect that things on the showroom floor should be at least gone over....these instruments were the equivalent of (analogizing to my other hobby) teenagers assembling bicycles at Target with crescent wrenches and hammers. Now to be fair, not ALL the stock I tried were unplayable.....the stuff on the upper racks was quite better. Now perhaps I am out of touch with modern commercial realities....fair enough. But i have no particular axe to grind.

 

[AudioTaper]

1. expecting something to be perfectly in tune is unreasonable, yes....expecting it to be somewhere in the correct octave isn’t
2. again there is difference between action being higher than one would prefer and being so high it interferes with playability.
3. I have always purchased instruments from smaller local shops in the past ( granted 15 plus years ago), but those are few and far between these days. My prior experience shopping for instruments lead me to expect that things on the showroom floor should be at least gone over....these instruments were the equivalent of (analogizing to my other hobby) teenagers assembling bicycles at Target with crescent wrenches and hammers. Now to be fair, not ALL the stock I tried were unplayable.....the stuff on the upper racks was quite better. Now perhaps I am out of touch with modern commercial realities....fair enough. But i have no particular axe to grind.

Haha, I had to laugh about your comment about the teens assembling bikes. Very true. But in defense to what I posted, those teens at target usually dont care at all about bikes. They want a check. I wanted to learn and work on stuff. These darn kids these days (old man on a soapbox voice....)

 

[Relsom]

It’s always nice when you leave a store with less GAS than when you went in.

It's funny how a run through my local GC consistently has this affect on me.

 

[JRA]

Time to eat some crow
pics or it didn't happen!

 

[ardgedee]

Other customers are to blame too, when they to try out a bass and change the tuning to drop D by ear in a noisy room and don't bother to tune it back before hanging it up again.

 

[Phlipper]

Good deal, OP. We all started somewhere. You already know what you like so you're ahead of the curve. You may be a noob but you're def not "clueless".

Enjoy the journey.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

This is in reference to my thread here: Old/Noob Disappointed in first bass--options/advice?

You all were right. After adjusting the action, working on my plucking and fretting technique, and getting an actual bass amp..... my dislike for my GSR200 has dissipated greatly. Mea culpa.

I had some free time today, so I went to my one remaining GC to try out some different bases. My wife was fully expecting me to come home with a new bass. I didn't....mostly because GC can't set up their basses if their life depended on it. The number of basses with insanely high action, curved necks, and undressed fret edges was insane... and half weren't even in tune. The Squire CV looked like a friggen bow. That said, I was able to make some determinations/observations:

1. I have been pinning away for a short scale, so I tried both a Mustang and a Gretsch. Both felt very cramped and uncomfortably small. No longer pinning for a short scale.

2. Nut width isn't nearly as important as neck depth.

3. I prefer unfinished necks.

4. Out of the entry-level Yamaha, Schechter Stiletto, Squire CV 70s P-Bass, Fender Player P-Bass, used G & L Jb-2, Sterling Sub4 and 4HH, I liked the Sub4 the best. I wish they would have had a Ray 24, but they did not. The neck on the Sub4 was so smooth and quick...a bit thicker than my GSR200, but not uncomfortable. And I was surprised by the number of tones I could get out of the single humbucker. I loved the growl, and got a nice, dark "thump" sound with the bass jacked up and treble rolled off. The 4HH was interesting, but I did not care for the selector switch, and the thing weighed a TON....can't see myself standing up with that for any period of time.

5. P-bass necks are just a no-go for me. Felt like wrestling with a baseball bat.

When all was said and done, none of the basses I tried played better than my current rig as it is set up now. I did not feel "the urge" to buy anything on site and have a newfound appreciation for my humble GSR200. I think I will be keeping it for a while.

The most frustrating thing is I have no way of telling how many of my above views are due to the poopie setups on the instruments I tried.

Maybe next time I will try a double bucker Ibby.

In any event, thanks again for everyone's comments in my initial thread and setting a clueless noob straight.

-Cheers.

Don’t beat yourself up too bad. You are certainly entitled to your preferences. I agree a lot of negative views on certain brands and or instruments are based on a way too small sample size based on playing a poorly set up instrument(s).

 

[-Asdfgh-]

2. Nut width isn't nearly as important as neck depth.

5. P-bass necks are just a no-go for me. Felt like wrestling with a baseball bat.

Not all P-Bass necks are like baseball bats, because of (2).

 

[fhm555]

huh.....the Sub4 seemed very easy to move around on....it too was rather heavy though.

but, i am pretty sure i want an unfinished jazz type neck with dual buckers

An MIM standard J with a set of Dimarzio humbuckers is/are my go to players. I got them used and with a threaded saddle bridge upgrade (fender pure vintage), different scratch plate, pickup swap, and stainless screws in the guard and control plate, i’m just over $500 in to either one of my two favorites.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I don't think I've ever expected a bass to be in tune when I pick one up at a store. I'm a fan of iStrobosoft from Peterson, available for iOS and not sure about 'droid. Fret sprout is going to be more of a thing now as the humidity is dropping. Older, aged woods will handle the changes better, but they're also going to be on higher priced instruments. Would it be nice if every instrument were in perfect playing condition, constantly set up, dressed, tuned, strings changed, etc? Sure, but I wouldn't want to pay for the labor involved. Personally, if I tune a bass and the neck is out of whack, then I know it's probably an instrument that is going to be less stable. If every instrument were continuously tweaked, you wouldn't know which were going to be more stable, they would all look the same.

 

[eddododo]

That bass is far and away the best cheap bass in the industry, especially if you factor in things like quality control.

 

[bobyoung53]

First off, to expect any string instrument hanging on a wall of a store to be in tune in just silly. Seriously. I mean come on.

And I have never picked up any bass and could not tell if I liked it or not because of the string height was not where I prefer. Meaningless when grabbing a bass of the wall to check it out.

Who cares if the strings are higher than you like? Does not effect the tone or the feel of the neck.

Do people bash box stores as a hobby?

I think a lot of people especially beginners don't realize that string height and bad set up can make necks feel a lot bigger than they really are. I have a American vintage Fender Hot Rod P/J bass with what probably a lot of people would consider to be a "substantial" neck. I put some good .105 La Bella Deep Talkin' Flats on it which allows me to almost completely straighten the neck and bring the action way down without fret buzz and it's one of the easiest to play basses I own out of 10 different good basses. If I go to GC or a place like that and pick up a bass that has sat there for a good year and the neck is bowed and the action is a mile high I know that with a good set up it will most likely play like any other bass of the same year, make and model within reason, so the set up or lack of has little to do with my decision unless it's REALLY bad.

 

[BassDaddy77]

OP - glad to hear you have a new found appreciation for your bass. Often, the best bass is the one that's already paid for! Sometimes it just takes us a little while to figure out what our preferences are, and what makes us happy campers. Many people will try to give you advice on which bass, what strings, what amp, yada yada yada; but only you can decide what's best for your situation. And in the end, there's no right or wrong - only preferences... and yours are the only ones that matter.

Guitar Center is famous for having poorly setup instruments hanging on their walls. It certainly doesn't do them any favors regarding sales, IMO.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

The thing about baseball bats is....
You can't hit a homerun without one!.....
Try more P's....

 

[buldog5151bass]

Never buy a bass just to buy a bass. My primary bass is the bass I bought used over 35 years ago. It it weren't almost 12 pounds it would have been the only fretted bass I touched since then.

 

[Cliff Colton]

Why would GC risk a setup truss rod break when it can sell the bass to a customer and let them break it?

Edit: btw, I think what you are looking for is a peavey fury IV, dyna bass, or fury II.

 

[Txnrcr]

I picked up a used GSR200 that had the most wonderful set up on it. Don’t know who did it, but they knew what they were doing.
It is the most enjoyable bass to play.
I have a lot of basses to chose from in my practice room, all of them more expensive than the GSR, but that little Ibby seems to be the one I pick up most.
Great bass if set up correctly, especially for the price point.

 

[jkazam]

Put some TI JF344s on it.

I put some on my Sandberg VM5. I'm still undecided on them as I'm a long term rounds player and since the TI flats have been on that bass, it's gotten less and less play time. I still am keeping them on there in case I need more a P bass with flats sound for a project.

 

[Ewo]

As long as I've been playing...it still amazes me how much difference a couple thousandths on the relief and 1/64 on the action height can make to the way a bass feels to a player.

 

[candiehappy]

Take a look at the Ibanez Talman. I love the design as it is mix of the best things about most basses. The price is way better than a Squire for sure.