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What the @#^% were they thinking?

#21
In checking the action the bow in the neck was obvious and it was very uncomfortable. They wanted me to wait at least a week to get around to setting it up and I didn't want to wait that long. I was pissed that GC Memphis didn't bother to check that before selling it. At that time, I hadn't read that the one major complaint on these is they show up way out. At the same time, I knew Coffey Music in Westminster has the same bass in stock and that it was set up.

I have known Bob Coffey for almost as many years as he has been in business; so, I decided to spend a little more and have it "now". Bill (the bass man) at Coffey's had done a quick set up 2 weeks ago when I was trying theirs out. He picked it up played it and said "How about you try out the Kingfisher while I lower this action some?" He did, it was like day and night. Coffey's only has one SE Kestrel in stock (black) as of two days ago. Bill (the bass man) is part time; but, usually there on Saturdays. So if you want new and personalized attention and service they are the place to go.

Knowing now, what I didn't know then; I could have pushed a little more to get that one set up sooner. I was thinking "Do I want to wait a week to find out this bass is FUBAR? Was this returned to Memphis because there is something wrong with the truss rod?" I never figured GC would have already tried to set it up or that it may need 2 or more turns to fix it. For $499.99 that was and is a great deal. In hindsight, I think the GC in Memphis had it back because the person hated the action being too high.
 
#22
OldPlucker said:
In checking the action the bow in the neck was obvious and it was very uncomfortable. They wanted me to wait at least a week to get around to setting it up and I didn't want to wait that long. I was pissed that GC Memphis didn't bother to check that before selling it. At that time, I hadn't read that the one major complaint on these is they show up way out. At the same time, I knew Coffey Music in Westminster has the same bass in stock and that it was set up.

I have known Bob Coffey for almost as many years as he has been in business; so, I decided to spend a little more and have it "now". Bill (the bass man) at Coffey's had done a quick set up 2 weeks ago when I was trying theirs out. He picked it up played it and said "How about you try out the Kingfisher while I lower this action some?" He did, it was like day and night. Coffey's only has one SE Kestrel in stock (black) as of two days ago. Bill (the bass man) is part time; but, usually there on Saturdays. So if you want new and personalized attention and service they are the place to go.

Knowing now, what I didn't know then; I could have pushed a little more to get that one set up sooner. I was thinking "Do I want to wait a week to find out this bass is FUBAR? Was this returned to Memphis because there is something wrong with the truss rod?" I never figured GC would have already tried to set it up or that it may need 2 or more turns to fix it. For $499.99 that was and is a great deal. In hindsight, I think the GC in Memphis had it back because the person hated the action being too high.
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Interesting. Everybody has different comfort levels, I guess. To me, returning a bass because the action is too high is like returning a car because the seat is too far back. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it your way; it is just foreign to me.

I would never have bought that bass because of the sanded neck, though. Mods that look homemade are not cool in my book. I saw a picture of a Sadowsky with a sanded neck. It looked like whoever sanded it didn't remove the neck and tape off the headstock. The transition from sanded to unsanded was jagged and unsightly at both ends of the neck. Many people wouldn't be bothered by that; I am not one of them.
 
#24
I have returned things to guitar center (two amps recently that come to mind) with deadlined problems that i discovered a week after playing them in my home, a near broken master volume( upon arrival) and an svt that was practically shooting sparks. Both of those amps are still on the floor, one marked as new. I pointed these things out when i returned them and thats how it went down.
 
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#25
Baird6869 said:
Same here.

Also, there are a lot of dirtbags out there that do things to basses that aren't caught when returned. Yours is a fairly normal one.

Good example of a complete moronic one? I love this story.... A friend working in a big retailer told me that some idiot bought a Fender American Standard and a Squier or MIM Fender (forget which one) and swapped the necks and return the MIA. Same colour and bought together on the same day! He thought he could get a Fender body and electronics and live with a MIM or Squier neck for $300 or $600 (whatever the much cheaper bass was). He got caught as my buddy noticed the tuners and bridge looked odd on the MIA bass being returned. So the moron left the very noticeable cheaper bridge on the cheap body but made the effort to keep the expensive tuners from the MIA neck. The guy left in handcuffs. Moron story of the day for you....
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Yeah, What a Dick!!
 
#26
Silly GC. Every time I'm in my local one their "repair" guys are just changing strings. I know the shop they outsource all their electronics work to, so really the excuse with the instruments being poorly set up has to be somewhere between laziness and trying to keep the instruments out of their employees hands as much as possible
 
#27
friendlybass said:
Silly GC. Every time I'm in my local one their "repair" guys are just changing strings. I know the shop they outsource all their electronics work to, so really the excuse with the instruments being poorly set up has to be somewhere between laziness and trying to keep the instruments out of their employees hands as much as possible
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It always saddens me when I hear about a Guitar Center that has an underwhelming tech staff. :(

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, maybe I lucked out, but my local GC guitar tech is amazing. He not only does all his own electronics work, but he even did some routing to convert a Jazz into a P/J config for me. But best of all, he indulges me when I have a "thought", "notion" or "brainstorm" and will gladly talk me through my (occasionally misconceived) ideas.
 
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#28
Malak the Mad said:
It always saddens me when I hear about a Guitar Center that has an underwhelming tech staff. :(

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, maybe I lucked out, but my local GC guitar tech is amazing. He not only does all his own electronics work, but he even did some routing to convert a Jazz into a P/J config for me. But best of all, he indulges me when I have a "thought", "notion" or "brainstorm" and will gladly talk me through my (occasionally misconceived) ideas.
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Dude it hurts me to watch them. They are literally 1 hour away from YouTube enabled set up capability. No excuses!

Also every time I see a post of yours I'm all like "yes! Lots of "" guy!"
 
#31
And speaking of sanding a neck.....
I had a few years ago I had a Squier CV Jazz bass that I had purchased new. I liked the sound and look of the Jazz but I later did not like the thick orangy finish on the back of the neck. Try as I might I could not warm up to it. So I took the bass to a Long &McQuade music store (They are Nation wide here) and contemplated trading it in on a Fender Precision. The store manager upon hearing that I did not like the thick glossy feel of the neck finish.......suggested that I sand the back of the neck.( I did not do that ) Honestly I was shocked that the manager would even suggest that. If I had sanded it and still did not like it I am sure he would give me squat for the bass on a trade since that neck was sanded...
 
#35
Laurie Bass said:
You have already done that my friend..with all your noted mods and incite on basses in general...:smug:
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Yessss, Project Insight…
640px-Still2.jpg


…will be underway…
800px-Project_Insight_4.png


…very, very soon. Now, just stay right there and…
800px-Project_Insight_Area.png
 
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#37
OldPlucker said:
Having never previously adjusted a truss rod nor ever had a bass with action similar to driving from the back seat, it seemed appropriate. As for the one with the sanded neck it was jagged at the edges and I ran away from that one.
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Youve gotta learn to adjust your own truss/saddles to settings that work for You. Everyone slaps/plucks /taps differently. use factory guidelines and experiment.
Unless its a valuble vintage insturment or You arent good wiyh your hands in which case i dont think youd be playing bass. I enjoy working on my insturments.
Unless you wanna keep paying for setups everytime the weasther
Changes.

Marcus Miller says he raises his action a bit ig hes,playing more
R&B so he can dig in. Lower for more techical type playing.
experiment.

OldPlucker said:
Having never previously adjusted a truss rod nor ever had a bass with action similar to driving from the back seat, it seemed appropriate. As for the one with the sanded neck it was jagged at the edges and I ran away from that one.
Click to expand...
 
#38
Handz Solow said:
Youve gotta learn to adjust your own truss/saddles to settings that work for You. Everyone slaps/plucks /taps differently. use factory guidelines and experiment.
Unless its a valuble vintage insturment or You arent good wiyh your hands in which case i dont think youd be playing bass. I enjoy working on my insturments.
Unless you wanna keep paying for setups everytime the weasther
Changes.

Marcus Miller says he raises his action a bit ig hes,playing more
R&B so he can dig in. Lower for more techical type playing.
experiment.
Click to expand...
Also, I have to adjust my Fender Jazz Bass bridge pretty much daily
The G string will drop to the point its sitting on The pickup after a heavy slap and pop ( or thump and pluck session) . Id be in thier poorhouse if i paid the incopetent shmuck at GC to adjust things every time. ( just kiddinh im sure there are some stellar luthiers/techs
At GC lol
 
#40
Handz Solow said:
Also, I have to adjust my Fender Jazz Bass bridge pretty much daily
The G string will drop to the point its sitting on The pickup after a heavy slap and pop ( or thump and pluck session) . Id be in thier poorhouse if i paid the incopetent shmuck at GC to adjust things every time. ( just kiddinh im sure there are some stellar luthiers/techs
At GC lol
Click to expand...
If you're having to adjust the saddle that often there is something wrong with it, maybe look into replacing it
 

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