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Would you buy a bass blind?

Bass-desires

Bass-desires

Oct 25, 2008
297
2
El paso, TX
#1
I can get a nice ABG from a local dealer here, but I can't get to hold or touch or hear it at all until I put the money down and he orders it....its a good deal and the dealer is cool, but I dono. And no one around here has one.

Would you buy a bass without having ever heard it, nor held it?

-Bass.d.sires
 
#5
i bought a used rickenbacker 4004.which i had never seen an example of in person,based on the reviews and opinions of a group of people (rickresource). i did buy online from a reputable dealer (the rick page),who assured me i could return it if not happy. i think any dealer should offer that. but yes,with those provisions,i would do it,and i am VERY happy with my 4004cii. :hyper:
 
#8
I've done it and have generally been happy. Usually I do it when a deal comes by that's too good to pass up and I'm reasonably confident I could get my money back in a re-sale.

I'd talk to your local dealer about your concern. They should offer you some sort of protection. Can they return it if you don't like it? Maybe you just risk some shipping costs?

Have you played the same make/model bass somewhere else? If so and you liked it, chances are this bass could be set up to meet your needs.
 
#11
Which ABG?
I bought both of mine over the internet, and with the exception of string changes, played'em right out of the box. Still playing/gigging them 6+ years later.
Do your research. Head over to the ABG Club thread and get some opinions on the make/model you're looking at.

Good luck.
 
#12
Its a J.B player 4-string. I did some research but only found great reviews..call me jaded but when I don't see anything but "GREAT" and "good tone"...it doesn't tell me a thing. Heh

I picked up a Michael Kelly firefly and really liked it, but I can get this one easier....

I am heading over to the store today to talk to the guy.
 
#13
I've done it with far too many pieces of equipment. My ATK, all my Laney gear (2 heads and a 4x10 cab), my Crafter acoustic bass, and most expensively my Berg NV215. Was very fortunate that they've all turned out very well, a few of them were kinda stupid things to do.

The NV215 I bought cos I did alot of reading into it, and also talked to the UK Berg dealer before he sold it to be (very helpful guy, had a good 10-15 minute chat with him about it cos he wanted to make sure that a NV610 wouldn't suit me better), that was pretty sensible, but still kinda silly, I did have a couple of days to send it back to him if I didn't like it though.

The Laney stuff wasn't as stupid, cos I know I like Laney amps and I wasn't disappointed with any of the 3 pieces of gear I got. Still, I've heard some very nasty Laney gear so it was kinda stupid, one of them was an absolute steal, but unfortunately I kinda know why now (bloody things blown and I'm going on a major hunt to find parts to fix it, if it gets fixed it'll remain a steal though :p).

With the Crafter, I can't quite remember why I bought it, I think I might have read a couple of reviews, but maybe not even that, I think I'd seen that Crafter was a pretty solid name before I bought it at least, very lucky with that one.

The worst of all is the ATK though, I simply bought it cos I liked the look of it cos of it having a nice natural finish and the cool tele style chrome bridge. Very very lucky with that, because it's turned out to be the most comfortable and best sounding (unplugged at least - working on that bit though) bass I've ever played.

Either way, I'll probably buy something based on reviews and such again, but I wouldn't recommend it, I've usually done it due to a mixture of impatience and a lack of any places that stock alot of the stuff I'd wanna buy in the fist place...
 
#15
I bought my MTD Z6 fretless sight-unseen... At first it was an extremely frustrating bass to play - but the price was right. Once I moved the strap button and replaced the electronics with Fat Stacks(nord) and a bart pre it became incredible.

Back in 2002 I bought ordered a fretless ray5 because they didn't have the colour and style I wanted in stock ... that went well too...

I also bought a 2008 USA '62 RI Jazz after playing the floor model - which had finish dings in it so I ordered one ... that also went well...

So I guess I did pretty well buying "sight-unseen" myself. Besides, I find even fiddling with a bass in-store isn't enough to know about the instrument - especially when you're waiting around while some 18 year old is hacking out Green Day bass riffs on the only rig you can use and you can hear that speaker crying for dear mercy... ;-)
 
#16
I've bought almost all of my basses sight unseen. Mostly here on TB. If you're buying from a trusted person or dealer, the condition will be as promised. As far as you liking the feel/tone, that's a different story.
Do as much research as you can on it. Look for sound samples, or bands that use the same gear. Read reviews, look at pics, ect.
USUALLY, the BEST deals come with some risk. It's up to you on how much of a risk you will take.
 
#17
I have purchased ALL of my Laklands site unseen (well maybe a picture here and there)....but ALL of the new ones have been "ordered on faith"....

never had an issue......all I can say is know the company and their return policy before ordering sight unseen......
 
#18
I wouldn't say ordering from a reputable dealer will guarantee satisfaction. I've seen people order Fender basses and realize when they got them home there were problems with the neck or electronics... In some cases, "reputable dealers" will force you to deal with Fender directly... so it's still a crap-shoot... But as you can see I did alright...
 

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