Would you buy a bass without trying it out due to it impossible to try?

[spade2you]

Many times. I sometimes try stuff that hasn't been done before. Sometimes that stuff doesn't pan out. Otherwise, it's all a matter of knowing desired neck specs and sound requirements.

 

[mcnach]

Got G.A.S (it physically hurts lol) but a trouble for me is not so much getting over it, but the fact if I wanted to try a bass out, it is impossible. Why? It's a headless, so that already narrows it down, 2) It's a Strandberg bass, so not only would it be uncommon, but to be able to try it out would mean you'd have to find someone or some store selling it (which would not be possible since Strandberg does not have a physical store you can just walk into, ask for their $2k bass, and try it out)

But my question to you TB'ers is, would you ever buy a bass without trying? Would you look into it heavily, research everything about it, perhaps even see if their are any artists related to the genre you play who use it, and have that be your decision? Does G.A.S plague you, if so how did you psych-yourself out of it?

I have.

I ordered my Schecter Model T without even trying one, as I could not find one locally. Got lucky, it ended up being a great bass.

I've ordered 4 custom basses in my time. Three Maruszczyk and one Sandberg. When you order custom you don't know what it'll be like exactly... and sometimes it's not as good as you hoped for.

If you can't try it, there's only two ways to go: you move on, or you order it and take the risk.

 

[BoogieZK]

I did once, a bass that i could never have tried before and it is actually my favorite (Is my sentence correct? #french).
I had a real crush on this bass and i still love it like the first day.

 

[RhynoRock]

The Jazz bass I bought a couple months ago from a reverb seller, I lucked out because it's awesome. Could have easily been a disaster but it plays super nice and was in nearly new shape without issue whatsoever.

 

[Teijo K.]

Yes. After decades of hunting, I bought a Rickenbacker from Canada of all the places.

 

[Jason Miles]

I just bought one without playing it from an online seller this week. I did a lot of research before pulling the trigger. The specs looked to match my needs with neck size, scale length, electronics, ECT. The store has a 45 day return policy just in case it doesn't work out.

 

[Sav'nBass]

I just did .. here on TB .. in fact all of my 5s were bought that way ... right here on TB .. The ones that I did not like I wound up selling.. some for a loss.. some for a profit..

 

[Blackie Jr]

If I trust seller and their description yes...especially with return policy, but even without under certain circumstances

Have bought instruments from forum classifieds and various music stores in different states

 

[Zooberwerx]

Everything I own: basses, cabs, amps, effects, etc.

Riis

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Got G.A.S (it physically hurts lol) but a trouble for me is not so much getting over it, but the fact if I wanted to try a bass out, it is impossible. Why? It's a headless, so that already narrows it down, 2) It's a Strandberg bass, so not only would it be uncommon, but to be able to try it out would mean you'd have to find someone or some store selling it (which would not be possible since Strandberg does not have a physical store you can just walk into, ask for their $2k bass, and try it out)

But my question to you TB'ers is, would you ever buy a bass without trying? Would you look into it heavily, research everything about it, perhaps even see if their are any artists related to the genre you play who use it, and have that be your decision? Does G.A.S plague you, if so how did you psych-yourself out of it?

No. Amp yes. An instrument, guitar, bass, horn, piano, never.

 

[lowendblues]

Depends on what your buying. If its a reputable brand AND you can do your own setups, go for it.

Most of the basses in stores go from the box onto the shelf and play like crap. I recently played a brand new, drop dead gorgeous, blue sparkle Music Man Bongo at a reputable store, and could'nt believe the ski jump for a neck it had.

From my experience, I realize that Music Man is a top maker, and I would not have hesitated buying this bass from the store confident that I could fix it, or ordering it online if I had the cash.

Other than the action, I loved the bass. first one I've ever seen in a store.

 

[b_carville]

I have bought without trying a lot in the last few years.
Mostly budget P's & J's from dealers like Guitar Fetish. I bought my Wolf J from Reverb after playing someone else's.I'm interested in a Swing G1.No one seems to carry them & my only options are to order from Korea or Canada.I would like a Bacchus & my only options are ordering from Japan or Canada.Returning these If I didn't Like them would be a pain & expensive.Dealers like Sweetwater have good return policies.

 

[bassplayer9512]

The basses I have bought online are my favorite ones. I however will only but online from highly reputable local shops in major cities. Willcutt guitars is a great example of someone to buy from.

 

[nilorius]

I did it, but i checked it out from lots of different videos and text reviews and did it for a long time. It was Ibanez GWB1005 - impossible to find it in any shop to try it out. And finally i didn't miss.

 

[two fingers]

I have owned dozens of basses. In the last decade alone I have bought and sold well over a dozen. I "tried them out" at my house and moved them on if I didn't like them.

That Strandberg has my eye. I'm holding out for some color options. I've never been a coffee table bass kinda guy. To be such a forward-thinking company, their color options are a bit traditional for my tastes.

They let that sucker fly in silver sparkle or black and I won't be able to stop myself.

 

[Glenn Johnson]

Got G.A.S (it physically hurts lol) but a trouble for me is not so much getting over it, but the fact if I wanted to try a bass out, it is impossible. Why? It's a headless, so that already narrows it down, 2) It's a Strandberg bass, so not only would it be uncommon, but to be able to try it out would mean you'd have to find someone or some store selling it (which would not be possible since Strandberg does not have a physical store you can just walk into, ask for their $2k bass, and try it out)

But my question to you TB'ers is, would you ever buy a bass without trying? Would you look into it heavily, research everything about it, perhaps even see if their are any artists related to the genre you play who use it, and have that be your decision? Does G.A.S plague you, if so how did you psych-yourself out of it?

I did it once w/o a return-policy & immediately regretted it.
Ever since I will only buy IF there is a liberal return policy!

That is the ONLY correct answer.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Even if a bass doesn’t have a return policy, you can make a far more informed decision now than in the past. YouTube videos will usually give you a good idea of how it sounds. You can read reviews, find other owners, ask questions. It’s much less of a leap of faith.

 

[Nobis17]

I just bought the EBMM in my profile pic last week sight unseen. Now I had played them before, so I knew what I was asking for, but that being said I ordered this one from Sweetwater (while they were on backorder - so I do know that I got my bass pretty much directly from the factory, it didn't sit in a warehouse somewhere for who knows how long).

As for a custom job, I've never been in the financial situation to be able to pull the trigger on something like that, but IMHO if the company has a solid reputation for turning out top notch instruments, chances are they aren't going to ship you a POS. For example, my dream bass is a Fodera Monarch select/custom and I would absolutely order it and trust the luther to turn out the best instrument I've ever touched (if I was in the market for it).

 

[4001]

Eight of my nine basses were ordered new from the factory.
One of them, my Wal, was delivered straight to my house via UPS from The Bass Centre in Studio City, California back in 1993....

 

[Steve88]

Oddly, all of my long term "keeper" instruments (bass and trombone) were purchased online, without trying them or an equivalent first due to being vintage or not available locally. All of the instruments that I have bought locally and thoroughly tried out before buying have been moved along.