CBbass

The store has arranged for the bass to be picked up. It will hopefully be exchanged; next one will be inspected to see any issues by the store and I will get some pictures sent to me also.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1336684207' post='1649609']
Never bought a bass with dead spots, so that would be a big concern to me. The neck pocket issue doesn't seem to be a big issue, after reading the thread i was expecting far worse than the pics showed. Should be better on a new bass though.
Basically, you're not happy though, and it should go back asap. General rule, try before you buy, or get an in-hand description at the very least if inspection isn't possible.

Hope you get a positive response.
[/quote]

It's kind of strange, there's a thread on talkbass and also a few comments here in which some people guarantee at least 1 deadspot and then there are others on the contrary saying there are many Fender-ish bolt-ons without deadspots. I also know some people may have expected a bigger gap, but I did pay for new from a dealer and it's still IMO not acceptable. I am very picky, but I also only own one bass at a time so want it to be almost perfect.

Definitely going to the city centre in person to buy once returned. I bought a Gibson LP Jr once which was laughable (it made this bass look perfect by comparison!) Thankfully the good guys at GAK paid return postage after offering me a reasonable discount. I'm not sure this company will pay return but we'll see.

Lesson learned!

[quote name='Mark_Bass' timestamp='1336681409' post='1649559']
Sorry to read your woes dude,
i'd send it back for sure or it'll dampen the enjoyment when you play.
And unless its rrreally rare then i'd always try before i buy even if i have pay a little bit extra.

Keep us posted!
[/quote]

Will do! Perhaps I'll fall in love with one of the 2012 revisions of the standard. I have to admit, I'm a little biased to anything Leo designed!

I'm going to call up tomorrow and explain to them I'm not happy, certainly disappointed. I'll have to get a train ticket to the city centre and try every store in Birmingham to find a decent one. Unfortunately as mentioned I got this £100 cheaper so it will mean I will have to spend slightly more to get a good one. I don't mind this. I did phone up a lot of stores before ordering and the best quote was £30 cheaper . If I can't get this model then it's most likely G&L. Thanks a lot for the replys, I was unsure if it was only me but it seems the majority of other people would react the same way as I did.

I might go G&L, this is the only model Fender that I actually like . The crappy pics are from my phone. I assure you, that you can see inside the pocket including the little stripe of paint from around where the stand was holding it. Anyway, here's some pics. If you think I'm being picky then please be honest!

[url="http://postimage.org/gallery/xaurphk/507f66fb/"]http://postimage.org/gallery/xaurphk/507f66fb/[/url]

Every other angle is snug.

I'll get a picture up soon, just need to recharge my camera. Putting the bass to a light I can definitely see down to the bottom of the pocket.

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1336660319' post='1649091']
It sounds like, all things considered, you got a really fine P-bass. These two details have been standard fare for Fender since the first P-bass in 1951. What kind of tuners do you have? If you have the large traditional Schaller/Elephant ear pickups, changing them out with Hipshot Ultralights will save about 1/4 kg in weight. This will change the resonance of the neck (as well as cure any "neck dive). Also, playing a slightly heavier string, and the resulting tightening of the truss rod, will also change the "mechanical impedance" of the neck, changing the overall resonance, and may help the dead spot also.
[/quote]

Stock american special tuners, you find them on highways and certainly the same design used on MiM. I actually like the look of them and I know if I start to notice problems that schaller do a very nice replacement set (same design, drop in with no mods). Hardware can be changed and doesn't bother me regardless. The craftsmanship of the wood is the only thing can bothers me really. I also agree that it's a fine bass, IMO the best P bass design yet. I can actually live with the deadspot too I think. Neck pockets have always been my #1 pet peeve which is which it's such an issue to me. It sucks that one tiny aspect of a guitar can ruin the entire thing. Usually I ask sellers for neck pocket pics but I didn't have the choice this time.

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1336659679' post='1649075']
If you don't send it back the irritation will fester until you can't stand it any more, at which point you'll sell it on.... for a big loss.

Best thing is to send it back now.
[/quote]

Great advice, thanks.

I'll give the shop a call when I have time later and see what they say. Thanks for the replys so far, I love Basschat!

I know about how common dead spots actually are, honestly I could probably live with it. It's really the "best" dead spot I've played on a bass in which I've actually noticed. The neck pocket just bugs me though. I used to play guitar exclusively until I signed up here. I bought a stingray on the forum which is the best QC bass I've possibly played. I don't really remember any dead spots, came perfectly set up and every aspect was perfect. This isn't the fact that I miss it or anything, I remember holding back selling it for a while because it was made that well! Shame I didn't care for the model. My point is, I know what a good instrument is meant to look and feel like, if I get a bass I compare aspects to that bass and this one certainly isn't as good. I don't know if the company would accept it as a defective instrument based on these 2 minor flaws.

As BassBus mentioned, I really don't understand how this issue persists with today technology...

I got a brand new american special precision today. First off the aesthetics of this bass are exactly what I'm after, the neck is also perfect for me (the ultimate selling point). Not too slim like a Jazz, not too wide like a vintage P. The frets are great and the slightly "rolled" edges are fantastic to play on. I could list things all day about things I like about this particular model and especially the neck, however, there are 2 things which bother me.

[font="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"]1. Slight neck gap - I've seen many basses with perfect neck pockets with a nice tight fit. This one whilst definitely not the biggest gap, is certainly visible by the treble side. I can't fit a work card down there but I can fit a 2 sheets of paper. Yes some would call this picky, but I am picky and I paid full price for a USA Fend[/font][size=4]er made bass.[/size]

2. Dead spot - [size=4]again, as with the gap, this is defiantly not the worst dead spot I've heard and in fact it's probably far from it. It is however a dead spot on a graphite truss neck of which I was under the impression was supposed to eliminate in most problems on models with these truss rods. I was hoping to be free of this problem [/size] [size=4] . I do know this is very common on Fenders though.[/size]

I'm not really sure what to do, I got this bass £100 cheaper than everywhere else but you could bet I would pay £100, hell even £200 more to have a perfect one, cash wasn't an issue when buying this. I could have gone custom shop if I really wanted to. I had to wait 1 1/2 months for this to come from the USA because they were out of stock. It's an authorised Fender dealer but it's not a very well known store within the UK so I would feel a little bad for returning it...

Here's the returns policy '[font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]We recommend that goods are returned using Recorded Delivery as we cannot accept responsibility for items lost in transit. We will only refund shipping costs if the item is defective.'[/size][/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]Would you guys say dead spots and a gap count as a defect? Who knows, I might come to love this bass but I just feel a little dissapointed. I have been bassless for 2 months and this is my only bass. I don't have a band or anything so there's nothing I "need" a bass for at the ready. I'm honestly at a loss of what I should do, I don't know if I'm being picky. I don't want to settle on my only bass though.[/size][/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]Thanks![/size][/font]

Looks cheap.

Thieves are bastards. Good luck to the guy.

If that's solid wood I'll be very impressed! Congrats anyhoo.

Bugger me! I thought this was a custom shop until I read the description! Very nice bass, good luck!

Congrats! WD do the best repro (pre cbs) tort on the net. There's a thread on offsetguitars about it. Little pricey though!

Congrats from a fellow brummie! Which store did you go to?

[quote name='fluffo' timestamp='1336422460' post='1645481']
As a nation we don't help ourselves as retailers and they wonder why we use the likes of Thomann.
[/quote]

Well to be honest I emailed Thomann last year asking why a combo was B-stock and they quite literally said it wasn't worth the time to check. I don't see how that is great or even satisfactory service, perhaps I just had a useless rep answer my email.

To the OP, the guy sounds like a cock. A great experience I had recently was with Jimmy at GAK over the phone. I bought a LP Jr, and unfortunately it had sh*te quality control (first and last Gibson I'll buy new). He gave me a huge discount and some freebies, when I told him about the issues he went above and beyond and also sounded genuinely disapointed and apologetic. He insisted I kept the freebies too which was nice. Also had a great experience with Andertons, they had a guitar out of it's packaging and inspected it for me.

Is that a Jazz width nut?

[quote name='the_krysh' timestamp='1336414016' post='1645330']
thats's nothing compared to [url="http://www.zwick4u.com/panoramen_vom_zwick_st_pauli_de_732.html"]this club[/url] in hamburg.
check out the panoramas, esp. the 2nd on the right. and yes, they all are original and none gets played.
the owner of the club is a bass collector.
[/quote]

Now that is cool!

"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]beloved 73' P bass. She's been with me for 23 years and was the first proper guitar my Dad bought for me when he realised I was really serious about being a bassist". [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Dude, at least consider not selling this. It's a decent bass with a huge amount of sentimental value. Money is money, it comes and goes. I'm almost certain you'll really, really regret this in 10 years time.[/font][/color]

I have to admit, looks like a very sexy display!

Lovely looking bass.

I pay for whichever model has the closest spec I want. When I buy a bass I look at pretty much every part, I was thinking of a MiM model or USA but the USA simply had what I wanted. I have to admit Japan on the whole are very good at making instruments, Fender Japan get's all the cool new models too .

That is my dream Jazz bass. Only natural and even black block bass which has ever appealed to me. Good luck with your ++AWESOME++ sale!