Burns-bass

I have a very odd Jackson-style Randy Rhodes guitar.

Firstly, this isn’t a Jackson. It’s a Chinese clone. It worked before I put it away but I haven’t tested it as it has bad memories for me.

There’s a story with the guitar. I arranged to buy a Jackson guitar I’d seen on FB for my kids for a bit of fun, and I had my brother collect this. Turns out it’s not a Jackson guitar and the guitar (and fitted hard case) stank of fags.

You can still see some remnants of the fake Jackson logo I removed. 

I’ve deep cleaned the guitar and it’s cool now but the case stinks. Lesson learned, etc. 

I did speak to the seller later but I just received abuse and life is too short.

£50 delivered without the case. £60 with the case (but trust me, it stinks)

I have had a scratch plate snap when it came in from a cold delivery van to a warm house, so I’ve always waited some time for the guitar to acclimatise. Possibly pointless but that was a real shame. 

Sometimes things go wrong when you buy online. Pay with a credit card and you’re almost always protected.

This shop looks lovely.

1 hour ago, Clarky said:

The stasis is the same on Reverb and eBay. Assume its a combination of post-Christmas belt-tightening, the continuing cost of living crisis and just general geopolitical uncertainty

Agreed.

Check out Andy Baxter. Some of the most incredible basses for sale I’ve ever seen in one shop.

Absolutely did. Hard to describe how good they were…

The entire evening was just brilliant.

4 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I had a similar thing when I asked about the Nux mighty plug pro, within minutes someone messaged me offering to lend me their one, they wasn’t selling it and said I could try it for as long as I wanted and post it back when done, such a heartwarming offer from a fellow basschatter 

It’s the way the world was (and still could be!) if we started trusting people. There’s the odd bad egg, but you meet far more good ones.

55 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

Damn, and in London tonight but sold out, hope you get to see them Lawrie, would love love to see Chris Wood playing upright in the flesh 👍

Yeah, mad. The venue is tiny, maybe 200 people. Seems weird they’re here, but I’m glad they are.

Managed to rope a few people in so I’ll let you know what it’s like!

Turns out they’re playing about 10 minutes from my house tomorrow for the princely sum of £15.

The damage is a shame, but I had an acoustic guitar that was similarly smashed and a luthier was able to fix it in such a way that is was almost imperceptible.

47 minutes ago, Jono Bolton said:

I'm not sure its a Harley Benton body, the pickup looks too near to the bridge when it should be further forward, just below the waist of the bass. The pickguard and control plate are somewhat similar to an HB, but not quite. I'd have guessed it was an old Japanese/far Eastern copy, but it could be anything really. If the neck works and is decent nick it could be worth a few quid on its own, but the rest is a mess. I'd be interested to know what the seller's asking for. Presumably enough to buy himself some new socks.

The bridge is deffo a HB. The holes in the bridge to accommodate through-body stringing are so crude they've been done by an amateur with no chamfering. The metal plate on the back, rather than an embedded collet, tells you that. 

Whatever it is, it should be burned as a sacrifice to appease the bass gods.

No money should ever be paid for this bass.

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

Because one would assume the seller is attempting to pass this off as a vintage Fender and charge a fortune.

The body is a Harley Benton that’s been crudely drilled. You can tell by the bridge, so it’s worth £30 at most.

 

 

The case is likely to be worth more than the bass.

 

i think the previous poster is right and this is a Bullet Bass neck.

13 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

Good spot!  I’d let the playability vs price dictate whether or not it’s a worthy purchase.  Who cares who made it if it’s a good player?!

Because one would assume the seller is attempting to pass this off as a vintage Fender and charge a fortune.

The body is a Harley Benton that’s been crudely drilled. You can tell by the bridge, so it’s worth £30 at most.

I’d guess the neck is the same that has been reshaped and a knock-off neck plate has been added.

The case is likely to be worth more than the bass.

I did a gig yesterday and during it, I was really wondering why I bother. Then my friend came along for the second half with his mum who has Parkinson’s and we had a great chat and she loved the music. Didn’t matter that there were about 8 of them in the audience.

They’re very much a handmade boutique item. Personally I found mine heavy, strange and awkward to play. Personally I don’t see what all the fuss is, but I’m a sample size of 1. 

1 minute ago, HMX said:

I take them all off before restringing so I can give the fretboard a good clean.

This. Enables me to do a set up, intonation check and all that as well.

Obviously if you’re swapping a busted string then it’s number 1.

To be fair, recording a video on the phone would take less time than writing the message out here. Even if you don’t have one, perhaps you could find someone to help you?

The company won’t resell this as it’s faulty. Instead it’ll go back to the manufacturer, and they may request evidence it’s not working.

I really don’t see this as an attack on your consumer rights. 
 

Perhaps if you identify a fault you could save others time and hassle…

6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

IME you get a completely different level of service from a delivery company when you are a business regularly sending out items, to that of a private individual waiting for their delivery.

You also get better service when you go direct rather than through an intermediary. Companies like DHL and Parcelforce consider you the customer and will happily help.

6 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

As my local stores could not supply, I could not try before I bought. PMT have lots of stores but none less than 2.5 hours drive and over 200 mile round trip.  I have only returned one thing to Andertons, in about 8-10 purchases, so the cost per purchase is minimal. It is a bit like credit card fees, a cost of doing business.

 

 

Please don’t take my general comment as a criticism of you, that’s not how it’s intended. 
 

But I don’t think customers should expect returns to be free. 

Returns are a massive problem for retail businesses. While they could front the cost for a return, I'm not sure why they should be expected to do so. OK, if an item is faulty, that's different – but if you simply don't like it, that's another matter. PMT didn't pay my petrol money when I drove down there to return a bass, for example.

20 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I'm in agreement with my esteemed colleagues. Once bitten twice shy and all that....

 

I can't help feeling you're setting yourself up for a long road of pain, frustration and anger.
 

I appreciate everything you've done so far and I admire your doggedness and determination. I think you've conducted yourself admirably but please don't forget to look after your own sanity and mental health too.

 

100% this. I'd look for a way to move on. I struggled for about a year to recover a debt I was owed. Did everything I could, and in the end, it never came to anything. I've had to write the debt off and move on. 

I'm concerned, like the rest of the guys here, that you're exposing yourself to more heartbreak, upset, and disappointment. I think we all hope that isn't the case.

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

 

Were they all made in the UK then?

Not sure why that would matter. The Elgin Marbles certainly weren't, nor is half the stuff there. 

Anyway, when I make billions and open my museum none of you are invited.

5 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I’m just saying that I can see how someone could get into a pickle, I’m not saying it has been handled well or fairly or quickly by him. I honestly regret posting anything now 

You can hold two views at the same time.

I think the way Eddie has been treated is abominable and utterly disgraces Jon. I can also understand how this could happen to someone. These are not contradictory positions. 

22 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I have heard of Letts but never played one, the bit I don’t get is the reply to Eddie, if I’ve got it right ,he knows he still owes a bass or money, how can you carry on knowing this, if I owed £5 or 5k I would do everything to pay that off, even if it means borrowing from family or friends, it would be on my conscience , he needs to sort this 

I 100% agree with this.

I hate owing anyone money.

Checked out his YouTube channel and he’s an even better drummer.

That really made me smile. Great album and what a fantastic player.