Silky999

To be fair nearly all the Chinese necks and bodies I have had have been top notch. Considering that a lot of brand’s budget end guitars…Epiphones, Squires and Ibanez are now/have been made in China so the quality has really shot up as the work force are more skilled and the advent of cheaper CNC machines.

Due diligence in relation to effectively and advertised as a used bitsa £200 bass being sold on FB Marketplace which you collected and played on collection (no issues) and then had for over 2 weeks (no issues) to then find an issue at the 2 week point that is so severe (rocker on 19th fret) that it is unplayable. I maybe doing the buyer a complete injustice and obviously I will sort the issue out. Other possible scenarios for the buyer are; I now don’t like the bass and can’t be bothered with the hassle of selling i needed a jazz bass for a gig/studio job and now can’t be bothered to sell it. I’m short of cash and can’t be bothered to sell it. The buyer dropped/damaged the bass The fret has moved due to the heatwave. the new neck has settled/aclimatised to a new environment causing the fret to move. the seller (me) didn’t check the frets and playability (I did) the seller (me) is a completely incompetent buffoon and scammer who knowingly sold a pile of excrement bass (I’d like to think I’m not) All I can do is offer to get it sorted for free and provide my version of the tale of woe for others to form their own opinions.

Paul….so I have discovered! lol

Thank you for all the views and comments and this is going to be part of life’s journey of lessons and experiences. I always endeavour to be completely open and transparent with my adverts for anything I sell including any issues etc (Daphne blue one being a fine example) and I always treat people how I or a member of my family would expect to be treated. I am absolutely transparent in my adverts that these basses are my first efforts in bass building and again why I insist on collection so that the buyer meet me and do their due diligence. I do believe that for THIS bass for THIS issue at THIS price point at THIS stage of the dispute, my at least trying to resolve the offending fret is proportionate and fair prior to discussing a refund. From what I can research, as this was a collection on FB Marketplace then it is very much buyer beware if I wanted to be an arse (which I am not). There is a 14 day return from date of sale under Consumer Regulations for businesses for delivered items (this wasn’t) but this is outside that window anyway (again if I wanted to be an arse, I’m not Andertons lol). I have only sold 2 self built basses at this point……one buyer has messaged me numerous times saying what I fantastic bass I had made and how much they love it and then this one with both the build processes being no different in terms of the QC I did prior to sale/collection. It could be that I am doing my own legs for the basses I currently have for sale in this forum by even posting about this topic but quite frankly being open, fair and honest in my dealings with others is more important to me than any potential lost sales and part of this process is to canvass the opinions and views of others as a check and balance. If you can’t honestly reflect on things when they go well or not so well then you can never learn from them. Anyway, I’m make sure it gets resolved.

I have started on my journey of building basses and selling them. At the minute this consists of refurbing second hand bodies or finishing raw Chinese ones, I then add a new Chinese neck, new hardware etc. my plan is to work up to cutting my own bodies and necks as I acquire the necessary tools, knowledge and skills. i recently sold a bass via FB (not to a BCer). The body was a refurb but the neck new with all new hardware, pickups and so on. I won’t ship any bass as I am worried about damage in transit and also I want the buyer to play the bass and not pay/take away until they are 100% happy with what they are buying. Customer satisfaction is really crucial to me and I’d rather someone comes, plays and then walks away if they are not completely happy with either the price, quality or the bass’s suitability for them. I’m not doing this to get rich and it is as much about the pleasure in the making as anything else. So said buyer comes to my house, I sit them down in the lounge and let them have as long as they want to play, examine the bass. We have a chat about basses and bands and they decide that they are happy to buy and I confirm this with them that they are totally happy several times which they are. Fast forward 2 weeks and I get contacted by buyer who says words to the effect of “Sorry, the bass has some proud frets, it needs a fret level and I am not prepared to pay to have it done. It is not playable. I want you to buy it back from me for £50 less than you sold it for. It’s my fault really, I should’ve been more rigorous in my testing” they were basically asking for a refund minus £50. I immediately messaged back and apologised. I offered to do a free fret level and dress, also offered to come and collect the bass to do that the same day and that I could have it sorted and ready for the next day. The buyer then said they would prefer the option of me buying it back. They sent me a video which showed a fret rock on the 19th fret of a 20 fret neck! I know the bass was spot on when I sold it as I went over it with a fine tooth comb. With a 2 week gap after buying with no contact about any issues, I was concerned that; the bass had been damaged in that time, it could been left in the sun causing wood movement( especially given the recent hot weather) or they just didn’t get on with the bass for some reason and were looking for a excuse for a quick refund. I refused their kind offer and they have finally agreed to bring the bass over for a sorting out. So the question……would you have done anything differently if you were me? I accept that situations like this are part and parcel of selling anything these days but it has been quite disheartening for me as I would never want anyone to buy a bass that they weren’t happy with.

That is some really great advice…..I have a dust extractor already so will hook that up. I have looked at some YouTube stuff and intend to use push stick and the fence where possible. The machine will take up to 3/4 blade but from what I have seen so far suggests that 1/2 width with 4-6tpi seems a good compromise for cutting a body as long as I don’t get to ambitious with too tight a radius. Would that be a good option for a general purpose blade? Tuffsaw blades appear to get a lot of recommendations on various sites. i have also seen the cautionary videos about cross cutting anything round as it can get a spin on unless it is clamped in something or wedge in a jig etc. I am going to practice on a load of scrap to get the feel of the bandsaw and dial it in. It seems that blade tensioning is a bit of a black art and the tension guide on the saw is just that…a guide. I am both excited and nervous about using it.

I have every intention of not being digitally challenged at any point

Pop up tent……good idea

I have a new purchase and this paired with my Triton router means I can start making my own bodies from slabs and blanks. This opens up the world of new woods and shapes…..any tips or advice from old hands with a bandsaw?

If you go on the East website, all the wiring diagrams are on there for the different preamps.

I love an Ibanez and have 2 of my own. The 600 would look fantastic with a refinish. I think I am going roasted maple neck with black block inlays. That will work with the pickguard and black hardware.

Hand sanded Liberon Finishing oil up to 700 grit and 3 coats of Liberon Bison wax. This one is going to be an absolute beauty!

I have always had good results with Liberon Finishing Oil as it drys more like a varnish than a traditional oil. It does add a bit of an amber hue so might be worth trying on some scrap wood first to make sure you like it if you decide to go that route. This is an Ash body that I’m working on using Liberon.

Its’s finished!!! £300 if anyone is interested….it is on the basses for sale thread.

This is an Ash body which oil sanded up to 5000 grit and having its last few finishing oil coats to be ready for a good old wax and polish. Next decision is roasted Maple neck or flame roasted Maple neck with or without a rosewood fretboard. Advice??? It will have a black pearl pick guard and black hardware.

Hellzero, thanks for that great advice!

Thank you, it’s got some little specs of wind blown dust in a couple of places from the clearcoat stage of spraying but it was a balance between trying to remove them without making it worse and you can’t see them unless you look really closely with the bass under your nose and rotating it in the light. They would never be seen when played normally. The cost of trying to set up some sort of an inside spray booth with extraction was just too prohibitive for the odd spray project.

Yeah I just put it in my name and send payments to the other band members. It also makes it easier doing my tax self assessment as all the band stuff is in one place

I like the durability of poly but the fact that it doesn’t “melt” into the previous layer like nitro makes it an absolute nightmare if you get a run or burn through when sanding. With nitro you can just sand back flat and then re -coat but with poly, you get witness lines around the sanded area. My favourite option is oil finishing then nitro clearcoat over that when it’s fully dry or lots of coats of wipe on poly if I am not so worried about getting a massively uniform finish. I am still perfecting my poly/white spirit ratios for the wipe on to get the best trade off between self levelling after wiping off and not too thin a coat; 60 - 70% white spirit to poly varnish seems to be about the sweet spot especially the more layers that go on.

We use a Starling account for the band. It really is only 10 mins to set one up

Yes it is.