80Hz

I think your sticking point might be around “due diligence”. What diligence are you expecting from the buyer? Just to be sure that they like the instrument when the sale takes place? Or do they need to be doing due diligence of your QC? Once we get into “buyer beware” and two week windows etc anxiety levels are going to be rising. Let’s be clear: you seem to be implying that these are early builds and there might be things that aren’t 100% perfect. Fair enough. Especially given your price point. I have no doubt the bass left you with a nice fret job. It’s also plausible to me that a fret may have lifted over a couple of weeks: I was playing a P bass last night that has definitely changed with the warmer weather and become buzzier. And that’s just sitting at home out of sunlight. Your offer to sort the fret is entirely reasonable but if I was your buyer I’d be asking myself - is there anything else I’ve missed? I think that’s where the refund request is coming from and where a bit of reassurance is needed in future.

First and foremost I hope this doesn’t discourage you from moving forward with building basses. I’ve been admiring your daphne blue jazz (but I already have two jazzes 😆). It’s bad luck to have a difficult customer experience out the gate. What I get from your post is that you want the customer to have a nice buying experience but then not have buyers remorse! Maybe you offer one free service, to be redeemed within a year, with each instrument (adjusting selling price accordingly)? Or match whatever statutory obligation for returns/refunds is common? There’s a bit of a reassurance there rather than, for the buyer, this sense of slight anxiety that they’re buying something from a builder who, as yet, is “unproven” - despite what they may feel about the instrument in person on the day. Personally I need a bit of time to warm up to an instrument and decide whether it’s for me. I think this echoes the point about selling a service, which may be far removed from your aim to enjoy building basses and cover your costs. If it were me I’d accept the instrument back irrespective of who’s right and wrong in the situation, offer a full refund, chalk it up to experience, and live to fight another day. Path of least resistance and all that, which may well be better for your heart, if not your wallet.

Welcome aboard!

If anyone is looking for another MJ-1 I've just listed my metallic black one in for sale 🙂

Go for it - it's rewarding and educational, I learned a lot about microphone design and functionality from the MicParts kits I built (your video there is even-more-DIY!) Also I wasn't trying to discourage the OP from doing a capsule replacement, just that a) it might not be necessary, and b) it's not something I'd attempt on a valuable mic. </derail>

Your mic might just need servicing, and the symptoms you describe could also be a preamp issue (i.e. the preamp board in the mic, not an external preamp). Capsules don't really wear out unless they've been physically damaged or anything strange has happened like being stored in a damp environment. Dust and grime can build up eventually if they've had a long service life. Capsule cleaning is a specialist job best carried out by the original manufacturer or a professional. With those caveats - I've built a couple of microphone kits from the same guy who makes Roswell mics, and I'd have no issues using his replacement capsules. All good quality stuff. I'd have a go if it was an inexpensive and replaceable mic, but I'm not about to fiddle with any Neumanns 🙂

All good inspiration, the creating (recreating?) community aspect especially. I say “recreating” as lots of shops used to do much of what you’re saying. But I think any good offline operation has to have a seamless online presence too. The online customer has to feel that they’re somehow part of that in person community experience. This is something Andertons have done particularly well imo, not to say there couldn’t be other ways of approaching it.

I’ve been on a bit of a flats mission over the last few months and have likewise come back to rounds with a couple of exceptions. Overall I feel it very much depends on the instrument and the pickup pairing. I play with amp models and headphones (Sennheiser HD 600s) so I’m basing this off DI tones and how they mix. Can’t comment fairly on live scenarios. A few months ago I bought a Paulman copy of a 1960 P bass from a forum member that came strung with Dunlop flats. These sound really excellent to my (admittedly noobish) ears. The play/polish feel is smooth but not quite LaBella DTF smooth. Tension feels quite low. But they have a good mid range which, to my ears, differentiates them a bit from DTFs, while retaining a bit of DTF thump. They’re keepers for sure. I wasn’t as impressed with TI flats, they do have a very mid focused sound, but did not pair well with the bass I tried them on (Ibanez SR). I also am not a jazzer so I’m probably not doing them justice. I made the noob error of trimming them down for the Ibby SR, so now they won’t fit a Fender style headstock. Anyone care for a cheap set of lightly used TIs for this size of bass? 🙄 I found Fender flats to be good value to dip one’s toes in the water. Yes they are high tension but I thought they sounded great with a pick (on another P bass). Good choice for classic rock. I had great fun playing along to Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benetar with this combo. 😆 I’m mostly back to Fender, D’Addario and LaBella nickel rounds. The other learning is that neutral or slightly treble boosted DI tones/amp models work best for me. No need to do much low passing IMO. And depending on the cab IR it can become very dark and woofy very quickly. So I can appreciate why a Sansamp would be a satisfactory combo. All genre and taste dependent of course.

There’s a nice looking Tribute L-2500 in tobacco sunburst on Reverb. Looks like used prices on those in particular are trending upwards, which might be a 5 string thing, as there’s a bit more used supply of L-2000s.

Yeah I totally appreciate that Matt. Probably just bad luck. Your SB-2 was very nice. Not trying to dissuade anyone from a Tribby.

Funnily enough @GreeneKing your L-2500 has been on my mind since the NW Bass Bash! I think because the Tribute and US models have the same bridges and nut width, string spacing should be the same. (G&L now have the series 750 L-2500 which has a special wide bridge giving 19mm string spacing on the 5er). One suggestion I'd make is if you go shopping for a Tribute series, have a look at it in person. I'm in a minority of people who wasn't impressed with the build quality of a Tribute series guitar I bought. Admittedly that might be comparing apples to oranges, but it has made me a little shy of buying one sight unseen. It may not be what you have in mind in terms of a backup, but I've also been looking at a US L-1505, which has a single MFD humbucker in the Stingray position. There's a couple of them out there for sale in the UK, not so much on the L-2500 front.

What makes the Line Audio stuff good and bargalicious is that (from what I've read) the builder is careful to test and only use components that meet his tolerances. So there is a level of care going on in manufacture more associated with high priced gear. My experience with the Line Audio mics (OM1s) are that they are voiced quite neutrally. IMO this is good as they avoid the brittle/hyped high end that is a common feature of cheap mics, but it may translate as less apparent "detail". Oh and Pinknoise are all good to order from, they're more oriented towards production sound than music that's all.