Townes1992 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hello guys, Thought i'd share with you all an interesting story, it happened amidst my search for a new bass. So today, i thought i'd get to a guitar store in Birmingham and give some of their basses a try. I was hoping to play through quite a few, as i had alot of free time, and wanted to narrow down my options. Anyway, I had a little play on a MIM Fender P, which was okay. The action was a little high for my taste and it simply didn't feel as though it was worth £500! There was nothing really that great about it. And so i played a CV Squier as there have been some great review about these. I imagine their are some gems out their but this one wasn't cool. After about the 9yh fret on the G string their was an awful lot of buzz. Plus, and its only minor but still, there was a small chip in the fretboard. I then moved onto an Ibanez SR500, which played very nice, although the neck and body were a little slim. I then asked the guy at the store if i could play a Yamaha (from the BB series). To my surprise, he said to me that as i wasn't buying a bass today, that the Yamaha was the last one I was allowed to play!!! I was startled! SOOO ridiculous! Most people seem to agree (on forums etc) that music store clerks are fine with playing around with the equiptment, this store wasn't!! I was in there for a grand total of 20/30 minutes! Has anybody else ever had this? Anyway, the Yamaha was cool, nice and chunky, felt like it fit me fine. Im yet to be really impressed by the four I played today...i hope to go to guitarguitar tomorrow and try some out - if they are ok with that of course. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 name and shame! and then go back and buy a single pick and when they ask if you decided which bass you want to buy tell them yes thanks and i already bought it from a shop with helpful assistants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hahah! Good idea, might just do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I've found GuitarGuitar (certainly in Glasgow) to provide excellent customer service, so you should be all right. I have a little bit of sympathy - by playing the basses you are effectively making them used so you do have to act appropriately (don't come in with your best studded belt on). However, trying out musical instruments is about the only thing that differentiates a shop from just taking a punt on the internet. This is a recurring discussion of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Yeah of course, if i'd taken up an awful lot of time i would understand their issues more so. But 30 ,minutes isn't really much at all. I hope so , i will report back with my guitarguitar experience, really hope they have some Jacksons in stock but i doubt it :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibody Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 PMT by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Depend show you went about it; did you just ask repeatedly to try each one; or did you tell them up front you're looking for a new bass, your budget, what you've already got, whether they do deals & then whether you'd be buying that day? It's what i do any time I go looking for any kit & I was a known regular & never had any put-downs at Sound Control, Live Music & Scayles in Edinburgh. If you didn't - and they didn't know you I can sympathise with them, you may have been just another punter about to put a second dent in that Squier fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 [quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1332859638' post='1594068'] PMT by any chance? [/quote] Townes1992 is male so I don't think it's down to that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I've played pretty much every bass in PMT in Bristol and the only comment I got from the staff was to say that I should ask them to get the basses down off the wall for me in case I bash one. I thought this was a fair comment. Mind you, I must have tried about £5k worth of basses before they said this! JG Windows in Newcastle were good. I tried a few basses in there and asked if I could try the Fender American Jazz. I told them it was out of my budget but I wanted to try it for comparison and they were. I bought my Dean in Windows in Metro Centre and the guy was great. I told him I'd not played in 17 years so he let me get a feel for some basses then played a few for me so I could get an idea of their sound. Telling a potential customer that they can't try any more basses is like Amazon only letting you look at 3 products before kicking you off the site because they want to save bandwidth. It sucks and they don't deserve your sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 If that is the shop attitude then I doubt you'll be too keen to go back and buy one...they might want to think that one over, but then you are dealing with some shops paying some assistants not a lot and who may not be swicthed onto 'business'. They may be basically baby-sitting the shop so what you get back from them is what you get, I'm afraid. Having recently been in a large chain to try a cab..which they didn't actually have after all, I tried to put some time into an amp.. The basses...of which there were MANY..were not well set up at all..and just a few minutes with a tuner and an allen key would have made them infintely more playable and therefore more condusive to selling something. I'll do it myself next time...but wasn't after a bass and assumed with 50 plus of the things in stock, there'd be something worth playing and spending time with.. Now... that experience has put me off even going back there. I am sure I'll pop in if I am passing and need to waste some time, but I doubt I'd be interested in checking out anything they advertise...which rather seems to be a classic own goal type thing on their part, if this is a typical experience repeated by others. I am not talking about truss-rod tweaks just saddles and intonation in about 5 minutes....surely, there must be someone there who could do that..!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus_147 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1332870756' post='1594262'] JG Windows in Newcastle were good. I tried a few basses in there and asked if I could try the Fender American Jazz. I told them it was out of my budget but I wanted to try it for comparison and they were. I bought my Dean in Windows in Metro Centre and the guy was great. I told him I'd not played in 17 years so he let me get a feel for some basses then played a few for me so I could get an idea of their sound. [/quote] Windows is great. Some of the employees can seem a bit uninterested at times, but once they get to recognise you they're usually pretty willing to let you do your own thing. Had a decent chat with one of the guys a few months back about Fenders and Squiers and what sort of thing I might be looking for etc, very helpful guy. They've taken quite a lot of money off my hands. The Metro Centre one is cool too, but it's a bit out the way seeing as I don't drive. I just wish they'd get some more basses in. ._. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) It helped that I went to college with Steve who used to be the manager in the Metro Centre store but I'm sure I only mentioned that after I'd bought the bass. Good chaps tho. Bought a ukulele from them and got a good discount (it's a black flying V one, sad but also quite cool at the same time). Edited March 27, 2012 by Mornats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 No the shop wasn't PMT. But yeah I guess i could try a different approach, i will try talking to the guys at the store a little more next time around. Tell them my budget and what im after. But in my defence, i did try talking to the guy a little, i found out he's a guitarist and plays an american Fender and also has a schecter haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I had a few unhelpful run-ins with shop staff when I first moved up to the East Midlands but it's a pretty tight musical community round here and it didn't take me long to become part of it and don't get any problems at all now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Fortunately, my visit to guitarguitar yesterday was far better! I spoke to them about the guys at the other music store and they were more than helpfull, talking to me about what i listen to, trying out the basses themselves and telling me what they think! A really great team of staff I recommend it Only issue, amongst the basses I played, they were all good (I played a lot of Mexican and US P basses, the US models are out of my budget but i wanted to play around on them so i could have something to campare the Mexicans against), i wasnt really hooked on any of them. I'm still yet to find a bass i feel happy parting £350+ on :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 [quote name='Townes1992' timestamp='1333011949' post='1596058'] Fortunately, my visit to guitarguitar yesterday was far better! I spoke to them about the guys at the other music store and they were more than helpfull, talking to me about what i listen to, trying out the basses themselves and telling me what they think! A really great team of staff I recommend it Only issue, amongst the basses I played, they were all good (I played a lot of Mexican and US P basses, the US models are out of my budget but i wanted to play around on them so i could have something to campare the Mexicans against), i wasnt really hooked on any of them. I'm still yet to find a bass i feel happy parting £350+ on :/ [/quote] Your best option is to keep searching and take your time then. What are you searching for that you're not finding? It could be that you're searching for a mythical beast here afterall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I month or two back I brought this up in another thread. If you were indeed serious about buying a new bass, then it is worth reminding them that in their capacity as a sales person they are there to help you. I don't think naming and shaming would be overly helpful but certainly take your business elsewhere if they were rude or objectionable. A handy hint though. Music store owners will most likely be tired of seeing 'window shoppers' and Saturday afternoon hobbyists come in just to have a quick play on their instruments. If you're looking to buy a new bass then its worth explaining your position to the bloke at the counter clearly and concisely so that he is left in no doubt that you're here to make an informed decision about spending your hard-earned cash on a new instrument. That way you can make the distinction between being a timewaster and a potential customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 [quote name='charic' timestamp='1333012139' post='1596062'] Your best option is to keep searching and take your time then. What are you searching for that you're not finding? It could be that you're searching for a mythical beast here afterall [/quote] I have a sound in mind that i'd like, when it comes to appearence i'm not too fussy i dont think. I want something with a real big thud and punch! The p's i played didn't give me that enough, eventhough they sounded good. :/ I've been considering getting a bass made by Spector or Dean or maybe ESP (ltd) , i dont play much heavy metal (more of the harder rock stuff)) but i thought maybe these basses might have a bigger kick..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibody Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 [quote name='Townes1992' timestamp='1333047172' post='1596764'] I have a sound in mind that i'd like, when it comes to appearence i'm not too fussy i dont think. I want something with a real big thud and punch! The p's i played didn't give me that enough, eventhough they sounded good. :/ I've been considering getting a bass made by Spector or Dean or maybe ESP (ltd) , i dont play much heavy metal (more of the harder rock stuff)) but i thought maybe these basses might have a bigger kick..... [/quote] Might be worth looking at the Epiphone Thunderbirds (Pro if you can find one) or a Jazz. Since i started rehersals with the new band I have fallen back on using the Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Townes1992 Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Yeah i have fancied those for ages, but i hear an awful lot of bad things about epiphone thunderbirds thats puts me off. Neck dive etc :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Well there`s currently (or was) a white Epi T-Bird up for grabs on here, and the strap button has been moved, which virtually cures the neck-dive. I`ve had a couple of these and you soon get used to it. Awesome basses imv. Sound good, look fantastic, aside from a bit of neck-dive, and having to remember where the first fret was with your arm movements before is probably the third fret (again you get used to it quite quickly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibody Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Townes1992' timestamp='1333120515' post='1597777'] Yeah i have fancied those for ages, but i hear an awful lot of bad things about epiphone thunderbirds thats puts me off. Neck dive etc :/ [/quote] I sold an epi T-Bird to a fellow BC a couple of months back. i really regrett it to be honest. The neck dive can be cured to a degree by moving the strap button to the heel. The Thunderbird Pro's are nicer still - active pickups, better bridge, set neck. You can pick them up online from Thomman for about £250. The Earlier Korean made ones are better than the later Chinese Edited March 31, 2012 by Nibody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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