Noisyjon Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Just want to vent and moan 'cos I'm fuming AND p!ssed off right now! I bought a Fender CS Masterbuilt Precision bass from Session Music/Musik Schmidt just over 2 weeks ago: [url="http://www.musik-schmidt.de/gb-Fender-Custom-Shop-1970-Precision-Bass-Master-Built-CC-BLK.html"]http://www.musik-schmidt.de/gb-Fender-Custom-Shop-1970-Precision-Bass-Master-Built-CC-BLK.html[/url] Anyway it turned up and was looking good until I tuned it up for the first time... The truss rod had either broken or was completely loose inside the neck due to it rattling when you tapped the back of the neck behind the nut, just like my Bravewood did when its' truss rod went. So back went the bass for a refund and while leaving me sweating a bit over waiting for them to refund me at their leisure I got the double whammy of CC currency exchange charges for my trouble. So it has cost me about £85 for a refund on a faulty bass Anyway, lesson learned and I will only be buying a UK based instrument that I can either try first or get on good recommendation off here from now on and negate any other pesky charges Thanks for listening! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuzBass Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 (edited) Jon, I don't think it has to do with EU bass purchases. Around May last year I've purchased Washburn Stu Hamm electric (bass has been exhibited at NAMM 2010) from Funky Munky Music in the US. The offer was good, the bass is nice, it arrives ...... with the truss rod not functioning at all. You just can't get any playable action (with the lowest possible at the bridge). It took me several weeks and few dozen of pics to prove I am right that the truss rod is warped. I had to ship it back, wait, in the end (around the beginning of October) I've got it back. I must admit Funky Munky Music and Washburn were very helpful after I've managed to prove the defect. Honestly, I could hardly believe that the bass exhibited at NAMM (well, I do not have illusions about Washburn custom shop, but still) would have a defect like this. The additional costs were just around EUR 70 for shipping it back (with the neck removed). Please note: the bass was originally shipped in the steel Washburn case. In the end Washburn people told me that it might be the truss rod has warped while being in the low temperatures when shipped by airplane, not sure how true is this. Edited May 22, 2012 by KuzBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 [quote name='jonthebass' timestamp='1337677900' post='1663686'] Just want to vent and moan 'cos I'm fuming AND p!ssed off right now! I bought a Fender CS Masterbuilt Precision bass from Session Music/Musik Schmidt just over 2 weeks ago: [url="http://www.musik-schmidt.de/gb-Fender-Custom-Shop-1970-Precision-Bass-Master-Built-CC-BLK.html"]http://www.musik-sch...ilt-CC-BLK.html[/url] Anyway it turned up and was looking good until I tuned it up for the first time... The truss rod had either broken or was completely loose inside the neck due to it rattling when you tapped the back of the neck behind the nut, just like my Bravewood did when its' truss rod went. So back went the bass for a refund and while leaving me sweating a bit over waiting for them to refund me at their leisure I got the double whammy of CC currency exchange charges for my trouble. So it has cost me about £85 for a refund on a faulty bass Anyway, lesson learned and I will only be buying a UK based instrument that I can either try first or get on good recommendation off here from now on and negate any other pesky charges Thanks for listening! Jon [/quote]Did you try to tighten the truss rod? It really takes a lot of force to break them (much more than a low temperature in an aircraft hold can do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 [quote name='KuzBass' timestamp='1337678686' post='1663698'] Please note: the bass was originally shipped in the steel Washburn case. In the end Washburn people told me that it might be the truss rod has warped while being in the low temperatures when shipped by airplane, not sure how true is this. [/quote] Completely bollocks. Nowadays aircraft holds are pressurised the same as the cabin. Someone on the SOS forums proved this by including one of those garden max and min thermometers in his hold luggage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Ouch. Sorry to hear that Jon. I recently had a problem with a faulty amp from Thomann (as discussed on another thread) and the heartache and hassle to get it sent back and refunded have completely put me off going this route again. TBH, I didn't check the exact refund amount so i may have made a currency gain or loss but the item was quite a bit cheaper than your Precision so it wouldn't have been big - but the principle is the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 [quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1337679748' post='1663721'] Did you try to tighten the truss rod? It really takes a lot of force to break them (much more than a low temperature in an aircraft hold can do). [/quote] No. Just from the tap test I knew things weren't right and at the price of the bass I didn't want to go down the route of tinkering with it first. [quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1337680249' post='1663729'] Ouch. Sorry to hear that Jon. I recently had a problem with a faulty amp from Thomann (as discussed on another thread) and the heartache and hassle to get it sent back and refunded have completely put me off going this route again. TBH, I didn't check the exact refund amount so i may have made a currency gain or loss but the item was quite a bit cheaper than your Precision so it wouldn't have been big - but the principle is the same. [/quote] Cheers Clarky. Anyway, after all that I've found myself a nice Fender CS 61 Jazz from here to enjoy now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuzBass Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1337679767' post='1663722'] Completely bollocks. Nowadays aircraft holds are pressurised the same as the cabin. Someone on the SOS forums proved this by including one of those garden max and min thermometers in his hold luggage. [/quote] Yep, that's what I've thought. One thing to avoid misunderstandings - I know how to tighten the truss rod correctly and I've never broke one. In my case it was impossible to tighten at all whatever strength you'd apply, and loosening it would make no effect to the neck. It got fixed in any case, this bass serves me well now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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