SlapbassSteve Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 My brother and I have both bought used MiM P-basses untried in the past (2002 for £150 and a 2008 for £200) and while both were a bit of a gamble as the pictures were a tad blurry, in both cases turned out to be massive bargains as it was just a case of the sellers not knowing what they had. Both needed a setup but now have great actions and great sounds, although I'm not a fan of the newer mex p pickups(too much clanky treble). There are some real bargains about so it can definitely be worth buying s/h. From my (admittedly limited compared to a lot of folk on here) experience of new basses, the thing with trying them out is you can't tell if one is any good just by playing for a bit, even from main shops the setup is often appaling instore- I remember trying out my dream bass at the time (about three years back) a Fender Marcus Miller in a well known music shop based in Brighton and being shocked at how the action rendered it nearly unplayable, there's no way I'd've parted with the £949(or whatever the price was at the time, it was a while back...) without taking my trusty set of allen keys to it and trying it once set up. Odds are it was the dream bass I hoped it would be, just there was no way of knowing with current setup. A high action is also unfortunately a great way of hiding a poorly finished neck, a trick I've seen a lot on the cheaper basses I've had. What I'm gradually getting at is that whether new or second hand 90% of the time there won't be anything wrong with a bass that couldn't be remedied with a decent setup, usually a little work on the truss rod or at very worst a bit of fret levelling. If it's a genuine Fender with a working trussrod at a good price then go for it, but unfortunately be prepared to have to fix a shockingly high action whether buying new or used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 [quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1339165376' post='1684718'] bah! just been to Newcastle Guitar Guitar. Not a single left handed bass in the store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So i pick up a few R/H P basses, American and Mexican.Look noce but ranged from average action to bloody awful. Upon enquiring about L/H availability, only 2 P basses in the whole company (Scotland to London) and if I put down a deposit to have one sent, found I didn't like it, the deposit would have to be transferred to something else in store. &*$%£"!!!!!! Certainly won't buy before I try after today's experience. Predictably disappointed [/quote] They are a bit tight in my experience. Buy it online from them and use the 7 day returns policy. If its faulty you pay nothing, if it's fine but not for you, you pay their pickup fee (£15 I think). This is why I don't bother spending money going all over the country anymore. More power buying online It is a mess about though I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immo Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I bought my Fender Precision totally spontaneous and despite the fact everybody [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/139009-gaffer-tape-madness/"]HERE[/url] were sceptic. She had some faults and definitely wasn't the top-notch bass, but I'm really happy I bought her and modded her to my preferences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 You are spending between £1000 and 2000 on a lefty P bass? You thought of getting one custom made for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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