Bass Direct

[franzbassist]

On 10/01/2026 at 07:58, BassAdder60 said:

As a comparison I ordered my XVIVE A58 from Andertons and paid next day delivery DPD based on I would be home to receive it. Order placed early enough but they didn’t ship and after calling them they said they were very busy and not all next day shipments were processed. Not a major thing as they are normally slick. As mentioned ordered on Bass Direct Friday, it was shipped Friday to arrive Monday which is fantastic. Yep they get my vote 👍

I had the same with two orders at Andertons I've placed since the new year. A brief apologetic email, but no offer of a refund due to the inconvenience caused.

[DTB]

1 minute ago, franzbassist said:

I had the same with two orders at Andertons I've placed since the new year. A brief apologetic email, but no offer of a refund due to the inconvenience caused.

Actually my V10 fretless came from Andertons. It was very well packaged, but was totally devoid of set up, was 2 years old (if i decoded the serial no correctly) and had a dud E string I contacted them via email several times listing everything that was wrong and even said you could have offered a set of strings (which I would have turned down as I doubt they would have stumped up a set of Cobalt Flats) by way of apology and they didn’t even bother replying to the last email. I told them i am a serial guitar/bass buyer and that this was my first and last purchase from them. 

[Linus27]

I'm local to Andertons and do use them on a regular basis and some of the service I've received has been a bit hit or miss, probably 60% good to 40% bad. The last time I was in there was to collect something I had ordered online. Went to the desk to collect and the young guy said I'll go and get your order, I just need to find someone to man the front desk as it can't be left unattended. I thought ok, fair enough, I understand. Lots of employees walked past and he asked if they could help and cover the desk as he needed to grab a customers order but they all said they were too busy. I thought fair enough, they are busy. So I'm waiting there for about 15 minutes and the guy kept apologizing but I said its ok, you're busy. Then an older guy, in his 60's, walks into the shop and stands next to me, blonde spikey hair, shades on despite it chucking it down with rain, for then out of the blue, three of the busy employees suddenly appear behind the front counter and gushing over this customers, just chatting to him about what guitar he has in his case, and would he like a new lead and basically all bending over backwards so serve him which was just mostly chatting about nothing. All the while, this poor young chap having to keep apologizing to me for making me wait and looking more uncomfortable and embarrassed. Other times have been fine and some occasions, depending on who you get, the customer service has been excellent, but then again, on other occasions, depending on who serves you, the customer service has been rude, nonchalant or disinterested, it really is hit or miss.  

[Steve Browning]

Moral of the story? Always wear sunglasses when you go to a music shop.

[Lozz196]

Of course, the staff will think you’re likely to bump into something so will instantly give you their attention. 

[DTB]

They probably make more money off their utube channel than from sales now anyhow, so they don’t care. 

[Sparky Mark]

Sounds like Andertons may be employing the assistants too disinterested and rude to work in Denmark Street. (That used to be a pretty high bar). 

[franzbassist]

To be fair to Andertons they’ve always been great in the past 10 years or so when I’ve dealt with them, so maybe they have hit a backlog over the festive season.

Edited Monday at 18:05 by franzbassist

[BassAdder60]

Just now, franzbassist said:

To be fair to Andertons they’ve always been great in the past 10 years or so when I’ve dealt with them, so maybe they have hit a backlog over the festive season.

That was the reason they gave and it’s to be expected, they generally offer superb service but not necessarily the best prices I’m discovering 

[Muzz]

A thumbs-up from here for BD: ordered some bits late on a Weds, they were here on the Friday morning. All good.

[Bass Direct]

Just now, Muzz said:

A thumbs-up from here for BD: ordered some bits late on a Weds, they were here on the Friday morning. All good.

Thankssss!

[franzbassist]

I’ve always had good service from the guys at Bass Direct.  I’m sure, like every retailer, they’ve had their moments where things haven’t gone to plan (much like the Andertons delivery issues mentioned earlier on this page) but overall I think they’re a solid bunch.

Edited 10 hours ago by franzbassist

[uk_lefty]

On 12/01/2026 at 16:53, Sparky Mark said:

Sounds like Andertons may be employing the assistants too disinterested and rude to work in Denmark Street. (That used to be a pretty high bar). 

I think the splash of grey in my beard gets me slightly less disrespectful treatment on Denmark Street than I had twenty years ago.... Go in, get ignored, ask a question, get treated like rubbish, some bloke walks in to buy cheap strings and says he produces for random persons 1, 2, 3 and the staff may as well have wafted him with palm leaves and fed him grapes while carrying him around in a sedan chair.

Edited 3 hours ago by uk_lefty
Typo

[Swaff]

Another big thank you to Bass Direct from me too. Been going periodically since they opened, most recently to collect my Cort Space 5 which was set up absolutely perfectly. Haven't put it down since! Mark and his team have always been helpful and knowledgeable, makes it worth the 4 hour round trip!

[Bass Direct]

1 hour ago, franzbassist said:

I’ve always had good service from the guys at Bass Direct.  I’m sure, like every retailer, they’ve had their moments where things haven’t gone to plan (much like the Andertons delivery issues mentioned earlier on this page) but overall I think they’re a solid bunch.

Thank you so much, we always look to improve wherever we can, but we are only human like you say

[Bass Direct]

14 minutes ago, Swaff said:

Another big thank you to Bass Direct from me too. Been going periodically since they opened, most recently to collect my Cort Space 5 which was set up absolutely perfectly. Haven't put it down since! Mark and his team have always been helpful and knowledgeable, makes it worth the 4 hour round trip!

Thank you so much, we really appreciate the feedback

[LawrenceH]

@Bass Direct I've recently been looking for some lighter tuners to replace the heavy CBS era Fender ones seen on 70s basses and various reissues. I'm not the only person looking for them but looking at alternatives, none of them match the backs but also things like resolites and hipshots have a different shape, smaller clover leaf.

 

Do you know of any? If not do you have the opportunity to feedback to manufacturers/distributors? The existing tuners are among the heaviest available, that plus the chunky neck profiles on a lot of these basses make them particularly prone to dive. It would be great to have an aftermarket solution that kept the look.

 

Anyway thanks for reading!

[Bass Direct]

4 hours ago, LawrenceH said:

@Bass Direct I've recently been looking for some lighter tuners to replace the heavy CBS era Fender ones seen on 70s basses and various reissues. I'm not the only person looking for them but looking at alternatives, none of them match the backs but also things like resolites and hipshots have a different shape, smaller clover leaf.

 

Do you know of any? If not do you have the opportunity to feedback to manufacturers/distributors? The existing tuners are among the heaviest available, that plus the chunky neck profiles on a lot of these basses make them particularly prone to dive. It would be great to have an aftermarket solution that kept the look.

 

Anyway thanks for reading!

Drop us an email and we will be happy to help [email protected]

 

[petecarlton]

8 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

I think the splash of grey in my beard gets me slightly less disrespectful treatment on Denmark Street than I had twenty years ago.... Go in, get ignored, ask a question, get treated like rubbish, some bloke walks in to buy cheap strings and says he produces for random persons 1, 2, 3 and the staff may as well have wafted him with palm leaves and fed him grapes while carrying him around in a sedan chair.

Well, if you insist on going in at the same time as Trevor Horn, what do you expect?!