Sweet water yes, GC no. Others not sure. They have a “55-point inspection”. It’s not a setup. It’s supposed to be a “it works fine” thing. It’s marketing BS. BUT In this case it’s clearly not enough to catch issues.
When I bought the Italia from Truetone, they told me they went ahead and did a full setup on it. How they missed that the E string was super low vs the others due to a piezo issue during a full setup shows you they are not looking for errors. Only a “holy crap here’s a big problem”. I suspect sweetwater is similar. 80/20 rule.
You get what you pay for, and a “free 55-point inspection” is worth, well…… $0.00
@Wombat-metal if I don’t get “my guy” when I call I stay in til I get some other human. I’ve found they do like to “solve things” without calling and talking to you first sometimes.
They list on the website 55 things they test, which has a hardware check category. Under hardware check they list potentiometers.
They also have a playability test, which is what I was doing. I unpacked it, gave it a good looking at, and it was gorgeous, tuned it, then plugged it in and just turned all the knobs and switches to make sure they worked, which they didn’t. Took all of 30 seconds.
And channeling the thread on the Fender Mustang issue, I told them I spend 700-800 on a bass I expect it to work.
Disappointing.
I would wager they did a more thorough check on the replacement.
But new bass incoming, people say it’s great, looking forward to proving them right.
An additional fallout from this imbroglio is I cancelled the Squier H I had on order from them as a project bass. I looked and found one in stock at GC in Lake Placid Blue and that’s on the way as well. But that will be updated under Project Basses
I was eyeing that very same model on the Dutch EBay equivalent, but someone beat me to it. You’re not from The Netherlands are you…? Anyway, congrats! It looks stunning.
What’s this, has it been raining V7’s somewhere? Congratulations to you too!
Their 55-point inspection on my sold-to-me-as-NEW bass (also an Ibanez) failed to catch that the previous owner had left his info (address, email, phone number, last four digits of his Sweetwater card ) inside the case and that an “included” piece was missing.
Their quality control is slipping, but as I prefer SW to GC I hope these lapses will be corrected in time.
As for MusiciansFriend, aren’t they part of the Guitar Center conglomo now?
I started out online ordering like many with my first bass but I’ve come around to the @Gio approach. When buying new, nothing substitutes for trying out your basses by hand in the shop yourself.
I tried several BB734A’s before picking the one I bought. It wasn’t the lowest priced one, either - it looked and felt the best out of all of them. Little subtle things, even though it’s a production bass.
Due to availability I may order online someday again (for example, really hard to find Gretsch even close to reasonably priced in shops here.) And for used, the online market is too huge to ignore. But if I am dropping big money on a new instrument, it’s worth the slight premium to me to buy in person when possible.
I posted some thoughts about this when I bought the BB a few months back:
I did similar in-store selection with my Warwicks. Though they were maybe more price-driven (one of them I got new as a floor model at a steep discount and actually turned a profit selling used.)
I really don’t disagree with this, and my favorite bass, the blue jazz, I saw in a store and played. But there aren’t any stores close by, by which I mean within a 2 hour drive.
This is not always feasible these days unless willing to limit to what you can play. Even living so close to NYC, selection is tight. I take many chances. So far mostly good, not all. It’s part of the equation for me.
I know there are limited ways to acquire guitars and basses, even in the larger cities but it’s even worse in a small town area like where I am. I’m lucky to have Guitar Junkyard 15 minutes away, although Terry’s only open something like 5 hours a day 5 days a week. It’s become more of a hobby for him than a job. The next nearest is probably Peoria over an hour away, and 2 hours to Chicago.
You guys and your blue basses… Geeze. I suppose I should get one to break up the monotony of black/red/white. Doing some sound effects work… These were from my studio this morning and last night
Peavey Cirrus
At the GoodWill in Seattle, auction on E-bay.
Says it doesn’t work
Battery is not installed
Needs new strings.
Probably strings and a battery, and cleaning makes it play.
Upgrade some components, pick. Ups, and have one kick ass Peavy Cirrus, or sell one kick ass Peavy cirrus for what it is worth then, which will be more then the measly $402.50 cents it cost me when the clock ran down.
I really like thought it would go higher, and my bet was 50 cent higher then the last person to bet, because I kept creeping up til I beat him out.
There were over 9 hours left, but as luck would have it, I got it.
Excited.
Al (@Al1885) , I might want to collaborate with you on this one, I know you have taken a sudden interest in Peavey too, so this is a good place for us to start.
) inside the case and that an “included” piece was missing. 
