Yes, on balance I should have just sent the guitar back under warranty, and may still do that (though that could be problematic depending what adjustments have been undertaken). Having said that, I don’t think the vendor will want the level of negative publicity they may reap.
I have asked Gear4Music to advise whether the bass had already been returned to them previously, and if they carried out any pre-dispatch checks before sending it to me. Whatever the response, a lively discussion is on the cards. I’m not overly concerned for myself - though I am sad at still not starting lessons! - and I’m now also wondering whether I might have saved some other soul the misfortune of receiving this seemingly blighted example. Always positives.
I’ll report back when I have responses and have the guitar back from the luthier. Should be for the end of this week.
That stinks. I had a similar problem when I bought my first bass, a Yamaha BB434. I thought I was causing the problems with my playing, since I was an absolute beginner. Unfortunately, I missed the return window by the time I realized what was wrong with the instrument. Hope you can get this sorted out, playing air bass gets boring after awhile.
This really sucks, not a great way to start the journey! It’s not unheard of though, and nice to see you looking at it so positively!
When I first started out, I went through 2 ruby burst Sterling SUB Ray4’s before giving up on them, blaming a bad batch and settling on a Squier that served me well for the next 2 years.
The funny (read stupid) thing though is that I realised later that the 1st Ray4 wasn’t faulty when I found out the instrument cable was dodgy (which I could’ve sworn that I had tested!). So what then happened is I returned a working bass, bought a 2nd of the same model & colour from another store which of course… actually was faulty
If you buy used there is no sales tax. I buy stuff all the time off Reverb. Just do Local. That way you can actually play them before you buy. I use Craigslist also. I’m in Midlothian, TX.
