I ordered my bass from Guitar Center on October 30 and it arrived in the mail this past Wednesday. Although there's a GC close by in Fort Collins, I got it online because they didn't have a blue J Bass pack in stock, just black, and despite the fact that Geddy Lee's signature bass is black I wanted a blue one.
The bass in the picture is not that bass.
On Saturday, I decided to open up the package just to make sure everything worked. Even though this is a Christmas present, I wanted to check it out now just in case anything was broken so I could return it if need be. I'm so glad I made that decision.
After unpacking the contents, I checked out the bass first. I tuned it up and played it a little and I was impressed. It had no blemishes and everything was bolted together quite well. Then I took out the amp, plugged it in, and turned it on.
Nothing.
So I tried a different outlet.
Nothing.
Then I got another power cord (it takes the same kind of power cord as a desktop computer) and plugged it in.
Nothing.
Crap.
I called Guitar Center's customer service line and told them of the problem. Since it was well within the 30-day return window I could easily return it. I asked the representative if I could bring it down to the Fort Collins store and just swap out the amp because I was satisfied with the bass, and he said it should be no problem. I thanked him, hung up and called the store. They told me that they couldn't swap out the amp because it was considered part of a package but I could return or exchange the whole thing.
Double crap.
For the record, my wife never liked Guitar Center because she always thought the salesmen were rude. I had mixed feelings about them - some were nice, some weren't. We've been to Spotlight Music, an independent music store in Fort Collins, a few times and liked the people there. I called Spotlight and lo and behold they had a blue J Bass pack in stock. Our plan took shape - we would go to Guitar Center, return the bass pack I ordered online, then go to Spotlight and pick up the new bass pack.
We got to Guitar Center and lugged the bass pack inside. I have to admit, the salesman I dealt with wasn't entirely nice to us. When I informed him that I wanted to return it, he said in a not-so-friendly voice, "You know we have these in stock, right?" I told him that yes, I knew that you did, but you don't have any in blue. He then proceeded to take his dear sweet time getting us our refund, but in the end we got our receipt and headed to Spotlight.
When we got to Spotlight, I told one of the sales reps that I had called earlier and that they had put aside a bass pack for me. He yelled over to another rep who was at the tech station and he started getting the bass ready while I paid.
This is when the surprise happened.
The second rep actually took the bass out of the package and set it up for me. He adjusted the truss rod and tuned it up. He also let me take out the amp and make sure that it worked. The whole time he was friendly and talkative and I felt like they really appreciated my business. I never felt that way at Guitar Center. I don't remember them ever setting up any of the guitars I bought there, and I bought three of my five electrics there. Usually when I walk out of Guitar Center I feel moderately annoyed, even when I walk out with new gear. I didn't feel that way at Spotlight - in fact, it was the best guitar store experience I've had since I used to go to C & C Music back in my home town. I officially have a new guitar shop. Spotlight has earned my business and I'll always go there first for anything I need.
The new bass is every bit as good as the one I got online, and the amp works just fine. But it's back in the closet, waiting for December 25 to be taken out again. I want to play it so bad it hurts.
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