Ordering a new bass in the UK.

[dlloyd]

If I was to order a bass from EBMM and wait several months for delivery, presumably I would get a newly manufactured bass, right? And not some warehoused old stock or an instrument that had been returned by a previous owner and repaired/modified to fulfil the order?

There is a thread on basschat.co.uk relating to an incident in which a guy who has several EBMM basses ordered a new bass through the UK distributor, waited several months (as I understand is standard for a bespoke order) to receive a bass that had been completed in 2010, and which apparently had a number of QC problems possibly relating to the retrofitting of a neck from another bass (to turn a non-matching headstock HH bass into a matching headstock bass).

This doesn't sound like typical EBMM practice to me. Is it possible the distributor or retailer was trying to pull a fast one?

 

[jelwood]

I am new here but I recently watched the EBMM factory tour on youtube, according to Mr. Ball all basses are made to order, or that's what I understand. You can always check the DOB for a new stingray with Aziah by posting in the right sticky thread. The pros will chime in soon.

 

[drTStingray]

All of the three I have ordered new in UK were delivered within 2 - 3 months of manufacture - one of these came direct from distributor's stock in two days, so I didn't have to wait long! The other two took longer. They seem to be shipped from USA in bulk generally at regular intervals so your bass may sometimes have to wait for the shipment.

I have heard of dealers swapping necks to match a customers requirements but I doubt this is a regular occurrence. Much more likely that some stock ordered by dealers or distributors for stock/display could hang around on the shop floor or in warehouses for a long time before sale as new - in the case you mention, possibly someone has placed an order which has matched the item in dealer or distributor stock which has been there for a while.

Looking at the other point realistically, I would have thought that odd basses returned for quality reasons (and this will be seldom as EBMM's quality is amongst the very best) will re-appear in the distribution chain after correction - and why shouldn't they? It's worth bearing in mind some people do reject basses delivered for the most minor of perceived quality or other completely different reasons from time to time (many of us will remember a fairly inoccuous standard blue bass which created a major stir a while ago in this respect!!).

 

[dlloyd]

I have heard of dealers swapping necks to match a customers requirements but I doubt this is a regular occurrence. Much more likely that some stock ordered by dealers or distributors for stock/display could hang around on the shop floor or in warehouses for a long time before sale as new - in the case you mention, possibly someone has placed an order which has matched the item in dealer or distributor stock which has been there for a while.

In this case the bass delivered apparently had a large neck-pocket gap and the bass did not match the description on the box (was matched headstock as ordered, description said otherwise).

 

[drTStingray]

Sounds very iffy to me. A dealer once offered to swap the necks for me on a couple of new SR5s so that he could match my order from basses he had in stock - needless to say I didn't take him up on the offer but I guess it proves there are dealers who may be willing to do this.

I'm sure the UK distributor would sort the issue out though if the purchaser hasn't agreed to the process and there's an issue with what's been supplied.

 

[bovinehost]

If I was to order a bass from EBMM and wait several months for delivery, presumably I would get a newly manufactured bass, right? And not some warehoused old stock or an instrument that had been returned by a previous owner and repaired/modified to fulfil the order?

Basses are built when the dealer/customer orders them.

There is a thread on basschat.co.uk

I would not depend on anything being said on the internet to be entirely accurate.

 

[Jimmyb]

Not wanting to be a dissenting voice, but the serial number for the bass gives a DOB that was before the bass in question was actually ordered.

The guy with the issue (not me or the OP) has many times pointed out that he doesn't believe the issue to be caused by EBMM, but is getting a little frustrated by issues further down the distribution chain.

 

[Movielife]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news chaps. I didnt want this to reach EBMM as I didnt think it was there fault.

Neck swap on new neck old body seems to have occured, although I never authorised it.

Ordered in UK in late Feb/early March 2011, paid in FULL.

Received in early October, and had a large neck gap. Serial states non MHS, except this has the ordered MHS. In addition, the box says nothing about MHS, and has the same serial as the bass. Aziah checked the serial for me.

EBMM Customer Service are aware, as I imagine they are very annoyed that a neck swap has occured. The neck wasnt right for the pocket, and there was sawdust/paint scraps near the neck pocket.

S&T in the UK are onto it. I have had a refund issued and I am now going to order through a different store when the money gets to me, and S&T are going to monitor everything to make sure nothing weird happens.

Again, please dont take any comments as negative against EBMM. I have 4 so far, and I have owned 6 altogether. I am in the process now of spec'ing two new orders and going with another larger store.

Im not even sure S&T were aware of the neck swap, if im honest.

So, all in all, something happened. Bass complete by serial in mid 2010. Ordered in March 2011, didnt get it til October 2011. Not the usual EBMM way.

Sorry if this causes hassle btw, I am here waiting for my refund so I can do more business with S&T/EBMM!

 

[dlloyd]

Where do you think the neck swap took place? With the dealer/retailer?

 

[Movielife]

Not sure...it was a bit of a shock. I'm hoping it doesn't happen again. I can understand EBMM put bodies and necks together, but they do it properly, and the neck fits the body correctly. Weird.

 

[bovinehost]

If the home office is aware of the dust-up surrounding this and are looking into it, then there probably isn't much good to be had from speculating about it from various corners of the earth. (Yes, I broke down and read the thread on the uk site.)

I have no opinions regarding whether or not a neck-swap occurred. If it did or it didn't, this needs to be sorted out between the involved parties, not here where no one, least of all me, has any clue about such things.

Gareth (movielife) is a valued member of the EBMM forum and I don't want to see this - I WON'T let this - turn into yet another slagfest of epic proportions. Detectives are on the case? It's being sorted? There you go.

BTW, I want to be clear on a couple of other things before I close this and let it be dealt with via the proper channels.

Other Forums: Sometimes I poke a little fun at Talkbass, but it really is in fun. Two of their long-standing moderators and one well-known Admin and I are very good friends. Open forums are quite useful and I take part in them (occasionally), too. My point above was that they're full of opinions (fine if you recognize them for what they are) and sometimes the "factual" information is quite wrong. That's the internet! But if your question is about aftermarket parts or Squiers or whatever, they can be very useful.

This Forum: People - some people, I should say - still don't seem to get that this is the official manufacturer's forum. I've explained this quite a few times over the years, but okay, here we go again: This is for MusicMan/Ernie Ball products. If you keep in mind what they manufacture, you'll have a pretty good idea what we don't discuss here. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me, but then I graduated in Mississippi, one of the world's best educational systems. cough cough

Serial Fanatics: Let me explain the term. This is someone who each year or so finds THE BEST INSTRUMENT(S) and THE BEST COMPANY in the known universe. These tend to be extremely high-maintenance people. (Trust me.) Then something happens to their relationship with people they don't know in the first place and - BOOM! - not only are they off to the next whiz-bang builder, they also sell off anything related to last year's BEST BASS ON EARTH and slag company/mods/owners/players of that BEST BASS all over the internet. Personally, I don't much give a sh*t one way or the other about such people unless I have to deal with them here, but I would say "Be careful who you listen to" and you probably know who I mean anyway.

I suppose by closing this, I'm giving ammunition to those who want to see me as The Evil Bovine Overlord or some power-mad company sycophant or whatever. I'm okay with any of that, really, although it is pretty far from the truth. As I said above, it's mostly to keep the TURMOIL away from people (like ME) who have no idea how to sort this out; customer service is aware of the situation and I'm confident it will be sorted.

I'll point this out to CS too just to be sure we're all warm and comfy with how it's going.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

Jack

 

[Big Poppa]

The person in question who is still slagging us email Craig Young and begged forgivness...Wanted to come back...the problem is the poison spread was so vile and personal that only a fool lets it happen twice. So the venom continues to flow. I would also be wary of someones opinion who actually got banned from a guitar forum...you have to be a real dick to get banned. trust me.

Im just trying to make basses and not pay bandwidth for people who want this to be theirs....they can start their own...I started one in the BBQ arena because I didnt see eye to eye with the mods....no hassles...I just started my own and it is doing very well.
EVerybody has the right to own a forum and operate it as they see fit.

WE didnt neck swap...Im not sure if S and T did but if they did they have great qc....The time line bothers me and that makes it all worse.

i am sorry that you had a bad experience movielife....Ill make sure also that I get to the bottom of it.