PSA - SUB 5 H for sale at GC Brea (CA)

[Ken Baker]

We were there tonight. Dark grey / Black 1H 5'er. Silver skidplate guard. Rosewood board. Active 2 band. Neck appears to be in good shape. Nice balance, plays well.

Condition 8.5 or so due to a few dings here and there. Filthy, as are a lot of the basses in that store. I washed my hands after playing it.

Listed at $549. Could probably talk some dollars off. If I'd been in the market I'd have ground on them a bit to see how low I could get them down to.

Ken...

 

[DTG]

can you put it in the wanted thread then

 

[silverburst]

Wow. Could you actually find somebody there to help you out? I have been pretty underwhelmed by the staff at that particular store.

 

[Ken Baker]

Wow. Could you actually find somebody there to help you out? I have been pretty underwhelmed by the staff at that particular store.

I was surprised when an employee looked in on me and asked if there was anything I needed. He said he was the bass guy. This SUB was in the "Vintage Room", which is probably closely watched. There was only one used basses on the regular sales floor - the rest were behind the glass door.

Of the three GCs I go to, Cerritos, Fountain Valley, and Brea, Brea is by far the weak link. The sales staff is weak and the basses are not well cared for. There was one used bass there that appeared to have been fresh from a preschool, it was so filthy.

Ken...

 

[silverburst]

And they still want full price for their battle-worn 30th and Bongos, too.

 

[Randracula]

And they still want full price for their battle-worn 30th and Bongos, too.

Just like the Rancho Cucamonga GC.

 

[phat5]

I was surprised when an employee looked in on me and asked if there was anything I needed. He said he was the bass guy. This SUB was in the "Vintage Room", which is probably closely watched. There was only one used basses on the regular sales floor - the rest were behind the glass door.

Of the three GCs I go to, Cerritos, Fountain Valley, and Brea, Brea is by far the weak link. The sales staff is weak and the basses are not well cared for. There was one used bass there that appeared to have been fresh from a preschool, it was so filthy.

Ken...

The Brea store used to be a very CLEAN store, with a great sales staff. I used to go there, when I lived in LaHabra; but that was 9 years ago. Chock full of Ampeg and GK gear. They even had a good assortment of bass preamps.

 

[Ken Baker]

I didn't post my findings to start a "Bash GC" thread, and I honestly regret having mentioned the things that I found. My overall experience with GC is actually pretty good. Some stellar, some less than stellar - that's the way things work.

OTOH, of the three stores that I frequent this is the only one that is problematic. I am confident that it is not a good representation of all the Guitar Centers in the US. Humans run these things and humans can vary a lot in how they do things, and this is just another manifestation of that.

I could remedy my personal issue with this by just staying out of there, but sometimes benefit outweighs risk. You never know - there might be a gem hidden in there sometime.

Ken...

 

[Randracula]

I didn't post my findings to start a "Bash GC" thread, and I honestly regret having mentioned the things that I found. My overall experience with GC is actually pretty good. Some stellar, some less than stellar - that's the way things work.

OTOH, of the three stores that I frequent this is the only one that is problematic. I am confident that it is not a good representation of all the Guitar Centers in the US. Humans run these things and humans can vary a lot in how they do things, and this is just another manifestation of that.

I could remedy my personal issue with this by just staying out of there, but sometimes benefit outweighs risk. You never know - there might be a gem hidden in there sometime.

Ken...

I wasn't trying to bash Guitar Center.I was simply stating the fact that they rarely discount their EBMM basses at my local GC.I've had more than enough good experiences there to cancel out anything negative about that particular store . In fact I just got a great deal on an amp on Presidents Day.I know you were just trying to help one of us get a good deal and it's much appreciated.

 

[silverburst]

What Randy said. Most of the GCs I go to are nice, and I buy a ton of gear there. The Brea one -- meh.

 

[bradfordws]

Sub 5

I bought a SUB 5 on ebay for $500 recently; immediately took it apart; had a local guitar shop cut in the forearm cut and gut cut - looks nice; it's currently on it's way to a paint shop for a silver sparkle paint job; black pickguard is on it's way; this should be a real nice bass; I'll post pix when it's done. I play in a disco band, so this will be great - very sparkley, yeahhhh....

 

[paranoid70]

I bought a SUB 5 on ebay for $500 recently; immediately took it apart; had a local guitar shop cut in the forearm cut and gut cut - looks nice; it's currently on it's way to a paint shop for a silver sparkle paint job; black pickguard is on it's way; this should be a real nice bass; I'll post pix when it's done. I play in a disco band, so this will be great - very sparkley, yeahhhh....

Dude, I really want to see those pics! I am thinking about doing it to my SUB as well!

 

[Rano Bass]

We're gonna need pics of the entire process please.

 

[Ken Baker]

Too late!!!

I went back yesterday on a hunch and it was still there. I figured some knuck would have bought it outright or had it transferred to their local GC, but no. Mine.

It cleaned up sooooooo good.

Ken...

 

[RobertB]

Well?

 

[carpedebass]

No pics....ya' know....

 

[Ken Baker]

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know. Pics.

Here are some quick ones:

Howzat. I would have taken some "before" pictures, but you might have retched all over your keyboards.

Ken...

 

[Ken Baker]

Well?

Please allow me to copy & paste from BABP (with a couple edits):

Picked it up Saturday morning at GC. It was the same one I had seen a week or so earlier and had mentioned to the knuckleheads. You might remember my comments about it being filthy. That's not really a strong enough word. I spent 3 hours doing a nearly full tear down and clean up. It appeared that the previous owner: (1) was a slob, (2) was a smoker, (3) had oily/greasy hands, (4) never cleaned the instrument, (5) never washed his hands, (6) was a slob. The neck was literally stuck in the pocket with grunge. It took three passes with 6-0 steel wool and orange oil (with some soak time) to get the fingerboard clean; the wipe-down paper towels came off of that thing brown. The body was almost as nasty. The pickup cover was so encrusted that I had to use soap & water with a Scotchbrite pad to clean it, followed up with steel wool for a consistent satin sheen. I had to scrape the pole pieces clean, then finished up with a little abrasive "pencil" I have. The pickup screws on the "B" side were so bad I had to clean the slots just to be able to remove them. The battery was even dirty! Did I mention that the previous owner was a slob?

The good thing is that electrically and mechanically, the bass is in good condition. There are some dings and whatnot on the neck & headstock, but the fingerboard (once cleaned) is flawless and the body is in excellent condition. There was no rust anywhere, possibly due to a thick coating of grunge. The tuning keys need to be polished, though they cleaned up nicely. New strings, battery, and a trussrod tweak cheered her up a lot.

What I initially though was a nice bass turned out to be a very nice bass. For me, it plays easier than any SR5 I've ever picked up. In fact, the playability rivals my Bongo 5. It's all in the neck. Of course, it sounds like a StingRay. I haven't decided yet whether it's a keeper or a flipper.

Ken...

 

[pepperman]

WOW!!! That cleaned up magnificently!

 

[ekb16b]

you sure did a great job in cleaning that bass up, it looks great