HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

E

eldoryder

New member
Hi all-

I just "won" an OLP MM2 bass on evilBay, and the seller claimed that it had a "BassLines" pickup in it. Now it did not specify "Seymour Duncan", but it did go on about the stellar sound it produced. To my knowledge, no other pickup manufacturer uses the name "BassLines" in their product line, so I am convinced that the seller was representing the fact that he had a Seymour Duncan Basslines pickup installed in this bass.

So far, I have played it. It sounds fine, for a passive pickup, and much like any other stock OLP MM series I have ever played. Upon examination, I can find NO identifying marks on this pickup, either on the front or the rear that indicate that it is in fact a Seymour Duncan Basslines MM pickup.

Does anyone have a picture of the REAR of an SMB-4a or 4d pickup? Does SD usually have some kind of printed ID on the backsides of these? I know it's possible to remove the white screened "Basslines" logo from the front, but without knowing what the backside is supposed to look like, I have no way to prove/disprove that this is a legitimate "Basslines" pickup.

Can anyone help?

TIA for any information

Mike in Texas
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

SD attaches a small sticker with the product name on the bottom of the pickup, ie SMB-4a.

BUT, that little sticker comes off a lot easier than the BASSLINES logo on the front of the pickup.
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

Thanks for the reply, unshokie. Alright, let's assume that the sticker fell off. Is there any OTHER way to identify it as a SD Basslines pickup? Any numbers stamped in?

How about the COLORS of the wires? This particular pickup has (2) Light Grey lead wires coming out of the pickup, and each lead wire contains (1) Black and (1) White wire. I was of the impression that the SD MM Basslines SMB-4a had a single Black lead wire, with a Red, Black, Green, White and bare wire exiting from the lead. That's what the wiring diagram posted on the support section here shows, anyway.

The ebay seller is now claiming that he swapped out the Basslines cover for the original, and that if I can't identify a Basslines pickup that it's my problem. I think that's totally bogus, as this pickup seems to be firmly sealed, with no ability to change the cover.

Any definite ID help would be greatly appreciated. I would have not paid what I did for this bass, except for the fact that the seller claimed that it had an SD Basslines MM pickup!
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

the color of the pup wires is wrong, id say he is lying to you about it being a basslines pup
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

eldoryder said:
The ebay seller is now claiming that he swapped out the Basslines cover for the original and that, if I can't identify a Basslines pickup, that it's my problem.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, this is a simple case of misdescribed goods.

Contact the seller. State plainly that the auction listing is an inaccurate description of the goods. Hint that you are thinking to report this.

A fundamentally decent person, with a sizeable eBay Feedback rating to protect, would probably attempt to reach an amicable settlement with you. A scumbag will continue to lie and blame you for "failing to spot a scam". (This, in and of itself, amounts to an admission by the vendor of dubious practice.)

If the seller does not co-operate within a reasonable period of time, open a claim.
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

SMB-4.JPG
There's only a sticker that can be removed on the bottom of a Duncan SMB-4, but there's a non removeable logo on the cover. The Duncan poles have a brushed steel look rather than a smoother look on a stock MM as well.MM front.JPG
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

eldoryder said:
The eBay seller is now claiming that he swapped out the Basslines cover for the original, and that if I can't identify a Basslines pickup that it's my problem. I think that's totally bogus, as this pickup seems to be firmly sealed, with no ability to change the cover.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you did all your communicating through eBay. I doubt you'd want to return the bass, since shipping it is a pain, but you should be able to get a ~$80 partial refund from the seller. If the seller doesn't agree to it voluntarily, you can propose that to eBay when you make a claim. And this is definitely claim worthy.
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

Thanks all-

The seller blew me off, told me not to contact him again, and dared me to take action....said he would get his lawyers involved! LOL! For a claim this insignificant? Right!

I offered to let him off the hook for a $50.00 (cost of used SD Basslines) rebate thru PayPal. He refused. I contacted eBay Resolutions Center with my original email to the seller, and an hour later, they told me I could return it for a complete refund. Yes, it will be a PITA to ship it back, but that's life.

Thanks again to all who responded!

Mike in Texas
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

I'd try again for the partial refund, if you like the bass, since the pickup was the only thing misrepresented. Ebay should be willing to help you with that.
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

Actually, there WAS another issue, but it had nothing to do with Seymour Duncan pickups, so I didn't originally mention it. He had claimed that this bass "had a flawless, beautiful finish, not even belt rash". Not mentioned was the fact that in order to insure that there would be no belt rash, he had taken multiple pieces of "peel 'n' stick" felt, and covered the ENTIRE BACK OF THE BASS with it!

In buying over 30 basses, I have NEVER seen someone do this to an instrument! The "White Falcon" by Gretsch has a "white vinyl pillow" snapped on the back so "good ole boys" belt buckles don't scratch, but that's the only bass I've ever heard of having anything like that!

This was never mentioned in the ad at all. Imagine my surprise! His comment to me was "I put it there to protect it, it's flawless underneath". Maybe so, but I wasn't willing to spend an hour or more, painstakingly using a safe plastic scraper and mineral spirits to remove that muck and find out if he lied about that, too.

Still, I would have settled for an adjustment, but now that eBay Resolution Center has ruled in my favor for a refund, there is NO place in any of the "Respond" section for me to alter the terms. All I can do now is type in the Tracking Number when I return it. Oh well.....thanks again for everyone's help.


Mike in Texas
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

eldoryder said:
Actually, there WAS another issue, but it had nothing to do with Seymour Duncan pickups, so I didn't originally mention it. He had claimed that this bass "had a flawless, beautiful finish, not even belt rash". Not mentioned was the fact that in order to insure that there would be no belt rash, he had taken multiple pieces of "peel 'n' stick" felt, and covered the ENTIRE BACK OF THE BASS with it!
Click to expand...

Sorry Mike, I can't stop laughing!
 
Re: HOW TO ID A BASSLINES MM PICKUP?

^
+1

The sticky felt was probably worth more than the OLP instrument wearing it.

I would not be surprised if the vendor had also sanded off the original headstock decal.
 
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