importing guitar....help

[juventude]

hey AOA everyone
i wanted some help regarding importing a bass guitar
i wanna buy a bass guitar ibanez gsr 200 but i live in karachi and its not available anywhere
if anyone knows any music shop who can import it for me tht would be great
thnx

 

[Rip Uzair]

V Sel in karachi is the ibanez dealer. They should have it. If not them, usually hi volts in Islamabad does import stuff on order but that makes it more expensive and in that price, you'd be able to get a higher model Ibanez from V Sel.

 

[juventude]

bro ibanez has the model sr 300 which is around 350 dollars and they are selling it for 44 thousand and they dont have any other of ibanez currentyl its surprising that they are a music shop but only have one model of ibanez bass they also have soem other brands but not yamaha which is i guess the only other sensible purchase in terms of value for price
the one im trying to buy is for 200 dollars retail so im expecting it to cost around 25 to 30 and this price is fine for me but the problem i cnt get it
i have an idea which i just thought of its tht v sel orders guitars from its suppliers so cnt it like order the model i tell them too.

 

[hmir]

My advice to you is to find a relative or a family friend, and have them buy it online fomr the comfort of their homes, and then bring it back with them when they visit Pakistan.

There is no duty on guitars. As far as I know. At least not for personal use. I brought 4 gyutars back with me from London, and no one at the Islamabad airport batted an eyelid.

Unless you're willing to pay 400 dollars for a 200 dollar guitar which you will have to in order to buy locally, and probably end up not getting the exact model you want, then what I have suggested is the best course of action. If you do go that route, make sure the guitar is in a hard shell case for the journey.

 

[juventude]

oh well tht is a good idea
and i have cousins in UAE
does anyone here have any ideas about music shops in dubai?

 

[Rip Uzair]

Try calling hi-volts in Islamabad and see what models they have and for what price. They have home delivery but after payment through a bank. Or If you or someone you know is coming from Islamabad, ask them to bring the model you want. And try calling v-sel if they'd take your order. Last time when I did(a couple of years ago) they didn't. Btw do note that there is a lot of difference between a GSR and an SR. One obviously about quality but they other being playability. GSR has smaller fret spacing and good for really small hands(downside being slapping etc is harder, lowest strings are relatively loose etc) and SR having larger fret spacing, good for normal/medium sized hands(and less of the downs mentioned for the former.). Similarly Yamahas have larger string spacing which give it a different playing feel. So which ever one you get, they all have very different feel to them and If you like any one of these, you are likely to not like the others.

The prices in UAE for everything are inherently expensive. So, check out the prices there and compare with the local prices. If the difference is not much, I'd suggest getting local because of convenience(and warranty; Although it is not really needed as long as you treat your instrument well.) In Dubai, there is this, "Fish Round about" in deira. There are a lot of music/audio shops there for almost every thing. Although there are a few shops with selected brands in the big malls of dubai but you can most of the stuff around fish round about.

 

[juventude]

oh bro thnx
but now uve gotten me doubting which to buy
i currently use a fender p bass copy which i got for around 8 thousand it as a ltitle used form a frnd but now i wanna go up
and yea i dont slap i mean the bass i have it sucks for slapping cuz its pick ups are shit
i wanted to go upto i guess intermediate but the probelm is my bidget is 30k 32 max and within tht price i aint getting any bass here
i treid the sr 300 but v sel has tht for 44 thousand and the yamaha rbx 374 is for 45 and i cant find any other bass anywhere v sel has some beginner basses for 25 k whcih is starter pack but those only have one pick up
now i dnt know wat to do
RIP UZAIR if u cn help me out itll be much appreciated i want a good bass within 30

 

[Rip Uzair]

Hmmm well, what I think is try calling hi-volts and then Pakistan electronics and ask what basses they have and for what price(type these into google and their facebook pages with phone numbers would be among the first results). Both are located in Islamabad. Fender/Yamaha/Ibanez are all great for bass. Its just that after you start using one and get used to it, you find playing anything different hard. But if they don't have anything reasonable at a reasonable price, try asking your cousins in dubai to go to fish roundabout and just make a small list of possible choices of basses of any brand that they may check out at some shops. I don't know any specific shop for bass but they are all there(they go to different shops at random). Fann al sout(or something is the ibanez dealer). Another called Sonia electronics mostly has studio equipment but I see they have dean guitars aswell. Dean's basses aren't among the best but they are usually fine for the price(unless they are especially expensive in dubai, they are cheap; but I'd prefer the previously mentioned companies).

 

[Moatasim333]

i would say hi volts in islamabad is your best bet. i got an acoustic guitar from them and got it delivered..
no damage, it was well packed.. overall i was very satisfied..
they have a big collection... sooo contact them..

 

[Jshak]

Importing will cost u around 45 percent of your total declared value. Make sure you add the proper value else they will calculate it on assumption and you will get nothing out of it.

 

[juventude]

Moatasim333
how much did u they charge u for delivering to ur house ?