Player or Inspector?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Biddlin
  • Start date Start date
So...this does prompt a question...

Under what circumstances would any of us decide to send a new guitar back?

I'll admit, I'm pretty forgiving and once I go through the effort of getting a guitar, I really don't want to expend the effort to go through a return.

For me to send a guitar back, the flaws would have to be structural issues. Maybe, on a brand-new guitar, I'd send it back if there were significant finish issues.
 
If I buy something new, I expect it to be right.
I expect to get undamaged correctly made items.
But the expectations should match the situation.

If I buy Harbor Freight tools and they are ok enough, its a win.
If I buy Snap On it better be exactly right for what it is supposed to be.

Depending on the details, I might bitch and settle for a B-stock discount type deal on small finish issues.
The only nut with a problem is the guitarist, not the guitar.
That dude desperately needs a reality check kick in the ass.

"Woe to me and my slightly imperfect $1000+ guitar, life is sooo tough and unfair"
Step aside before I Pete Townsend you with this $100 Rondo Tele!
 
HA! I just got an old 1981 Vantage guitar in a trade. It is a wonderful guitar but it has a few flaws. I was installing strap locks and broke off one of the screws. It needs some fret work and has a few other minor things wrong so I took it to my luthier. It is a really nice guitar to play so I decided it was worth spending some money on. The bridge has brass saddles and it has a brass nut. I don't know what this does to the tone but it looks cool so I'd like to keep it that way. Two of the adjuster screws were missing so I replaced them with some from an old Tonepros bridge I had sitting around. The threads were correct but the screws were too long so they stick way out behind the bridge. I showed them to the luthier and asked if he could replace them with the proper screws. He said sure but do they work as they are and do they bug you? I said, yes they work fine. I can set the intonation no problem so no they don't really bug me. He said he'd see if he had something that would work better but he's not going to spend a a lot of time on something that works.

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I'm definitely in the player department. In 2013, I bought a new 1961 Les Paul/SG Reissue from Sweetwater. When it arrived, I gave it a once over. Because I've been a machinist or in the machine tool trade since 1979, I have an eye for detail. The first things I noticed were two tiny biscuits in the back of the body. It has a beautiful one piece mahogany body, and is very light. "Why would there be two biscuits in the body", I thought. Then I looked at one of the mahogany body blanks sitting on the shelf next to me and noticed a worm hole. "Oh yeah, a worm hole! Why throw out a beautiful slab of mahogany over two tiny worm holes?", was the first ting that came to mind. The guitar sounded great, and is very comfortable to me. That would not have been a deal breaker. It's on the back of the body. Send it back, not a chance.

The action on the other hand... The neck was perfect, but Gibson does a lousy job with fret dressing after being plek'd. I know some people like the modern jumbo frets, but you could limbo under these. So, I knocked the frets down to about .040" tall, then properly crowned and dressed the frets so that it was more like my older Gibsons. Now, it's a great guitar.

Since I know you all like pics, Here's one.




At the same time when I bought this, I also bought a brand new Thunderbird bass. I managed to pull a fast one at GC when MF was having a Black Friday Gibson blow-out. I haven't bought a new guitar in 20+ years, and all of a sudden I have two. I noticed a tiny lacquer blister next to the fingerboard meets the body. Not an issue. It's a tough area to spray, wet sand, and polish. It'll look far worse in ten years. Again, I bought it to play. Not, hang in an exhibit. And surprisingly, the frets are much better on this than on the Les Paul Reissue.

 
Was that new or secondhand? If it was new, I would send it back. Those scratches/cracks on the body and pickguard are too serious. Add to that the off-centre pickup and I would call that unacceptable. I know they try to make it as difficult as possible to return faulty goods, but it is worth persevering.
 
DonP said:
Was that new or secondhand? If it was new, I would send it back. Those scratches/cracks on the body and pickguard are too serious. Add to that the off-centre pickup and I would call that unacceptable. I know they try to make it as difficult as possible to return faulty goods, but it is worth persevering.
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Thanks. The pickguard has a film over it. The pups will be swapped, but may suffer from the same issue. The scratches/cracks do not seems structural. The guitar was $169 full price. Would you still return it?
 
Most of my guitars were purchased in the used market and have loads of scratches and dings! They add character!;)
To be total honest, I tinker with my guitars as much as I play them. I definitely wouldn't call myself a "player" but definitely not an Inspector.
 
smitty_p said:
I can find little non-critical things on just about every guitar. But, I make a mental note of it and move on. I really would rather play the thing!
I actually kind of like finding unique little oddities like that. ...these things make me feel like my guitar is a little more unique.

Here's an example of some "flaws" that some players would straight up reject. This is the ebony fretboard on my Taylor. There are two flaws, here. One, the ebony is more brown than black, and there is a small, blonde streak in the wood. However, I very much like my "flawed" Taylor and see these peculiarities as something that makes this guitar special to me.
Click to expand...

I agree... and I am a player, not an inspector. The strat owner over on ST has some serious OCD issues. Pity the fool that tried to
be his girlfriend. He's probably like that with her too. Probably left a trail of broken hearts down his life path, with each unfortunate lady
feeling like she just didn't measure up. I know guys like that. Ya want to reason with him using a 2x4.

Smitty, and everybody: listen to Bob Taylor talking about ebony. This vid was an eye opener for me, and all guitar owners should
listen and appreciate what they have, rather than what will never be.


and here's the "striped ebony" fretboard of my Martin XC1T:
11-19-13 neck@100.jpg
Here's the 'Striped Ebony" bridge:
Bridge@100.jpg
I love this guitar... it sounds and feels great. I bought it used for about $600, and immediately started inspecting
it, trying to figure out why the previous owner had sold it, so I could put that right. What I found was that the goose-neck
extension on the internal microphone was too long, and the mic would occasionally touch the back of the guitar,
making an odd vibration. I pointed that out to my luthier, and asked him if he knew of a sweet spot for the
mic to be, and he did. He mounted the gooseneck into that sweet spot, and off I went into the sunset.

No further problems. *grins And this is how I feel when I play this flawed guitar:
Big Air 06-08-13_5x@100.jpg
 
And let's face it... guitar fora attract guys with OCD issues, don't they. I admit to being mildly OCD about
some things, lucky me that I don't suffer more deeply from it. So most of the guitar owners just play their
new Strats, and would never know there were some tiny flaws on the edges of somewhere. The Strat that
Biddlin posted looks lovely to me.

I seem to be able to enjoy my life, and enjoy the company of my lady and enjoy the excellent guitars I'm
blessed with... and without finding fault. If one of my instruments has a problem, my impulse is to solve
it... make it right. When I buy a guitar, that's my intention. I don't expect a guitar to be perfect, because
I have my own ideas about how to make it so, and I am usually eager to get about it. That's my OCD I
guess. Oh and I'm actually not a chump. *grins

I've ordered three guitars on the internet, including the Martin above. Normally I advise others against this
practice, saying "play it before you buy it." (AND inspect it before you buy it).
But I regard myself as a knowledgable seeker, and have bought
the three instruments because I saw a deal I considered irresistible. To me, if I see a deal I have to pounce
on, I figure that any "corrections" are my responsibility, because I want that instrument, and I'll take care
of it once I have it in my hot little hands.
 
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