Friday the 13TH, Lunch Report

Ok, this is a Hot Summer Lunch Report! I just grilled some corn & brats for lunch. Haven't had a brat in a while...

G&L Topic: Foreign customers: are there any things you'd like G&L to do to support you? Domestic: the same?

Off Topic: Old pics; got any? Here's one of mine:



I've posted it before, but like the way that guitar used to look. Here it is now:



Have a great weekend!


Cheers,

Will

Thanks for stepping up, Will.

Not sure why you've had no responses yet, so I'll bite.

I'm not going to post my old photos again now. Frankly, I'm exhausted and have to get up early for a critical (to my wife and kids) swim meet. It's the last one of the season before Divisionals, and as luck would have it, we're squaring off against the only other undefeated team in "our" division.

Regarding G&L customer support: It's a funny thing (but probably of some significance) that although I've owned quite a few G&Ls over the years, I've never needed to ask the Company for help of any kind. With one exception, all of my G&L instruments have been bought used, and have been in very nice playable condition when received. The new one (a Legacy which I no longer own) I purchased from a dealer online, and never had any issues.

So all good here. Wish more music stores (especially the smaller ones) could stock G&Ls, though. But I'm doing fine, personally in this regard. Thanks again, Will. - ed

Hey Will,

I just got back from a wonderful camping trip in my back yard, i.e. Mt Rainier National Park. Great weather, wonderful nature, and the bears didn't eat me. The mosquitoes did though ....

Cannot post early me pictures because I wouldn't know where to locate them. But I know there are some 'gems' among them. BTW, I am somewhat confounded by the transformation of your Ovation. Is it really a paint job or did you replace the top with an Adamas carbon fiber top?

Same story as ed here, haven't really dealt with G&L Customer support (yet) so no opinion. Reminds me I might want to get in touch with them for some replacement certificates.

- Jos

I've never had to deal with customer support, but one thing that I think they should do is have warranty service centers. You'd have the opportunity to have warranty work performed by a local, factory certified luthier. I really don't want to send my guitar back to the factory; it is expensive and risky to ship, and it means I'm going to be without my guitar for a minimum of three weeks. The G&L warranty is a good one, but if I have to send one back to the factory, it's not worth much to me.

Food for thought. Have a great weekend.

Bill

when i needed to deal with the repairs department, getting through on the phone or getting a callback was basically impossible. no callback for weeks, only one person to contact, emails never answered. i would call the sales department and try to get them to answer questions, at least they answered the phone. after climbing high enough, i would get a callback eventually, to tell me nothing has happened. wait 4 weeks, call back, same drill. it's like pulling teeth. in the end the job they did was phenomenal. the process was horrible. they have constant problems with the g&l store orderings as well.

G&L Topic: Foreign customers: are there any things you'd like G&L to do to support you? Domestic: the same?

ANSWER THE PHONE!!! I've been trying to get some miscellaneous parts to undo mods to several of my older instruments. Nothing exotic, just mounting screws, knobs, strap buttons and such. I managed to get through once, but due to things going on around me I couldn't read my credit card number over the phone (I was just calling to find out whether they sold those parts). Since then, I haven't been able to get through or to get a call back.

Ken

Yow, That is an Adamus body on an Elite Custom Concert. The top had split at the bridge and I sent to New Hartford for repair. They informed me that Ovation no longer made non-cut aways and a custom body had to be designed. They did and the mold is still on file at the shop. That top is made by Callaway. Yes, the golf club company...

I've heard about customer service issues and thought I'd bring it up. Overall, my experience with them has been good.


Cheers,

Will

G&L Topic: Foreign customers: are there any things you'd like G&L to do to support you? Domestic: the same?Will

That's a very timely question Will. I was in a G&L dealer yesterday, the only one I know of remaining in Melbourne. They had 6 G&L's on the wall and I was in the process of trying all six. The sales guy seemed surprised that I had heard of G&L. 'They're great guitars' he said. 'But these are the last ones we'll be getting'. It seems there has been a distributor change in Australia and dealer support has gone from poor to appalling, to the point where the store could not get warranty jobs fixed. Couple that with the fact that the G&L store does not work for international customers and it's not a good look for Australian customers. I too have received a wall of silence when trying to contact G&L by e-mail. Only when Craig passed on my request did I get a response.

Contrast this with a recent query to Lace Pickups regarding an under performing pickup in my Strat Plus which elicited a response from Jeff Lace himself (the very next day as well).

Contrast this with a recent query to Lace Pickups regarding an under performing pickup in my Strat Plus which elicited a response from Jeff Lace himself (the very next day as well).

I had a simmilar issue back in the '90s. I bought a Guild Ashbory Bass, and unfortunately the pickup was dead (that happens often with the Guild Ashborys). I contacted Fender (who had recently acquired Guild) about my Ashbory and they weren't of any help (keep in mind that it had been out of production for some years and were never made when Fender owned Guild). The rest of the story is here, but the summary is that Alun Ashworth-Jones, inventor of the pickup system, rebuilt my pickup!

Here's more on that:
Guild Ashbory pickup rebuild by Alun Ashworth-Jones



-Brock

Will, I am a late comer here. Interesting that you post a picture of your Ovation and then raise the question of customer service. I purchased a new Adams with loose bracing (had been damaged in the store) cheap, I mean for next to nothing. I sent it back to Ovation/Adamas for repair and the customer service was outstanding and the guitar was as new when it came back. It is a great guitar. Great customer service is the most important a company can do and lack of it will dog them forever.

It has been unbelievably hot in Minnesota. Give me a few days of winter!-- Darwin

When picked up my ASAT carved top Deluxe the volume pot was dropping off FAST and the knob itself was rubbing on the body. My dealer got on the phone with G&L, 5 min's later authorized the replacement of the pot, no muss no fuss.

I've gotten good phone and email response about replacement certificates, missing case candy and even technical questions answered about older discontinued instruments.

The most difficulty I had in communicating with G&L was some conflicting information and poor follow-up for the LEII amongst the dealer field reps. I emailed Darth after trying these outside channels and it has been a constant stream of good information and consistent communication since- the last email from the Dominican Republic. From where I sit, these guys are serious about tending to their customers.