New G&L owner: advice requested

[famattjr]

Hi, I’d like some advice. I just got a new G&L Tribute ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow– Natural through American Musical Supply, chose them since it was a great price. Thing is, the fret edges are razor sharp. Not only is there a lot of sharpness at the fret edge where it meets the fretboard, but there are sharp burrs on most frets. Also some fret buzz on some frets. Funny thing is, there is an initialed inspection sticker seeming to indicate it was, after being made in Indonesia, inspected at Fullerton. I don’t know how they shipped it in this condition. If I held this guitar by the neck and it slipped down an inch, it would slash my fingers. I wrote to G&L and they offered to ship it back, work on it and send it back, at their expense. Thing is, a full setup by a pro would probably not cost that much as opposed to the hassle of packing it back into all the boxes and shipping it back. Do you guys think I’d get a better result just paying for a setup locally as opposed to having G&L work on it? Both they and AMS offered to take it back but I want to keep it. I know I can file the fret edges myself but I’d rather not risk scratching up a new guitar. One option I’m considering is having a local luthier look at it to see if there are any major problems & if it can be fixed reasonably just pay for it, if he says there are some major problems then I can return it. Thanks in advance. Frank

[bigjim711]

Since it is new I would send it back to G&L and let them set it up and straighten things out. That said I bought a used JB-2 that needed fret leveling and did it myself. If it was new I likely would have sent it back to G&L. I have bought a few new Tribute series guitars from them but they were factory seconds and had no issues that I felt I couldn't straighten out myself. All of my dealings with them have been pleasant.

[suave eddie]

Hi, I’d like some advice. I just got a new G&L Tribute ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow– Natural through American Musical Supply, chose them since it was a great price. Thing is, the fret edges are razor sharp. Not only is there a lot of sharpness at the fret edge where it meets the fretboard, but there are sharp burrs on most frets. Also some fret buzz on some frets. Funny thing is, there is an initialed inspection sticker seeming to indicate it was, after being made in Indonesia, inspected at Fullerton. I don’t know how they shipped it in this condition. If I held this guitar by the neck and it slipped down an inch, it would slash my fingers. I wrote to G&L and they offered to ship it back, work on it and send it back, at their expense. Thing is, a full setup by a pro would probably not cost that much as opposed to the hassle of packing it back into all the boxes and shipping it back. Do you guys think I’d get a better result just paying for a setup locally as opposed to having G&L work on it? Both they and AMS offered to take it back but I want to keep it. I know I can file the fret edges myself but I’d rather not risk scratching up a new guitar. One option I’m considering is having a local luthier look at it to see if there are any major problems & if it can be fixed reasonably just pay for it, if he says there are some major problems then I can return it. Thanks in advance. Frank

If G&L is covering the shipping I'd let the factory have a chance at fixing it. I'd bet it will come back in excellent shape.

[Mystic38]

Well,

I had the same thing on a Gretsch G5569 and frankly went through the same angst that you did.

in the end it was far easier to get a fret file, dress, level and setup with new strings for $120 locally in 4 days than to pay to ship the guitar back for some indeterminate amount of time..

cheers