The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
So, I posted pics of my guitar in the "porn" section anticipating arrival but when it got here yesterday I noticed this:
There's an indent under the finish which is smooth like glass, about 1/8" deep and over an inch long on the horn. I, like anyone who does a custom order, waited a month and half for her. The dealer said my only option was to send it in for warranty work and wait for either a new body or they'll sand down then refin the current body. I don't really want to wait any longer and I'm a bit shocked that he said, contrary to their policy online, that he can't do returns on custom orders. He didn't even try to haggle the deposit (even though I think this goes past being super picky). So the combination of the big blemish and the "return policy" has jaded this fanboy pretty hard.
Others have told me to contact G&L directly and they'll be more understanding but the only info I find online and here so far is for non-related things (artist relations, non warranty work, factory inventory). I don't want to call the generic # and get promptly hung up on (and I have a brutally sore throat infection) so I figured I'd try and get some advice from you folks by making it a separate topic.
Any advice?
Is there an email where I can send these pics so someone can get the full picture rather than trying to describe it?
Last edited by deytookerjaabs on Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This appears to be a defect from the factory and should have never left there. I am surprised that no one from G&L has responded. My advice would be to work with the factory, request an RA and let them either replace or repair the body. They should also pick up shipping both ways in this case. It is a beautiful guitar and I would expect it to be perfect. It would seem like the dealer would be happy to resolve this but you never know. The forum here is a good place for issues like this. Best of luck!-- Darwin
Did you pick this up from the dealer, or was it sent directly to you? If you picked it up at the dealer, did you notice the defect then, or after you got home? If this is something I noticed upon pickup from the dealer, I would not have accepted delivery.
Regardless of when you discovered it, it is a factory defect and should be replaced.
Is your dealer willing to send it back for you? I realize it sucks to have to wait again, but I see no way around it. It has to be sent back and rectified.
When Craig sees this, maybe he can put you in touch with the factory directly and get it fast-tracked.
I contacted G&L directly and they will build me the same exact guitar and do a swap when ready! Unfortunately, when I ordered it they only had 7.5" and 12" radii but now they have a 9.5"..but it has to be with the exact specs so they can't offer me the new 9.5" Oh well. Excellent customer service nonetheless!
suave eddie wrote:Did you pick this up from the dealer, or was it sent directly to you? If you picked it up at the dealer, did you notice the defect then, or after you got home? If this is something I noticed upon pickup from the dealer, I would not have accepted delivery.
Regardless of when you discovered it, it is a factory defect and should be replaced.
Is your dealer willing to send it back for you? I realize it sucks to have to wait again, but I see no way around it. It has to be sent back and rectified.
When Craig sees this, maybe he can put you in touch with the factory directly and get it fast-tracked.
It was mailed to me from the dealer. So, "sight unseen" I suppose. Glad G&L took care of things on the back end!
Great news about them rebuilding your guitar. Too bad they wouldn't budge on the fretboard radius as it is an option that was not available when you placed the original order. I would think that as long as they are rebuilding the guitar the different neck would be easy and something cool to do for the inconvenience you've been through.
As the guitar was mailed to you from the dealer, you have to wonder if they inspected it first. Or did they merely forward the unopened box to you without even confirming what was inside? If they did inspect it, I wonder how drastic a defect would have to be for them to not accept delivery?
@deytookerjaabs
Very cool that they got back to you with a resolution. Also a plus that they will rebuild a new one, so you can play on this one in the mean time.
I can understand a policy on not wanting to budge on the different specs, as it might incentivize people to look for smaller defects in an effort to get a different spec'd guitar. But I concur, that given the situation, and the fact that it was an obvious defect, it would have been a nice gesture.
@suave eddie
I thought the same thing. I was under the impression dealers are meant to do a set up and inspection upon arrival.
suave eddie wrote:Great news about them rebuilding your guitar. Too bad they wouldn't budge on the fretboard radius as it is an option that was not available when you placed the original order. I would think that as long as they are rebuilding the guitar the different neck would be easy and something cool to do for the inconvenience you've been through.
As the guitar was mailed to you from the dealer, you have to wonder if they inspected it first. Or did they merely forward the unopened box to you without even confirming what was inside? If they did inspect it, I wonder how drastic a defect would have to be for them to not accept delivery?
Yep, they definitely took it out and inspected it, played her quite a bit too from what I could see.
I initially noticed it not with my eyes but my fingers. Once you feel it it's obvious and then you see it..then you can't stop seeing it!
I held out a long time for the 9.5" and it was about 20 days later it was offered much to my dismay! No big deal though, very happy I'm getting a replacement and they're not trying to sand this one down or swap bodies et cetera.
suave eddie wrote:The difference between 7.5 and 9.5 radius is so miniscule it would be hard to really notice.
It's really just the high E where I notice a good bit of difference in how I have to set up the different radii respectively for any bends larger than 1 step. Even at factory specs this one still chokes out after 1 step until I raised the high E even with the B, it's pretty high compared to "normal" action.
That said, my plan was to have the frets taken down to 10" or so with the local plek guy, but just should have waited 20 days!
suave eddie wrote:Did you pick this up from the dealer, or was it sent directly to you? If you picked it up at the dealer, did you notice the defect then, or after you got home? If this is something I noticed upon pickup from the dealer, I would not have accepted delivery.
Regardless of when you discovered it, it is a factory defect and should be replaced.
Is your dealer willing to send it back for you? I realize it sucks to have to wait again, but I see no way around it. It has to be sent back and rectified.
When Craig sees this, maybe he can put you in touch with the factory directly and get it fast-tracked.
deytookerjaabs wrote:I contacted G&L directly and they will build me the same exact guitar and do a swap when ready! Unfortunately, when I ordered it they only had 7.5" and 12" radii but now they have a 9.5"..but it has to be with the exact specs so they can't offer me the new 9.5" Oh well. Excellent customer service nonetheless!
I did contact Dave McLaren about this last night and again this morning. I had some pressing business to take care of and was away from the site most of the day and did not get a chance to post this before.
Always good to hear about positive results.
Craig wrote:
I did contact Dave McLaren about this last night and again this morning. I had some pressing business to take care of and was away from the site most of the day and did not get a chance to post this before.
Always good to hear about positive results.
Thanks..
The current one sounds/plays excellent too. I won't get too attached as long as number 2 is pretty darn similar! I hope it's not a wood issue as the Empress option made me go through with the custom order and it'd be nice to have that option if down the road I want to pick up a Legacy or Comanche.
And, tell Dave if "accidentally," in a freak yet unfortunate accident, someone sands the board to a 9.5" radius they won't hear a peep from me!
