Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Jonny on July 29, 2009, 07:36:01 PM
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..not the guitar that I gave them.
So it's been exactly two weeks since I got them to fit a bridge, pickups, re-tune to drop B with 12s and swap the machineheads.
Today I was an eager beaver and wanted to get my guitar and mash away at my fingers with some Architects, All Shall Perish, whatever.
I called him about 30 minutes before to ask how much it was for the whole job so I could get money out. He said to me "I need to talk to you"
Oh, well, OK then, I'll see you later.
I got there.
He grabbed a guitar off the wall, then took me into the office. Which I've never been to before.
Something's up..
"When our tech was putting in the pickups, he accidentally drilled through back and there are two cracks at the back."
...
So yeah, fast forward. He's going to send away the guitar to get the cracks fixed so they won't get worse (but not respray) which will take a further two weeks. He gave me a brand new limited edition Cort guitar and said I didn't have to pay for all the things I asked them to do, gave me £50 cause I sold my Edge III and.. yeah, that's about it.
Here's some pictures:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/DSC00551.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/DSC00555.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/DSC00554.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/DSC00553.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/DSC00552.jpg)
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mmmm
not sure how i'd feel. that tech sounds like a f_cking nightmare though.
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I'd be going mental!
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I am going mental inside. How could all this happen to one guitar?
And I'm thinking about back to my seven string again, Jonathan wired it quick and easy, but another thing is that he even checked the screws that they wouldn't go through the back of the body of the guitar.
So everything he did, didn't happen here and it's all gone wrong. Like I have another guitar from them but still..
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what guitar did he ruin?
if someone did that to my guitar id be pretty furious, and i don't think giving me another guitar would be good enough. sending it to get the cracks fixed seems pretty pointless to me. id be forced to break his face.
I used to be in a band with that lad Sam that sings in architects. hahaha. what a child. haha. hes actually an incredible drummer! and has been since he was 16 or something. CRAZY!
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Where does a drill come into play when changing a pickup anyway :?
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And I'm thinking about back to my seven string again, Jonathan wired it quick and easy, but another thing is that he even checked the screws that they wouldn't go through the back of the body of the guitar.
yes, i've seen jonathan work quite a few times now - hes really careful, measures everything twice, and takes it really slowly.
despite the cool looking Cort, I would be filled with pure rage. I say - wait till you get the Ibanez back and let rip...
actually, why trust him with the repair. take the cort and your ibanez back.. send the ibanez to jonathan for repair and sen them the bill. if they don't pay, take it to the small claims court.
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How the....what the....
On the one hand, with that finish and an xcort, how would you tell the difference ;)
On the other, you really need to at the very least never go to that tech again and tell everyone that you know that uses them how shite they are. As a tech myself, thats a minor nightmare that I take great care to avoid, because, being at least a moderately decent human being, I'd pay for as close a restoration of the guitar to orginal condition as possible. You do the damage, you accept the consequences. That should be expected of him. If the nature of the damage (and finish by the looks of it) mean thats not possible then suitable reparations need to be agreed between you.
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the nature of the damage (and finish by the looks of it) mean thats not possible then suitable reparations need to be agreed between you.
...take his children
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the nature of the damage (and finish by the looks of it) mean thats not possible then suitable reparations need to be agreed between you.
...take his children
Do they haz gud toanez?
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That tech sounds like a proper idiot. I'd be furious, fair enough the sales assistant/manager gave what I think is an acceptable 'fix' of sorts but I'd take my guitar back and never go to them again unless they got rid of their tech.
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I'm going to get it fixed (at least it's free) and then I'll bring it over to Jonathan to fix it up proper for me.
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How/Why did he drill a hole through it by changing the pups?!
Which tech/shop was this?
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How/Why did he drill a hole through it by changing the pups?!
Which tech/shop was this?
When you screw the pickups into the body, they went right through the body.
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That sounds like a pretty bad tech to me!
I'd kick up a fuss once you've got it back. any repair / refinishing costs should go straight to them.
What guitar was it?
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A RG08LTD (see pic below)
I was thinking should I trade in their own guitar back and hopefully get money off for a better guitar? Ha, that would totally screw them.. I think.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/GrimReapo/RG08LTD/IMG_0466.jpg)
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How/Why did he drill a hole through it by changing the pups?!
Which tech/shop was this?
When you screw the pickups into the body, they went right through the body.
Haha! Proper Devries job!
Rhythm in jump. Dancing close to you.
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A RG08LTD (see pic below)
I was thinking should I trade in their own guitar back and hopefully get money off for a better guitar? Ha, that would totally screw them.. I think.
Yeah, unless the cort is exactly what you want, I'd say look, i dont want this, let me have money off another guitar in the shop. then see what theyre selling the cort for and get that off of something you really want!
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A RG08LTD (see pic below)
I was thinking should I trade in their own guitar back and hopefully get money off for a better guitar? Ha, that would totally screw them.. I think.
Yeah, unless the cort is exactly what you want, I'd say look, i dont want this, let me have money off another guitar in the shop. then see what theyre selling the cort for and get that off of something you really want!
Aye. That's what I think, like generally not interested in Cort. The only thing really is the fancy graphic on it but I'd trade that for the Parker they have in there!
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think to yourself "what would lord ezec do?"
i'd go take whatever i wanted up to equal value maybe a little extra as compensation and tell every my story.
where is this place?
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think to yourself "what would lord ezec do?"
i'd go take whatever i wanted up to equal value maybe a little extra as compensation and tell every my story.
where is this place?
Funny enough he said not to tell everyone. So I will kind of not say anything lol..
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think to yourself "what would lord ezec do?"
i'd go take whatever i wanted up to equal value maybe a little extra as compensation and tell every my story.
where is this place?
Funny enough he said not to tell everyone. So I will kind of not say anything lol..
only cos he still wants buisness.
personally i want to know where and who it was so i never go there, and if i know anyone in that area i can advise them to maybe thionk twice about going their.
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Funny enough he said not to tell everyone. So I will kind of not say anything lol..
This means youre in the driving seat. I'd go as far as to ask for a replacement for your guitar (something of equal or greater value) if yours is worth much, if not, something around the price of the cort or that price off of another one.
If they get arsey or are unreasonable, id nicely remind them that word of mouth is a very powerful thing. not only in person but on internet forums as this one.
I'm pretty sure 99% of people on here would think twice about getting work done there if they knew what happened with you and then they got unreasonable about rectifying the situation.
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I'd be going mental!
I'm not sure I would be that restrained. I'd be going f*cking mental and want to break stuff.
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Funny enough he said not to tell everyone. So I will kind of not say anything lol..
This means youre in the driving seat. I'd go as far as to ask for a replacement for your guitar (something of equal or greater value) if yours is worth much, if not, something around the price of the cort or that price off of another one.
If they get arsey or are unreasonable, id nicely remind them that word of mouth is a very powerful thing. not only in person but on internet forums as this one.
I'm pretty sure 99% of people on here would think twice about getting work done there if they knew what happened with you and then they got unreasonable about rectifying the situation.
similar things happen all the time...
was anyone here put off with my tale of woe from Sounds Great Music?
Has anyone seen the thread all over the net about ear candy cabs in the US?
I'm not sure what damage the net does, but still, if i went to tech and he messed up my guitar at some point id tell everyone i could think of. id feel bad if one of my friends went to the same place and got their guitar ruined too.
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Jesus, I'd be going f*cking mental if a 'tech' did that to one of my guitars! How the hell did he manage to drill through the guitar while direct-mounting a pickup? That probably ranks as one of the worst 'cr@p repairer' tales I've ever seen.
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something of equal or greater value
Apart from material cost I am not sure what value you can place on a guitar. If someone broke (or damaged) my esquire it wouldn't just be a simple case of replacing it with another guitar or even another esquire.
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Rhythm in jump. Dancing close to you.
Too F**king True. (If anybody doesn't understand what "Rhythm in jump. Dancing close to you." means - FIND OUT ASAP!!!!) PDT_004 PDT_004 PDT_010
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Thats really a shame, I liked the look of that Ibanez you have, and I don't generally like that type of guitar!
Good luck getting it sorted though
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its definately an amature mistake, but then not being able to figure out what switch you needed or how to wire it was also pretty amature wasnt it
but then i inclined am to say mistakes do happen to everyone occasionally and i always reckon you should give a company the chance to put the mistake right first... but then to me putting a mistake right goes far beyond just fixing the mistake!
so who thinks they got the switch sussed ages ago but just didnt want to face up to this. thats bugs me more than actually making a mistake as its suggests extra dishonesty
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Those bar-stewards!!!
Don't give them anything. they need to sort themselves out.
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its definately an amature mistake, but then not being able to figure out what switch you needed or how to wire it was also pretty amature wasnt it
but then i inclined am to say mistakes do happen to everyone occasionally and i always reckon you should give a company the chance to put the mistake right first... but then to me putting a mistake right goes far beyond just fixing the mistake!
so who thinks they got the switch sussed ages ago but just didnt want to face up to this. thats bugs me more than actually making a mistake as its suggests extra dishonesty
Sounds like a way of getting a bit more time!
Definately, if you make a mistake then fair enough, these things do happen, however you need to make the customer as happy with the situation as they can be. whether this is fixing/refinishing the mistake and offering a discount / free gift, or something else.
For example, I play roller hockey and had to claim the warranty on a wheel that broke within 2 weeks. I emailed the company and they sent me out a full set of 8 within a week along with their huge apologies.
I wouldnt have a problem with using a company that sorted things out that quickly and easily again.
However, it is different when they ruin your pride and joy!
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....so who thinks they got the switch sussed ages ago but just didnt want to face up to this. thats bugs me more than actually making a mistake as its suggests extra dishonesty
That's the first thing I thought...
It's a real shame this happened. The Ibanez was (is) a really nice guitar & I don't think you should accept a Cort if you really don't like it too much. There must be alternatives that would be mutually acceptable without throwing all the toys out of the pram and it turning ugly.
Aim for a win/win outcome. Good luck mate.
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Well I'm currently in Belfast right so no one should really be that aware of the place and avoid it. It's the Belfast Guitar Emporium.
I'll see if I can get money instead of the guitar - but hopefully keep the case.
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Well I'm currently in Belfast right so no one should really be that aware of the place and avoid it. It's the Belfast Guitar Emporium.
I'll see if I can get money instead of the guitar - but hopefully keep the case.
You're more likely to get money off something in the store, than actual money (not sure if thats what you meant or not) as they'll lose less that way, but you'll gain more so you both get a better deal.
So i'd find out how much theyre asking for the Cort instore, then ask for that off of another guitar (or of something of similar value). maybe try and blag something like free set ups too (if you could trust them, i wouldnt use them for anything too major after this!)
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Well they have a Parker P44V Pro which I like very muchos, at the £799. And they have Vigiers. Which a couple of hundred off would make it very appealling.
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you could always sell/trade the cort for a synth...
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wow, that's terrible. don't go back in the future...
he gave you the cort for free, though? or just until your ibanez is back?
EDIT: belfast guitar emporium? Jeez. I always felt like they were kinda cowboys, y'know? They stock good gear, but I wouldn't really trust them to work on my stuff.
I thought you went to them before and they messed up a wiring job? why'd you go back?
if you want something other than a cort, i'd be looking at the vigiers or maybe the japanese tokais if you want something more classic, but that's just me. bear in mind that (unless they've sold some in the past few months) those vigiers have been there for quite a while, now.
....so who thinks they got the switch sussed ages ago but just didnt want to face up to this. thats bugs me more than actually making a mistake as its suggests extra dishonesty
That's the first thing I thought...
It's a real shame this happened. The Ibanez was (is) a really nice guitar & I don't think you should accept a Cort if you really don't like it too much. There must be alternatives that would be mutually acceptable without throwing all the toys out of the pram and it turning ugly.
Aim for a win/win outcome. Good luck mate.
agreed. while kicking up a fuss might feel good, you're likely to get a better outcome if you remain polite.
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Well they have a Parker P44V Pro which I like very muchos, at the £799. And they have Vigiers. Which a couple of hundred off would make it very appealling.
You're in the driving seat, I think you should milk them for every drop of contrition you can extract!
$%&#ing up a guitar is a terrible thing to do, it's worth so much more than the monetary value.
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wow, that's terrible. don't go back in the future...
he gave you the cort for free, though? or just until your ibanez is back?
EDIT: belfast guitar emporium? Jeez. I always felt like they were kinda cowboys, y'know? They stock good gear, but I wouldn't really trust them to work on my stuff.
I thought you went to them before and they messed up a wiring job? why'd you go back?
if you want something other than a cort, i'd be looking at the vigiers or maybe the japanese tokais if you want something more classic, but that's just me. bear in mind that (unless they've sold some in the past few months) those vigiers have been there for quite a while, now.
There isn't anywhere else really, I hate the guys at Matchetts Music.
He gave me the Cort for free, as well as when I get the Ibanez back.
The Vigiers they have out on the floor are just the ones they let the customers play, the ones they buy are in the back so they don't disappear or anything.
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OK... The way forward is to take that Cort back in as pristine condition as possible and use the shop floor retail price value as a proposed reduction on a Vigier.
Be prepared to negotiate and be polite but FIRM - they have made big mistakes and selling you a Vigier at close or closer to cost is a bloody equitable outcome all things considered.
Could turn out very fair but stay focused, have a second fall back suggestion if they don't agree to the Vigier.
Be reasonable and DON'T get sidetracked away from what YOU think is fair.
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OK... The way forward is to take that Cort back in as pristine condition as possible and use the shop floor retail price value as a proposed reduction on a Vigier.
Be prepared to negotiate and be polite but FIRM - they have made big mistakes and selling you a Vigier at close or closer to cost is a bloody equitable outcome all things considered.
Could turn out very fair but stay focused, have a second fall back suggestion if they don't agree to the Vigier.
Be reasonable and DON'T get sidetracked away from what YOU think is fair.
yeah getting a vigier for close to cost would be a good guide, fair enough they wont make anything on that sale, but they've ruined your baby so theyre gettin off pretty lightly i think!
If you're serious about the Vigier then let me know and i'll get you the Wholesale/distributor cost price, as i was speaking to them about an endorsement.
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When you screw the pickups into the body, they went right through the body.
I still dont understand how anyone can drill through the body doing that! I've had body mounted pickups before, and didnt come close. Is the "tech" a bit special?
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I think you're being very kind and patient with them. If that was me I would demand the full retail in cash of the guitar they totalled, piss on the counter and never return.
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When you screw the pickups into the body, they went right through the body.
I still dont understand how anyone can drill through the body doing that! I've had body mounted pickups before, and didnt come close. Is the "tech" a bit special?
I have no idea, but if in doubt, do as Jonathan did. Check. And check again.
By the way, I'm trying to quantify in monetary terms. OK, there's my guitar, the damage, the two weeks of wait - what would that come to?
The guitar was £320, I dunno the cost of fixing those cracks, plus the whole thing would've cost me £50. Hmm..
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OK... The way forward is to take that Cort back in as pristine condition as possible and use the shop floor retail price value as a proposed reduction on a Vigier.
Be prepared to negotiate and be polite but FIRM - they have made big mistakes and selling you a Vigier at close or closer to cost is a bloody equitable outcome all things considered.
Could turn out very fair but stay focused, have a second fall back suggestion if they don't agree to the Vigier.
Be reasonable and DON'T get sidetracked away from what YOU think is fair.
This is all good advice, as Dave says, throwing your toys out the pram will probably just make matters worse. I've taken aggressive knee jerk reactions in the past - they always felt good at the time, but it didn't help once long term.
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I can understand why feelings may be running high , but everybody can have a bad day at work - myself included.
I have made slip ups in the past, and that is what makes me extra cautious.
I do have to instill that caution in any staff that work for me which isn't always easy as I have 20+ years of experience and they still have to learn the hard way to a certain extent.
I still get things go wrong now and then (I am human) but the willingness to put things right is what counts.
Racking up a storm on the web is not usually a good way to resolve matters - especially if you are still needing to appeal to their better nature to get the deal you want.
Johnny - I know your emotions are running hot here , but you may be best to cool your criticism and give the guys a chance to put things right .
Trashing their reputation online won't make them more likely to be accommodating.
You can tell your close mates face to face and advise them as you see fit .
Did he actually give you the Cort or is it a loan guitar to tide you over till the Ibanez comes back?
I don't think you can claim for the time /distress etc - we're not in America :?
Two weeks is positively angelic in guitar repair circles- you ought to see the stress I go through with paint finishers
You have to be reasonable if you hope to appeal to them to be reasonable too
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I don't think you can claim for the time /distress etc - we're not in America :?
I get people asking me for compensation every day at work for time/stress, p-lease!!! :roll: :x
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I don't think you can claim for the time /distress etc - we're not in America :?
I get people asking me for compensation every day at work for time/stress, p-lease!!! :roll: :x
I had to call out a pest control company to deal with a wasp 's nest that is in my loft - directly above my bed !!
I am terrified of wasps - irrationally so !
They told me - two weeks time!
Trying to sleep listening to wasps chewing through your ceiling directly above your head.
Now that is what I call distress......wouldnt have gotten money off though.
I called another firm who came out the same day in the end
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Sorry to read about your horror story, It is never going to be the same, but if the repairings are really well done, ( my advice, be very picky about it). I hope you will be ok!
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At the end of the day, I will still go back cause - apart from the tech - they're really nice guys. I've bought my Indie from them, I bought the VHT from them, I bought strings, asked for setups, spent ages playing other guitars in there and I don't really like anywhere else, lol..
I'm still going to take the Cort back and try to get a better deal. I was feeling iffy taking it home cause, well, it's a Cort and I felt like I was being shut up (in a nice way) but I'll try and ask for something else, he said there wasn't really anything else unless I gave more money and I'm up for that depending on the amount that I have to pay.
Hope it all goes OK.
I'm going back on Friday as the same guy isn't in until then and I'd prefer to keep it with him.
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Youre a regular customer, have bought items of non-trivial value from them, and they want you to pay up for their mistake? Balls.
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i have mixed feelings, both about the situation and the emporium. they made a daft mistake, but at least they are trying to put it right and do right by you. a "tech" destroyed the fret board on my 1975 Les Paul, and when i called him up on it was told to f*** off! cost me over £400 in the end. so while you're understandably annoyed, at least they are taking responsibility and trying to sort the situation. giving you a guitar as well as trying to fix yours seems like a fairly decent try!
as to the emporium, i found them friendly, if a little cavalier. on one hand he gave me a good price on a guitar, and it was actually his suggestion that i pay him half the money, take the guitar with me, and come back with the rest when i was ready. this on the day he met me! maybe he really wanted rid of it :) on the other hand, part of the deal was that he would supply a case for the guitar, which never materialised.
they do have gear in there that no-one else in belfast comes close to. i must call in again some time...
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^ yeah, definitely. they have better gear than pretty much any shop I've been into in ireland (haven't been to all the shops by a long shot, but been to a lot of them), plus they have a try-out room which is pretty sweet, and also unique for any of the shops in ireland i've been to. They've always been really nice to me when i've been in, and let me try anything i wanted, too. So in terms of being a shop where you can try and buy stuff, I have no problems with them. I've bought from them in the past, and probably will again if they have anything in stock i want.
But i wouldn't let them work on my gear from what i've heard, either (and also from what i've seen when i was in the shop).
There isn't anywhere else really, I hate the guys at Matchetts Music.
He gave me the Cort for free, as well as when I get the Ibanez back.
The Vigiers they have out on the floor are just the ones they let the customers play, the ones they buy are in the back so they don't disappear or anything.
Oh, i didn't realise that :oops:
I don't actually mind matchetts, i remember they were a bit annoying when i started playing, but they seemed to have improved over the last while. It's still annoying how small and pokey it is, though.
Don't like marcus at all, though, i'd agree with you there. Almost every time I'm in they manage to do something to annoy me, whether it's just poor service (letting you wander around for 20 minutes before actually coming out of wherever it is they hide when customers come in to ask if you need help to try something- which you do, because there are signs on the guitars warning you to ask before playing), refusing to let you try something or not letting you turn up the volume to a sensible level, or lying to me (or another customer) about a product.
getting a vigier at cost price might be something to aim for, assuming you actually want a vigier, and assuming you're willing to be firm but polite. you could point out that they wouldn't actually be losing anything (though for all you know they just desperately wanted rid of that cort and it maybe cost them next to nothing anyway).
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Well whats the manufacturer's price of a Vigier? From the Indus to the Excalibur.
I'm going to see him tomorrow with the guitar and everything and try and negotiate a deal with a Vigier minus the value of the Cort and see what happens.
Vigiers are awesome I must say, I can play shite one day or on a guitar but never on a Vigier, have no idea how it does that to me though.
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I don't think you can claim for the time /distress etc - we're not in America :?
I get people asking me for compensation every day at work for time/stress, p-lease!!! :roll: :x
I had to call out a pest control company to deal with a wasp 's nest that is in my loft - directly above my bed !!
I am terrified of wasps - irrationally so !
They told me - two weeks time!
Trying to sleep listening to wasps chewing through your ceiling directly above your head.
Now that is what I call distress......wouldnt have gotten money off though.
I called another firm who came out the same day in the end
two weeks? - I hope you told them to beehave :lol:
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Well whats the manufacturer's price of a Vigier? From the Indus to the Excalibur.
I'm going to see him tomorrow with the guitar and everything and try and negotiate a deal with a Vigier minus the value of the Cort and see what happens.
Vigiers are awesome I must say, I can play shitee one day or on a guitar but never on a Vigier, have no idea how it does that to me though.
no idea what the manufacturer's price is, sorry.
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Well whats the manufacturer's price of a Vigier? From the Indus to the Excalibur.
I'm going to see him tomorrow with the guitar and everything and try and negotiate a deal with a Vigier minus the value of the Cort and see what happens.
Vigiers are awesome I must say, I can play shitee one day or on a guitar but never on a Vigier, have no idea how it does that to me though.
You'll be hard pushed to find what the shop buy them for.
Good luck with the Vigier, love my Ultra 8)
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I don't think you can claim for the time /distress etc - we're not in America :?
I get people asking me for compensation every day at work for time/stress, p-lease!!! :roll: :x
I had to call out a pest control company to deal with a wasp 's nest that is in my loft - directly above my bed !!
I am terrified of wasps - irrationally so !
They told me - two weeks time!
Trying to sleep listening to wasps chewing through your ceiling directly above your head.
Now that is what I call distress......wouldnt have gotten money off though.
I called another firm who came out the same day in the end
two weeks? - I hope you told them to beehave :lol:
Told them to buzz off
Ironically the visit from the other firm solved one lot of wasps only to find I have another nest - right next to the first one
So I got them to come back out and deal with it .
Hope I don't get any more problems.
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i agree, in marcus you can stand around for ages and be ignored, but after that they're not too bad. thing is, in matchett's, you still get ignored, but my issue with them was the time i tried out a second hand les paul studio. to start with, the strings were covered in gunk and completely dead. annoying, but not life threatening! but the guitar had an obvious headstock repair, not at all disguised, and when i asked about it the guy's eyes bulged and he insisted that no, it had never been damaged. i put it back in the rack and walked out, never to return.
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in all honesty... i can't believe how many of you would be going crazy about something like this. personally i'd feel like i hit the lottery. you're getting your guitar back, functioning fine, plus a free guitar? so yeah, unfortunately your guitar has a hole in the back now, but unless you're planning on selling it, is it that big of a deal? i guess a lot of you are more concerned with your instruments value than its playability... but then again, i didn't see the guitar. maybe it was a really nice guitar with a great finish.
anyway, i'm just saying... a lot of places might of just repaired the hole/crack and said sorry. they're doing that as well as giving you a free guitar. and a nice one at that.
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in all honesty... i can't believe how many of you would be going crazy about something like this. personally i'd feel like i hit the lottery. you're getting your guitar back, functioning fine, plus a free guitar? so yeah, unfortunately your guitar has a hole in the back now, but unless you're planning on selling it, is it that big of a deal? i guess a lot of you are more concerned with your instruments value than its playability... but then again, i didn't see the guitar. maybe it was a really nice guitar with a great finish.
So you're saying you don't mind taking your guitars to a "professional" who may do a bad job, and it's OK for them to do a bad job, so long as they give you some kind of freebie to make up for it? It's just giving them a licence to be incompetent.
You take your car to be serviced, and it comes back with a big dent in the door and scratches all over the paintwork. That's OK, it still functions fine and they've thrown in some seat covers and a spare wheel they've had sitting in their stock room for 5 years. Everybody's happy?
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I'm with you, Phil!
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I'm not sure that's what CJ's saying Philly?
F@ck-ups happen, we all know they do, and from what I've read so far, these guys are owning up, taking responsibility, and making an offer of restitution. And a somewhat better offer than many organisations we all come across would make (as I understand it so far - they'll fix it to the best of their ability, they won't charge, and, er, here's a free guitar as well...)
I don't think anyone's suggesting a licence to be incompetent here - they'll know what a mess they've made - and the erk that did it is either going to learn from his mistake, or they'll get rid of him if he keeps f@cking up (hopefully they've spoken to him in a fashion that encourages him to take responsibility).
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yo if i took my les paul custom to a place i thought was reputable and then someone did something as dumb as put a screw through the back of my guitar id be heartbroken and id want another les paul custom.
if i sent an amp to a dealer for repair and they lost parts, put in bad tubes, biased it dangerously and so on, i'd want another amp because the work carried out can't be trusted. (if it was in warranty)
it's not about resale, its the fact that some doofus just made a hole right through your favourite guitar. caring about the condition of your guitar is different to caring about resale value. I dropped my guitar off my strap (dunno how as i use straplocks) last time we played, and my stomach clenched up. i wasnt thinking "oh no! the resale value of my guitar just went down!" i was thinking "oh my god thats my favourite guitar and i don't want a huge chunk taking out of it"
as it happened, the pup selector plastic bit broke off and that was it.
id also be reluctant to let THEM repair it. if needs must they should pay to have it fully set right, not just some wood filler in the hole and and polish and away you go.
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I'm not sure that's what CJ's saying Philly?
F@ck-ups happen, we all know they do, and from what I've read so far, these guys are owning up, taking responsibility, and making an offer of restitution. And a somewhat better offer than many organisations we all come across would make (as I understand it so far - they'll fix it to the best of their ability, they won't charge, and, er, here's a free guitar as well...)
I don't think anyone's suggesting a licence to be incompetent here - they'll know what a mess they've made - and the erk that did it is either going to learn from his mistake, or they'll get rid of him if he keeps f@cking up (hopefully they've spoken to him in a fashion that encourages him to take responsibility).
Yeah, yeah, kind of. I suppose my reply to CJ's comment comes across as "Outraged of Tunbridge Wells" when I was mostly just having a sarcastic dig. Lowest form of wit. Sorry.
But coming back to Jonny's case, they haven't really done all they could. They have owned up - eventually, after seemingly using "wiring problems" as an excuse for a week or so. And they've offered to repair the cracks - but NOT do a respray.
The free guitar is a nice gesture, but it's probably one they haven't been able to sell so not really a big deal to them. If it was me, I wouldn't want the guitar and even if they offered an equivalent discount against something else, I'd still end up having to spend £500 (or whatever) I hadn't planned on spending.
CJ suggested we're more concerned with our instruments' value than playability - I shouldn't think anyone here gives a sh!t about resale value. We just don't expect a guitar to come back from the repair shop with problems it didn't have when it went in.
The thing that really bothers me is the trust aspect. I do most work on my own guitars. I'd only go to a pro if I wanted something done that I'd be afraid to tackle myself - a refret maybe. I'd want to feel confident they'd do a better job than I could myself. I wouldn't expect them to say "the refret's fine, but we ripped some chunks out of the fretboard. It's OK, you can hardly see the Ronseal wood filler, we got a colour that almost matches." Of course mistakes can happen, but it's not unreasonable to expect someone to take care to avoid them. Measure twice, cut once and all that.
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I agree with Philly on this one. The thing that would have annoyed me most (apart from the mess up on the guitar) is that they had already pretty much decided on what a suitable level of compensation would be - or so it seems. They were obviously aware that they had completely screwed up but could have handled it so much better.
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The free guitar is a nice gesture, but it's probably one they haven't been able to sell so not really a big deal to them. If it was me, I wouldn't want the guitar and even if they offered an equivalent discount against something else, I'd still end up having to spend £500 (or whatever) I hadn't planned on spending.
CJ suggested we're more concerned with our instruments' value than playability - I shouldn't think anyone here gives a sh!t about resale value. We just don't expect a guitar to come back from the repair shop with problems it didn't have when it went in.
The thing that really bothers me is the trust aspect. I do most work on my own guitars. I'd only go to a pro if I wanted something done that I'd be afraid to tackle myself - a refret maybe. I'd want to feel confident they'd do a better job than I could myself. I wouldn't expect them to say "the refret's fine, but we ripped some chunks out of the fretboard. It's OK, you can hardly see the Ronseal wood filler, we got a colour that almost matches." Of course mistakes can happen, but it's not unreasonable to expect someone to take care to avoid them. Measure twice, cut once and all that.
Thanks Philly - I couldn't have said it better myself:
The Cort probably represents close to zero value for them & Johnny didn't want it or need it in the first place.
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Actually that Cort isn't that cheap - there's one in the shop down the road from me
I think the shop are trying hard to make amends - let's not knock them too much!
Johnny needs to sort out with them the best course of action
Us pulling the whole thing apart online over and over isn't helping anyone
It's only raising Johnny's blood pressure and casting aspersions on the shop who from what I can tell are trying to put things right.
Maybe we ought to give both parties a chance to sort it out themselves....
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Actually that Cort isn't that cheap - there's one in the shop down the road from me
I think the shop are trying hard to make amends - let's not knock them too much!
Johnny needs to sort out with them the best course of action
Us pulling the whole thing apart online over and over isn't helping anyone
It's only raising Johnny's blood pressure and casting aspersions on the shop who from what I can tell are trying to put things right.
Maybe we ought to give both parties a chance to sort it out themselves....
Come on Jon. Lets not get distracted & become adult and reasonable....
I sense me a lynching be a comin' ....
BURN THE WITCH!!! Persecute the heretic... YARRRRRRRR PDT_029 PDT_029 PDT_038 PDT_042
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I find the 'don't be hard on them' attitude perplexing to say the least. Sure there's no need to 'ruin' them on the net - but this thread isn't doing that, if we can't discuss this sort of thing here then there's really very little point in the forum.
Unless I've got my wires crossed Blue already said that they $%&#ed the fretboard on his 75 paul and told him to $%&# off at an earlier point? So we have it first hand it's not the first time something like this has happened.
CJ - It's great that you have such a utilitarian approach to your instruments but have a think about the poor sod that one day takes his 59 lester in.
At the end of the day if you don't have a qualified tech in the shop then you shouldn't offer the service - I remember when I worked at the guitar dept. at Duck Son and Pinker when I was a weeee lad and they would get frustrated with me because I turned away work I wasn't equipped to do, people would come in wanting fret levels - truss rods tweaked all things that they could easily do them selves but felt peace of mind paying for someone else to do it properly.
My local World Guitars refused to tech work untill very recently because they didn't have access to anyone of a high enough standard - even though Jeff there is very experienced in setups and clearly knows what he's doing he wanted someone that was excellent. They've found someone now - the guy that's done all my work over the last 3 years in-fact and his work is superb. Kudos to them for turning away business until they could do it properly.
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Hey guys, just an update on the whole situation.
I went in, calmly said I didn't want the guitar and edged myself towards the Vigiers. They first said it'd be difficult to get any money off it so I remained persistent. In the end they took off money, I tried both a floating trem one and a hardtail one and the sake that I didn't want to lose anymore hairs over a floating trem I got the hardtail one. And they'e reserved it so I can come back in (after it's got a simple re-string [don't want them to trying re-wiring stuff on it yet!])
So yeah.
I got a Vigier.
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haha nice one. Of course, "pics or it didnt happen" applies (when you get it home that is)
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Here's a few things I know of the guitar:
It's green, sort of textured green.
H-S-H, DiMarzios (wow!)
Rosewood/maple neck
Hardtail
That, or either the textured black, Vigier pickups, maple/maple neck, Vigier floating tremolo (which was more expensive)
I liked the colour and the neck but I was iffy on the pickups and the tremolo so I went for the hardtail one.
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Good for you Johnny! Vigier don't make their own pups though, the black one is probably an Indus with Dimarzios. Sounds like you got yourself an urban green Supra? http://www.vigierguitars.com/page/fiche_produit.php?id_prod=219 It'll be a big step up from your Ibanez 8)
Best thing with the Vigier is you wont have to take it into the shop for trussrod adjustments :lol: :lol:
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Good for you Johnny! Vigier don't make their own pups though, the black one is probably an Indus with Dimarzios. Sounds like you got yourself an urban green Supra? http://www.vigierguitars.com/page/fiche_produit.php?id_prod=219 It'll be a big step up from your Ibanez 8)
Best thing with the Vigier is you wont have to take it into the shop for trussrod adjustments :lol: :lol:
Nah it wasn't that kind of black. I found out what it was, it was a Vigier Original, in Urban Metal - I think.
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Unless I've got my wires crossed Blue already said that they $%&#ed the fretboard on his 75 paul and told him to $%&# off at an earlier point? So we have it first hand it's not the first time something like this has happened.
ooo, yep, crossed wires there! it wasn't them that wrecked my les paul, that was someone else entirely! they may have done something silly, but they're not total b******s like the little turd that screwed me!
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nice score Jonny, hope you enjoy your new Vigier, and that it isn't too long til your ill Ibanez comes back from guitar hospital ;) hopefully all better
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i agree, in marcus you can stand around for ages and be ignored, but after that they're not too bad. thing is, in matchett's, you still get ignored, but my issue with them was the time i tried out a second hand les paul studio. to start with, the strings were covered in gunk and completely dead. annoying, but not life threatening! but the guitar had an obvious headstock repair, not at all disguised, and when i asked about it the guy's eyes bulged and he insisted that no, it had never been damaged. i put it back in the rack and walked out, never to return.
haha, that's not great. I've never had anything like that happen to me there, it's marcus where i've been fed the biggest bunch of lies, haha. i think the best one was when they tried to tell me that marshall tube amps were the only tube amps you could get any dirt out of. :lol:
But coming back to Jonny's case, they haven't really done all they could. They have owned up - eventually, after seemingly using "wiring problems" as an excuse for a week or so. And they've offered to repair the cracks - but NOT do a respray.
The free guitar is a nice gesture, but it's probably one they haven't been able to sell so not really a big deal to them. If it was me, I wouldn't want the guitar and even if they offered an equivalent discount against something else, I'd still end up having to spend £500 (or whatever) I hadn't planned on spending.
The thing that really bothers me is the trust aspect. I do most work on my own guitars. I'd only go to a pro if I wanted something done that I'd be afraid to tackle myself - a refret maybe. I'd want to feel confident they'd do a better job than I could myself. I wouldn't expect them to say "the refret's fine, but we ripped some chunks out of the fretboard. It's OK, you can hardly see the Ronseal wood filler, we got a colour that almost matches." Of course mistakes can happen, but it's not unreasonable to expect someone to take care to avoid them. Measure twice, cut once and all that.
agreed. especially the trust bit. I'm very cautious and critical of my own talents, and often won't try something which i could probably manage, in case i do harm. that being the case, I'd feel REALLY pissed off if i took the equipment to a supposed pro, who said, "sure, I'm an expert, i could do that fine" only to find out that he/she was worse at it than I am, and only suffers from a chronic case of over-confidence.
it's not about resale, its the fact that some doofus just made a hole right through your favourite guitar. caring about the condition of your guitar is different to caring about resale value. I dropped my guitar off my strap (dunno how as i use straplocks) last time we played, and my stomach clenched up. i wasnt thinking "oh no! the resale value of my guitar just went down!" i was thinking "oh my god thats my favourite guitar and i don't want a huge chunk taking out of it"
exactly.
Good to hear you got the vigier, I hope they threw enough off it to make it worth your while. :)
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Nice work getting the Vigier - and a hardtail, even better! :D
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http://www.vigierguitars.com/page/fiche_produit.php?id_prod=219 It'll be a big step up from your Ibanez 8)
Surprisingly, I actually really like the look of that for some reason :o How much do these things go for/where can I play one?
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http://www.vigierguitars.com/page/fiche_produit.php?id_prod=219 It'll be a big step up from your Ibanez 8)
Surprisingly, I actually really like the look of that for some reason :o How much do these things go for/where can I play one?
The cheapest is the Indus at 1100-1400 right up to the Ultra that's 2000-2500 and there are models at all prices in-between. Prices vary a lot depending on the dealer for some reason.
Where do you live?
Edit: Kettering eh? Well at a rough guess you're about an hour and a half from the Oxford guitar gallery . 2 and a 1/2 hours from World Guitars. Probably closes to Machine head though?
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Surprisingly, I actually really like the look of that for some reason :o How much do these things go for/where can I play one?
i guess you could check the vigier site for dealers or a distributor you could email? off the top of my head, the only one i know of for sure in england is sounds great... and maybe the oxford guitar gallery too. ah, lew's nailed it, i should have read his post first, yeah, i think machinehead might be a dealer. check its website, anyway. :)
They used to start around the grand mark for the strat-style models, but i think the prices have gone up recently because of the pound's fall against the euro...
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Yea, they have a really sick looking red Ultra on the website too.
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eh, i had a few responses for a few of you on what i said, but it sounds like Johnny got everything sorted out now. not looking to start arguments over nothing. hopefully you're happy with your vigier and your ibanez.
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Edit: Kettering eh? Well at a rough guess you're about an hour and a half from the Oxford guitar gallery . 2 and a 1/2 hours from World Guitars. Probably closes to Machine head though?
Yeah I think Machinehead in Hitchin is probably the closest. Might check them out. My parents want to buy me a nice guitar for my 21st this year and these look really nice :) Was gonna go for an SG but it seems its very hard to find a good one, and none of the current production models are quite what I'm after :\ Plus as always Gibson QC is suspect.
edit - the ones on the MH website look horrible though! Really like the Excalibur Indus on the Vigier site.
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haha I liked the ones at MH.
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Nah they're way too frilly and gaudy! I love this one:
(http://212.43.220.66/sites/medias/produit/photos/220.jpg)
Must try and find one to have a play to see what I think.
edit - actually the blue one on MH isnt too bad but also far too expensive :(
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Looks good, it'd be better with a maple board though. There's a Vig in seconds out at the mo.
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Nah they're way too frilly and gaudy! I love this one:
(http://212.43.220.66/sites/medias/produit/photos/220.jpg)
Must try and find one to have a play to see what I think.
edit - actually the blue one on MH isnt too bad but also far too expensive :(
Bare in mind the body is not paint/smooth, it's more like.. black grainy stuff that when you scratch against it, it leaves a white line.
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Yeah I read about that, would obviously have to play one first before that kind of money was spent on one!
Just saw this one, looks beast!
(http://vigier.co.fr.clara.net/sites/medias/produit/couleur/5195.jpg)
Needs to be hardtail though..
Looks good, it'd be better with a maple board though. There's a Vig in seconds out at the mo.
Emerald green though apparently, not my thing!
Just realised I've hijacked this thread again, sorry Jonny :P
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after all it was a cort... sure, but cort are really well made guitars. cheap but really well made. you should have kept it. it looked really cool, anyway...
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haha, i like the fancier ones with the maple tops, tom. It could have been my imagination, but i thought they sounded better, too- of course, they had different pickups, so that could have been it. :D
I prefer the purpley one on the machinehead website, lew- i tried an ultra blues in a similar colour, at the start i thought it sucked, by the time i'd finished playing with it i loved the colour... :lol:
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The tone on the Vigiers in the shop can be fairly mediocre because A- they have a stupidly, no... retardly low action and light strings with the factory set-up and B- some of the pickup choices are pretty nasty. The first thing I did when I got home was raise the action and soon after changed the bridge pup.
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Don't worry Tom, I like all the Vigier talk. Hopefully I'll be picking it up this week.
Ultimately, this won't be my only Vigier :D
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Retardedly low action doesnt sound good, I hate really low action and light strings :lol: As for pickups I have a set of Mules in my Epi LP Custom but I suspect I'm not getting the most out of them in that guitar so I could quite easily swap them over!
Really need to find an Excalibur indus to have a play on.
haha, i like the fancier ones with the maple tops, tom. It could have been my imagination, but i thought they sounded better, too- of course, they had different pickups, so that could have been it. :D
I hate the flashy, gaudy figured maple top look so much!
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If I was buying a new Vig I'd def consider the new GV metal, it looks amazing :o
(http://www.oxfordguitargallery.com/App_Themes/Default/Images/Stock/vigier_%2013.jpg)
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haha, i like the maple top look. though i also like guitars without one, too.
the only retardedly low action on any of the vigiers i tried was the shawn lane model, i think. the others were pretty low, but not retardedly so (though admittedly probably slightly lower than i'd use). And I use light strings anyway, so that's nothing to do with it.
:)
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haha, i like the maple top look. though i also like guitars without one, too.
the only retardedly low action on any of the vigiers i tried was the shawn lane model, i think. the others were pretty low, but not retardedly so (though admittedly probably slightly lower than i'd use). And I use light strings anyway, so that's nothing to do with it.
:)
I had the same thing when trying out the Shawn Lane model. Light strings, low action and flat fretboard = not particularly comfortable for some one who grew up playing a strat for most of his guitar playing life.
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yeah. i mean, i started on an ibanez rg, and the shawn lane had a way too low action. though i reckon i could've played it fine with even a slight raising of the action.