Just can't believe my eyes.

[rocket]

Yeah i'm completely blown away by this, i have on my bench a guitar made by a well known brand that the owner bought brand new and asked me to set it up for him, yep no worries buddy, leave it with me. i get it out of the case yesterday and give it a close up,,, can't believe it, frets are like a rocky road, pickup rings are just chucked on and not fitted to the top so the pups don't sit parallel to the strings, could nearly get splinters off the bridge it's so rough, good spray job but looks straight off the gun no levelling or polishing or buffing can still see stipple, overspray not scraped off binding properly, noticeable ridge from lacquered sides to binding.
Googled the make, on line price circa 6K, don't know if he paid that much but would be pretty close to it.
As the saying goes, "a rose by any other name is still a rose!!" and by the same reckoning" a piece of shit is still a piece of shit no matter what name you give it !"

[kiwigeo]

Guess it needs a bigger set up job than usual

[simso]

I agree it is dis-appointing when you see an instrument, where the maker has been less, than his or her best effort.

[Kamusur]

[quote][/quote]I agree it is dis-appointing when you see an instrument, where the maker has been less, than his or her best effort

Yeah Steve its a bloody disgrace and sometimes the owners have no idea how bad the problem actually is.

Steve

[Steve.Toscano]

Its not a knock off is it?
Back when i used to do repairs the things you are explaining were the dead giveaway of a chinese counterfeit. I'd see maybe 1 of them a month.

[simonm]

Maybe chat with the owner before you do any work would be a good idea? Especially if you have any doug as to it being the genuine article. If it is the realMcCoy there will be a serial number you can check with the mfg.

[kiwigeo]

As the saying goes, "a rose by any other name is still a rose!!" and by the same reckoning" a piece of shit is still a piece of shit no matter what name you give it !"

...and you can't polish a turd

[rocket]

Too right Martin and likewise you also can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear !!
Thanks to everyones response to this it's been very helpful, i've done the the old,, serial number verification and seems all is ,, "ridgy didge"
I'm no expert when it comes to surveying big name well known brands of musical instruments, but i get the feeling that some producers are happy to rest on their laurels earnt in days gone by and trust that some punters will still part with the big bucks for the product because of the name. Ha Ha,, that said though the punters still have to find someone to make it playable.

[simonm]

Some years back we were in Tennesee visiting and went to Nashville for a day. I tried out a Gibson SJ in their "outlet shop" in the Gran' Ole Opry shopping mall where they have a small workshop behind glass. The SJ was in the $4k-6k region if I recall correctly. I was surprised at how poor it sounded. As I never had one in my hands before that point and don't know anything about the SJ type, it may be that it is designed to be dull and unresponsive and that it was a superb achievement. Not something I would have spent money on. On the other hand it was their outlet shop so I assume many of the instruments were "rejects" of some kind but I didn't see it reflected in the that particular price.

[slowlearner]

So sad to see people throw money at poorly built garbage. If it's the brand I think it is, I'm not surprised.

It's pretty hard to convince people about production line guitars. Seems like the more $$$$ you throw at them, the less quality you get these days.

[Nick]

If the customer bought it new then I'd be suggesting he takes it back and either asks for a replacement or his $ back. I'm not sure whether these companies (in the current economic climate, as they say) have laid off the quality control guy in an effort to save money or hired cheaper labour when I see some of these well known brand's product.

As the saying goes, "a rose by any other name is still a rose!!" and by the same reckoning" a piece of shit is still a piece of shit no matter what name you give it !"

...and you can't polish a turd

The Mythbusters beg to differ

youtu.be/