What would make you return/exchange a guitar (online purchases)?

[skatalite]

I'm just curious what would make you guys return or exchange a guitar you bought online.

 

Is it unreasonable to expect the guitar to show up and require very few tweaks, aside from those dictated by personal taste?

 

What if a guitar came with a nut improperly slotted, and the action at the nut was too low? Assuming you don't have the know how or tools to make the fix yourself, would you exchange the guitar or pay a local tech to make you a new nut?

 

And same idea, but with a saddle? Or anything you can think of!

 

What say you?

 

And since some people might say it depends on how much you spent on the guitar: Say the guitar was between $300 and $700. That way it's not "cheap" but not "super expensive" either.

[gitnoob]

I bought a guitar online that had a misshapen nut. You could see the headstock veneer because that side of the nut was too low.

 

Took a picture of it, contacted the dealer, they gave me a reasonable credit, and I replaced the nut myself.

[knockwood]

IMHO, a new guitar should arrive requiring no more than a basic setup, which would mostly consist of adjusting the relief to your liking and tweaking the saddle to ensure optimal intonation (which really should be done at the factory) and action (like relief, set to your preference).

 

Any work to be done on the nut should be elective, or what you've referred to as personal-taste tweaks (e.g., maybe you prefer narrower or wider string spacing at the nut than the guitar is set up for at the factory, etc.). Basic nut work can be labor-intensive and costly, and should not be dumped on the customer.

 

Other than that, I don't want to have to bother much at all with a new instrument. In exceptional cases I might be a bit more lax. I got my SJ-100 at a huge discount. I discovered two very small back cracks not long after receiving the guitar. I decided against returning the guitar because the damn thing sounds so good that I didn't want to take a chance of receiving a crack-free replacement that wouldn't sound as great. I also didn't go after MF for a partial refund, though my guess is that they'd probably have gone for it (they'd have lost $ in shipping anyway), because I got such a crazy discount that I felt almost guilty...

[gitnoob]

I hate when that happens. "Killer deal! Wait, not so killer after all. Damn, I kinda got screwed, but I still like the guitar." And then I keep it forever because I don't like selling damaged goods to other people.

 

If I can get a discount due to a fixable defect, I sometimes view that as an opportunity to learn a new skill.

[Jimmy Chaos]

The nut is a bit high on my Guild... And the end pin needs shimming. I wouldn't return it though as it's a tone monster and I'm 90% sure any replacement wouldn't sound anywhere near as good.

 

I once returned a Taylor Big Baby because I didn't like the bearclaws in the spruce...

[GuitarVlog]

Any additional work on the instrument should not exceed $35-$65 depending on the cost of the instrument. This is on top of my own basic setup.

[knockwood]

 

I hate when that happens. "Killer deal! Wait, not so killer after all. Damn, I kinda got screwed, but I still like the guitar." And then I keep it forever because I don't like selling damaged goods to other people. If I can get a discount due to a fixable defect, I sometimes view that as an opportunity to learn a new skill.

 

 

I'm all for developing new skills, but perhaps not on a $2k+ instrument I can't afford to replace. My "skills" tend to be a bit dangerous. I did do my first-ever truss adjustment on this git, though, if that counts...

 

It's still a killer deal, cracks and all. There's no structural threat, and my guess is that it's probably something that happened in transit. Ordinarily the word "Crack" would automatically crank my neurosis dial to 11 (I hate the idea of cracks), but it really doesn't bother me at all. You'd have to really inspect the crap out of this thing in very good lighting to find the cracks (small, hairline stuff) - I only noticed them when I was setting up the git for photos... I wouldn't want to sell damaged goods to other people either, but I'd never let go of this git. Definite lifer.

[seagullplayer77]

IMHO, a new guitar should arrive requiring no more than a basic setup, which would mostly consist of adjusting the relief to your liking and tweaking the saddle to ensure optimal intonation (which really should be done at the factory) and action (like relief, set to your preference).

 

Basically this.

 

If I'm spending decent money for a new guitar, I'd like it to come in pristine shape---no cracks, dents, scratches, or the like---and I'd like it to be in playable condition as well.

 

Then again, I suppose I'm really no expert on the subject, since I've only bought two of my six guitars new .

[gitnoob]

The first guitar I ever bought online had a defect. Some small piece of wood, basically a splinter, was stuck under the pick guard and was causing poor adhesion at the edge of the guard.

 

I returned the guitar.

 

These days, I just rip the pick guards off most of the guitars I buy.

[Tartanlad]

A newly bought guitar whatever the price i say should come with no marks

 

or defects whatsoever and matter eh fact all should be set-up correctly before being sent out.

[knockwood]

 

A newly bought guitar whatever the price i say should come with no marks or defects whatsoever and matter eh fact all should be set-up correctly before being sent out.

 

 

I agree to a point, but individual setup preferences are very subjective. Some people like a little bit more relief in their neck, some less. I like basically no relief at all and very low action. Some players prefer their action slightly higher. I think Martin's standard of shipping guitars from the factory with *medium* action makes sense - taking down a saddle is very easy, but raising one is not.

 

It's a very tricky thing for guitar manufacturers - they want customers trying out their instruments to find them easy to play, etc., but at the same time you want to leave some leeway to the customer's discretion. When I'm trying out a guitar, I'm less concerned with the action than I am with how much saddle I have to play with.

[katopp]

On my little island, you have to rely on mail-order, because otherwise you would either be ripped-off (25 bucks for a pack of EXP's or a dollar for a DUnlop pick) or suffer from limited selection.

I mostly buy at the better and bigger mail-order shops like www.thomann.de that offer free returns within 30 days and I return everything that is defect, that I didn't like or that doesn't seem to be of the appropriate quality. I factor in the cost of a setup done by one of the local luthiers and if Thomann is still considerably cheaper - they get the sale. If not, I'd rather pick and chose from a local shop. Mostly they give you an initial setup for free'ish, too.

[Tartanlad]

I agree to a point, but individual setup preferences are very subjective. Some people like a little bit more relief in their neck, some less. I like basically no relief at all and very low action. Some players prefer their action slightly higher. I think Martin's standard of shipping guitars from the factory with *medium* action makes sense - taking down a saddle is very easy, but raising one is not. It's a very tricky thing for guitar manufacturers - they want customers trying out their instruments to find them easy to play, etc., but at the same time you want to leave some leeway to the customer's discretion. When I'm trying out a guitar, I'm less concerned with the action than I am with how much saddle I have to play with.

 

Well you are right enough it is a touch difficult for manufacturers to get everything right i know well sais

 

Maybe if they do what Martin does with the shipping with the medium action is about right and then its up to the individual as how he wants to tweak whatever way

[Tartanlad]

On my little island, you have to rely on mail-order, because otherwise you would either be ripped-off (25 bucks for a pack of EXP's or a dollar for a DUnlop pick) or suffer from limited selection. I mostly buy at the better and bigger mail-order shops like www.thomann.de that offer free returns within 30 days and I return everything that is defect, that I didn't like or that doesn't seem to be of the appropriate quality. I factor in the cost of a setup done by one of the local luthiers and if Thomann is still considerably cheaper - they get the sale. If not, I'd rather pick and chose from a local shop. Mostly they give you an initial setup for free'ish, too.

 

Kattop now i see the Yamaha i want and at the cheapest price

was a company i had found Gak.co.uk was the cheapest i seen the same guitar which i found to be the cheapest at