So, the honeymoon period has worn off and I am still cuffed as nuts with my Original 50's Strat, Fit and finish is superb, neck profile is sublime. another pickup change from Fat 50's to Mojo 60's and I'm even happier, BUT, not overly happy with the setup on receipt from PMTOnline. There was always a bit of fret buzz around the 5th and 7th frets, just a bit, just enough to be annoying. Nut action was a hair too high, (I know that wouldn't cause the buzz) so I fixed that, the last pickup change I popped the neck off, straightened it and checked with a fret rocker tool - 5th, 7th and half the 20th were high, luckily I have a fret file and just took a few strokes off each fret until it the rock was gone.....what is also interesting is that where the string buzzed it had already created fret wear at the 5th and 7th, which doesn't bode well for fret life (?). So, its a fantastic guitar. Is it worth three times a MIM? No.....but you pays you money and takes you choice, I have no regrets.
I really don't think PMT even unboxed it never mind a setup, the packing tape didn't look as if it has been opened and resealed.......on a £150 Squier I can sort of get it, but on a £1650 instrument it should have been right on arrival, or at least close......
Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll
Comments
I think you have to accept that tweaking something to your own taste is all part of the fun....
When they were stocking Gibsons I would have guessed 50% on show were unplayable based on the ones tried.
This is generally an area where the smaller dealers excel.
I did buy a guitar from Sound Affects a couple of months back and they actually asked me my prefered string guage and setup so they could set it up prior to me coming in to collect it (I ordered by phone but wanted to collect it person). It was set up perfectly when i picked it up.
Mind you, at least your box from PMT arrived, unlike mine.
I've only been to PMT once - just after they opened the new London shop. The lad in the shop was making stuff up as he went along - telling me something was a limited edition when it wasn't. They weren't cheap either. I tried a PRS S2 in there that I found a lot cheaper on my phone in a couple of minutes. I ended up getting it from Guitar Village for £200 less. Not impressed and very unlikely to go back again (or order from them online).
Well if if they can’t be bothered then I can’t be bothered to spend 2 and a half grand with them.
While I appreciate everyone has their own preferences in terms of feel, this was just unplayable - so it was impossible to fairly evaluate the guitar.
They are just box-shifters in my view....
They literally just hung it out on display like that.
I went to the southend store and bought it there instead, and its very playable. Action not too low or high, neck is maybe a bit too straight and theres a little buzz but it doesnt choke anywhere.
I reckon I got lucky. They didnt even have its box or allen key so lord knows how long it had been there.
I purchased an Esp from gak a couple years back. Arrived safe enough but the set up was fucking ridiculous.
No one likes buying a guitar to then have to take it to a tech immediately just for it to be playable, and wait another 2 weeks til you can enjoy it.
Atleast if the store made them generally playable before handing over then that would surely entice sales.
Oops I forgot to mention, which was sposed to be a main point of my previous post..
When I was paying for it, the Southend guy looked my details up for the account, and said ‘its just for the warranty etc’..
I was like ‘oh, cool’.
He then went on to explain, ‘yeah you get 4 years warranty and 2 set ups, just pop it in’...
Which never have I heard a store offer, let alone a Pmt.. maybe it was some kind of deal attached only to the cheapest Squiers, I dunno.
The guitar was only £169 so I have no idea what the hell that was about.. maybe I’ll try it next month just to see...