I think my Vintage is cursed...

Octahedron

I've had a Vintage icon for a number of years (LP style, honeyburst) and let me just put it out there I honestly think it's a cool looking guitar but it is a piece of shit. To be honest. It really is. It's just done nothing but fall to pieces from day one. I didn't pay for it, that's probably why I've kept it. It feels flimsy.

First incident: the guitar was knocked off a stand. The cheap hollow plastic tulips smashed. The shafts bent. All the machineheads were replaced. The holes drilled for the screws don't line up properly. I've been through 3 sets of machine heads on this guitar since I got it 7 years ago. Note: both times I replaced them with Gotoh tulips, not the Wilkinson ones.

Other things that have since happened to the guitar include...

1) The hardware has rusted. Heaps. Like I have guitars of comparable age or older that have no defects/the hardware has not rusted. The bridge and tailpiece and the pickup covers are all rusting. I've treated this guitar no more harshly (other than with my words!!!) than any other guitar I've ever owned. 

2) The frets are fucked. Just recently, some of the fretwires has started to come away from the guitar, which means that the top E string can now slip under it. Yeah, I know right?! I just found this one today! I thought oh maybe it's just slipped out of the slot in the nut... nope! It's trapped under the fretwire. What the hell?!

3) Pretty much, without fail, all of the holes are drilled in the wrong spot. Half the screws in the covers that hide the electrics on the back look like they're coming away from the body and the plastic is bending. And no, I haven't given the guitar a short sharp drop-kick with my knee in the back panel. I don't play rough. 

Is it time to just turn this guitar into firewood for my engagement party/wedding celebrations? 

Has anyone else had any similar experiences with the shocking quality of similar products/the aforementioned brands?

jonnyburgo

I always thought they were good solid budget guitars, the SG I had a few years ago was pretty good for the £60 I paid second hand, Maybe you need to get a priest round or something to perform an exorcism

4114Effects

I'll take it off your hands ... could do with some re-fretting practise

Jalapeno

Might need some fretboard TLC - lemon/boiled linseed oil to a dried out fretboard works wonders.

Might also be a Friday afternoon one of course.

meltedbuzzbox

I mentioned these points point a few months ago and I was nearly burnt alive.

They are a guitar that is ok for the price, nothing more. They are certainly no Gibson killer

stimpsonslostson

That doesn't sound good- 3 sets of tuners in years! :-0

I've had several Vintage branded guitars & had the opposite experience- they've all been solid, if workmanlike, guitars: 

VS6 (SG clone)- pre-wilkinson, sold it to pay for bike repairs (wish I still had it!)

AV3 (335 clone)- not sure why I parted with it… It was lovely, but just didn't "talk" to me.

V400 (dread acoustic)- replaced with a Vintage Brett 12 string, I needed an electro- which is awesome!

My main guitar now is a V100 Icon Lemon Drop, which is great. I picked it over an Epiphone Ultra III & it's never given me a moment's bother. 

I have heard that their QC can leave something to be desired (Thankfully things seem to be improving).  

Hopefully no members will be burnt at stakes over this! (Folk DO seem to get attached/defensive over their preferred brands)

SNAKEBITE

Sounds like it could be sold on Ebay for a silly amount as a relic.

p90fool

I've played a few and found them mainly slightly uninspiring, which is no great crime at that price tbh.

thermionic

Unbelievable though it would seem, there are people out in ebay-land who would pay maybe £277 for this POS if it had a Tele bridge pickup in the neck position. What are you waiting for?

FX_Munkee

I picked up a VS6 (SG one) about 3 years ago because it was listed incorrectly and I got it for £50, which included gig bag, stand and practise amp!
It's a pre-wilkinson one from what I gather and is a very solid, if somewhat uninspiring, guitar. I've had no bother with it at all. It's certainly not rusting!, the fretwork isn't "A" grade but it's perfectly playable, definitely not lifting, in fact no sharp edges that I've noticed.
Admittedly it doesn't get a massive amount of playtime as I have nicer guitars, but for what it is, a budget guitar I think it's far better than I could hope for, value wise.

breakstuff

I've got one of the new V120 junior style guitars and the fit and finish is fantastic.Its a great guitar,not just for the money,just a great guitar,period.It was,however a pre production model so.maybe this has something to do with the quality.The pickup was a bit shrill so I've replaced it with one of guitarweasels ASL Jingo P-90s and now it sounds as good as it looks.I've also got a Lemon Drop which is currently getting stripped and upgraded as we speak.Nice guitar but the fake relicing looked pants.

ThePrettyDamned

My mate has an epi special edition firebird.

It is firewood. No, wait, that's too good for it.

It's a dead sounding, mega heavy (I think it must be at least 14lb and I don't think I'm exaggerating at all), toneless, bad playing piece of shite. He bought it for 200 quid and he's desperate to sell but for the fact it looks nice on his wall.

Contrast to his wonderful epi Explorer he has...

gubble

I've a V100 Paradise - the slash AFD type one.

My guitar (notice the use of the word my) is awesome and knocks the spots off all budget guitars i've played.

However.........

I've played two 'identical' ones which were so bad compared to mine. They didn't feel the same, didn't sing when played without an amp and felt much cheaper & worse built.

So i'm guessing with the mass produced stuff quality can really vary.

i've played a fair few V100's and some have been dogs, some have been great, just really chuffed my personal one is built well and plays and sounds great for me.

The vintage V62 i had sounded great but the fretwork was horrific.

 

Corvus

I've a Vintage LP special which was iffy - mc head holes seemingly hand drilled without a jig, pup off centre, bad fretwork. All fixed but was very Friday afternoon. Only cost 40 notes though. Marlin had the guitar but his was fine. Cheapies are a lottery.

Samgb

Ive got a V100 and a V6 Icon with a few mods which are good little guitars. You takes your chance at the prices these can be picked up for i guess.

I wouldnt mind one of their Tele or Junior copies to be honest.

Superior quality control and attention to detail and finish is one of the things you pay for on higher priced guitars. 

Chuffola

I have a Vintage V52 blackguard Tele and it's great. Fretwork is good, bridge pup excellent, neck pup a bit muddy. Neck nice and chunky and fit and finish all good.

But, I've no doubt there are some stinkers too. That's the main issue at the budget end of the market, I think - little consistency (although, that's not just a budget issue. Is it, Gibson? Eh?)

I'm quite tempted to get one of the double cut Juniors. Local shop has a cherry one for £200 and it plays very nicely. I reckon a better p90 and it would be superb. 

Of course, sell on prices will be shite. 

IanSavage

I'm biased, but I wouldn't endorse Vintage if I didn't think they were shit-hot. I've done significant shows with my VJ74 and V96 basses without them EVER giving me problems of any kind, and my V880 parlour is my home / small-acoustic-gig guitar of choice; if you've managed to burn through that many tuners and also having problems with the frets you're either TOTALLY abusing them (which you say you aren't, and mine take a fair degree of abuse) or you have a lemon. I'd be intrigued to see it...

rossi

How would the bridge and tail rust ?.They are pot metal/mazak .Only the screws would go rusty and a quick wd 40 will stop that .Do you live near the coast for extra moisture to creep in .

Bucket

I've had three (LP-alike, SG Junior-alike and bass) and all have had electrical issues and minor setup things that needed sorting, but have been fundamentally good guitars despite that. I've gigged them, and would do so again.

Octahedron

I'm hearing a lot of "pre-Wilkinson love" and not a lot of the opposite!

The guys in my local offered to order me Wilkinson machine heads. I said, flat-out, no, that this guitar would not have any Wilkinson branded hardware replaced with uhm Wilkinson branded hardware... 

For the record, the bridge and tailpiece rusted. I don't live near the coast. I have no freakin' idea why they have rusted, but I, too, am very surprised that they have and I don't get it. 

Point of thread: the guitar is broken. I'm unhappy about it. It's had numerous problems. I've got guitars cheaper than this (Squier Tele) that are a million miles/cut above this. I think it cost four hundred squids this thing?

breakstuff

I remember about ten or so years ago when Vintage where starting to get popular.All the chatter on the web was that the pre Wilkinsons where inferior to the newer ones.I had an early pre model bolt on V99 Les Paul Goldtop with P-90s and the construction was pretty damn good with a lovely fretboard and good fretwork.I sold it after having it for about six years and got back what I paid.Actually regret selling it now.Some of the newer ones I've seen haven't been a patch on that particular guitar,however my Junior is.