NFGD - New Faulty Guitar Day

TimmyO

:-( 



It's beautiful, but faulty. The rear of the bridge is lifting. You can kind of see it here, and in the album below, a thin pick shows what portion of it is affected (it's not pushed in there - it slides right under with no force)

Such a disappointment.

I'm going to see what people think about having it repaired (properly - might mean remove and reset?) and the shop have said that there is absolutely no problem with either a full refund or them paying a repair bill whichever I prefer, so kudos to them, but it's still very disappointing

Full album https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0P5nhQSTT2a2K 

Jalapeno

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !  That's a bummer. Such a good looker.  Repair is an option I suppose, but I couldn't be doing with it on an expensive guitar.  Return and re-GAS.

Lewy

Feel your pain. On the plus side, such a repair is really not a big deal if done by someone good.

Jalapeno

Just a thought - is it lifting, or badly glued ?

TimmyO

Jalapeno said:

Just a thought - is it lifting, or badly glued ?

I don't know. To my in-expert eye there doesn't look to be 'damage' but then I don't know how those glue joints fail - maybe they come apart cleanly 

Anyone know what a pro-bridge-remove-refit will cost and any risks that might be associated with it?


Right now I'm not sure how I feel - whether I'd prefer a repair or a refund.

Jalapeno

Is there a local chap for an expert opinion ?

TimmyO

No - do you recall the problems I had finding someone confident enough to dress the frets on my Warmoth neck? 

Jalapeno

How far is the shoppe ?

TheBigDipper

If it plays well and you really like it, maybe you could find a luthier who can tell you if it is something you need to worry about? The bridge might be in the correct place and will stay there forever. 

Pretty thing, too - I normally like my guitars very plain, but I like it!

Lewy

Jalapeno said:

How far is the shoppe ?

Runcorn!

Within an 60-90 mins drive of Swindon there are some good people though - Joe White (Aldershot), Dave King (Kingsclere),  Dave Smart (Oxford) - assuming it's worth the hassle and likely the wait for someone good to do the work versus sending it back for a refund.

Jalapeno

Worth the trip for an assessment I'd say.

ICBM

That's an easy repair for a decent luthier. I wouldn't worry about getting it fixed, if you like the guitar otherwise and the shop will pay for it - which they'll have to if they want to sell it to anyone else anyway, so it makes sense for them to. My guess is that it can be done without removing the bridge.

Disappointing on a Larrivée - most of the ones I've ever seen have been flawless. I doubt it's "failed" as such - more likely not quite glued properly originally - with modern glues the force needed to separate it should be huge if it was stuck tightly to begin with… different from something old where the glue could have become brittle over the years.

ourmaninthenorth

I'd have had a courier booked for the return trip 30 seconds after I'd seen this...regardless of how easy the fix is...

Refund. Find something else. 

ICBM

ourmaninthenorth said:

I'd have had a courier booked for the return trip 30 seconds after I'd seen this...regardless of how easy the fix is...

Refund. Find something else.

The thing is, if you did that, went looking for another guitar, didn't find one for a couple of weeks, and when you did it was this same guitar, having been fully repaired by the shop and guaranteed… would you then buy it?

If yes, what's the difference with having the shop pay for a luthier of your choice to fix it, other than you avoid the risk of couriering it twice?

If you were a *different* customer and weren't aware it had been repaired - given that it can be done invisibly and perfectly - would you buy it? How would you know?

Just curious.

ourmaninthenorth

Lot of "ifs" in there...bottom line it's a damaged guitar as is..send it back, refund, someone else's problem. End of errand. 

Let's go through your comments ...

The guitar has a serial number..so I'm highly unlikely to make the mistake of not remembering that if I came across it again in a repaired state.

Little difference about the repair...I'd make sure it wasn't my problem. I'd do that today. 

I would expect any shop to declare repaired damage, they don't I know. That's why I'm extremely diffident in dealing with anyone I've not dealt with before, or doesn't have a recommendation from someone I trust that has.

 Let me posit my own hypothetical situation. I'm selling you this guitar, I've had it repaired. You wouldn't be left wondering about anything whatsoever, not only would I declare it to you, I'd actually emphasise the point. The decision whether or not to proceed would then be yours..as it should be. Similarly the decision whether or not to have this damaged guitar repaired is TimmyO's. I presume he didn't pay for a damaged guitar? But he must realise that come re-sale ( and there's always  re-sale!!) he's going to have a problem, one way or the other. 

A well executed, non-stated repair is difficult, if not impossible to spot. I concede that point. But with this guitar in hand, that isn't the problem. 

I'll repeat. I'd make this not my problem, I'd do that today. 

CloudNine

ourmaninthenorth said:

I'd have had a courier booked for the return trip 30 seconds after I'd seen this...regardless of how easy the fix is...

Refund. Find something else. 

This. Don't get involved. Presumably it is not some unique guitar, which you will never see the like of again. If the repair goes wrong, then what? Might work out ok in the end, or it might cause you all kinds of hassle. Also, I would only be happy with the bridge coming right off and re-glued properly, otherwise would always be wondering how well glued the rest of it is. And taking the bridge right off does carry risks, I don't care what anyone says. Straight back to them I would say.

AliGorie

looks like the bridge 'wing' didn't / isn't glued to the soundboard - due to a 'dry' / starved (off glue) bridge wing surface. Can easily happen in production, an other reason for a failed joint is that the glue (i.e. Titebond) has a shelf life from opening the container - it goes off losing adhesion.
I have a guitar with exactly this in that the bridge wing has not adhered to the top, been like that for 15 years - it's fine.
good luck with a replacement - still a fine guitar

TimmyO

The chances of finding another on of these used (which is the only way I can afford it) in *otherwise* excellent condition are very slim, and I do think it is a HANDSOME guitar, and it plays well. 

I'm going to sleep on it, but at the moment it's shaken my ability to bond, and this purchase for me was meant to be about finding something properly nice to soften a properly shit year in life generally. 

Will see how I feel in the morning.

Such a shame. 

paul_c2

Look on the bright side - at least it didn't spoil your birthday, it was a day late.

TimmyO

Haha

Sassafras

I'd go for a partial refund and fix it myself. Doesn't look that serious.