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spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
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800
The best and worst three words in the world. :)

When I got my first EBMM just over a decade ago, I had a hit list of ones that I'd own. High on that list was a loaded JP6 in Mystic Dream. Mark another one off the list.

I've missed several guitars over the last few months. There was a banged up El Dorado gold loaded JP6 that the seller refused my offer on. There was the 25th that I hesitated on and edhalen ended up snatching up. And the one that I've been kicking myself over, a candy red loaded JP6 for super cheap. The pickups had been swapped for Duncans, and there were only a few photos, so I decided to ask a question instead of snapping it up. It was gone within the hour, well before the seller answered my question.

I was following several on eBay and had pretty much decided to pop on a 2006 LE that wasn't getting any bids, when this one popped up -- a little more than the other two JP6s I'd missed, but exactly what I wanted. Opening bid was at the top of my price range, but I decided to watch it and try a minimum bid at the last minute. It worked. It's got a couple of very small dings, and will be missing the backplate initially (seller had it signed by one of his heroes, not JP, and didn't want to part with it, so he's having EB send me one directly), but I can't wait to get my hands on it. Photos to come once the brown truck gets here. :)
 

tbonesullivan

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Mystic Dream is one awesome color. I would love a JP model, but the pickups are just too "modern" for me. I'll leave them for the people who can actually play them as they were meant to be played.
 

edhalen

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Ah yes, OFD - completely agree with you on that. I too am waiting for the brown truck today. Found one I couldn't pass up as well. It will complete my collection (small collection :)).

In any case - CONGRATS on the score and looking forward to the review and pics! :)
 

spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
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800
Good, bad and ugly in the unboxing.

The good: The dings are hardly noticeable unless you're looking for them, with the exception of the one on the headstock, which was clearly pictured in the listing. Played and sounded great right out of the box. Nice broken-in neck with some good figuring.

The bad: The action was high, and the fretboard was a bit grungy and dry. No big deal on either count, though it did seem odd for the fretboard to be so dirty when I was told the guitar had barely been played.

The ugly: When I took the strings off, there was a lot of fret wear that had not been disclosed. There are some pretty gnarly grooves in the first few frets and significant wear in other places. None of that had been mentioned in the listing.

Since the guitar was playing well out of the box, I thought I might get by on these frets for a bit, so I pulled out my Wonder Wipes and an old toothbrush and started scrubbing and hydrating the fretboard. I got it cleaned and shined up pretty well, and there's some nice grain on the board. Then I did an oil and wax treatment on the back of the neck, got it slick as glass. Polished out a few swirls in the body. Restrung it with some Hybrid Slinkys and started working on that action, and that's where the frets reared their ugly head. I got the action to a comfortable level, and from the second fret up the board, the thing plays like a dream. I absolutely love it. It could almost threaten my Axis. But on the open A and D, there's a really ugly buzz, and the only way to get rid of it is to raise the action back up to about where the seller had it.

This morning, I've sent an email to Customer Service to inquire about a re-fret. I'm also taking it to my local tech this afternoon to see if a level and crown is a possibility, but some of those grooves are pretty deep, so I'm not hopeful. I'm really torn because, after putting a couple of hours of work into it, I really love the guitar. I didn't pay top dollar for it, but I paid more than I probably would have knowing the fret problems existed.

Pics attached. All of these except the fretboard were taken before cleanup. It's a hard finish to photograph, as you guys well know. Hopefully I can get some sunlight to try some outdoor shots.

JPangle.jpg JPfretboard.jpg JPfront.jpg JPheadstock.jpg JPneck.jpg
 

spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
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800
Good news. My tech says the nut has been filed too deep. That's what's causing the issue, not the frets, though it will need fretwork soon. Its a quick, cheap fix for now, though.
 

tbonesullivan

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Un-disclosed fret wear is something I almost expect these days. What some people consider "minimal" fretwear is always surprising. You could always go for broke, and get it redone with stainless frets and a new nut, and call it done. You will probably need to source a new nut from EBMM.
 

spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
Messages
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Un-disclosed fret wear is something I almost expect these days. What some people consider "minimal" fretwear is always surprising. You could always go for broke, and get it redone with stainless frets and a new nut, and call it done. You will probably need to source a new nut from EBMM.

Yeah. This is the second guitar I've bought in a year with minimal fretwear that had grooves (the other was a cheapo project guitar, so no big deal). My tech thinks I might get as much as a year out of these frets before I have to decide what to do. For the moment, I'm going to let him build the nut up, and if he can get it playing well at my action without any buzz, I'll be OK. I'll probably go stainless when I have to redo them. That should make it through my lifetime. :)
 
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GWDavis28

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Jun 23, 2003
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Wow congrats very nice. Bummer about the info not disclosed. You could send the whole thing back to EBMM and get the frets and nut done all at once, might cost you, but you'll know it's done well and right, just a thought.

Nice fret board by the way. Glenn |B)
 

edhalen

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Great guitar - that's definitely a keeper! I'd send it to the factory and get the frets and nut done by THE one and only factory dudes. Having said that I could see SS frets on that bad boy as well :). Decisions, decisions.
 

spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
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Picked it up from my tech on my lunch break, and it's like a new guitar. No buzz, no issues. I'm a happy camper for the moment. I will probably send it back to SLO when the frets have to be done, though. Anyone know if they'll do SS on a guitar that was not originally shipped with SS?

The issue was less to do with the $$ than with the fact that I still feel the seller should have disclosed the fret wear. Based on what my tech tells me, and he's always been honest with me, I might have overreacted a little to the wear (I have a tendency to do that. :)), but if you've got frets with grooves carved in them and others with flat tops, that should be noted.
 

spychocyco

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Feb 16, 2008
Messages
800
Replacement back plate came today, so she's complete. Except for the @#$&%$ screw I dropped and lost. *sigh*
 
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vuduhwy

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Jan 12, 2018
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From what I recall, EBMM will not do stainless steel frets on a guitar that did not come with it.

They won't. I called them about refretting one of my Morse guitars and I asked about it. They said they would not do it since it didn't come that way.
 
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