Question about painting headstock on Petrucci Mystic Dream

[zach.king]

Hi,

I am new to these forums as far as posting is concerned, but have enjoyed reading them for a while. Very helpful message board for the greatest guitars made in the world!

Now to my question...
I just purchased the JP6 in Mystic Dream from an huge online music retailer (you can only guess??? . Upon ordering I was told that it would come with the matching headstock. When it arrived yesterday, I then realized that it did not come with the matching headstock. I was very disappointed because of the hefty price tag that these already demand but is worth for such a wonderful instrument. I just feel I could have made a more educated decision about where to purchase had they been honest and up front with the features I would be getting.

Anyway... I would return and shop around, but this guitar just plays phenomenal and the birdseye maple is by far the best on this particular JP that I have ever seen. I have had two other Ernie Ball Petrucci's and this is by far the best one as far as playability and tone that I have had so far. This makes me want to keep it. I am completely torn because I would love to have this with the matching headstock option. So I thought, why don't I just send it to Ernie Ball and pay to have them paint the headstock in the mystic dream finish to match the body??? I called Ernie Ball, and spoke with two different people... one said that they could do that, and the other, after being transferred, was not certain and said he would return my call. I was just hoping this could be an option as this is hands down the best petrucci I have had so far and really don't want to send it back and would rather have this option done to this particular guitar.

Have any of you had this done, or know if it is a possibility? I would assume that you could... especially with the stellar reputation that Ernie Ball has with all of you and many others. What a quality instrument indeed.

thanks for your time.

 

[Quarter]

I can't answer your question if EBMM can paint it for you, but your not the only one who recently had this problem with MF.
I would hope that maybe the big wigs here can light some fires and get MF to update their info if they are not shipping matching headstocks as is advertised.
I know I would be very disappointed if it happened to me.

 

[Colin]

first of all welcome. Did you return to your dealer and explain the situation to them? If you are not happy they are your first point of contact. Try it you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[zach.king]

first of all welcome. Did you return to your dealer and explain the situation to them? If you are not happy they are your first point of contact. Try it you may be pleasantly surprised.

I did try and contact them (MF) about it already. Before I even placed the order I spoke with someone trying to get the specific details about what options would come with the petrucci that they have if I bought the mystic dream option. They said, after keeping me on hold for 15 minutes to speak with their warehouse, that if you order the pearl redburst you get the non-matching, and if you order the mystic dream, you get the matching headstock. I asked him if he was 100 percent sure, and his reply was, yes.

I thought, if nothing else that this would be a good place to share this story so others don't go through the same heartache. I also think Ernie Ball should know how their dealers are representing their instruments.

Back to the question... I did contact them yesterday after seeing that it didn't come with the matching headstock as advertised. I told them that they lied to me... and if they could help me out. Their reply was short of returning it and getting MF credit, they wouldn't be willing to do anything. I think this is a sorry way to handle customers who are paying top dollar for a professional instrument, only to be mislead about its features.


You can see why I am torn... awesome guitar that's the best petrucci I have had so far... yet not completely what I wanted as far as looks. Yet, the best deal would be the option of paying Ernie Ball just to match the headstock to the body. That way I would get this guitar with the exact options I intended to have in the first place, without having to pick out another instrument and possibly be not as pleased with playability and tone as this one.

 

[ernie1966]

EBMM will not paint your headstock. Even if you busted the neck and got it replaced by EBMM, they would replace it with an exact copy (plain headstock) of the one that it left the factory with.

 

[brentrocks]

MF strikes again!!!

 

[banjoplayer]

Can´t sadly help your problem, but have a warm welcome here (guys, you forgot this ).

Like ernie1966 I´m sure the painting will not happen. But if you like it that much, keep it. Can you get the money for the matching headstock back? I think not, when MF is that less cooperative. What a $H!T

If you read here for a while, you know: NO PICS, NO JP !!!

 

[roburado]

I say vote with your dollars. If you're displeased with MF, don't deal with them again. But, keep your guitar.

 

[Colin]

contact EB [email protected] and tell them of your situation. My advice is to now keep it off the forum until all is resolved. EB will do all they can for you, they are the best!

 

[peedo_deedo]

Hi,

I am new to these forums as far as posting is concerned, but have enjoyed reading them for a while. Very helpful message board for the greatest guitars made in the world!

Now to my question...
I just purchased the JP6 in Mystic Dream from an huge online music retailer (you can only guess??? . Upon ordering I was told that it would come with the matching headstock. When it arrived yesterday, I then realized that it did not come with the matching headstock. I was very disappointed because of the hefty price tag that these already demand but is worth for such a wonderful instrument. I just feel I could have made a more educated decision about where to purchase had they been honest and up front with the features I would be getting.

Anyway... I would return and shop around, but this guitar just plays phenomenal and the birdseye maple is by far the best on this particular JP that I have ever seen. I have had two other Ernie Ball Petrucci's and this is by far the best one as far as playability and tone that I have had so far. This makes me want to keep it. I am completely torn because I would love to have this with the matching headstock option. So I thought, why don't I just send it to Ernie Ball and pay to have them paint the headstock in the mystic dream finish to match the body??? I called Ernie Ball, and spoke with two different people... one said that they could do that, and the other, after being transferred, was not certain and said he would return my call. I was just hoping this could be an option as this is hands down the best petrucci I have had so far and really don't want to send it back and would rather have this option done to this particular guitar.

Have any of you had this done, or know if it is a possibility? I would assume that you could... especially with the stellar reputation that Ernie Ball has with all of you and many others. What a quality instrument indeed.

thanks for your time.

I truly feel sorry for what they did to you. But on the other hand, Mystic Dream is a very very beautiful finish and everyone who does not own one (myself included) surely feels jealous that you have one. And there are lots of guitarists out there who is dreaming of owning what you have

Rock On man and congrats on your beautiful JP

 

[Headstock]

Their reply was short of returning it and getting MF credit, they wouldn't be willing to do anything. I think this is a sorry way to handle customers who are paying top dollar for a professional instrument, only to be mislead about its features.

While I have not bought an EBMM from MF, I have bought lots of gear there. I would call back. Ask to speak with a supervisor. I have two recommendations for you.

1) Explain (politely and with a super cool manner) your problem and ask what they can do for you in terms of a discounted price. I am guessing you can get a minimum of 5% in a heartbeat. Point them to the page that said it would have the matching headstock, and explain that you know that is a option that has a $150 upcharge and that without it you feel you were mislead. I am also guessing that you paid MAP for this guitar. You can always do better than MAP with most dealers. Try Pete at Dubaldo Music or Jason @ DrumCityGuitarLand.

2) You mention above MF credit as the only option you have for retuning to MF, I took this to mean "store credit". If that is what you meant you were mislead. MF has a 45 day return policy - no questions asked. All you have to do is tell them you want to return it and they will give you a return authorization. I have done this and it was as easy as ordering the product. Just let us know if you do this so we can pick it up in the "scratch and dent" sale as this is likely where it will end up.


Best of luck with what ever you decide to do, but if you are bonding with it I say keep it.

 

[ernie1966]

contact EB [email protected] and tell them of your situation. My advice is to now keep it off the forum until all is resolved. EB will do all they can for you, they are the best!

This has nothing to do with EBMM or EBMM customer service. Zach's problem is with MF and their misrepresentation. Having him call customer service will just be a waste of time.

 

[zach.king]

While I have not bought an EBMM from MF, I have bought lots of gear there. I would call back. Ask to speak with a supervisor. I have two recommendations for you.

1) Explain (politely and with a super cool manner) your problem and ask what they can do for you in terms of a discounted price. I am guessing you can get a minimum of 5% in a heartbeat. Point them to the page that said it would have the matching headstock, and explain that you know that is a option that has a $150 upcharge and that without it you feel you were mislead. I am also guessing that you paid MAP for this guitar. You can always do better than MAP with most dealers. Try Pete at Dubaldo Music or Jason @ DrumCityGuitarLand.

2) You mention above MF credit as the only option you have for retuning to MF, I took this to mean "store credit". If that is what you meant you were mislead. MF has a 45 day return policy - no questions asked. All you have to do is tell them you want to return it and they will give you a return authorization. I have done this and it was as easy as ordering the product. Just let us know if you do this so we can pick it up in the "scratch and dent" sale as this is likely where it will end up.


Best of luck with what ever you decide to do, but if you are bonding with it I say keep it.

First off, thank you for all your responses thus far. I really appreciate it! I have talked to MF very politely and did point them to the page that lists the petrucci, yet they still refuse to budge on their stance to help me out as far as a discounted price. On the page it lists the options to the right... there you can choose pearl redburst or mystic dream finish. It says nothing about any other options you might get with the guitar other than the finish color. In the description of the guitar is talks about all the options you can get with one, but never lets you choose any other than finish color when ordering one. That is why I asked the sales rep over the phone what exactly I would be getting when I purchased the mystic dream one, and he told me 100 percent that I would get the matching headstock. Of course, that is not the case.

Also, I apologize for not being more clear... I have a musician's friend credit card and that is why I purchased from them, and is what I meant when I said MF credit. I could have shopped around though, because I had the dough, just wanted to use the chance to build up some more credit that's all. Also, the fact that I would get a guitar that no one else had played before was a nice feeling. I normally buy used... but really wanted the wear on the guitar to be the wear "I" put on it.

One of the main reasons for posting this was to let everyone know of my experience in purchasing from MF. I don't know if this is a common problem with them, but I felt that a huge company liek themselves, could be a little more helpful after the sale, short of just returning a instrument they falsely advertised.

 

[zach.king]

EBMM will not paint your headstock. Even if you busted the neck and got it replaced by EBMM, they would replace it with an exact copy (plain headstock) of the one that it left the factory with.

Do you know why this is the case?

 

[Colin]

This has nothing to do with EBMM or EBMM customer service. Zach's problem is with MF and their misrepresentation. Having him call customer service will just be a waste of time.

it's not EB's fault but as a dealer we are responsible to do the right thing by them (EBMM) and if we are not doing our job right why shouldn't he contact them? Your response surprises me to be quite honest. Contacting customer service to ask "when will my guitar be ready?" is a waste of time, letting them know of a problem that can't be resolved is not.

 

[zach.king]

it's not EB's fault but as a dealer we are responsible to do the right thing by them (EBMM) and if we are not doing our job right why shouldn't he contact them? Your response surprises me to be quite honest. Contacting customer service to ask "when will my guitar be ready?" is a waste of time, letting them know of a problem that can't be resolved is not.

that is exactly why i wanted to post this story. so that ernie ball might now what one of their dealers are doing with their esteemed guitars. it truly is sad when a company will just take your money, deny making a mistake, and refuse to help you to resolve it... other than just returning your merchandise and shopping elsewhere. You would think they would want to keep a customer???

 

[roburado]

EBMM will not paint your headstock. Even if you busted the neck and got it replaced by EBMM, they would replace it with an exact copy (plain headstock) of the one that it left the factory with.

Do you know why this is the case?

I don't know why that's the policy, but it makes sense to me. EBMM does not have a custom shop. You'd sort of be asking them to do a custom job, and they don't do that unless you're a high-profile endorser, friend, or family.

EBMM will replace broken stock parts with new stock parts, no problem. You might have to buy them, but you will get them if you need them/pay for them. If it's a warranty thing, well, they'd replace the thing, I think.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I think the pictures on the MF site for the JP all have non-matching headstocks. I thought of ordering a JP from them at one time, but there not being an option for matching headstock led me elsewhere. It sounds like you got a dud for a sales rep, and he misinformed you. Prob would have been beneficial to have caught his name, so you could mention it to a supervisor when calling. BUT, as others have stated: If the guitar sounds/plays like you want, then keep it. Otherwise return it and talk to Pete Dubaldo. He has several JPs in stock and should be able to get you what you want!

Good luck.

 

[Astrofreq]

First off, send it back. As long as it is in your hands, they will do everything to keep your money. The fact that you are on these forums says that you won't be totally satisfied with it until you get what you wanted. I would keep hounding them until they give you a refund. Talk to the home office and go straight to the big wigs. They don't want unhappy customers. Don't waste time talking to the salespeople, who don't care either way. Talk to a supervisor and get names as you do it.

If they still won't give you a refund, I'd tell them in advance that the Better Business Bureau would be contacted. That'll do it.

 

[roburado]

Okay, if you're willing to roll the dice that if you return the guitar, you'll get one that you like when you buy a new one, by all means, send it back as radrock has suggested. Get your money back and move on. It seems like you want to keep it, though. So, I said keep it. If you don't think you can be happy with the guitar, if you don't think the sound, quality, playbility, etc. can make up for not having a matching headstock. By all means, send it back.