foolsfortune
Member
So some of you may recall (and I'm sure most will not) that I had scored my first Ball but the neck pocket was cracked. Here' sthe post...
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/22605-new-petrucci-broken-heart-help-big-poppa.html
Some said to keep it and ignore the crack. Others said to have it fixed and have it back to 100% again,
I like my stuff mint, expescially brand new $2000 + guitars so I opted for option #2.
Now since I'm Canadian, the store/EB came to the conclusion that they'd just make me a new body and ship it to the store to be swapped out by their tech.
I didn't know the guy so this made me leery and I asked "what if he buggers it up?" EB said in that case that they'd just have the guitar sent back to EB and have it done right. I asked why not just do it "right" in the first place?
Long story short, the body shows up, still has a paint flaw and the tech puts it together and did a hack job. Terrible solders, burned insulation, nasty buzz/ground loop. He was a very nice guy but just needs more practice on the crap axes before he works on high end stuff IMHO.
So I show the problems to my local rep Glenn, who turned out to be a great guy as promised by EB and he asked what I wanted done to make me happy. I said to send it back at anybodys cost but mine and have it rebuilt to perfection by the guys that know what they're doing.
So off it went to Cali having been played for one day total.
All the while through the aggravation of it all, Kevin from EB customer service kept me informed and checked in to let me know the status of things right down to emailing me when he saw via the tracking number that it had reached the store and then even went a step further to email me from home to see what I thought of it.
Well, as suspected.....it's perfect! Beautiful finish, no more buzzes and although I haven't removed the cavity plate, I'm pretty sure the solders no longer look like they were done with a hot campfire pokin' stick
For my patience Kevin said he'd send some swag but then I guess forgot about it once he knew I was happy. I wound up getting the swag anyway (a couple t- shirts and a hat) and I couldn't be happier with the service.
My store guys were a little miffed that I took this to the forum and talked to the EB guys before the store, but I swear I wasn't trying to pull a fast one or get anyone in any trouble. Before buying, I had done my research here on the boards so when trouble arose, I posted the problem here for advice on how to handle it and it all worked out fine.
The store did an awesome job of taking care of me (thanks Tony!), the rep made things happen (thanks Glenn) and the Ernie Ball guys did a superb job that has won me as a customer for life (Thanks Kevin, John and anyone else who had a hand in this).
So what did I learn from all this?
1) Inspect your guitar VERY carefully before it leave the shop. I couldn't do this as it was bought for me as a gift.
2) If you live outside the USA and don't know or trust your local tech to fix your brand new EB, insist it be sent back to EB. Save a step. It may cost EB more, but your time is worth something.
3) Own more than one EB so when one is out being repaired, you'll still have one or more to play!
Enough babble, give us photos......
Yes I know.....I can take the stickers off now!
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/22605-new-petrucci-broken-heart-help-big-poppa.html
Some said to keep it and ignore the crack. Others said to have it fixed and have it back to 100% again,
I like my stuff mint, expescially brand new $2000 + guitars so I opted for option #2.
Now since I'm Canadian, the store/EB came to the conclusion that they'd just make me a new body and ship it to the store to be swapped out by their tech.
I didn't know the guy so this made me leery and I asked "what if he buggers it up?" EB said in that case that they'd just have the guitar sent back to EB and have it done right. I asked why not just do it "right" in the first place?
Long story short, the body shows up, still has a paint flaw and the tech puts it together and did a hack job. Terrible solders, burned insulation, nasty buzz/ground loop. He was a very nice guy but just needs more practice on the crap axes before he works on high end stuff IMHO.
So I show the problems to my local rep Glenn, who turned out to be a great guy as promised by EB and he asked what I wanted done to make me happy. I said to send it back at anybodys cost but mine and have it rebuilt to perfection by the guys that know what they're doing.
So off it went to Cali having been played for one day total.
All the while through the aggravation of it all, Kevin from EB customer service kept me informed and checked in to let me know the status of things right down to emailing me when he saw via the tracking number that it had reached the store and then even went a step further to email me from home to see what I thought of it.
Well, as suspected.....it's perfect! Beautiful finish, no more buzzes and although I haven't removed the cavity plate, I'm pretty sure the solders no longer look like they were done with a hot campfire pokin' stick
For my patience Kevin said he'd send some swag but then I guess forgot about it once he knew I was happy. I wound up getting the swag anyway (a couple t- shirts and a hat) and I couldn't be happier with the service.
My store guys were a little miffed that I took this to the forum and talked to the EB guys before the store, but I swear I wasn't trying to pull a fast one or get anyone in any trouble. Before buying, I had done my research here on the boards so when trouble arose, I posted the problem here for advice on how to handle it and it all worked out fine.
The store did an awesome job of taking care of me (thanks Tony!), the rep made things happen (thanks Glenn) and the Ernie Ball guys did a superb job that has won me as a customer for life (Thanks Kevin, John and anyone else who had a hand in this).
So what did I learn from all this?
1) Inspect your guitar VERY carefully before it leave the shop. I couldn't do this as it was bought for me as a gift.
2) If you live outside the USA and don't know or trust your local tech to fix your brand new EB, insist it be sent back to EB. Save a step. It may cost EB more, but your time is worth something.
3) Own more than one EB so when one is out being repaired, you'll still have one or more to play!
Enough babble, give us photos......
Yes I know.....I can take the stickers off now!
