Help! After 15 Years I finally bought a JP 15 and it's in really bad shape....

[RSG]

I think the title "in really bad shape" is a bit of an exaggeration. While the setup may not be ideal, it's 100% up to the buyer to have the final neck/bridge adjustments made to your liking and this should be done by the selling dealer. The battery box issue is strange but also a quick fix. The guitar itself looks be in "great shape" otherwise.

 

[jodokus31]

That's shocking. Goodness knows how that was allowed to leave the store. Glad you returned it and hopefully Thomann will fix it.

In general, I'm noticing bridges looking like this more and more often; the saddles up up way too high with the screws maxed out. It looks and feels wrong when you play it. Ibanez seems to be the worst offender recently (and I say that as a huge Ibanez fan).

Tbf, I think, it was my own fault regarding the saddles, because I somehow adjusted the saddles, due to string buzzing, way too high. But that string buzzing was just me picking way to hard and downwards. After readjusting, the sound is fine, when I pick it moderately and all notes are coming through clearly, except for the lowest B string. Maybe need some minor adjustments here and there.The low B string probably needs a bit more space, because I also tuned it to A currently.

 

[banjoplayer]

Usually Thomann has a superb handling with issues, so I hope they will help you sorting things out.
I have nothing than the best experiences with them.
As living in southern germany, I have been in their shop a few times. They are the nicest people.

 

[MikeBerkeley]

Hang in there and you’ll be glad you’re sticking w a majesty. I’ve got a JP-13 and have gigged with it as my primary guitar for 12 years. You can play any type of music w this thing. Between the Piezo, the coil tap (it gets a very “strat” type sound) the preamp volume boost for solos, and great tonal controls you can dial in most styles sounds. It will be well worth the wait. Always have a set AA replacements at a gig as it won’t play without good batteries. Also, if you ever can’t get the piezo to work after changing batteries there’s a process (I’d have to look it up) to reset the piezo (had to do it once) . It’s an incredible guitar

 

[Ascendpie]

I think the title "in really bad shape" is a bit of an exaggeration. While the setup may not be ideal, it's 100% up to the buyer to have the final neck/bridge adjustments made to your liking and this should be done by the selling dealer. The battery box issue is strange but also a quick fix. The guitar itself looks be in "great shape" otherwise.

Yea man very good shape! everything can be fixed, but again that guitar cost 4000 euros not 500 euros. If I want to fix issues on guitar I buy the 500 ones.

 

[Ascendpie]

Usually Thomann has a superb handling with issues, so I hope they will help you sorting things out.
I have nothing than the best experiences with them.
As living in southern germany, I have been in their shop a few times. They are the nicest people.

I returned it got a new guitar and has other issues making me return that too... bad guitars I do not know what I can say anymore

 

[Ascendpie]

That's shocking. Goodness knows how that was allowed to leave the store. Glad you returned it and hopefully Thomann will fix it.

In general, I'm noticing bridges looking like this more and more often; the saddles up up way too high with the screws maxed out. It looks and feels wrong when you play it. Ibanez seems to be the worst offender recently (and I say that as a huge Ibanez fan).

Yes the saddles where at max 3.5 mm from the 12th fret crazy high action

 

[Ascendpie]

As an Update I ordered a 2nd JP 15 with bunch of other issues .... Made a post about it.

Help! - 2nd JP 15 with in bad shape

Hello Everyone This is the original thread Help! - After 15 Years I finally bought a JP 15 and it's in really bad shape..... I am creating a second thread as it's a different guitar with different issues.... What on earth is this quality on the music man's JP15 ?? So this guitar came with 3...

forums.ernieball.com

 

[JulianTreadway]

Hello everyone,


I’m writing this message with tears in my eyes, to be honest. I finally managed to buy my dream guitar — something I’ve wanted since I was a kid. For 15 years, I’ve dreamed of owning one of John Petrucci’s Ernie Ball Music Man guitars. When I finally saved up enough, I ordered a Music Man Petrucci JP15 in Purple Nebula.


But… sadly, it arrived in very bad shape.


The first issue I noticed was the setup. The bridge saddles were angled extremely high, making the guitar almost impossible to play. That alone was odd, but not the end of the world.


I checked the case for tools, but there were none. It felt strange to receive such a premium instrument without any adjustment tools. Luckily, I had my own, but it still took me 2–3 hours to adjust everything because I was scared of damaging such an expensive guitar.


After I finally set it up, I plugged it into an amp — and immediately heard a loud, unpleasant buzzing noise coming from the pickups. I panicked, because I’ve never heard anything like that before. I tried another amp, then swapped cables, and when switching between guitars I realized the issue was definitely with the instrument.


Some friends suggested it might be the Piezo battery. Before opening the battery compartment, I noticed a piece of metal sticking out from one of the ends, which already felt wrong. When I opened it, the compartment felt like it was catching on something and took more force than expected. After removing the battery, I found scratches inside the compartment from a metal piece protruding from the housing. Putting the battery back didn’t fix anything.


So here I am… after 15 years of wanting a Music Man, I finally got one — but it doesn’t work.


My questions are: is this normal after paying 4000 euros on a brand new instrument to be like that ? Has Music Man’s QC gotten this bad? Does the Piezo system make this kind of noise on all of their guitars? I’m honestly heartbroken that at this price point this guitar feels so cheap made.... and don’t know what to do. At this point, I’ll most likely return the guitar…
PS: I am attaching everything here to hear and see the problem.
View attachment 58386 Deposit at Win Bet
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That must have been a real letdown after waiting so long. From what you’re describing, it definitely doesn’t sound like how a new JP15 should arrive, so returning it makes sense. Hopefully the replacement will be what you originally expected.