All 5 Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci guitars I got through Long and McQuade were broken

[Luck1001]

The first EBMM guitar I bought was the JPXI at the Richmond Long and Mcquade. By far the most incredible instrument I've ever played. Unfortunately, the neck was on crooked. You could fit a credit card between the neck and body. I had to return it for another one.

The second one, the whammy bar had to be forced into the hole. Returned

The third one had the wrong neck, the knobs actually turned and hit the body. They were totally uneven. Returned.

The above 3 happened around 2013-2014 at the Richmond Long and McQuade.

The next one I got wasn't until 2022 or so. These next 2 I got from the Vancouver Long and McQuade hoping they'd have better luck.

The fourth one was a Majesty that I got from Long and McQuade downtown hoping that this new store would be better. They couldn't put the whammy bar in at all.. wouldn't fit.

The fifth one had action about 1/2 inch high at the 24th fret. Played great frets 1 to 7. After that, the action went up and up. By the 24th fret, it was super high. They told me if I return it, I'd have to pay for a restocking fee which I refused. I said, why don't you just go fix it now. They agreed. 45 mins later he came downstairs and told the guy to give me a full refund.

This is the most exceptional instrument ever made yet I can't get one that actually works.

Very disappointed. Now I don't know where to find one that works. One of the toughest things about all this is that each guitar takes 3 to 6 months to arrive. So I've wasted how much time? Years literally.

 

[Luck1001]

I guess I was expecting too much thinking someone from Ernie Ball would reach out to me.

 

[beej]

The EBMM folks aren't always on the forums. Your best bet is always to contact them directly. That said, I've reached out to someone at MM about it.

 

[Luck1001]

The EBMM folks aren't always on the forums. Your best bet is always to contact them directly. That said, I've reached out to someone at MM about it.

Thanks so much. Much appreciated.

 

[A.J.]

Hi Luck1001

Thank you for your continued and resolute interest in Music Man! We responded 25 hours after receiving your email. We are reaching out to Long & McQuade to find out more about your unfortunate experiences and would like to help you via the email thread.

 

[Luck1001]

Thank you very much for your email. I am very appreciative.

 

[Luck1001]

So after 12 years of disappointment, Ernie Ball came through with this gem: we aren't gonna do anything at all to help you other than tell our dealer to make sure the next one isn't broken. Question: why would it be up to the dealer to make sure your guitar isn't broken?? Sure sounds like Ernie Ball ships broken guitars to dealers to fix and sell at full price. I told my store to not open the guitar until I got there so they never had a chance to fix these broken guitars. Utterly shocking. So because they've given me absolutely nothing I will be buying a PRS or Suhr. I will NEVER in my life buy an Ernie Ball product again. And every musician I know will be warned about buying broken guitars from these guys.

 

[Norrin Radd]

 

[beej]

I am sorry that you're disappointed. As a bit of background, MM doesn't sell guitars directly outside of the USA, they use a network of distributors & retailers. Hence why they won't sell to you directly in Canada. Anything you purchase new still has a factory warranty and would be repaired/replaced - so they are not shipping "broken guitars to dealers to fix and sell at full price".

Admittedly, I don't know the full story, but most of these sound like QC issues that could have been addressed. I have bought MM guitars that had issues and worked through the warranty process to have them fixed. (This is why they have a customer service department.)

 

[Luck1001]

Thanks for the reply but why would anyone buy a guitar at full price only to have major repairs done to it immediately? How can Ernie Ball have such terrible QA that they cannot notice crooked necks? These guitars should never have left the factory in these conditions. Then to tell me it's up to the dealer to fix sure sounds like they have a deal to sell broken guitars up here. Totally unacceptable. Extreme disappointed. Especially since I could've had a new guitar 12 years ago.

 

[beej]

I'm not sure what you mean by a "crooked neck". Was it bowed/warped or just misaligned in the pocket? Sometimes bolt-on necks can shift in the pocket or be slightly misaligned (due to shipping, playing, etc.). This can usually be fixed by loosening the neck screws and adjusting the necks, like so:

 

[Luck1001]

I'm not sure what you mean by a "crooked neck". Was it bowed/warped or just misaligned in the pocket? Sometimes bolt-on necks can shift in the pocket or be slightly misaligned (due to shipping, playing, etc.). This can usually be fixed by loosening the neck screws and adjusting the necks, like so:

The bolt on neck had a gap between the neck and body where you could fit a credit card in. The strings were not centered on the neck because of this and it was plain as day to see and play. That's just one. How about the one where the action goes up and up and up and is unfixable?? These aren't things that companies miss.

 

[beej]

Again, I don't know enough about your particular issues to diagnose. Off-hand, there are always gaps between the bodies and the necks, this is normal. Necks shift in transit- where it leaves the factory aligned, it may move slightly after being shipped/played. If a trem bar doesn't fit in the bridge, it could be that the bar isn't the correct size, or that one of the set screws in the bridge is too tight to allow it to fit (this is adjustable). For the action issue, it could be a poor setup, or the neck could have been bowed/warped and needed replacement. Guitars are made out of wood and they can develop issues in transit, sitting at a distributor, etc. due to shipping or humidity issues, and so on.

My point is ... none of us can really comment on the specifics of the problems. You want a perfect guitar out of the box, and it sounds like you have had a run of terrible luck. That's not normal, and I can sympathize as to how frustrating that would be.

As a company, Music Man cares about QC and does their best to make sure every guitar is 100%. But when they have issues, they remedy them after the fact with customer service. Obviously no one wants to buy a guitar and then send it in to have it repaired, but this is how they rectify any issues that come up post-sale. Keep in mind they have to deal with things beyond factory QC or wood issues ... these instruments often get shipped around the world and handled (sometimes poorly) by dealers and prospective customers before they go home with someone.

If you're not happy with MM's response to you (offering to work with your dealer to get you the guitar you want), then I'm not sure what else there is to be said.

 

[Luck1001]

Well you're very much in line with their lack of accountability. Long and McQuade tried and failed to fix the action. A neck that is on an angle instead of straight is not due to it being wood. It's due to human error. You can be an apologist for EB all you want. They are in cahoots with their distributor to rip off people like me. Your responses at this point are just trying to deflect blame and it's getting annoying.

 

[Luck1001]

By the way, I've bought 10 guitars in the past without any issues. I have bought 5 EB guitars and ALL of them had issues. Some so obvious a child would notice.

 

[beej]

I'm not trying to deflect blame, and I don't think EB is in cahoots with anyone to rip people off. (I don't think you really think that, either.)

I'm not sure what resolution you were looking for, but this thread has run its course. I suggest you reach out to MM directly if you're not satisfied with their offer to get the right guitar in the hands of your local dealer.