• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

Lanky

Active member
Joined
Mar 27, 2014
Messages
37
Hi, I'm quite new to the EBMM family and bought an ASS recently, was delighted, and decided to buy a Luke 3 in addition.
I like the L3 even better due to its ergonomics and sounds. However, I was quite shocked to discover the (well documented in this forum) problem with the boost switch, which does not engage, or only if pushed 10 times or more, and once engaged, refuses to dis-engage, unless using brute force etc.

My dealer (I purchased on the internet, from a dealer from abroad, with generous return policy) was very helpful, arranged the guitar to get picked up and sent back to the distributor for repair. I was disappointed, as I was hoping/expecting the problem to no longer show with a brand new guitar, but hey, sh*t happens, and if they get it fixed OK, then I would be happy again.

So I thought.

When I got the guitar back after 2 weeks or so, the problem was still there, as if nothing at hall had happened to fix it. In fact it was even worse, this time I could not engage the boost at all, not even with brute force.

THe dealer was embarrassed, and swore that he had his technician check the guitar up before it was sent back to me. However, I could prove the problem to still be there by sending a video.....

After a talk between the dealer and the distributor, they now offered me a different solution, to install a push/pull version of the switch instead of the standard one.

I THINK this might be a good idea, as a push/pull switch might be more reliable than a switch that has to engage/disengage by use of a spring-supported snap-action-system ?

My concerns are, why are they (official EBMM distributor and qualified repair center) not able to fix the standard system permanently (is the design faulty?), and also the resale value might decrease if non-standard components are being used (not that I'm planning to sell it any time soon, but who knows....)?

Any opinions appreciated - also if an EBMM rep reads this, maybe he wants to comment?
 

beej

Moderator
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
12,335
Location
Toronto, Canada
MM doesn't manufacture every component, so it's possible to have switches go bad. It's unfortunate that your dealer didn't replace it.

I suggest you drop the EBMM customer service guys a line next week (they're closed Fridays) and ask their opinion.
 

Lanky

Active member
Joined
Mar 27, 2014
Messages
37
They did replace it (I took the knob off, and the axis 'looked' differently than the first one) - but the new one turned out to be defective too.
Thanks for the EBMM support link. Will get in touch with them.
 

Lanky

Active member
Joined
Mar 27, 2014
Messages
37
Just to complete this one.
I had some intense discussions with EBMM support. Baseline is that they their limited warranty will void if not an original EBMM push/push poti will be installed. And, Lukather himself wanted this to be push/push, so they have to do it like that in order for the L3 to be/remain a valid signature model.
Long story short, as I am from Europe, my dealer/dustributor and the qualified technician who performs the repair/replacement, will cover warranty, even if they replace the original (twice broken!) poti with a slightly modified one.

So I agreed to get a good quality aftermarket push/pull poti installed, and already got the guitar back, and all is good. THe push/pull works fine, and even gives me a "safer" feeling when operating the boost switch.

I understand that the guitar now no longer is "totally original", which might decrease its resale value slightly, but hey, it is such a great instrument, I'm not going to sell it anyway. Ever.
 
Top Bottom