Help! Music Man Cutlass String Alignment

[Norrin Radd]

BTW I got same issue, 4k pounds in a sabre, with a huge problem on string alignment, already cracked in the neck(I barely used this guitar), have issues on measurements, also got issue with the music man database,

In my opinion, they are much about release new models, colors than on quality nowadays, I'\m very disappointed, will never buy a music man again -

the support team was OK, but their approach was useless, they basically said - as you bought from a retailer we cannot do anything, we will not fix it, help you, nothing - they only want to sell and sell and sell more - I will just not sell it as I bought a lot and I will not sell for a half price or less -


for me their are just a big brand name and nothing more currently -

Well, what were the results of your attempt to rectify the issue as per the instructions in the video posted earlier in this thread? Did that fix the alignment?

 

[milosjak]

BTW I got same issue, 4k pounds in a sabre, with a huge problem on string alignment, already cracked in the neck(I barely used this guitar), have issues on measurements, also got issue with the music man database,

In my opinion, they are much about release new models, colors than on quality nowadays, I'\m very disappointed, will never buy a music man again -

the support team was OK, but their approach was useless, they basically said - as you bought from a retailer we cannot do anything, we will not fix it, help you, nothing - they only want to sell and sell and sell more - I will just not sell it as I bought a lot and I will not sell for a half price or less -


for me their are just a big brand name and nothing more currently -

I'm not happy to say this, but I do agree with you to some extent. These are fine guitars, don't get me wrong. But you just don't see that attention to detail, that you would expect. I bought a BFR limited model for god's sake! The least they could've done for it is pick a neck that does not have all of it's flame visible from the underside. I also have an issue where the thin strings have less neck relief than thicker strings. Took me ages to figure out that in order to have a good balance of action and buzz I had to measure 0.25 relief from the thin string...
Anyway, when it comes to the neck alignment, I did get it resolved by adjusting the neck. However, if I ever need to remove the neck again, it's kind of pain in the ass, as the neck defaults to this crooked position, and then I have a hard time holding it (forcing it) into a position where it should be while trying to tighten the neck back.
I do think that I'm going to explore some other brands, after my experience with Music Man. I'm sure there are flawless examples out there, especially the ones handed out to artist, but as someone who lives in a country where you cannot go around and find examples to test out and see how you like them, it's a big lottery purchasing over the internet. Never again for me - from now on I buy what I can first test/play, which unfortunately won't include Music Man...

Editing, just to add this: I did learn a good lesson in the end though: I bought this guitar, because I never so far had a Made in USA guitar. So I had it as a bucket list item. How could I miss out, right? Now, after owning this music man guitar though, I've 100% lost any interest in even knowing where the guitar is made. I know what I'm looking for, and as long as I can check it myself, then I'm good. Whether it's 500 dollar made in China, or a 4000 made in USA, I no longer care. Just the other day, one of the local guitar shops asked me to try out some G&L guitars. They first gave me the import version. I like it quite a bit - the neck shape, and everything. Then he gave me the USA model... neck shape worse for my taste. The magnets sounded too hot. The caps on the knobs were raised so much you could see the knob shafts easily... I'm like - I think I prefer the import. So long story short, try to get to a point where you don't care what it says on the head stock or where it was made and just find something you like. I thought originally it involved spending thousands of dollars, but now I know that's not true.

 

[tbonesullivan]

BTW I got same issue, 4k pounds in a sabre, with a huge problem on string alignment, already cracked in the neck(I barely used this guitar), have issues on measurements, also got issue with the music man database,

In my opinion, they are much about release new models, colors than on quality nowadays, I'\m very disappointed, will never buy a music man again -

the support team was OK, but their approach was useless, they basically said - as you bought from a retailer we cannot do anything, we will not fix it, help you, nothing - they only want to sell and sell and sell more - I will just not sell it as I bought a lot and I will not sell for a half price or less -


for me their are just a big brand name and nothing more currently -

Wait, you bought a guitar from a dealer, and it had issues, and you didn't immediately contact the dealer you bought it from? I live in the USA, and if I received a guitar out of alignment like that, I'd be right on the phone with the store that sold me it.

So what did the dealer say?

 

[gcastbr]

Wait, you bought a guitar from a dealer, and it had issues, and you didn't immediately contact the dealer you bought it from? I live in the USA, and if I received a guitar out of alignment like that, I'd be right on the phone with the store that sold me it.

So what did the dealer say?

Wait, you bought a guitar from a dealer, and it had issues, and you didn't immediately contact the dealer you bought it from? I live in the USA, and if I received a guitar out of alignment like that, I'd be right on the phone with the store that sold me it.

So what did the dealer say?

I'm replying on the main thread as I received a few replies, I think it's better.

 

[gcastbr]

Wait, you bought a guitar from a dealer, and it had issues, and you didn't immediately contact the dealer you bought it from? I live in the USA, and if I received a guitar out of alignment like that, I'd be right on the phone with the store that sold me it.

So what did the dealer say?

Ok, so it’s quite complicated—there’s some background to it.

First, after about a year, two cracks appeared in the bolt-on neck joint. A lot of people say it’s normal, but honestly, I was just playing at home during the pandemic, so I wasn’t expecting that. - I can see a post I believe in this forum that someone said he bought a guitar with a really good price because of these cracks, so - in my view it's a big issue.... so should I always buy second hand instrument with know issues to bargain price? from Music Man I would never expect that!

A year later, I was thinking about selling the guitar when a potential buyer checked the serial number and found that it wasn’t in the Music Man database. After a lot of complaints, Music Man said they had "found" the records and updated the database. Whether that’s true or if they just added it later, I’ll never know.

Then, when I took the guitar to my luthier (I’m having a handmade guitar built) to take measurements of the Music Man’s neck, he noticed that the measurements were different from what Music Man lists on their website. Some might say 0.6mm or 0.7mm doesn’t make a difference, but in my view, it does—otherwise, we wouldn’t have guitars with different neck profiles in the first place. here there is another context, when I created a thread here, someone told music man made a first prototype with 42.3(at NUT) - guess what, that's exactly what I have on mine... so coincidence?

Regarding the alignment—yes, it helps, but based on my experience with other guitars, these incorrect measurements do make a difference, and they still cause some string slippage.

It wasn’t something I noticed on day one. But after all these issues, I’d say that any brand-new guitar I buy in the future, I’ll be very precise about checking measurements, alignment, and everything else.

 

[gcastbr]

Well, what were the results of your attempt to rectify the issue as per the instructions in the video posted earlier in this thread? Did that fix the alignment?

I helps for sure - but it's hilarious doing that with an instrument of 4K pounds - I could make two guitars with a top luthier and don't any of this issues with a lot of improvements.

in my view it's big quality issue - that reinforce they just want to sell..

 

[gcastbr]

I'm not happy to say this, but I do agree with you to some extent. These are fine guitars, don't get me wrong. But you just don't see that attention to detail, that you would expect. I bought a BFR limited model for god's sake! The least they could've done for it is pick a neck that does not have all of it's flame visible from the underside. I also have an issue where the thin strings have less neck relief than thicker strings. Took me ages to figure out that in order to have a good balance of action and buzz I had to measure 0.25 relief from the thin string...
Anyway, when it comes to the neck alignment, I did get it resolved by adjusting the neck. However, if I ever need to remove the neck again, it's kind of pain in the ass, as the neck defaults to this crooked position, and then I have a hard time holding it (forcing it) into a position where it should be while trying to tighten the neck back.
I do think that I'm going to explore some other brands, after my experience with Music Man. I'm sure there are flawless examples out there, especially the ones handed out to artist, but as someone who lives in a country where you cannot go around and find examples to test out and see how you like them, it's a big lottery purchasing over the internet. Never again for me - from now on I buy what I can first test/play, which unfortunately won't include Music Man...

Editing, just to add this: I did learn a good lesson in the end though: I bought this guitar, because I never so far had a Made in USA guitar. So I had it as a bucket list item. How could I miss out, right? Now, after owning this music man guitar though, I've 100% lost any interest in even knowing where the guitar is made. I know what I'm looking for, and as long as I can check it myself, then I'm good. Whether it's 500 dollar made in China, or a 4000 made in USA, I no longer care. Just the other day, one of the local guitar shops asked me to try out some G&L guitars. They first gave me the import version. I like it quite a bit - the neck shape, and everything. Then he gave me the USA model... neck shape worse for my taste. The magnets sounded too hot. The caps on the knobs were raised so much you could see the knob shafts easily... I'm like - I think I prefer the import. So long story short, try to get to a point where you don't care what it says on the head stock or where it was made and just find something you like. I thought originally it involved spending thousands of dollars, but now I know that's not true.

I do agree with you -
great guitar, great material - but no attention to detail at all - I couldn't agree more! and the detail that makes all the difference, it's not some thing that we are just complaining about it's a true fact, otherwise there wouldn't be so many different specs, measurements etc.

and when you are talking about small things even a 0.4 - 0.6 makes a huge difference.


I'm totally frustrated with Music Man, after everything that happened, I wouldn't buy any other guitar from them and don't recommend anyone to buy it - super expensive guitars, guitar your luthier, good one, it will cost half price for a better quality guitar.

or explore other brands that can bring a better attention to detail -

 

[fbecir]

I helps for sure - but it's hilarious doing that with an instrument of 4K pounds - I could make two guitars with a top luthier and don't any of this issues with a lot of improvements.

in my view it's big quality issue - that reinforce they just want to sell..

No, it's not a quality issue, it is how a guitar with a bolt neck behaves.
The neck can shift during transport : you live in England, thus your guitar had to cross the pond and the box was handled by the nice people of UPS, of the Royal Mail. The problem is with your shop that did not check the guitar before selling it.
The neck of a set neck will not move ... it will break. It's rare but you can find some awful stories on the Internet ... nice Gibson destroyed by UPS / FedEx / ...

Checking the neck alignment, the intonation, the relief ... well that's something every guitarist should know.

 

[gcastbr]

No, it's not a quality issue, it is how a guitar with a bolt neck behaves.
The neck can shift during transport : you live in England, thus your guitar had to cross the pond and the box was handled by the nice people of UPS, of the Royal Mail. The problem is with your shop that did not check the guitar before selling it.
The neck of a set neck will not move ... it will break. It's rare but you can find some awful stories on the Internet ... nice Gibson destroyed by UPS / FedEx / ...

Checking the neck alignment, the intonation, the relief ... well that's something every guitarist should know.

Well, my problem was not with alignment- my problem was much bigger than that.

I agree with alignment and I have other bolt on necks that I setup.

my problem here that I related was totally different

I related a few facts that happened if you checked my original comment

cracks on bolt on necks joint after a year
lack od serial number on DB
wrong neck measurement - close to the first to Sabre prototype and not the specs in the site that makes a lot of difference even with the alignment

Again, in my view, Music Man is not carrying about quality- BTW, they said they have 3 checks …

ahh forgot, my pick-up and bridge came totally wrong as well… so in fact quality is not there any more

just new models to sell and sell and sell.

 

[DrKev]

Closing to further replies. This a user forum, not a customer service outlet. I think gcastbr has had his say and there is nothing we forum members can do to help.