Help! New JP6 delivered with scratches & marks on the front

[Doyler]

Hi all

My new JP6 has just been delivered and it has an area of scratches & marks on the front of the guitar. Just wanted a bit of advice before I move forward this.



Do I need to contact Ernie Ball directly, UK dealer or the shop? Can this kind of thing be buffed out? I have tried to some extent with no luck. Would it buff out with burnishing cream? It's all a bit disappointing as they haven't included the whammy bar or the 10 sets of strings that were meant to come with the guitar. These are minor points that I can contact the shop about but the scratches are a major bummer!

What usually happens in these situations? I would rather not send the guitar back but I really didn't expect it to turn up in anything less than pristine condition. Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Matt

 

[Svava]

In this situation I personally would recommend sending it back and buying another from someone else.

They sent it to you in this condition saying it was new, then they didn't even include the bar- this says "bad dealer" to me.

 

[Doyler]

Thanks for the response. At this point, I just thought I should mention that I am in the UK and that I ordered this guitar specially, 16 weeks ago. I can't buy one from another dealer without starting another 16 week wait. I would send back in a heartbeat if this wasn't the case but just wanted to know if I have any other options before I do.

 

[DrKev]

You go back to the store. Under EU consumer protection law the store is responsible for this. It's up to them to fix at no cost to you. You should contact them straight away and make them aware of it. They'll tell you what your options are.

You might be able to buff it out with a bit of care and the right products but you'll invalidate your warranty and the store won't do anything for you if you screw it up.

 

[Doyler]

Thanks for the advice. I have sent pictures to the shop. Let's see what they say...

 

[Barny]

Having bought 6 MusicMan guitars from my dealer and having to wait for each of them I have never had one turn up not in absolute perfect condition, with case candy, factory barcodes etc all still on and that great new guitar smell.

Definitely contact your dealer, it could be someone in the shop thought they might have a quick strum of the guitar before sending it off to you and forgot to put the bar back in (and maybe inadvertantly scratched it).

In regards to the scratch, If it is going to be too time consuming to get something done officially look for the thread by spudmurphy about buffing out scratches, there is a very good scratch remover (the name of which escapes me now) but it will buff those scratches out no problem.

 

[Razzle]

Wow, that thing looks used/played.

 

[Warg Master]

yikes... that sucks... hopefully this gets resolved.

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

Go back to the store and let them know that this is unacceptable. You paid for a pristine instrument. Not one that look like it is.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Ok,as a fellow UK'er let me provide advice based on my own warranty experience. The situation in the UK is somewhat different to the USA.
Your first port of call is the shop you bought it from. As (presumably) authorised EB dealers they should (if the act in the same way as my guitar shop) arrange for the return of the guitar to Strings n Things the UK distributors, and they should resolve this under the warranty terms. I didn't have to pay anything for this - postage was covered.

My guitar was returned to me to my satisfaction.

I trust that you will be dealt with in the same way. FWIW, you could contact Strings n Things direct to establish/confirm the position with them.

Ernie Ball prides itself on Customer Service and I'm sure you will be dealt with quite amicably.

With regard to the 10 sets of strings, you need to challenge the shop to ask whether or not this was their scheme or whether this is a current sales incentive instigated by EB via Strings n Things in the UK, before you pursue further

 

[bazxkr]

+1 on what Spud said. Much wisdom there.
Return it. They will sort you out. But do not play around with it yourself. Leave it as is - exactly as it came.

Looks to me like someone has played it with a ring on their pinky. Shouldn't have gone out like that.

Good luck. Let us know how it pans out.

 

[ksandvik]

Maybe you could also ask for a 25% discount or something similar, if you take the guitar out for gigs it will be roadworn, anyway... Many resellers rather discount than pay all the shipping back and forth and they need to resell it with a discount, anyway.

 

[bwow]

If the scratches are not too deep there's a product called "guitar scratch remover" on ebay. I used it on my ibanez which had really bad haze/swirls, it made it look like a brand new guitar again (yes, seriously!).
Run a pick across the scratches, if it "clicks", then they are probably too deep and won't completely gone away.

 

[Doyler]

Thanks for all of the advice. After studying the scratches a bit more and under different light I am starting to think that they are underneath the lacquer. The last thing I want to do is start trying to get rid of them unsuccessfully and then void my warranty.

The dealer has been in contact with EB and they have agreed to send a new body over to the UK. I will be allowed to keep the guitar as is until the new body arrives. At that point I send the guitar back to the dealer who will switch the body and send back to me. It doesn't sound like the most conventional of approaches but seems fair. They are also posting the whammy bar and strings next week.

So I have a resolution and am happy with this. Thanks for the support and advice. Hopefully the new body won't be too long, but at least I have a guitar to play while I wait!

 

[mystixboi1]

Glad it's all working out. Enjoy the guitar!!!!

 

[steevo]

I hope they are gonna replace it and have it set up too? This is unacceptable on a new instrument and I think you should name the shop you bought it from. Even though they have resolved it, it does sound a bit dodgy to me and careless that they have sent an instrument out with in such a poor condition.

 

[DevRock]

As the guys over on the car forums like to say "That'll buff right out!"