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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:59 pm
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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:03 pm
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There really is nothing wrong with that body…. Those are not cracks that were filled in but rather a natural occurrence in the wood pattern, also has nothing to do with the grain ( age rings ).
Those dark streaks are similar to freckles on the human body….
Personally I would buy that body simply because it becomes more distinguishable from the common sunburst pattern….
As for the problem with the neck finish, rosewood or ebony for that matter have a higher natural oil content than maple… So the finish may very well separate at the edges, or the checking that is pictured.. It's fairly simple to address and repair, any luthier or legit guitar repair/tech could have solved the issue rapidly…. Without having to send the guitar back and wait for another….
This may have happened because of the explanation below..

BTW…. just for info, this time of year is really a bad time to ship guitars, especially due to the temperature fluctuations from Warehouse storage to Ground transport….
Just be aware that rapid fluctuations of 15F to 70F and back are not that great for contraction and expansion of various materials making up a guitar… ( in a case or not.. )

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:13 pm
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The cracks (I still think they're cracks) isn't the real issue... they kind of look cool. It's the sloppy neck work that bothers me. It looks and more importantly feels bad in person, more so than the pics show. I have a lot of rosewood guitars including Fenders and none of them have had this issue. As far as shipping and temperature goes, guitars are also shipped to the stores this time of year.... doesn't matter if it's shipped to my house or a Guitar Center, it's riding in the same truck.


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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:24 pm
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As i mentioned it's a moisture / oil issue and finish adherence to the rosewood.
It doesn't occur often but it can….
The reason I mentioned shipping is because of the extreme temps we have experienced this winter, Yep often QC catches it and those guitars get shipped back so that customers would never know but a guitar may leave Fender in excellent shape but that doesn't ensure that in between the time it leaves Fender and arrives at a customer it could be weeks or months and environments do affect instruments...…

It's wood, metal and plastic, they don't always cooperate… Over time... :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:08 am
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My replacement guitar finally came in. They at least solved 1 of the 2 issues. The neck checking is gone except for the very edge nearest the pickups. You can see under the string where it's flaking off.

Image

The streaks in the wood are visible on this guitar too though not as bad... I can live with this I guess. It's just frustrating since I've never seen these lines on a burst in Guitar Center and other shops around town. The wood used has always been flawless.

Image

There's also a bit of wood lifted up under the high-E string where the nut was inserted. I need to sand that down the next time I change strings.

Image


Other than that I really like this guitar - it sounds and feels much better than the last one. But this will most likely be the last time I order a guitar online. I expect perfection and mail-order is not exactly the best way to achieve it. Oh well... It's a good guitar. Maybe the lines build character :)


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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:16 am
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If you intend to play them that perfection sure won't last. How it plays is what its all about not to look at. Beauty isn't all what makes a ride good it's how the chassis handle :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:00 pm
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I've posted this same thread over at the Marshall forum and someone pointed out that the frets aren't polished to Fender standards... I have to agree. The fret's are pretty rough actually.... I have to remind myself that an American Standard is only ~$1,000 which is essentially same price as a low-end LTD Eclipse, so an American Standard is not a premium guitar. It's a shame.

By comparison, the fretwork on my ESP LTD M-II is pretty close to perfect.

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:58 pm
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As far as I'm concerned a 1000 dollar guitar should come perfect every time. The am strat should not have neck issues. This is rather disappointing.


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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:10 pm
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I've seen tons of similar treads in the past .. Fender is known for quality issues in guitars, amps ...
On the other hand I've never seen similar complaints regarding Gibson guitars .. and many other brands. :?: :!:


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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:34 pm
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Nikola Tesla wrote:
On the other hand I've never seen similar complaints regarding Gibson guitars


umm No.
there are tons of QC complaints over on the Gibson site as well.
Mostly from people that have bought online guitar site unseen and then do a QC with it when it arrives at their house.

Granted some of the QC issues should never really leave the factory, fact be told.
How many guitars are built and shipped daily.. gotta be some lemons in there.
How many "little" issues are there in the average new car as well and you're talking 20,000+ for a car

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:49 pm
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Eracer_Team wrote:
Nikola Tesla wrote:
On the other hand I've never seen similar complaints regarding Gibson guitars


umm No.
there are tons of QC complaints over on the Gibson site as well.
Mostly from people that have bought online guitar site unseen and then do a QC with it when it arrives at their house.

Granted some of the QC issues should never really leave the factory, fact be told.
How many guitars are built and shipped daily.. gotta be some lemons in there.
How many "little" issues are there in the average new car as well and you're talking 20,000+ for a car

I agree gibson has there problems to. As far as new cars go it shouldn't happen with them either.


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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:39 pm
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53magnatone wrote:
There really is nothing wrong with that body…. Those are not cracks that were filled in but rather a natural occurrence in the wood pattern, also has nothing to do with the grain ( age rings )... Personally I would buy that body simply because it becomes more distinguishable from the common sunburst pattern...

Right. I also work with timber a lot, including felling and seasoning trees, and I completely agree with that. The dark lines are in fact resinous deposits in the wood, a perfectly common occurrence in response to the individual tree's growing conditions.

To my subjective eyes that body has far more visual personality than alder usually has - it's exactly the one I'd choose from a wall-full in a shop for that very reason.

On the other hand, the fingerboard edges are not good. Whether that's down to the factory or shipping or temperature or whatever, it ain't right and needs replacing. Sounds like the shop and/or their Fender rep are doing exactly that even though it's outside the official return period, so kudos to them. Happy ending, right? :)

(Though if was me I'd ask if they could swap out the neck under warranty so's I could keep the body... :wink: )

Meantime, this is the true moral of this thread:
levelwave wrote:
I expect perfection and mail-order is not exactly the best way to achieve it.

I agree. Of course, we understand that geographical distances mean folks sometimes have no option but to order online. No blame in that.

But given the choice, even in this internet age handling real guitars in real stores is still far and away the best! Long live bricks & mortar shops.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:46 pm
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TBAZZ is correct, Gibson has issues too. When I recently bought my Les Paul Special, the GC had four of them, and the one I bought was the only one that was perfect! One out of four? 25%? Not what I would call great QC.

Agreed that OP's neck was a QC issue, but the body although not the nicest grain for a sunburst was Perfectly Fine. I think the OP also learned a good lesson, buy in person, not that you can't get a great guitar through mail order, you just take more of a chance!

FWIW

T2

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:55 pm
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....... a couple of things. If you have a newer car.......please feel free to take a close up picture like the ones in this thread and let me know how the finish looks. I predict that it will look like an orange. This is something I learned the first week i worked at Fender in 1980 as i became aware of guitar finishes. In turn i became aware of other products finishes as well, and was surprised.

If you are looking for "perfection", at any price...first......there is no such thing. Second, it is in the perception of who's looking, what they are looking for, and how they are looking AT something. My normal qualifier is not a magnified picture of a guitar. Arm's length in normal lighting is about right as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, are there specifications? Yes there are. On finish specifications, locations are also considerations within the specs. For instance, a minor flaw may pass on the butt end of the body, whereas it will not pass on the front of the body (also of course, what the flaw is , size, etc.).
Honestly, though i open myself up doing so, and my comments about close-up pics notwithstanding, I'm not thrilled by what I see either, sorry to say. I will also tell you that this thread has been looked at by some other qualified folks here and opinions somewhat vary from pic to pic.
Quality comments aside......what i will tell you is that if the quality is not as it is supposed to be from the factory (as opposed to weather, storage, transit), then that is when the warranty kicks in and we will do our very best to make it right.... and even then we take every situation on its own merits and decide from there.
*********************************
Personally.......and i underline and bold that....my concern for my own instruments is "how do they play?" "does it feel like home?" "how does it sound?"

I'm certainly not trying to convert anyone to feel the same way. I think my standards are fairly high for what we produce, and i act accordingly.

But just for me..........well......he seems happy......

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All the best,
rob

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Post subject: Re: Fender USA Strat - Is this Sloppy Quality?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:54 pm
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DP - sorry

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Last edited by 01GT eibach on Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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