# If you're thinking of a Jackson Custom just skip it!!!



## Rev2010 (Apr 22, 2014)

So I had this lovely NGD here:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...gd-jackson-cs-kelly-7-result.html#post3990138

The guitar appeared in every way flawless, and in construction terms it is. But... my guitar apparently is NOT _flawless_ when it comes to my work order. I noticed some wear lines on the frets of the lowest strings. I've had stainless frets and never saw this wear which is very commonly seen on nickel frets in a very short time. So I contacted my retailer asking him to check with Jackson. Well he got back to me and their word was that it was a misbuild, that my work order indeed called for stainless but the materials list listed nickel.

Now to many of you this might be nitpicking. But keep in mind I spent $4600 and waited 26 months for this guitar and now I'm furious. Yeah the guitar is beautiful and plays awesome, but I wanted stainless frets to last a very long time... I don't want to send this thing in for a refret in a few years and the frets are already showing wear when I've played it - 4 times!!! I've been working on an 8-string track so I haven't gotten to use it much.

So, Jackson offered one of two options: Send it back in for a refret, or accept a 5% credit. I don't know if that's a refund, if it is I will take it if not a credit does me no good. But I for sure am not going to send it back to them and wait god knows how many months or a year for a refret. Not going to take that chance.

Anyhow, if you're thinking about a Jackson custom skip it and go with Carvin or one of the other great builders out there. They apparently can't get a single 100% correct order out the door. 


Rev.


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## xwmucradiox (Apr 22, 2014)

I'd find out if your refret will be a priority in their shop. Get the actual folks in charge at Fender to tell you what's up. Usually repairs on their wrong work would get rushed through.


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## noise in my mind (Apr 22, 2014)

Sorry to hear this man. I had soloist I bought new from GC. Frets were bad, neck was twisted, the rosewood fingerboard dried out. Ended up getting rid of it with a substantial loss. I'll never own a jackson again. +1 for carvin though


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## Mklane (Apr 22, 2014)

Don't forget about option #3...selling it to me!


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## JustMac (Apr 22, 2014)

Rev I think 5% credit just means they refund you 5% of the purchase total (I am guessing they would want to see proof of the fault). And that is simply unacceptable, if you pay over 4 large (tbh over 1,500 is pushing it) for a guitar, it should go without saying everything should be tip top. Such a shame, too. I'm not usually into the Kelly shape but that thing looks phenomenal.


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## Svava (Apr 22, 2014)

Look at some of Decreebass's Carvin NGD's.

He says even THEY keep screwing up some things on all of his orders so...

IDK.


It's sort of the risk you take when ordering a custom. I would expect more at that price- but I rarely see an NGD thread for a custom where the guy goes "not a single flaw everything is amazing I can't even nitpick it".

That being said you paid a lot and deserve a perfect job and I'm pissed on your behalf -,-


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## Rev2010 (Apr 22, 2014)

@justmac - they confirmed my suspicion via their material list. The work order showed stainless but their materials list showed they used nickel fretwire, so no need for proof. I knew the frets weren't right. New stainless frets should never show wound string wear.


Rev.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 22, 2014)

Man that really sucks. 5% refund is really lame. The refret seems to be the only option but I would make damn sure it was first in line and they got it right. 

WTF is going on with all the ....ed up customs lately?


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## Jzbass25 (Apr 22, 2014)

I would think a refret would be more expensive than the money you got back if you went for the 5% credit. Personally I've never been a jackson fan, I think your guitar looks awesome but it sucks that they made a mistake that now calls for another round of shipping and frets and waiting.


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## xzyryabx (Apr 22, 2014)

Tell them you want them to refret it, rushed of course, plus the 5% for the hassle.
Has there been a recent Jackson custom shop around here that was done right?!


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## stevexc (Apr 22, 2014)

At least they used 24 nickel frets...? Gah, I can't even make that joke. That sucks, dude. Hardcore. I really hope they give you a 5% refund, not credit - although $200 is pretty weak.


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## Henry Terry (Apr 22, 2014)

I have never dealt with the Jackson Custom Shop. However, I did get good service from Jackson/Fender with a defective guitar. In March, 2005, I bought a Jackson SLSMG at Guitar Center. I liked it so much that two weeks later I bought a second one. A week later, I traded in the second one for a third SLSMG at another Guitar Center which "felt better" to me. The trade of the second one for the third one took 15 minutes and did not cost me anything.

Two years later, I took the two SLSMGs to a tech for set-ups. He informed me that the neck on the third SLSMG was twisted. I contacted Jackson/Fender, and they had me go to their authorized tech (in my town). Their tech verified that the neck was twisted. Jackson/Fender then sent me a new Jackson SLSMG at no cost.


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 22, 2014)

Send it back in, but make sure shipping is on their dime and that the refret is placed at the top of the work queue.


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## Qweklain (Apr 22, 2014)

When I received my JCS from that SL2H-7 run, it was missing a few random parts (lock-nut pad, screw from Floyd, back plate over Floyd route). I e-mailed them and they sent me the parts immediately. However, the back plate did not fit, so they told me I had to send it back to get one made.

They had it back on its way to me in less than 48 hours, and at my door in less than 72 if I remember right. They paid the shipping both ways too. I think you'll get it back fairly quick, but it certainly would not hurt to get confirmation if your issue will be prioritized.


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## JoeyBTL (Apr 22, 2014)

maybe they need to *gasp* expand their shop. Its just my opinion, but a shop in a company as large as they are shouldn't be screwing up annny guitars and taking 26 months to deliver them.


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## jwade (Apr 22, 2014)

You should just get a full refund, and go with some other company.


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## JustMac (Apr 22, 2014)

Is returning the full-refund not standard procedure with faulty goods in the US? I can't see them arguing a refund request if it's demanded, the product doesn't conform to its specification, its faulty, (ultimately) not fit for purpose...they haven't got a leg to stand on really, especially with a Custom Shop order like that.


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## groverj3 (Apr 22, 2014)

Seriously sucks, man! Not following your build sheet is completely unacceptable. Here's hoping they don't skip the stainless steel frets on my custom select order.

Personally, I would send it in for the free refret but I understand your frustration.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 22, 2014)

jwade said:


> You should just get a full refund, and go with some other company.



You know, a large part of me really would like a full refund and to just cut my losses, but I've seen someone else with a CS Jackson before with even worse mistakes ask that and the answer was flat out NO, we will rebuild it. If I could get a full refund I think I'd do it, though it would be extremely disheartening and I'd be still left feeling like shit about it. For one, I waited 2 months over two years time, and for another it really is a beautiful axe that *I* designed, though I didn't invent the Kelly shape of course. But it's kind of like my baby in a sense. But, it's a guitar, nothing more in reality. I didn't design it from the top down, nowhere near it, I just made choices and stuck a tomoe inlay in there....

Overall though I do think I'd take the road out with a refund. I can ask, but I'll tell you right now the answer... let's see for fun. I'll report back when I have the NO WAY JOSE answer.


Rev.


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## UltraParanoia (Apr 22, 2014)

This has made me really bummed


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## stevexc (Apr 22, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> You know, a large part of me really would like a full refund and to just cut my losses, but I've seen someone else with a CS Jackson before with even worse mistakes ask that and the answer was flat out NO, we will rebuild it. If I could get a full refund I think I'd do it, though it would be extremely disheartening and I'd be still left feeling like shit about it. For one, I waited 2 months over two years time, and for another it really is a beautiful axe that *I* designed, though I didn't invent the Kelly shape of course. But it's kind of like my baby in a sense. But, it's a guitar, nothing more in reality. I didn't design it from the top down, nowhere near it, I just made choices and stuck a tomoe inlay in there....
> 
> Overall though I do think I'd take the road out with a refund. I can ask, but I'll tell you right now the answer... let's see for fun. I'll report back when I have the NO WAY JOSE answer.
> 
> ...



The optimist in me figures maybe they might give you a refund - your guitar is unique enough to stand out, but not so unique that it would only appeal to you. They could likely sell a "B-stock" spalted Kelly 7 with nickel frets, even with the tomoe, to someone else, but something with, say, messed up inlays and crap routing and 19 frets is gonna be firewood at best.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 22, 2014)

So I thought about this a little more. I've sent off the email asking about the full refund but know for sure the answer will be no. If that is the case I'm going to alert my retailer that I will be filing a dispute with my credit caard company for the balance I'd paid since the item I received was not as I ordered. My payment was only the 5th of this month. I will see what response I get and proceed accordingly. I really don't want to screw over the retailer, but with the guitar in my possession I don't feel I have anything to lose seeing where I can take this. I'm just way too disheartened by this. It's really ruined my day and the next few days to come I'm sure.


Rev.


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## cardinal (Apr 22, 2014)

They offered what, $230? Ridiculous. I'd demand a full refund or that they cover the cost of a stainless steel refret from the shop of my choice (that way you'll actually get the guitar back this century). 

That sucks dude. That shop is a joke. It's one thing to screw up orders. It's another to screw up so many of them. But to have lousy customer service on top of it? I don't see how anyone could consider doing business with them.


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## MetalDaze (Apr 22, 2014)

That sucks.

I'm pretty sure the 5% is more than the cost of stainless upgrade on the price sheet, so you get a little extra back for the screw up. But, I get it. My wife bitches all the time about having to do everything twice in this world and Jackson is proving her point 

They will pay for shipping both ways. If you like everything else about the guitar, let them fix it. I know it sucks but you've already committed this much time to it...


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## Exit Existence (Apr 22, 2014)

hey at least you weren't missing a fret

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/251619-ngd-jackson-custom-shop.html


still can't believe that^


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

So, my retailer emailed back. He seems behind me with this so we'll see where it goes. He feels I should be refunded the cost of the stainless frets plus receive a 10% refund which is acceptable to me to rectify this situation. He's checking with Jackson. I'll update when I know. 


Rev


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## Axayacatl (Apr 23, 2014)

Take the refund and then use that to send your guitar to Philtone in Baltimore for a SS refret and Plek ($360) and never buy a Jackson again.

I recently ordered an expensive guitar where the dealer said it was SS frets. After the first bend I lunged for the spec sheet to confirm it was nickel, not SS. They don't even feel anywhere similar, not to mention the wear. Don't let anybody make you feel like you are nitpicking. In my case the dealer wanted to send me a few packs of strings to make it right or I could send it back and pay a 25% restocking fee(over $600 bucks for their mistake). Fuk. .... that ....fuk them fuk Jackson as well. You didn't invent djent
but you still deserve the guitar you ordered (love you bulb!!!) Appalling attitude from them all. The dealer is never getting my business ever again, and now neither is Jackson. Sorry to hear about the troubles man.


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## porknchili (Apr 23, 2014)

I've never particularly liked Jackson guitars and have always thought they were overated as hell. That being said though, I really feel for you man. How the F can you screw something like that up after 2 years is just confusing as possible. You'd think that they'd allow for full refunds since they probably take in more than enough money due to their popularity, but yet they don't. Also, 5% credit is a complete low ball. What's the credit gonna be useable for? Placing another custom shop order that'll take 2 years and having it end up being left handed or with a printed flamed maple top? You're dealer is right about the 10% refund along with refunding you the cost of the SS frets. If not, then you'd probably be better off selling it to someone for nearly as much as it coated you since it is a custom shop Jackson.

Again, that just really sucks and I hope things end up working out as well as they can for you.


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## potatohead (Apr 23, 2014)

Bummed to hear this dude. This is one of, if not THE coolest guitar build I have seen in a long time. 

Personally I would get as big a refund as I could, and re-fret the thing myself with a different luthier I trusted. There are a lot of good ones out there and it will be done faster (and maybe better) than what Jackson would do. Sending it to Jackson to me is a lose-lose because they are either going to take their time and it sits there forever , or they rush it and possibly do a crap job. 

The size of the refund would have to at least be the cost of the re-fret (probably $400?) to be even remotely acceptable, but even then it doesn't take into account the PITA of the whole thing, or your disappointment. The actions of Jackson and your retailer in the coming days will show you a lot about those companies.


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## MikeyLawless (Apr 23, 2014)

Human built guitars sometimes suffer from human error. Thats reality, sorry it had to happen to you man. They mustve used crap nickel fretwire btw. The jescar nickel fretwire i have hasnt worn afrer 6+ months.


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## Andromalia (Apr 23, 2014)

MikeyLawless said:


> Human built guitars sometimes suffer from human error.


Well, for a 4000+ guitar I expect flawless. Besides, it's actually two mistakes: 
-Choosing the wrong fret material
-QC being blind about it.


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## jahosy (Apr 23, 2014)

Sorry to hear that mate. Such a pity since everything else about this Kelly is wicked  

Hope you'll hear some good news from them


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## MikeyLawless (Apr 23, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> Man that really sucks. 5% refund is really lame. The refret seems to be the only option but I would make damn sure it was first in line and they got it right.
> 
> WTF is going on with all the ....ed up customs lately?





Andromalia said:


> Well, for a 4000+ guitar I expect flawless. Besides, it's actually two mistakes:
> -Choosing the wrong fret material
> -QC being blind about it.



Completly agree, but shit happens. Its how the problem is handled by the company afterwards that meams the most to me.


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## HaloHat (Apr 23, 2014)

Svava said:


> Look at some of Decreebass's Carvin NGD's.
> 
> He says even THEY keep screwing up some things on all of his orders so...
> 
> ...



I get your point that Carvin is not perfect either however I think there is a lot of difference from the issues on the OP of this thread and your reference to Carvin, who granted does screw up now and then. On the bright side Carvin gets you your screwed up guitar in about 8 weeks, not over two years and at least as important will make things right to a degree [pun] that Jackson apparently will not lately.

Also stated by DecreeBass - 
"despite my Carvin fanboyism, I&#8217;ve been pretty disappointed by almost ALL of my builds (sometimes my fault, sometimes not; but I won&#8217;t get into that here)"

Actually here is his last Carvin NGD, you decide if it is remotely along the lines of the OP's post here... note the price as well as build time. I assure you Carvin would exchange/rebuild the OP's type error immediately [around 30 days to complete] if an op 50 build OR give him his money back or let him spec a completely different guitar no questions asked if not an op 50 guitar. I absolutely guarantee that.

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-carvin-dc7x-cmon-you-know-you-wanna-see.html

To the OP of this thread, your waiting on two other Jackson CS builds? one ordered 6 months before the one you waited 26 months for? Wow. You are one heck of a patient gentleman sir. May they be what you ordered... please. You deserve better after dropping over $10,000 in a short amount of time at the Jackson CS, let alone one Jackson CS at that wait and cost. Good lord this really turns me off to Jackson.


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## lewstherin006 (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev Im sorry this happened to you, I would be pissed too. SS frets are becoming a must for me because they are so awesome. When they say a 10% credit, do they mean that they are taking a restock fee from your original amount or just giving you back just 10%? Either way they should refund you all of your money or rush that refret. You could prolly order a Carvin now and have it before all of your issues with jackson are done


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## ddk (Apr 23, 2014)

Sorry to hear about the botched order. If it were me, at this point I would take it to someone local that could do the refret, get an estimate, then politely ask Jackson to refund you the amount of the estimate. Good luck


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## slapnutz (Apr 23, 2014)

Dude for the amount of money they charge for their customs and the time you had to wait, I'd fight for every cent in getting this shit sorted out.

Also that other link with the missing fret... jesus christ.


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## cardinal (Apr 23, 2014)

I'd be willing to send it back for a refret if they'd put something on the line to assure you that you'll get it back quickly. I'd seriously ask for a comparable loaner guitar or to put the full purchase price in escrow for two months, and if you don't have the guitar at the end of two months the money is released to you. I'd prefer the latter. 

Jackson probably wouldn't agree to either unless you get some leverage somehow. It's cool that you can charge back part of it, but how big was the deposit? And if you charge back, do you have to give back the guitar? That'd be the worse case scenario for you, I'd think: no guitar at all, no full refund.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

HaloHat said:


> To the OP of this thread, your waiting on two other Jackson CS builds?



No no no... I have ONE other build going on with Carvin, a DC800. I was going to have a DC7X built but put a hold on that for reasons not worth mentioning here. But now with this fiasco, if I do get that 10% refund, I may indeed order the Carvin DC7X I was planning.

But no, I only had that one build in with Jackson. I certainly could NOT afford another one or two.


Rev.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

lewstherin006 said:


> When they say a 10% credit, do they mean that they are taking a restock fee from your original amount or just giving you back just 10%?



Jackson offered a 5% credit, but when I asked was told it is indeed a refund. But 5% is a slap in the face so I'm not going to take that. My dealer believes I should get refunded the upcharge of the stainless frets plus 10% for the mistake and aggravation. I don't yet know if Jackson will agree to that. If they do I am taking it. If they won't I'm going to ask what their time estimate is for a refret - which I still really don't want to do as it's a tremendous PITA for me to ship that huge box back out. If they say something like 2 weeks then maybe I'll do that. If it's 2 months or "well we don't know it depends on workload" then I won't send it in and will have to discuss other options with my retailer. Since I paid the final amount so recently I can still contact my card and ask them about disputing the charge, but I'd really prefer to avoid that route if possible.

*EDIT - @ Cardinal, I was asked for an $800 deposit but I put down $1000 to make it even.


Rev.


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## MaxOfMetal (Apr 23, 2014)

JoeyBTL said:


> maybe they need to *gasp* expand their shop.



Because when orders come back wrong, you should throw more cooks into the kitchen? 

Nope. 

Jackson has always had its ups and downs regardless of size and who the parent company happens to be. They obviously overestimated what they can do and still put out a consistently awesome product. 

If there is one thing that Jackson has always gotten wrong is scaling quality up as the output increases. 

If I was Rev, I'd throw that guitar back at them and do a charge-back. It's not like this is a little builder who will get trampled by a charge-back, it's FMIC. They can eat the loss. 

There are far too many great shops out there to let yourself get handled like this. 

Jackson gave one fella an EVH Mini for his troubles, so you should totally be able to get what you want out of them.


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## cardinal (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Since I paid the final amount so recently I can still contact my card and ask them about disputing the charge, but I'd really prefer to avoid that route if possible.
> 
> *EDIT - @ Cardinal, I was asked for an $800 deposit but I put down $1000 to make it even.
> 
> ...



So if you charge back, I'm not sure you'll get the $1,000 since that was forever ago. And I assume you have to give the guitar back to somebody (dealer or Jackson)? That sounds like not a great idea. The fret issue can't be worth $1,000. In theory you'd be able to argue for the deposit back, but if Jackson gets the guitar back and keeps your $1,000, it'll be hard to get them to pay attention to you.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> It's not like this is a little builder who will get trampled by a charge-back, it's FMIC. They can eat the loss.



Actually it's more likely Matt's Music would get f*u*cked out of the money. But yeah I would lose $1000 and it's definitely not worth losing a grand, I could likely sell this guitar for the price I paid to some Kelly fanatic that doesn't want to wait 2+ years.

I likely wouldn't do a dispute, but it's something I would discuss if Jackson stays firm on this 5% BS. I'd also like to know what BS turnaround time they'll quote for the refret. But as I was saying, I have the guitar in my possession, so discussing a charge back isn't so frightening as sending the guitar back, doing a chargeback, and losing the $1000. A chargeback is the absolute last option and I really don't want to screw Matt over as for me he's been extremely helpful.


Rev.


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## cardinal (Apr 23, 2014)

Ah, Matt at Matt's Music in MA (same guy?) is good people. Hope he can help you out.


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## eaeolian (Apr 23, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> If there is one thing that Jackson has always gotten wrong is scaling quality up as the output increases.



I cannot argue with this. While my particular CS guitar is one of the best guitars I've ever owned/played/been in the same room with, the number of issues coming out of the CS are definitely increasing.

Sad, since the production guitars really seem to have it together, at least the last few I've played. I suspect in this case someone just used a "normal" 24-fret neck-thru block instead of the right one.

I wonder if someone else got SS frets by mistake?


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## narad (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> But 5% is a slap in the face so I'm not going to take that. My dealer believes I should get refunded the upcharge of the stainless frets plus 10% for the mistake and aggravation.



That's the absolute minimum I would even consider taking, plus having Jackson pay the shipping to-from Jackson for the refret. Matt seems like a good guy, and more to the point, does a ton of sales. I think we can all agree you deserve something for a botched order and I hope Matt has the sway to make it happen.

That guitar is insane though - I don't know how I missed the NGD the first time. Well spec'd and a fantastic piece of spalt!


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## SpaceDock (Apr 23, 2014)

I wonder if they really don't do SS frets at all and just said they did to secure the order assuming you wouldnt know the difference.


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## eaeolian (Apr 23, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> I wonder if they really don't do SS frets at all and just said they did to secure the order assuming you wouldnt know the difference.



Nah, I've seen them with SS frets. It's just a screw up. As I said above, I'll bet someone picked up the wrong neckthru blank, since all the frets are done prior to the body wings being added and it wasn't anything really different, like 23 frets.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 23, 2014)

xzyryabx said:


> Tell them you want them to refret it, rushed of course, plus the 5% for the hassle.
> Has there been a recent Jackson custom shop around here that was done right?!


What about that run of SL2H-7s? Were those messed up?


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## Mordecai (Apr 23, 2014)

for $4k this shouldn't be any sort of issue, and for a company as big as Jackson/fender a full refund should be on the table. its Ridiculous all these big musician builds come out flawless but a working mans order can be botched so badly.


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## WhoThenNow7 (Apr 23, 2014)

May not be the right time to say this but... HNGD! I'm sorry about the fret issue.. but that thing is gorgeous. 5% is a horrible offer though. They should give at least 10% back... I would either send it in for a refret or figure out how much one would cost and then see if you can give them the price and have them refund you that.


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## technomancer (Apr 23, 2014)

So what was the upcharge for the SS frets?


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## Overtone (Apr 23, 2014)

Bummer... I love that guitar. I love Jackson too and always thought I'd get another soloist some day, preferably CS. This is the third time (at least) that I hear of a major deviation from the specs being swept under the rug and the guitar sent to the customer as if it was done right. I just don't want to take that chance... at this point ordering custom is off the table.


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## JoeyBTL (Apr 23, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Because when orders come back wrong, you should throw more cooks into the kitchen?



Well if the orders come out wrong because they have way too many orders, then yes expanding the kitchen and adding more competent cooks would solve the problem. 

By suggesting to expand the shop, I don't know why you'd assume I mean to keep throwing more people in there and hope it solves itself. They clearly have some issues that need worked out, and maybe they're taking care of them but with the power of FMIC behind them, that could do a lot more. I know that's not the idea behind the Jackson CS, but when you build a 23 fret guitar AND let it leave the shop to go to a customer, it's probably a sign you're over your head and to make some changes. 

As said, with this case, it makes sense that someone could pick up the wrong neck blank. But it's still unacceptable for it to get past QC and go to a customer that's waited two years and paid $4000+ to get it.


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## eaeolian (Apr 23, 2014)

Konfyouzd said:


> What about that run of SL2H-7s? Were those messed up?



Those were all fine, IIRC, though I think one was damaged in shipping (not one that was promised to someone, one of the leftovers.)

My memory could be wrong.


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## eaeolian (Apr 23, 2014)

Overtone said:


> Bummer... I love that guitar. I love Jackson too and always thought I'd get another soloist some day, preferably CS. This is the third time (at least) that I hear of a major deviation from the specs being swept under the rug and the guitar sent to the customer as if it was done right. I just don't want to take that chance... at this point ordering custom is off the table.



I think the Custom Select stuff is putting too much pressure on the current shop. They have issues like this every time they introduce something new - unless that something new takes 2+ years to show up, like production Brodericks.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 23, 2014)

eaeolian said:


> Those were all fine, IIRC, though I think one was damaged in shipping (not one that was promised to someone, one of the leftovers.)
> 
> My memory could be wrong.


Yea I don't really remember hearing about any problems aside from people being antsy to get them but I figured I'd ask. 

I still kinda want a Jackson custom...


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

technomancer said:


> So what was the upcharge for the SS frets?



No idea, still waiting to hear back from Matt. Matt is pretty good with communication, but sometimes I have to check back in to get an answer.


Rev.


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## DISTORT6 (Apr 23, 2014)

Aw, crap!
Sorry, bro. I thought you made it through unscathed.


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## Qweklain (Apr 23, 2014)

Qweklain said:


> When I received my JCS from that SL2H-7 run, it was missing a few random parts (lock-nut pad, screw from Floyd, back plate over Floyd route). I e-mailed them and they sent me the parts immediately. However, the back plate did not fit, so they told me I had to send it back to get one made.
> 
> They had it back on its way to me in less than 48 hours, and at my door in less than 72 if I remember right. They paid the shipping both ways too. I think you'll get it back fairly quick, but it certainly would not hurt to get confirmation if your issue will be prioritized.





Konfyouzd said:


> Yea I don't really remember hearing about any problems aside from people being antsy to get them but I figured I'd ask.
> 
> I still kinda want a Jackson custom...


See the first quoted post (mine) from the first page stating the minor issues I had with my SL2H-7.


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## canuck brian (Apr 23, 2014)

MikeyLawless said:


> Human built guitars sometimes suffer from human error. Thats reality, sorry it had to happen to you man. They mustve used crap nickel fretwire btw. The jescar nickel fretwire i have hasnt worn afrer 6+ months.



That would be every single guitar ever made.


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## Overtone (Apr 23, 2014)

Clearly you've never played an Elvencaster!


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## InHiding (Apr 23, 2014)

This is one of the reasons I will probably never order a guitar from anyone like that. I usually buy used and have not been disappointed so far.


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## narad (Apr 23, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> That would be every single guitar ever made.



Though I'm currently working on a program that will ignore emails and has a paypal account. Baby steps.


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## Forkface (Apr 23, 2014)

aww shit rev, im so sorry to hear that  i remember when your thread showed up and you said flawless i was so happy for you after all them jackson cs nightmares. 

In any case... have you considered refretting it with ssfrets somewhere else? 
also, how much was the upcharge for stainless frets? maybe you could ask for the 5% + the upcharge (which knowing jackson prices should be around 300 bucks ) and with that money you send it to a professional to get SS.

just throwing ideas out there, even though what happened is inexcusable. but i'd rather fix it myself than sending it back to the hellhole where it came from.


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## teamSKDM (Apr 23, 2014)

well if you have any local luthiers or anything I know my local luthier charges 300 for a stainless refret, so you could take the 230 and put it towards getting a stainless refret if you have a trusted luthier to do so? I love jackson, but it definitely sucks that this happenned.


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## ncfiala (Apr 23, 2014)

Damn man I'm sorry to hear about this. After seeing all of the horror stories around here, I'm pretty much scared to order a custom from anyone but Carvin. I know Carvins have the occasional problem too, but the problems seem to be rarer and smaller. Carvins also don't cost that much and only take a couple months to get built. Plus you can send it back if you don't like it.


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## bigswifty (Apr 23, 2014)

Such bullshit dude!!

Try to get that full refund and go Suhr


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

OK, so here's the word. Jackson will do the 10% refund plus the upcharge that was incurred for the stainless frets. I don't yet know what that upcharge was so I'm waiting to hear back. They also quoted a one week time period for the refret with Matt saying I'd probably get it back 2 weeks after I've shipped it back. I just haaate the idea of having to box it up and ship it out. As mentioned, I don't have a car and the box is way too big to carry into work. So, if I were to ship it out I would either have to take another day off work to be home for a UPS pickup, which I'm really pushing my days off now and my boss' last day is this Friday. He's my ONLY backup so taking a day after might be impossible to pull off at this point. Or, I can get a family member with a car to drive me to the local shipping place to drop it off, again that would likely need to be during a weekday but maybe I could swing a weekend.

Now, if I go with the cash refund I was thinking I'd just order that Carvin DC7X I was talking about and refret the Jackson once these frets wear down. The 2-tone one from this thread:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/267248-carvin-idea-super-gas.html#post3988110

So what say you all? Do you think Jackson can pull this off in 2 weeks? I'm worried if they damage something that they'll then say, "It was damaged and needs a rebuild"  God putting anything in their hands really worries me as time has no meaning in the Jackson custom shop.

So what say you all?


Rev.


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## Tango616 (Apr 23, 2014)

What I think is even crazier on top of all of this, is that after 2 YEARS of waiting, they make errors for that, and other people with similar super simple build orders are in the 2+ years area WITH flaws, but artists like Misha (no offence to him) are getting multiple orders thrown out the door every other month it seems perfectly flawless.


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## Danukenator (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> So what say you all? Do you think Jackson can pull this off in 2 weeks? I'm worried if they damage something that they'll then say, "It was damaged and needs a rebuild"  God putting anything in their hands really worries me as time has no meaning in the Jackson custom shop.
> 
> So what say you all?
> 
> ...



I say there is something seriously ....ed up when a company makes a customer think that. 

I wish you the best of luck. I've got to say, I was THIS close towards placing an order for a Jackson Custom Select...never again. 

Jackson makes a mean guitar when they have their head out of their ass but I just don't have the time to waste on a company that's messing around. I'll buy a WR1 instead.


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## fortisursus (Apr 23, 2014)

I would probably just try to get as much cash back as possible and live with it. It is still an awesome guitar that you specifically tailored to yourself. Sucks that they messed up the frets. If you are a patient fellow then send it back, otherwise I say just try to enjoy it for what it is. Sure SS frets are great, but they are far from a make or break issue. Think of this as a good thing  You'll likely have a couple hundred more dollars than you did yesterday!


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## thrsher (Apr 23, 2014)

take the money and run


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## jahosy (Apr 23, 2014)

S/steel frets is $175 upcharge from their masterbuilt form. 

If its me i'll take the refund and shop around locally for a refret.


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## asher (Apr 23, 2014)

I'd get the refret, either via Jackson or a local after the refund. That guitar is sexy as hell, and worth a lot more than a Carvin - so theoretically you could save back up for one in not a huge amount of time.


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## Mordecai (Apr 23, 2014)

get as much back as you can and then take it locally for a re-fret. im sure you can find someone with WAY better turn around time.


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## DISTORT6 (Apr 23, 2014)

There's NO WAY I would let that guitar get back into Jackson's hands. They've done enough. Get all the cash back you can, put it to the side, play the shit out of your new toy and be happy.
When the time comes for the SS refret, do some research, find someone local and you'll be good to go! 



^Ninja'd!


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## groverj3 (Apr 23, 2014)

I'm appalled that apparently someone over there neglected to read the build sheet. Makes me a little nervous for my custom select.

That being said, I wouldn't return it for the full refund. Sure, you're pissed they forgot your frets (understandable), but if the guitar plays well overall and is otherwise flawless then either have them refret it or use the partial refund to pay for it elsewhere.

I'm of the opinion that making THEM fix it for you is the most fair thing, but with shipping dangers and whatnot it's probably safer to take it elsewhere.

Hopefully Jackson gets their shit together. I hate brand fanboyism, but I've always loved Jacksons for whatever reason. The styling, the feel of the ones I have, etc. Makes me sad to see stuff like this.


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## potatohead (Apr 23, 2014)

If Jackson is going to give you the 10% refund, AND re-fret the guitar in two weeks AND pay for shipping both ways, personally I would do that (and I know what I said earlier). That's by far your best option financially and will let you buy the Carvin anyway. You don't have to pay anyone to re-fret it and you get your refund. I would make a clause with my retailer though that if A) the guitar isn't back in my hands in three weeks and/or B) the re-fret sucks ass, isn't level, there is any fretboard/binding damage etc etc, that it's not over. If Jackson is touching the guitar again it better come back perfect. PERFECT.

I understand shit happens but this is something that took over two years and cost upwards of $5000. It's probably just another day at the office for those dudes but they have to know this is a serious investment and piece of gear for their customers.

I will also give Jackson credit that they owned up to the mistake and didn't try to screw around, and that they seem to be willing to make it right.


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## Dana (Apr 23, 2014)

send it back, make them do it right. its the ONLY way.

make them pay the shipping and 5% for the inconvenience.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

Yeah that's the other thing I'm worried about - the possibility of shipping damage. My wife isn't being understanding and just keeps saying to send it back to them for them to fix it, not taking into account the variables of time, hassle, possible damage, etc. God, what to do... 


Rev.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

Dana said:


> send it back, make them do it right. its the ONLY way.
> 
> make them pay the shipping and 5% for the inconvenience.



Jackson will pay for shipping but not 5% on top of the refret. 


Rev.


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## Dana (Apr 23, 2014)

its a no brainer dude. send the thing back. if it gets damaged make them eat it. be forceful with these idiots.


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## potatohead (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Jackson will pay for shipping but not 5% on top of the refret.
> 
> 
> Rev.



So they will do 10% OR the re-fret?

I'd take the money and run and probably never buy another one. I'd re-fret it when it needs it. 

I wish you were looking for 25.5" scale stuff. I have two DC700's I'd trade in an instant (plus cash) for this thing. One is even spalt


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## Seventhwave (Apr 23, 2014)

This is Jacksons MO. I don't doubt that they ship things perfectly aware they're not correct to the work order and just hope the customer will take their 5% off since they already waited 2 years for their instrument.

I've had to ship stuff back for fixing. So don't hesitate. Just do it. That's really the only way to stick it to them. Cause they know most folks are going to take the 5% and deal with it "as is"

It's on them if it gets damaged during shipping since they're footing the bill to have it shipped. So pack it well, take photographs of your packing job, and send it the .... back. Let them eat the cost of shipping both ways, time and labor having to refret, etc. It's gonna cost them a lot more than 5%.


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## groverj3 (Apr 23, 2014)

^ I highly doubt that stuff like this is intentional. It probably has a lot more to do with the fact that there are literally four people that build the "real" custom shop stuff there and they have a backlog of 2+ years.


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## MetalDaze (Apr 23, 2014)

Well, there's always the Ibanez Custom Shop...oh wait, there isn't for mere mortals 

I've played some USA Selects that were duds, but I've got two CS Soloists and a CS Dinky that are all magical...and it sounds like that Kelly kicks ass too.

If it was me, I'd be fine living with the nickel frets, knowing that everything else is great.


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## Dana (Apr 23, 2014)

4600 dollar guitar? youde be fine with that? pulllease......


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

Dana said:


> 4600 dollar guitar? youde be fine with that? pulllease......



Huh? 


Rev.


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## Dana (Apr 23, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Huh?
> 
> 
> Rev.



i was responding the the guy above me who said he would be fine with it.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 23, 2014)

Dana said:


> i was responding the the guy above me who said he would be fine with it.



Aaah, OK sorry bout that. 


Rev.


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## MetalDaze (Apr 23, 2014)

Dana said:


> i was responding the the guy above me who said he would be fine with it.



I meant fine after the refund.


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## Seventhwave (Apr 23, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> ^ I highly doubt that stuff like this is intentional. It probably has a lot more to do with the fact that there are literally four people that build the "real" custom shop stuff there and they have a backlog of 2+ years.



I'm not implying that they intentionally screw up the guitars. I'm implying that they're probably aware of the screw ups at final inspection and decide to ship anyway. 

Of course I could be wrong, they could just be that stupid.


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## mniel8195 (Apr 24, 2014)

if someone payed me 4600 to build a guitar the first thing i would think it would have is ss frets. How do you screw that up?


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## InHiding (Apr 24, 2014)

I'd personally never send it back to such a company. I mean 23 frets, come on! You can't trust them. What if the 23 fret guy is going to do your refretting? You'll never know... "Guy wants this refretted to 23? Sure man, I'll do it. Now, where's my hacksaw?"


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## Forkface (Apr 24, 2014)

i'd say take the refund, get the carvin, play them nickel frets to the ground and then refret it by a legit guy when the time comes.



that carvin looks sexy as hell.


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## Tisca (Apr 24, 2014)

There were stories told online 15 years ago how Jackson kept ....ing up custom orders. I see nothing has changed.


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## HaloHat (Apr 24, 2014)

Seeing as it is the Jackson Custom Shop, and things do also get done correctly, I would ask them to add the 24th fret as well. No neck p-u in the way and a custom shop like Jackson should be able to do it where it looks right.

I agree with the person who said you should get their offer in writing. Then you have some recourse if they don't do what they said they will do.

I still can't believe the 23 fret thing. There is something fishy about that because there is no way they did not notice that through the whole build. And then to say nothing to you about it. Where do they stamp the serial numbers? On the 24th fret area? Stamp too hard, f up the board, cut off the 24th fret and ship it because there is no way the customer will send it back after 26 months of waiting. Unreal.


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## InHiding (Apr 24, 2014)

The 23 fret thing was another guitar


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## goherpsNderp (Apr 24, 2014)

i would be worried that Jackson would mess up the refret too.

i'd take the credit and get it refretted somewhere else. $4600 guitar that's ALMOST perfect would be a shame to just send back and have to wait forever for a Carvin.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 24, 2014)

Forkface said:


> i'd say take the refund, get the carvin, play them nickel frets to the ground and then refret it by a legit guy when the time comes.
> 
> 
> 
> that carvin looks sexy as hell.



I like this idea...


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## xzyryabx (Apr 24, 2014)

Just send it back, with an understanding that if it's not back in x time that you want a full refund and any shipping damage will result in a full refund to you, immediately, regardless of insurance claim outcome.
If it gets back in x time then great, enjoy the guitar you've been waiting forever on....don't stress the possibility of damage unless it happens, in any case, you'll be getting the money back.
if not, buy another guitar with some of the money and pocket the rest, then enjoy playing our new guitar.
my point is, spend as little more time on this headache as possible, and get back to playing.
And keep blasting them on social media b/c for those [prices everything should be perfect and they shouldn't be able to get away with stunts like this.


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## SkullCrusher (Apr 24, 2014)

Do you opportunity for a 100% refund and send the guitar back?

I would *personally* do that if it was possible as things like this leave a bad taste in my mouth.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 24, 2014)

As far as I know this is absolutely not a reason to stay away from Jackson guitars or Custom Shop Jackson Guitars on the used market, just to be cautious when ordering a custom yourself I suppose. That is definitely a major screw up on a custom guitar from a major super high end Custom Shop who takes 2+ years to make a guitar at a hefty price. Not cool


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## Overtone (Apr 24, 2014)

It depends on whether or not it means a lot to you to have the work done by the Jackson CS. If it's not that important then I think the money is the safer bet since it puts things more under your control, plus it seems that there's a little bit of a buffer amount so that you can get your refret done under circumstances more within your control and still have paid less in total than you initially planned to. OTOH if you prefer it to be Jackson's work my advice is to ask around and see if endorsees, dealers, etc. think the one week estimate is realistic.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 24, 2014)

SkullCrusher said:


> Do you opportunity for a 100% refund and send the guitar back?
> 
> I would *personally* do that if it was possible as things like this leave a bad taste in my mouth.



I can't say 100% for sure but I believe 100% they'd flat out say no. I too, like you, have issues with situations like this leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I usually get so worked up I'd rather just cut clean of the whole situation. But, I think for this situation I have to reign in some over-reaction. They did offer me two reasonable options - a fair refund amount or a refret with a supposedly fast turn around time. And the guitar is awesome in every other way, every other way but light friggin' fret wear after not even 12 hours of playing on it.

I checked with my local UPS store and they're open normal hours on Saturday's so as long as I can get an SUV to drive me over there I can drop it off for shipment back. The box is too big/irregular to fit in regular cars. So now the question is simply what option do I take. I mean, the guitar IS surely functional now and the frets of course should hold up a couple of years before needing a refret I'd fathom, at which point I could then go with the best possible luthier locally. Or I can ship it back now and hope everything comes back soon and flawless and finally be "done" with the ordeal. 

The human brain though.... God I can't help but thinking of "what if" scenarios. Like the below:

"What it somehow gets damaged in shipping?, like the headstock gets broken. Then it would probably go through a long ass rebuild"

"What if they damage the ebony fretboard removing the frets and have to redo the fretboard... how long will that take?"

"What if, out of aggravation or being reprimanded by the manager for messing this up in the first place, the same person responsible works on it and intentionally does a shitty job out of spite?"

"What if the binding or inlay gets damaged and they "patch" it up"

Gah... toooo.... maaaany..... thoughts.....  


Rev.


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## OmegaSlayer (Apr 24, 2014)

That's too bad Rev.
Too frickin' bad, made me sad.

That's one hell of a guitar, and it's clear from your words that you already grew "feelings" toward it.

I say that if you know a luthier you can 100% trust, take the refund and refret it now or later.
I don't have experience with Custom Shops except what I read here, but I doubt Jackson will respect their estimate.
Not because it is "Jackson", but because YOU first would NOT want a rushed work.

Best of luck Rev
*brotherly hugs*


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## groverj3 (Apr 24, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> I can't say 100% for sure but I believe 100% they'd flat out say no. I too, like you, have issues with situations like this leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I usually get so worked up I'd rather just cut clean of the whole situation. But, I think for this situation I have to reign in some over-reaction. They did offer me two reasonable options - a fair refund amount or a refret with a supposedly fast turn around time. And the guitar is awesome in every other way, every other way but light friggin' fret wear after not even 12 hours of playing on it.
> 
> I checked with my local UPS store and they're open normal hours on Saturday's so as long as I can get an SUV to drive me over there I can drop it off for shipment back. The box is too big/irregular to fit in regular cars. So now the question is simply what option do I take. I mean, the guitar IS surely functional now and the frets of course should hold up a couple of years before needing a refret I'd fathom, at which point I could then go with the best possible luthier locally. Or I can ship it back now and hope everything comes back soon and flawless and finally be "done" with the ordeal.
> 
> ...



Honestly, if I was in your situation I'd be in pretty much the same place, mentally. I'm pretty picky about stuff being done right. However, I think it's best to take a step back and look at this more objectively. If you send it back for a refret it's in their best interests to do a good job. They gain nothing by doing a shitty job. It's tempting to play the "what if?" game in your head, but I often tend to fall into the trap of assuming other humans are far more spiteful than they really are.

Whether or not to send it to them for a refret would have less to do with the quality of the work than potential damage during shipping. People refret ebony fretboards all the time with no issues. If you do decide to pack it up and make them fix their .... up (the fairest ending to this story), just make sure it's the best packed box you've ever seen.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 24, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> If you do decide to pack it up and make them fix their .... up (the fairest ending to this story), just make sure it's the best packed box you've ever seen.



The case it's in and the box they shipped it in were indeed quite secure. The biggest worry would be the headstock though hitting the case wall and chipping a piece of the tip - since the scale is 26.5" and the case is likely designed around 25.5" I see the headstock tip gets quite close to the wall. But, my way of protecting against that would be to put a small piece of foam wedged in between the lower horn cutout. That would keep the guitar from having any play whatsoever in the case.

Still waiting to hear back on what the full amount of refund would be / and verification that they'd definitely pay shipping both ways and will provide the pre-paid label for me to print if I went that route. I know someone posted the upcharge is listed on the MF sheet as $135 (so should be $595 refund total) but I'm waiting to hear back from the horse's mouth. That's one of the other things that suck... due to the time difference I literally get one email communication in a day and I haven't even made a choice yet!


Rev.


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## troyguitar (Apr 24, 2014)

Seems to be this way with all custom electric guitar builders for some reason. It's like a disease. Guitar players tend to be hacks who take short cuts and it rubs off on guitar builders somehow.

I'd send it back for the refret and if it doesn't come back 100% perfect then it would be time to start raising hell IMO.


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## Edika (Apr 24, 2014)

First off all awesome guitar Rev. I am sure that if I were in your shoes my brain would be going back and forth with similar questions. It is a tough call but if the guitar is fully insured going back and forth I think it might be less risky to let Jackson do the refret. The only reason for saying this is that if they do damage the guitar or the guitar is damaged in transit then you are covered financially. If you take it to a tech and he damages the guitar while refreting will he take responsibility for a 4600$ instrument? 

The refret refund and Carvin option is also really good so I would say either way you're covered.

I can't imagine anyone being able to induce wear on regular frets within 12 hours without any kind of tool that is, so what the hell kind of fretwire did they use?

EDIT: You can also wrap the headstock with bubblewrap along with the piece of foam. That will provide extra protection from chipping.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 24, 2014)

Why get an aftermarket re-fret right now? If its feeling like a risky venture, then wouldnt it be better to just wait until it actually needs a re-fret?


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## Rev2010 (Apr 24, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> Why get an aftermarket re-fret right now? If its feeling like a risky venture, then wouldnt it be better to just wait until it actually needs a re-fret?



If I went with the cash option I wouldn't refret it now, I'd wait till the frets wore down and needed it. 

@Edika - it's entirely possible I didn't notice it and some wear was there from setup, testing, passing it around the shop, who knows. 


Rev.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 24, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> The biggest worry would be the headstock though hitting the case wall and chipping a piece of the tip - since the scale is 26.5" and the case is likely designed around 25.5"



Wrap some bubble wrap around the headstock and put extra on the tip, thats the way my KXK was shipped, very point/very secure


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## Suho (Apr 24, 2014)

There are pros/cons each way, but the one thing that might make me send it back to Jackson is that if a third party somehow botches the refret job or mars the fretboard, you are kind of out of luck, whereas if Jackson does it there is an extra level of protection for you. Good luck, and beautiful guitar otherwise.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 24, 2014)

Yeah, at this point I'm really thinking of sending it in for the refret through Jackson. If the refund is indeed about $595 then I'd probably be better off just sending it in. If I had $1000 refund then I'd definitely take it but that ain't gonna happen. 


Rev.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 24, 2014)

So is Jackson just going to find your nearest authorized Jackson repair shop and have you take it there? Cause thats what they do to fix typical things under warranty. Is this going to be treated as an issue to be fixed under warranty or would they actually take it in and repair it at the Jackson Custom Shop?

The reason why Jackson wont offer you a substantial amount of cash back is probably because Jackson is only willing to refund probably out of their pocket, not the dealers profit, and the actual dealer cost could have been around half of what you paid so $1000 back would be like almost half the actual cost


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## Rev2010 (Apr 24, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> Is this going to be treated as an issue to be fixed under warranty or would they actually take it in and repair it at the Jackson Custom Shop?



They want me to send it back to the custom shop. And I know for sure they aren't going to give a grand refund. It would probably be $595 going by the posted MFR sheet steel fret upcharge. Was just saying if it were near that high I'd take it as it would pay for the large majority of that Carvin DC7X I've been gas'ing for 


Rev.


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## cardinal (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm not sure if it's true, but I've always shipped guitars with the fastest shipment reasonably possible (usually 2-day air). I always assumed that the less time the shipper has it, the less chance they have of breaking it. 

If you're inclined to do the rebuild, then I'd do the rebuild and not worry about all the potential what-if scenarios of damage. If it gets damaged in shipping, that is what it is and it'll be on Jackson. Ostensibly Jackson knows what it's doing, so I wouldn't assume they'll damage it while they're working on it. It seems like they're not paying attention to what work goes with what guitar, but it does seem like they are paying attention to the quality of whatever work they're doing (with the exception of the 23 fret guitar, which was insane).


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 24, 2014)

The second I saw you had the possibility of getting a decent refund, my mind immediately went to that Carvin you almost ordered. Perhaps it's because I'm a hoarder, but I totally would have gone that route with a refund. (even if it wasn't the largest refund.) 

The way I see it is that you would have ordered the damn thing a week or however long ago before you had an extra $595+, why risk ruining what Jackson actually did right by shipping it. (to and from, that's twice the chance for breakage.) 

Perhaps I'm the devil on the shoulder, but I say go for the Carvin build you've been gassing for and cut all ties with Jackson from this point on. (It doesn't help that I really want to see pictures of the Carvin.) After all, you can always have it refretted with SS when it inevitably needs a refret. That won't be for a while though, and you'll have all of this shit paid off.

It's a shitty situation for sure though. It's a gorgeous guitar, it's such a shame they made such a stupid mistake. Especially when they spit in your face with an offer for 5%, when 5% doesn't even cover what you paid them to do the ....ing job.


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## potatohead (Apr 25, 2014)

$600 and a re-fret I would send it back to them. Yes it can get damaged, but the chances are extremely slim. If they mess up the binding or fretboard they will simply change it. I refuse to believe they don't have enough pride in their work to send you back a guitar that isn't 110% perfect this time... Or at least I would hope. If this was my ....up I would be seething with myself and want more than anything to have another chance to make it right. 

FWIW I have seen Carvin replace a fretboard before. Someone on their BBS sent back a guitar that had fret sprout and it was determined the fretboard wood (flamed maple) was faulty and was too soft. The guitar appeared in GIS about two weeks later with a different fretboard. The flame on the fretboard was different but the body was the same.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 25, 2014)

It's either / or, I'm not getting back a refund plus a re-fret. If they offered that I'd be singing their praises. 


Rev.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 25, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> It's either / or, I'm not getting back a refund plus a re-fret. If they offered that I'd be singing their praises.
> 
> 
> Rev.



If it's either/or, just take the refund. Play the guitar until the frets are worn and ACTUALLY need the refret (the minor wear you're putting on them in the meantime will NOT affect the playability or intonation, I can pretty much guarantee that... ), pick a reputable SS refret guy and either carefully pack and ship it to them, or if you can get a local guy that's even better since you nullify any chance of shipping damage. My honest opinion is that your fear/paranoia lol might be warranted, I don't know the Jackson CS guys who work on frets but while I know they do a great job when not being harassed about it based on my Broderick that they built as a regular order, I too would be a bit worried if word got back to the guy that he screwed up and they chewed him out because this all got blown up publicly and he decided to do a rushed/sloppy job on the refret just to get it back out and off of his plate.  Plus you also don't know how long it could take, they might not consider it a priority once it actually gets back to them, who knows.

Best bet to have it done within a timeframe of your choosing (assuming the tech can stay on schedule, of course ) and potentially not have to deal with shipping is to ask for the refund (if it's $600+ that's enough for a SS PLEK'd refret with a quality tech AND a couple hundred leftover, FWIW) and take care of it on your own terms. I know I wouldn't want a guy who got admonished for ....ing up a job to be the one to work on my $4K instrument again, so I don't blame you there.

FWIW, Phil Jacoby @ Philtone has refretted literally a half dozen instruments for me with Stainless Steel and PLEK'd them and every single one of them has come back perfect, no lie. One of the best in the business, there is a reason he has a full queue at any given time, but if you can either ship or drive to Baltimore and can be patient (ALWAYS ask in advance how the queue looks and how soon he could have it done BEFORE shipping it, Phil is a busy guy so don't expect a 1-2 week turnaround, just giving you fair warning there... ) he will have that guitar coming back to you the way it should have been done in the first place (maybe even better than the Jackson CS, the fretwork on my Broderick was wonderful but I've never had a job done by Phil that wasn't perfect). There are other guys that do great work (Tuttle, Lull, Glaser etc.) but all of those will require you to ship around the country anyway, so if you're looking for a somewhat local option and can be patient for a few weeks, I'd go with Phil hands down.  Hope you get it sorted out regardless.


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## Zado (Apr 25, 2014)

I'm sorry to read this Rev,it sucks cause they could have easily solved the problem at the conditions established above with good rep for them and a good NGD for you.This way they just managed to appear like a no-go CS (once again,it seems),while you have to feel this bad.


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## loqtrall (Apr 25, 2014)

It might sound stingy, and it might be because of the fact that I've never owned an incredibly, stupidly expensive CS guitar. But, that guitar seems bad ass to me, and I assume even though Jackson screwed up the fret material, that it still plays like butter. So I'd just keep it and take whatever refund they'd give me and be done with it. If the frets wear down (do you play like a madman or something?), then I'd pay to have it refretted. But at the present state, yes, you might not have gotten what you wanted; but Jackson offered a refund technically for what you didn't get.

It's just all in my opinion, and backed by the fact that I've never owned or even played a CS guitar in the $4-5k range, but if I received that guitar from Jackson, and the only thing wrong with it was fret material, I'd probably take what money they give me and just keep the guitar the way it is. There are too many factors that make sending it back seem like a bad/time consuming idea.


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## canuck brian (Apr 25, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> ^ I highly doubt that stuff like this is intentional. It probably has a lot more to do with the fact that there are literally four people that build the "real" custom shop stuff there and they have a backlog of 2+ years.



It's definitely not intentional, but if they're buggering things up because they're so incredibly backlogged, they need to stop taking orders immediately. They're fast approaching BRJ-level lack-of-attention-to-detail.

They should also stop building multiple CS guitars for artists in a timeline that is literally 10% of what paying customers are being forced to endure. It's basically pissing in the face of paying customers when they're waiting 30+ months and established musicians are getting custom shop Jacksons within 3 months.


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## slapnutz (Apr 25, 2014)

Dude the deal they gave you in fixing it and not charging for the SS work sounds good and there is always a risk with shipping but thats a given with any item.

However, considering it took them over 2 years to make it, I have trouble trusting their 2 week turn around they are advising.

Personally i would try and get a partial refund and get the SS refret done in NY but Jackson being Jackson, I dont think they would play ball.


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## Danukenator (Apr 25, 2014)

I'd honestly consider doing a charge back. I know you don't want to screw Matt's Music but this is business. You have a right to a flawless product. After dealing with some builders, I could never really dig the guitar because of the bad taste in my mouth.

It's your call man! If you want your minu back, don't be afraid to fight for it.


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## HurrDurr (Apr 25, 2014)

InHiding said:


> I'd personally never send it back to such a company. I mean 23 frets, come on! You can't trust them. What if the 23 fret guy is going to do your refretting? You'll never know... "Guy wants this refretted to 23? Sure man, I'll do it. Now, where's my hacksaw?"



Was reading through this thread to catch up and I literally just bust out laughing here at the office at this post. All joking aside, the whole situation's been a mess. 

If it were up to me, I'd send it in now for the refret. I mean, waiting it out on the nickel frets until they're worn for a refret sounds like a good idea, but you *PAID* for SS frets from JCS and you _*should have gotten*_ SS frets from JCS. If you take the money now, it's just delaying the inevitable and you'll eventually have to drop it off at someone where realistically _*ANYTHING*_ can go wrong regardless of how much you trust your local tech/luthier. If anything goes wrong at JCS, they will _*damned sure*_ eat their mistake, whereas a small-town tech/luthier may not be able to do that, or worse, make it incredibly difficult for you to do so and thus creating another extensive headache for a few months. If there is ANY damage at all to your guitar on it's second run at JCS, dispute the sh!t out of it, get your money back, and run as much neg rep on them as you can because although we're all aware people _do_ make mistakes, it's how those mistakes are dealt with honestly and politely that _(to me)_ determines a company's merit. JCS has _no right_ to be complete ass-hats about it at _*your expense*_. All these issues being hypothetical of course, but for now the safest route I see is to just hand it over to them for the SS refret and pressure them to hell and back to get it done in the time you were promised. Either way, I hope this gets sorted out for you real soon buddy and you can get on to enjoying that killer guitar once it's all said and done the way it was meant to be.

(Just a reminder, all that was just _*my opinion*_)


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## HighGain510 (Apr 25, 2014)

Danukenator said:


> I'd honestly consider doing a charge back. I know you don't want to screw Matt's Music but this is business. You have a right to a flawless product. After dealing with some builders, I could never really dig the guitar because of the bad taste in my mouth.
> 
> It's your call man! If you want your minu back, don't be afraid to fight for it.



The only problem is that is a total douchebag move in THIS scenario. Matt's Music didn't build him an incorrectly-spec'd guitar (and no offense meant, but a refret is NOT really the end of the world if the guitar is flawless otherwise as he has stated... ), they only broker the dealer between the customer and the builder, but pulling a charge-back is going to f_u_ck MATT, not Jackson. Then Matt would be stuck trying to work something out with Jackson for his money, and honestly since it sounded like the last payment was $1K (unless I read that incorrectly, I forget), that's WAY more than the refund he was supposed to get, so in that case he should really work out a return of the guitar itself with the dealer if he wants to try to go down that road.

The dealer isn't closing up shop and refusing to help him (it seems Matt has been trying to help get the situation resolved with Jackson to Rev's satisfaction the best they can as far as I can tell?) yet by suggesting forcing a charge-back on them, you are acting like Matt's Music is pulling the BRJ/ViK move on him and they clearly aren't. It was a simple mistake with the specs made by Jackson and it's one that is easily remedied with a refret (it's not like they used the wrong woods, inlays, body shape, fret amount etc.), they have offered him two ways to get it resolved, so suggesting yet again that he try to have his CC company charge back the funds despite them having actually delivered the guitar and offering to make it right would be a majorly asshole thing to do in this case. 

The builders YOU dealt with are of no consequence in this situation, you're giving him advice based on your dealings with scummy builders, and that's not fair to the dealer who is trying to make things right for him. Matt didn't build his guitar and he's doing what he can to fix it, offering advice telling someone to screw the guy who is doing everything he can to help is a really shitty thing to do.


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## HurrDurr (Apr 25, 2014)

I completely agree with HighGain. It would be a dick move when the suggested alternative of a refret would result in exactly what the OP wanted anyway... give or take some headaches along the way, unfortunately.

That being said, if Jackson does well; We raise a glass in their honor and sing praise!
If JCS does *NOT* deliver the goods on time and on par; We burn the bridges!


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## stevexc (Apr 25, 2014)

HurrDurr said:


> Was reading through this thread to catch up and I literally just bust out laughing here at the office at this post. All joking aside, the whole situation's been a mess.
> 
> If it were up to me, I'd send it in now for the refret. I mean, waiting it out on the nickel frets until they're worn for a refret sounds like a good idea, but you *PAID* for SS frets from JCS and you _*should have gotten*_ SS frets from JCS. If you take the money now, it's just delaying the inevitable and you'll eventually have to drop it off at someone where realistically _*ANYTHING*_ can go wrong regardless of how much you trust your local tech/luthier. If anything goes wrong at JCS, they will _*damned sure*_ eat their mistake, whereas a small-town tech/luthier may not be able to do that, or worse, make it incredibly difficult for you to do so and thus creating another extensive headache for a few months. If there is ANY damage at all to your guitar on it's second run at JCS, dispute the sh!t out of it, get your money back, and run as much neg rep on them as you can because although we're all aware people _do_ make mistakes, it's how those mistakes are dealt with honestly and politely that _(to me)_ determines a company's merit. JCS has _no right_ to be complete ass-hats about it at _*your expense*_. All these issues being hypothetical of course, but for now the safest route I see is to just hand it over to them for the SS refret and pressure them to hell and back to get it done in the time you were promised. Either way, I hope this gets sorted out for you real soon buddy and you can get on to enjoying that killer guitar once it's all said and done the way it was meant to be.
> 
> (Just a reminder, all that was just _*my opinion*_)



Totally this. Send it back in, make them fix their damn mistake. You're gonna hate this guitar until you get SS frets put on it, you know that.


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## HurrDurr (Apr 25, 2014)

On a side note, this is still better service and less flawed than *S7G*... Just had to remind everyone of that. 
_*"A custom shop actually offering to fix their mistakes?!"*_ 
I can actually envision Jim in vivid detail cringing at the thought of that.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 25, 2014)

Don't worry guys, I'm not doing any sort of chargeback. Matt and Jackson appear to be acting very responsibly to see the situation remedied. At this point I'm still inclined to send it into Jackson for the refret but I'm curious to hear back from Philtone on the refret and PLEK questions I'd asked.


Rev.


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## rainbowbrite (Apr 25, 2014)

why not just take the refret? it's not the end of the world.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 25, 2014)

rainbowbrite said:


> why not just take the refret? it's not the end of the world.



Have you even read any of the posts after the first one? Derp.


Rev.


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## narad (Apr 25, 2014)

HurrDurr said:


> On a side note, this is still better service and less flawed than *S7G*... Just had to remind everyone of that.
> _*"A custom shop actually offering to fix their mistakes?!"*_
> I can actually envision Jim in vivid detail cringing at the thought of that.



Let's not play "Who's the shittiest custom shop" and applaud Jackson for basically offering the bare minimum to deliver to Rev what he had ordered in the first place.


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## canuck brian (Apr 25, 2014)

HurrDurr said:


> On a side note, this is still better service and less flawed than *S7G*... Just had to remind everyone of that.
> _*"A custom shop actually offering to fix their mistakes?!"*_



Yes, the small company S7G has worse service than the multi-billion dollar FMIC. Shock.


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## Overtone (Apr 25, 2014)

So I had this lovely sandwich here:

Deli Club - No Mayo, no Cheese

The sandwich appeared in every way flawless, and in construction terms it is. But... my grub apparently is NOT _flawless_ when it comes to my work order. I noticed some mayo smears on the edge of the top bread slice. So I contacted my retailer. Well he said that it was a misbuild, that my work order indeed called for no mayo.

Now to many of you this might be nitpicking. But keep in mind I spent $0 (office lunch) and waited 2 hours for this sandwich and now I'm perturbed. Yeah the sandwich is beautiful and probably tastes awesome, but I wanted to not have the shits last a very long time.

So, Jason's offered one option: Bring it back in myself for a build. Since this is the second order they get wrong I decided to bite the bullet and go in. They offered no credits, extras, or anything. Furthermore the shipping costs were all on me! But I got the sandwich that I originally wanted, so it's all good... I just wish Jason's was a little more willing to work with me!


Anyhow, if you're thinking about a Jason's club skip it and go with Which Wich or one of the other great builders out there. They apparently can't get a single 100% correct order out the door. 


Ah.


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## stevexc (Apr 25, 2014)

Overtone said:


> So I had this lovely sandwich here:
> 
> Deli Club - No Mayo, no Cheese
> 
> ...



Pretty much this. Except Jason's Deli is fine, it's their Gourmet Custom Sandwich Shop that's been having some issues - people have been paying a premium to have Jason's finest chefs using their finest cold cuts, but there have been some consistency issues - one guy ordered smoked meat, and the meat only went down 75% of the sandwich! Of course, Jason denied everything and had to be publicly shamed in order to get him to do anything about it.

In this situation, it was actually the wrong mayo being used - and of course, he was charged an extra $2 on top of the $20 the sandwich usually costs (you pay extra to have it handmade - the attention to detail and ingredient quality is worth it! Supposedly...). The more expensive dijon mayo was ordered, which looks and smells similar to regular mayo. Of course tasting it would entirely remove the chances of getting it fixed!

Luckily, Jason's offered to either credit him the cost of dijon mayo so he can buy it himself, or to have it sent back and have the mayo replaced. Of course, that means a lengthy shipping time and the possibility that the bread will go moldy - and even then it might come back missing a bite!

Unfortunately for a shop that's been making sandwiches as long as Jason's, issues like this should be getting resolved more quickly and easily - especially when it's a three hour wait for a sandwich (although their celebrity endorsers get them within 15 minutes... go figure!). Their general consistency has gone down since their heyday back in the 80s when rye bread reigned supreme, and you're better off getting a similar, tastier sandwich from some place like Esper's - who specializes in Japanese sandwiches - or a local shop like Ola's.


Unfortunately a forced metaphor is just going to crumble like a stale kaiser.


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## Axayacatl (Apr 25, 2014)

rainbowbrite said:


> why not just take the refret? it's not the end of the world.



lol..... too good.....Hi Jackson Custom Shop employee


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## OmegaSlayer (Apr 25, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> They should also stop building multiple CS guitars for artists in a timeline that is literally 10% of what paying customers are being forced to endure. It's basically pissing in the face of paying customers when they're waiting 30+ months and established musicians are getting custom shop Jacksons within 3 months.



I think the 2 "services" are not comparable.
We all saw the vids with artists going to the luthiery factory, trying stuff, eventually going through prototypes before the final products and stuff.
Normal people sends a quote and crosses fingers.
The hands making the guitars are the same, the care and professionality are different.
Sincerely I'm surprised how easily bigger custom shops can mess orders for guitar that costs like a used car.
The cost of the materials is around 1/3 of the full price, so 2/3 are what customers pay for brand, craftmanship and professionality.
I think the kind of problem Rev has with his guitar is because things are not kept in order.
I really imagine a messy workplace with loads quotes flying around, and the guitar that is not made by a single luthier but still assembled by more hands.


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## Overtone (Apr 25, 2014)

stevexc said:


> Pretty much this. Except Jason's Deli is fine, it's their Gourmet Custom Sandwich Shop that's been having some issues - people have been paying a premium to have Jason's finest chefs using their finest cold cuts, but there have been some consistency issues - one guy ordered smoked meat, and the meat only went down 75% of the sandwich! Of course, Jason denied everything and had to be publicly shamed in order to get him to do anything about it.
> 
> In this situation, it was actually the wrong mayo being used - and of course, he was charged an extra $2 on top of the $20 the sandwich usually costs (you pay extra to have it handmade - the attention to detail and ingredient quality is worth it! Supposedly...). The more expensive dijon mayo was ordered, which looks and smells similar to regular mayo. Of course tasting it would entirely remove the chances of getting it fixed!
> 
> ...



I'm dying here!  Was the rye quartersawn? 
Anyway I was kinda pissed for a while and then I thought "I guess it could be worse (Rev!)."


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## leonardo7 (Apr 25, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> They should also stop building multiple CS guitars for artists in a timeline that is literally 10% of what paying customers are being forced to endure. It's basically pissing in the face of paying customers when they're waiting 30+ months and established musicians are getting custom shop Jacksons within 3 months.



Its true that they do that. Bulb is making a good name for his band and he does deserve it, but the main reason he in particular is getting guitars so fast is because its all been prototypes for his signature guitar which will be coming out at some point, and it generally gets the Jackson brand name out there in the meantime. Jackson definitely feels as though its a priority over the paying customers orders. 

Not only do smaller luthiers sometimes prioritize unfairly to advance their popularity from a business point of view, but clearly the big and already established companies are doing it too.


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## groverj3 (Apr 25, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> They should also stop building multiple CS guitars for artists in a timeline that is literally 10% of what paying customers are being forced to endure. It's basically pissing in the face of paying customers when they're waiting 30+ months and established musicians are getting custom shop Jacksons within 3 months.



This is nice in theory for us regular humans, but we all know this is never happening.

By having an open custom shop it invites people to have the illusion that you're getting the same level of guitar that the big boy endorsers gets. This is simply not true, and has never been for any manufacturer (big or small). Sure, they'll build you anything you want, but if you think that there is any company out there of any size that doesn't prioritize builds for their big name endorsees then you're delusional . Even among endorsees there are different levels of support. I'm sure Chris Broderick gets faster builds than some of Jackson's other guys. It happens at ESP, too. Same with Steve Vai vs any of Ibanez's other endorsees (and they don't even have a public custom shop). It's just the way the business works. 

This annoys me as well, since I'm probably waiting longer than an endorsee for a semi-custom job from Jackson myself... however it's just the reality.

The problem is less that they prioritize artist builds. The real issue is that FMIC doesn't consider the brand that important. If they did they would expand the custom shop. I'm not talking about 100 employees either. Just adding 5-10 people and some new equipment would have a really significant effect. I can only imagine those guys are absolutely swamped with work.

Not that I think it's acceptable to screw up, but it's indicative of larger problems. Hopefully they make it right for you, Rev.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 25, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> The real issue is that FMIC doesn't consider the brand that important. If they did they would expand the custom shop. I'm not talking about 100 employees either. Just adding 5-10 people and some new equipment would have a really significant effect. I can only imagine those guys are absolutely swamped with work.



But those same guys that are swamped with work might be also telling FMIC that things are rolling along just peachy as is and absolutely not to hire more help. It creates better job security for them to not have more help maybe


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## groverj3 (Apr 25, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> But those same guys that are swamped with work might be also telling FMIC that things are rolling along just peachy as is and absolutely not to hire more help. It creates better job security for them to not hire more help maybe



You might be on to something there. I have to imagine though, that Fender knows the wait time is 2+ years. They just don't care because this custom shop doesn't really make them any money anyway. If I worked in a place that was constantly busy with no end in sight I wouldn't be a happy camper. I'm probably just lazy though .

Since Fender acquired Jackson they more or less stepped back and said they weren't going to change anything. They pretty much let Jackson do things their way. I guess this is good on some level because they didn't cheapen up the materials, change the models, etc. However, Jacksons are mostly still handmade in an era of accurate CNC machining. Fender can change that and I won't care . In fact, I'd welcome it.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 25, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> Fender knows the wait time is 2+ years. They just don't care because this custom shop doesn't really make them any money anyway.



The main profit appears to be made by the dealer. But Jackson have increased prices recently. Has anyone put in a Jackson Custom Shop custom quote the past couple of months? Its like 5K minimum now for a more or less basic spec'd 7 string soloist 

There is definitely some really bad management happening on the business side of things. Can you imagine if Jackson could pump out customs like Mayones in 4 months time? There is definitely a reason for them not doing it


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## Rev2010 (Apr 25, 2014)

stevexc said:


> Unfortunately a forced metaphor is just going to crumble like a stale kaiser.



So true, especially when a sandwich that will be eaten and forgotten about is nowhere near the same as a $4600 guitar that I'll probably have for life.


Rev.


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## stevexc (Apr 25, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> So true, especially when a sandwich that will be eaten and forgotten about is nowhere near the same as a $4600 guitar that I'll probably have for life.
> 
> 
> Rev.



No way man, if they had put that dijon mayo on you would NEVER forget that sandwich.


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## groverj3 (Apr 25, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> ...Has anyone put in a Jackson Custom Shop custom quote the past couple of months?...
> 
> There is definitely some really bad management happening on the business side of things....



I'm getting a custom select, which is more or less USA Select pricing. They tack on some for whatever extra options you pick, but most things are no to minimal extra charge. Keep in mind, MSRP is much higher than what you pay through a dealer. Full-blown customs are quite expensive. A lot of dealers organize large runs of 5-10 guitars to cut down on the price. It ends up being a few hundred more than custom selects.

Definitely some bad management going on though. In terms of internal communication, lack of people in the shop to reduce build times, as well as inefficient processes.


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## Overtone (Apr 25, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> So true, especially when a sandwich that will be eaten and forgotten about is nowhere near the same as a $4600 guitar that I'll probably have for life.
> 
> 
> Rev.



What sandwich?


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## Rev2010 (Apr 26, 2014)

Word back is the refund is $480 but Matt will round it up to an even $500. I'm still thinking I'll send it in instead but I'm still really uncertain about their quoted 2 week turn around time. I have a feeling I won'. See it back for more like 1-2 months. 

Rev.


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## jwade (Apr 26, 2014)

I think it might be a good idea to have your dealer get back in touch with them and insist on a 7 day turnaround. It's really nice that they're admitting they screwed up and are willing to fix it, but it shouldn't be at their convenience. a rough estimate of "_um...a week or two...we dunno_" wouldn't really cut it for me.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 26, 2014)

Well I've made the decision and it's definitely going back for them to refret it. I've asked Matt to schedule a FedEx pickup for next Saturday.

As for the time, I'll give them two weeks then get on them if they don't meet that time frame.


Rev.


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## Seventhwave (Apr 26, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Word back is the refund is $480 but Matt will round it up to an even $500. I'm still thinking I'll send it in instead but I'm still really uncertain about their quoted 2 week turn around time. I have a feeling I won'. See it back for more like 1-2 months.
> 
> Rev.



I had to send one of my guitars back to have them redo the logo on the headstock. (They put the wrong one on the headstock. I even contacted them about 3-4 weeks before they applied the logo on my guitar to confirm they were going to use the correct logo. They emailed me back a photo I sent with the order which was correct. They still got it wrong )

They told me 2 months to get it fixed and sent back. They got it back to me in about 3 weeks. So, good on them for that... I guess. 

It's really too bad cause I love Jackson guitars. But I won't ever buy another custom instrument from them. It's not worth the risk, cost, or time involved. Nevermind the stress. Carvin has my business now, and frankly... the 2 Carvins I have ordered thus far have played much nicer than any Jackson I've ordered.


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## Promit (Apr 26, 2014)

Personally I would've taken the $500; Philtone would've had it set up perfectly with SS frets for half that.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 26, 2014)

Promit said:


> Personally I would've taken the $500; Philtone would've had it set up perfectly with SS frets for half that.



Actually Phil quoted me $500 for a stainless refret with PLEK not including the shipping both ways. So I'd probably be looking at closer to $600, and even then he said he can't give me a turnaround time as they are extremely busy right now.


Rev.


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## jsl2h90 (Apr 27, 2014)

noise in my mind said:


> Sorry to hear this man. I had soloist I bought new from GC. Frets were bad, neck was twisted, the rosewood fingerboard dried out. Ended up getting rid of it with a substantial loss. I'll never own a jackson again. +1 for carvin though


That's weird, i was thinking about my old purple soloist I sold at Guitar Center SF about 4 years ago after reading this and then I looked at your location. Although it would have been used of course. Then again, I have known GC to misinform people in general. Last year in LA I was at the Custom Guitar and Amp Show/Axe-Fest and the GC guys had an SRV Hamiltone look-alike which they told me was the actual Hamiltone that SRV played. I did some research and found out they were lying.


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## littledoc (Apr 27, 2014)

No builder is above reproach, but it should go without saying that when you pay such an extravagant price and wait over two years, the guitar truly should be impeccable. 

Personally, I'd throw it on the 'bay and get a couple of Carvins instead.


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## lettmusic (Apr 27, 2014)

Good luck with the refret and please let us know how it all works out for you.
I have a big issue with Dean and ZZounds right now too. I'll post a seperate thread about it later.
The SS should be awesome, it's just the wait that sucks for you right now. I have a feeling they will not meet the 2-week turnaround, which I'm sure you'll be on the phone and bug them until they do right on your deal.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 27, 2014)

lettmusic said:


> I have a feeling they will not meet the 2-week turnaround, which I'm sure you'll be on the phone and bug them until they do right on your deal.



2 weeks wont happen for sure. It will take a week to ship to them, a week to sort it, a week to ship it back. Thats already 3 weeks right there and that doesn't even factor in the actual work.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 27, 2014)

I'm OK with the shipping times and it depends on what shipping method they're using. If it's ground then yeah, but as long as it's not at the CS shop for more than 3 weeks I can deal. Still working on this bloody 8-string track that's taking me forever. Today I at least got a new part written, however it's the last part of the song. Still need the next verse, chorus, fills, bridge, and last chorus. For this track all verses and choruses are new riffs, only thing I'm repeating is the intro which is also the first prechorus riff. 


Rev.


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## Seventhwave (Apr 27, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> 2 weeks wont happen for sure. It will take a week to ship to them, a week to sort it, a week to ship it back. Thats already 3 weeks right there and that doesn't even factor in the actual work.



With my experience, Jackson paid to overnight the guitar back to them, and then overnighted it back to me. Without me requesting it. So they could make the 2 week estimate if they're doing the same in this case.


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## Metal-Box (Apr 27, 2014)

How is anything other than "$4600 = flawless build" considered here? For that coin, it better be perfect. No exceptions.


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## SnowfaLL (Apr 28, 2014)

thats why I think Carvin is such a great deal.. there are .... ups, sure, but its few and far between and the wait times are SIGNIFICANTLY less than any other shop.. The time your Kelly was made, you could of had one Carvin re-built over 6 times (approx 4 months each)

I've always wanted a Kelly but Jackson CS just is not reasonable for me. I think I'll eventually get a used KE-2 and call it a day, or even go with RAN or someone who will "copy" one even before I went with a Jackson CS.

And after Carvin's $40 SS frets being so damn amazing, I can't go back to nickel. Especially at that price!


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## hairychris (Apr 28, 2014)

Good luck dude. That is an epic build so hope you get the frets fixed...


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## 7slinger (Apr 28, 2014)

I'm sad reading your thread. Makes me scared to pony up big dollars for things.

That said I hope it comes back and you get to experience the rush all over again


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## eaeolian (Apr 28, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> refret the Jackson once these frets wear down



You mean in 20 years? I mean, it's not like you're going to need to refret it in six months - they still used Dunlop fretwire, even if it wasn't stainless.

I'd take the refund and order the Carvin, personally.


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## eaeolian (Apr 28, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Well I've made the decision and it's definitely going back for them to refret it. I've asked Matt to schedule a FedEx pickup for next Saturday.
> 
> As for the time, I'll give them two weeks then get on them if they don't meet that time frame.
> 
> ...



Ah, well, ignore my previous post then.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 28, 2014)

eaeolian said:


> You mean in 20 years? I mean, it's not like you're going to need to refret it in six months - they still used Dunlop fretwire, even if it wasn't stainless.



20 years?... nickel frets... are you joking?? As I've mentioned I can already see grooves dug into the fret wire around the areas where the thickest wound strings contact. When I got my Carvin DC800 the frets were brand spanking new. Why would there be fret wear lines on a brand new $4600 custom I've played four times? Surely the guys at the shop didn't take it out gigging. 

Anyhow, nickel frets IMO are inferior. Yeah they tarnish quickly. Yeah they wear much faster than stainless. Yeah they feel nowhere near as smooth - on all my nickel fretted guitars you can feel that slight grit when bending strings, that resistance. 

Are nickel frets pure crap? Hell no, they're a long time standard. But since frets were "upgraded" to a better metal I want that metal on this uber expensive guitar. I wanted to know that in several years I wouldn't even have to hand this wonderful axe over to a local tech for a fret level and bite my nails that he might accidentally damage it. If it were an $800 guitar I couldn't give two shits. But with this one I wanted the longevity and rightfully so.


Rev.


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## eaeolian (Apr 28, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> 20 years?... nickel frets... are you joking?? As



Nope. I have a 1989 Zion Turbo, for example, that needed a fret job after 23 years, and it was my main player for ~15 of those years. My 1988 Dinky hasn't needed frets at all yet, just an occasional polish.

If there's grooves in the frets that quickly, either a.) the custom shop screwed up and cut the nut too low, or b.) the neck relief isn't proper. Nickel frets do need polishing, but if they're wearing that bad that fast, something else is wrong.

That said, there's definitely a point to the "hey, they NEVER wear out or tarnish" side of stainless, so I'm happy the CS is taking care of it. After all, it's your guitar, it should be right, especially for what they charge these days.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 28, 2014)

The nut is a Floyd locking nut and the relief seems pretty perfect though there is a little bit of buzz on the lower frets like from 1-4, not a bad amount though. I figured it was either because of the temp change or how low they set the Floyd. Rather than the baseplate being level with the top wood it sits a little lower. The action on it is the lowest I've ever had, and I've found I really dig the low action where I'm used to higher action typically. I thought about adjusting it myself but I figured I'd skip it since I'm sending it in and they'll re-set it up anyway. 


Rev.


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## SnowfaLL (Apr 28, 2014)

eaeolian said:


> I'd take the refund and order the Carvin, personally.



I don't think a refund is the option for him.. and even if it was, when you are a Kelly fan, it almost hurts not to have one. I understand him wanting to keep it, its a pretty unreal creation.

The other great thing about Carvin is that unless you only buy one guitar every 3-4 years (which I doubt Rev does lol) then you can always save up for another one very soon! Under a grand if you keep the options limited (base model + SS frets, all you need).

If I was in your shoes Rev, refret and keep the Kelly, and lesson learned but be thankful you have the guitar of your dreams (if the refret works). I gave up on my Kelly dreams (7 string with maple fretboard, amber quilted top) but it still haunts me at times, despite growing out of my Kelly phase.


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## eaeolian (Apr 29, 2014)

NickCormier said:


> I don't think a refund is the option for him.. and even if it was, when you are a Kelly fan, it almost hurts not to have one. I understand him wanting to keep it, its a pretty unreal creation.



I meant the refund for the SS frets. There's no way I give up that guitar - I'm the Jackson fanboi, remember? 



NickCormier said:


> If I was in your shoes Rev, refret and keep the Kelly, and lesson learned but be thankful you have the guitar of your dreams (if the refret works). I gave up on my Kelly dreams (7 string with maple fretboard, amber quilted top) but it still haunts me at times, despite growing out of my Kelly phase.



I still have no idea why you sold that. If I hadn't had other financial issues when it came up, *I* would have bought it.


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## eaeolian (Apr 29, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> The nut is a Floyd locking nut and the relief seems pretty perfect though there is a little bit of buzz on the lower frets like from 1-4, not a bad amount though. I figured it was either because of the temp change or how low they set the Floyd. Rather than the baseplate being level with the top wood it sits a little lower. The action on it is the lowest I've ever had, and I've found I really dig the low action where I'm used to higher action typically. I thought about adjusting it myself but I figured I'd skip it since I'm sending it in and they'll re-set it up anyway.



Get the locknut checked when it comes back in. I've seen a disturbing tendency among builders (pretty much all of the big ones) to not shim the nut correctly which can result in wear in the 1-4 area with very low action. Jackson included, as I've seen production guitars with the issue. It's an easy fix, but it's annoying that they leave that way.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 29, 2014)

Well I have some good news to report. I'd been emailing with Matt and thanked him for all his help with this situation and noted how I appreciated Jackson's support in getting this issue rectified but thought it was unfortunate they didn't try to extend a bit to cover the annoyance of having to send the thing back in the first place. Well, he got back to me and said he got me a $330 refund on top of the refret! Being credited back to my card. Now IMO that's fair. I know some people think they'd be owed more but personally I feel that it wasn't a dramatic mistake, not something like building it to 25.5" scale when I specified 26.5", so it doesn't require a rebuild.

They also sent me the prepaid label and it's FedEx overnight just like Seventhwave said he'd gotten in his instance. So overall I'm quite happy now and I will stay that way if it comes back with no surprises 


Rev.


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## Overtone (Apr 29, 2014)

Awesome. That's more like it!


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## stevexc (Apr 29, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> and I will stay that way if it comes back with no surprises
> 
> 
> Rev.



What if it's a good surprise, like a puppy or a hundred dollar bill?

But seriously, that's awesome - good to hear that they can be reasoned with. Which is almost as good as doing it right the first time!


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## Zado (Apr 29, 2014)

Glad to hear that man,seriously!


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## SpaceDock (Apr 29, 2014)

Well I really hope you get it back in the promised time frame and without any issues, it was quite disheartening to hear this story.


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## groverj3 (Apr 29, 2014)

I'm rooting for you!


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## Rev2010 (Apr 29, 2014)

Edit - nevermind, I'll update when it's all done.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 29, 2014)

Edit - nevermind, I'll update when it's all done.


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## technomancer (Apr 29, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Geez, the plot thickens. So I called FedEx and they apparently can't schedule a pickup until within 24 hours of the pickup - retarded right??? To make matters worse the pickup charge is only $4 but I have to have a FedEx account to charge it to which.... well I don't as a non-business individual. So I emailed Matt to see if he or Jackson can get a pickup scheduled. This shit is ridiculous, it really is. I don't have a car nor is there a FedEx location anywhere near me. Nearest is Staten Island so I need a pickup. Fun times.
> 
> 
> Rev.



You can sign up for a fedex account online in 5 minutes... I have one and it is not business related.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 29, 2014)

technomancer said:


> You can sign up for a fedex account online in 5 minutes... I have one and it is not business related.



Yep, and unless they've changed the policies, it's free as well.  Getting a TAD overdramatic now, man&#8230;.  Might be better to hold off on updates until after you get it back, I don't think we need the play-by-play for shipping to/from Jackson.


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## fortisursus (Apr 29, 2014)

eaeolian said:


> Get the locknut checked when it comes back in. I've seen a disturbing tendency among builders (pretty much all of the big ones) to not shim the nut correctly which can result in wear in the 1-4 area with very low action. Jackson included, as I've seen production guitars with the issue. It's an easy fix, but it's annoying that they leave that way.



I agree 100%. I swear just about every floyd guitar i get has a low nut or maybe i just prefer a higher nut, I don't know. But I've shimmed the nuts on both my DK1 and SL1.


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## Metal-Box (Apr 29, 2014)

First of all, nice guitar regardless of the mistake on the frets material.

That said, I hate reading threads like this. I am about to order a brand new Custom Select SL1 and now I have reservations. I may switch my order to a Washburn N4. I have never read anything bad about them.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 29, 2014)

Edit - nevermind, I'll update when it's all done.


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## xCaptainx (Apr 30, 2014)

Given the great customer service I've seen here (scimmed over the thread) I'd say good on Jackson for doing a great job with the initial build (minus the error) and then being so accommodating with solving the issue, making sure you're not out of pocket AND giving you a small refund on top of all this. Commendable customer service. The handling of an error is a crucial point in a customer journey and they seem to be doing a damn good job at this point. 

Compare that to the horrible videos S7 used to put up, calling customers out by name and giving them insane ultimatums and withholding refunds out of spite. Yeeesh.


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## potatohead (Apr 30, 2014)

Great to hear Jackson is doing what they are doing. 

About the shipping, I ship stuff every day and I don't really know how home pickups work either because I never do them. Matt is probably the same way. It probably sucks to hear but it's not their fault you can't get to a shipping facility. I have a hard time believing there are no FedEx drop-off points near you, seeing where you live. 

Anyway, hope it works out when you get it back


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## HighGain510 (Apr 30, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> In all fairness I find it ridiculous because I have a chain of emails about scheduling a pickup:
> 
> Matt: "I need the address and phone number where you want Fedex to pick it up from."
> 
> ...



Yeah I get where you're coming from, I just mean I don't think that all needs to get aired publicly, or in so much detail.  They're giving you a pretty hefty refund ($500 you can still put towards the Carvin, right? ) AND the SS refret with all logistical costs being handled on their end, assuming they sort out the FedEx pickup issue, but it's still several days away anyway so it's not like they're not going to pick it up on Saturday for sure. They still have 3 more days to get that fixed, and it really shouldn't be that hard to resolve, so just try to be a little patient.  He does note, as you posted above, "I don't believe *THEY* set up the pickup", so the issue is still likely Jackson's fault since they're the ones handling that using their account, not Matt.


Personally, I'd be inclined to say now that they've said they would take care of you and given you the specifics of what they intend to do and you have agreed that the terms are satisfactory, it would probably be best to hold off on posting further updates until the guitar gets back and you can see how the refret turns out.  Stuff like picking on the dealer for Jackson having some issues scheduling a home pickup for you, despite having gone ahead and bumped up your refund amount substantially AND covering the refret, isn't something that necessarily needs to be posted about publicly.  Pretty much doing Matt @ Matt's Music a great disservice by him going out of his way to do whatever he can to help you, and then you turn around and pick on him publicly for not instantly handling an issue caused by the fact that you don't have a car to take care of getting it to the local FedEx yourself. I know you're in NY so I'm not picking on you not having a car, just saying that's an issue that is not really an issue for most, so they're trying to accommodate you and had a hiccup (likely because that's often not how it's handled for most of their shipments so the guy @ Jackson probably screwed up or missed that part). It's not super fair to the dealer really, especially when he's clearly being rather helpful on your behalf.


I look at it this way... I had a similar kind of issue with that PRS that went back to the PTC last year and vanished for months because they didn't require a signature for delivery on return (i.e. the issue was their fault entirely), but I kept ALL of that quiet while they worked in the background to put together a solution that was satisfactory for both parties and only posted details about the whole thing once the ordeal had been resolved. Fortunately in my case, things went very smoothly AFTER I got word up to folks who would/could actually help (having Paul Smith's personal cell # was fortunate on my part... amazing how quickly things moved once he got word of what was going on! ) but the point is I could have totally given the play-by-play on everything in between, but that wouldn't have been fair to PRS or their customer service folks. The direct guy at the bottom of the ladder who answers their emails gave me the runaround for over a week (likely fearing for his job because he was part of the screw up ), but his management stepped up and took amazing care of me once they got involved. It's all about giving them a fair chance to make it right before you go publicizing the issue (i.e. your thread title alone is rather inflammatory, and that was posted well before you even had things moving ) and slamming them. 


Bottom line is that they made a mistake, on a guitar that expensive you would think that would NEVER happen, but it does, and it has happened before on guitars 2-3x the price of that thing that I've seen firsthand, so take a deep breath and take solace in the fact that it's a large company and sometimes things take time to get moving. As long as they take care of you in the end, that's really all that matters, it sounds like they are doing just that right now.  My incident with PRS actually strengthened my love of the brand, as I know if there is ever a serious issue that is their fault, they WILL step up and take care of me.  If Jackson drops the ball and botches the refret or doesn't come up with the refund, then I'd say yes, feel free to blast them, but you kinda went nuclear on them publicly without waiting a fair amount of time for them to get things worked out.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 30, 2014)

1) I already removed the posts since I agree but you've just brought it back  

2) the refund amount is $330

3) I no longer live in NY, I'm now in Jersey and the nearest FedEx center is in Staten Island. I work in nyc but the box is way to big to carry in


Rev.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 30, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> 1) I already removed the posts since I agree but you've just brought it back
> 
> 2) the refund amount is $330
> 
> ...



Ha I had the message typed up but hadn't clicked submit until after you edited it, so I had not seen that yet.  Ah well, again, hope it all gets sorted out properly regardless!


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## MetalDaze (Apr 30, 2014)

Rev: Sounds like you are getting the best of both worlds! 

Matt: Any time I need work done on a guitar, I take it to Mike Lull since he's local. He absolutely confirms the crazy stuff he's seen on $10K+ guitars, so high price definitely doesn't mean it is immune to mistakes


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## HighGain510 (May 1, 2014)

MetalDaze said:


> Rev: Sounds like you are getting the best of both worlds!
> 
> Matt: Any time I need work done on a guitar, I take it to Mike Lull since he's local. He absolutely confirms the crazy stuff he's seen on $10K+ guitars, so high price definitely doesn't mean it is immune to mistakes



Haha yep, exactly!  Shit happens, it's just part of the human factor introducing potential flaws/mistakes in the build and it can happen at various stages of the build. As long as they make good on their promised remedies for the situation that Rev agreed upon, it's just a slight slow-down to get his custom guitar back perfect.  Honestly, if the guitar itself is awesome, at least you have received it and KNOW it's great! It would be worse if you had waited all that time, the specs were right, but it turned out the guitar was a dud overall.  I've been there before, now THAT situation sucks!  Or worse, they could have botched a spec that is NOT easily fixed (i.e. missing a fret, wrong body shape etc. ) so at least it's just a minor disappointment instead of a major ordeal.


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## Drew (May 1, 2014)

You know, tossing it out there, considering both Matt's Music (and Matt IS awesome, no shock here) and Jackson are definitely working with you on this and trying to find a mutually acceptable way to make it right, maybe it'd be a good idea to update the title of this thread to something a little more neutral.


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## Rev2010 (May 1, 2014)

Drew said:


> maybe it'd be a good idea to update the title of this thread to something a little more neutral.



No, because I still feel the exact same way. Sure it's great that Jackson is going to refret it and that Matt got me a $330 refund, but I still have to ship the thing back, still don't know if it might possibly get damaged in shipping by FedEx manhandling, still don't know if it's going to come back looking perfect and setup perfect, and I still don't know if they will make that 2 week turnaround. 

The point of this thread wasn't just to bitch. Go back and read my first post. The point was Jackson apparently can't ship out a single 100% perfect order. Mine luckily had the smallest issue we've seen lately compared to the much more problematic others. But I waited 26 months, paid $4600, and STILL have to send the shit back.


Rev.


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## technomancer (May 1, 2014)

All right, that's enough drama for one thread. PM one of the mods when there is an update and we'll reopen this so you can post it. At this point your dealer and Jackson are both taking excellent care of you and the idea that Jackson hasn't delivered any guitars without issues is absolutely ridiculous.

And I'm not even a fan of Jackson guitars


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