NGD of EPIC letdown (Intrepid content, 56k: God Speed!)

[matttttYCE]

So it arrived on monday but I was unable to get to it until today... Sorry no complete picstory, but a picstory nonetheless. Got it opened and it all seemed to be well...

Looks good so far... it even has a dark spot in the bottom half of the mahogany that I actually like. Gives it some character...

But then I notice this. Not that big of a deal at all..that chipped one can be replaced easily..but there's more to come..

After a quick inspection, I'm pretty satisfied. So I start to wank on it..and it's sounding great. But then, I look down at the fretboard and what do I see? ....

What the fuck, over? This WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A FANNED FRET MODEL? Though I wouldn't have complained if it had been...but...

And here's a few more just for good measure..Now I even notice two nice long scratches in the fretboard too!

These marks from what seem to be a fanned fret gone wrong, go all the way up the fretboard on the bass side and most of the way on the treble side. But the majorly noticeable and deep ones are on the bass side from roughly the 12th fret to the 24th. And on the treble side from about the 17th to the 24th. Needless to say I emailed Kurt to exchange this one. I debated keeping it and asking for a little bit of a refund (because I really want to play the guitar more) but I really don't think I will be able to live with the fretboard in the condition it's in!

Has this been a problem for ANYONE else or am I the only one?

 

[TimSE]

doesnt look fanned to me

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Looks like who ever did the crown and dress on the frets was not very careful, or rushed, hence those cuts around the ends. I highly doubt this was a botched/recovered fanned board, seeing as those haven't really "happened" yet.

Seeing as how minor finish issues wind up being B-Stocks, it's weird how this one got shipped as new.

I now Kurt will come through and work this out, but it is a shame.

 

[Thin_Ice_77]

Am I the only person who can't see anything wrong regarding the fretwork?

 

[technomancer]

He's talking about the nicks in the board near the fret ends... and overstating it massively bringing up the fanned fret thing

That said, Kurt will exchange it and cover shipping, you didn't even need to email him you could have just hit the returns page on their site IIRC.

 

[Setnakt]

I noticed a very shallow line or two that look similar on my Intrepid's fretboard, but I had to really look for them. In fact, I tried to find them just now, and I couldn't at first. I think mine are from the fret insertion process. I checked and my frets all look even.

Maybe you can get that one fret redone to get it to intonate 100%?

 

[matttttYCE]

Looks like who ever did the crown and dress on the frets was not very careful, or rushed, hence those cuts around the ends. I highly doubt this was a botched/recovered fanned board, seeing as those haven't really "happened" yet.

Seeing as how minor finish issues wind up being B-Stocks, it's weird how this one got shipped as new.

I now Kurt will come through and work this out, but it is a shame.

He's talking about the nicks in the board near the fret ends... and overstating it massively bringing up the fanned fret thing

That said, Kurt will exchange it and cover shipping, you didn't even need to email him you could have just hit the returns page on their site IIRC.

Okay. You're right technomancer, I did overstate it by alot about it being a fanned fret thing, but that was literally the only thing I could think of as to why it would be like this! I, somehow, didn't even think of it being a crown/dress fret job that was botched like Max said. So, I'll apologize for that. But really, had you guys seen it in person, you would have had at least somewhat of the same reaction, maybe before, maybe after you thought of the crown/dress fret thing.. but you would've ...okay maybe not...but still.

And, I had NO idea whatsoever that I could just go to the returns page on the Rondo site and opt to return it right away. Stupid me, should definitely read a little bit more from now on. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[Galius]

Mine had the same marks. Didnt affect playability at all.

 

[cyril v]

is this a b-stock?

 

[matttttYCE]

Mine had the same marks. Didnt affect playability at all.

I know it really won't affect playability at all, but I REALLY don't like it. It may be a little stupid (for lack of a better word) of me, but I really care about it aesthetically. I just don't think I can stand looking down at that fretboard and knowing I could have had one in better shape. And it should have come in better shape. I'm not ranting and going off on Rondo or anything, I'm just saying that I paid for a brand new guitar that should have been in better condition. As Max said, they've sold B-stocks that have had less wrong with them so it's hard to believe that they let this one go through quality control. Maybe it's kind of sheepish of me but this seems like one of those things that you really can't let go...well, that I can't let go.

is this a b-stock?

As I basically said above, no, it isn't. It was purchased for the NEW price.

EDIT: and I have just finished filling out the return information on the Rondo site. Never even thought I'd be using that part of the site so I never even took a look at it. But nonetheless, it will be shipped back tomorrow. Hopefully it arrives back to Kurt in time for the shipping cost to be refunded, but at this point, I don't even care about that. It's too bad I'm not home at all during the day so that UPS could have picked it up from me.

 

[AgileLefty]

sucks for you, and i'm sorry to hear this. i'm sure Kurt will take care of you. i've been buying from him for over 5 years and everytime i've had an issue, he has taken every measure to make sure it was corrected and i was satisfied.


and the plus side, i'll be grabbing this as a b-stock the moment it's posted on Rondo. i NEVER play that high on the neck, so it don't bother me at all!!

 

[matttttYCE]

sucks for you, and i'm sorry to hear this. i'm sure Kurt will take care of you. i've been buying from him for over 5 years and everytime i've had an issue, he has taken every measure to make sure it was corrected and i was satisfied.


and the plus side, i'll be grabbing this as a b-stock the moment it's posted on Rondo. i NEVER play that high on the neck, so it don't bother me at all!!

Yea, I really don't have any fears that Kurt wouldn't take care of this. I know he's dealt with this stuff before and been great about it, luckily.

But hey, good for you. I was wondering if anyone would want to buy it after seeing what I had posted here.. I was almost nervous that Kurt would have a problem with me posting it, but hey, if someone else is gonna buy it, they should know full well what's wrong with it.

EDIT: (sorry I'm notorious for edits) Just wanted to mention, I did (or thought I did) say that these cuts/nicks in the board go pretty much all the way along it on the bass side, but get less noticeable as you go toward the nut. And on the treble side they're probably 3/4 of the way up but less noticeable than the bass side. Just FYI.

 

[Hollowway]

Yeah, both my Agile's have worse than that errors on them. I asked Kurt about a mini refund due to the route showing around my Kahler, but he said no partial refunds - keep it or return it. Given how long I had to wait, and not wanting to roll the dice on getting a new one, in both cases I kept it. But if it bothers you, definitely send it back. There is a fair chance that the next one you get will have some minor cosmetic flaws as well, though. I'm willing to accept that, given the laid back return policy. But I'd prefer to keep the prices low at all costs, so I'm ok with rolling the dice on these. Esp. since the average flaw doesn't affect the playability. Good luck with the next one! (And we expect another NGD!!!)

 

[matttttYCE]

Yeah, both my Agile's have worse than that errors on them. I asked Kurt about a mini refund due to the route showing around my Kahler, but he said no partial refunds - keep it or return it. Given how long I had to wait, and not wanting to roll the dice on getting a new one, in both cases I kept it. But if it bothers you, definitely send it back. There is a fair chance that the next one you get will have some minor cosmetic flaws as well, though. I'm willing to accept that, given the laid back return policy. But I'd prefer to keep the prices low at all costs, so I'm ok with rolling the dice on these. Esp. since the average flaw doesn't affect the playability. Good luck with the next one! (And we expect another NGD!!!)

Yea, that's exactly how I feel. I'm pretty much expecting some cosmetic flaws, but I can deal with most of em. I was expecting some on this guitar but not like this fretboard issue. I was figuring maybe a crack or two in the poly and some other poly flaws, maybe some stains, etc. Maybe even some really mismatched walnut or maple in the neck through part (all of which I could deal with). But this obviously took me by surprise. And it REALLY isn't as big of a deal as it probably seems like I'm making it, but I've made up my mind. And I'll roll the dice on another one. And as long as I get one with a nice fretboard, I'll likely be happy. Though, it's nice to know I could exchange again IF I ABSOLUTELY COULDN'T STAND the second one. Reading through that, it makes me seem like a nitpicking asshole...I'm really not THAT MUCH Oh and you best believe I'll do the NGD for the new one...with much more and higher res pictures to boot! It's kinda sad I was so letdown on this MY VERY FIRST NGD on SS.org, but shit happens.

 

[Hollowway]

No, I totally feel you. We all have something that will just bug the crap out of us, so it's good that you made the move to return it. Otherwise it's just going to hang over your head every time you pick the thing up. I'm actually pretty obsessive about certain things on my guitars, and then I tell myself, "you're not that good and you're not famous, you don't deserve a perfect guitar or perfect action, or perfect gear, etc." But then I think, fuck it, yeah I do!

 

[MF_Kitten]

i have these fretboard marks on mine too, and even some matte spots in the finish on the fretboard that you see in the reflection in it. also, there are a couple of glue blobs in there, but nonte of that really makes it any less awesome to me. i got just what i ordered: a nice-sounding 30" scale 8 string. i knew it wasn´t going to be perfect, and i´m glad it´s got cosmetical mistakes rather than being wrongfully constructed or something.

the largest "WTF?" thing on mine though, is the fact that they spliced the fretboard from the first fret to the nut on there. i think they´re using the same fretboard blanks for the 28.625" scale and the 30" scale ones, and then they cut out and glue on a piece on the end to extend it to 30" scale. then they make sure that seam ends up under the first fret, so you don´t see it.

and the funniest part is that i´ve seen more expencive "proper brand" guitars that have had worse construction ideas and mistakes than these

 

[Tom Drinkwater]

Not to defend bad workmanship but expectations should be set accordingly with the price point. If you accurately measured the Intrepid against the Ibanez I think that if the Intrepid came with missing frets it would still be a smokin deal.

 

[Fred the Shred]

Actually, I can honestly say my Septor 8 violates a ton of Ibanez guitars I've played. And I do like Ibanez guitars.

 

[matttttYCE]

Not to defend bad workmanship but expectations should be set accordingly with the price point. If you accurately measured the Intrepid against the Ibanez I think that if the Intrepid came with missing frets it would still be a smokin deal.

Yea, I agree, but see Halloway's post above...he said it best. It was just one of those things.


Anyways, I've been in touch with Kurt and unfortunately he's told me that he thinks other lefty models in stock look the same. Now I just feel like a complete ass, but what's done is done. And I would've kicked myself repeatedly had I not at least tried to get something a little better. I never thought I'd say this, but now I'm actually debating whether or not to get another one. If only the idea of a Rotor semi-custom wasn't sitting in the back of mind all the time

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Yea, I agree, but see Halloway's post above...he said it best. It was just one of those things.


Anyways, I've been in touch with Kurt and unfortunately he's told me that he thinks other lefty models in stock look the same. Now I just feel like a complete ass, but what's done is done. And I would've kicked myself repeatedly had I not at least tried to get something a little better. I never thought I'd say this, but now I'm actually debating whether or not to get another one. If only the idea of a Rotor semi-custom wasn't sitting in the back of mind all the time

If a Roter semi-custom is an option, then go for it. For only $300 more, you get about ten times the workmanship, not to mention more options that YOU GET TO CHOOSE.

The only downside, would be the wait time, but you would be getting a FAR superior instrument. I don't think anyone would say that Agiles are better then Roters.