Lets look at our guitars thread

[singlecoil]

Not normal, most likely caused by the wood of the body contracting or expanding after the finish was applied. The ends of the frets are not looking good either.

[vdn]

And this is on a full fat Fender. It's going back.

Let me ask... who makes quality instruments nowadays? I think Yamaha are about the only ones but the Revstar style irks me a little.

I've looked at a bunch of guitars and even all the way up to Gibson / Fender... some of the QC is shocking. It's below what I'd expect on a budget brand guitar.

I'm scratching my head.

[singlecoil]

Have a look at the Music Man stuff, excellent QC on all the ones I've seen, and their factory tours are impressive.

[M5-911]

vdn said:

And this is on a full fat Fender. It's going back.

Let me ask... who makes quality instruments nowadays? I think Yamaha are about the only ones but the Revstar style irks me a little.

I've looked at a bunch of guitars and even all the way up to Gibson / Fender... some of the QC is shocking. It's below what I'd expect on a budget brand guitar.

I'm scratching my head.

Indeed, I was watching a review on a £4.5k Heritage the other day... The build quality and finish was horrendous. Have you tried Eastman? Quality wasn't bad on the few models I have seen.

[OldSkoolRS]

vdn said:

And this is on a full fat Fender. It's going back.

Let me ask... who makes quality instruments nowadays? I think Yamaha are about the only ones but the Revstar style irks me a little.

I've looked at a bunch of guitars and even all the way up to Gibson / Fender... some of the QC is shocking. It's below what I'd expect on a budget brand guitar.

I'm scratching my head.

When you say 'full fat' you mean it's a USA built one? If so then it'll more likely be finished in nitro, which is more prone to cracking, but as SC said above due to the body/neck slot shrinking (ie not being cut quite big enough to start with).

Every Mexican Jaguar I looked at 3 years ago had rough frets like yours and a rough fingerboard (Pau Ferro wood). In the end I just bought the cheapest one I could find (stock was hard to find in 2020) and accepted I'd need to do some fretwork, but I shouldn't have needed to. I couldn't justify more than double for a MIA one, though the fret ends seemed a bit better finished.

Then a big chunk of paint came off it (thick poly finish), but that was entirely my fault as it slipped out of my gig bag onto a hard floor as I hadn't zipped it up properly. Gave me an excuse to strip it and refinish it though. At that point I was really glad I hadn't bought the USA one.

It plays nicely and looks great (to my eyes anyway), but I shouldn't have had to do the work to get it to that standard. Still worked out a lot cheaper than the Candy Apple red USA version and I bought some USA 65PV pickups used for under £100 (didn't like the bridge humbucker the MIMs came with and it's got an Eric Clapton mid boost like the EC Strats which makes it a bit more versatile).

[M5-911]

OldSkoolRS said:

When you say 'full fat' you mean it's a USA built one? If so then it'll more likely be finished in nitro, which is more prone to cracking, but as SC said above due to the body/neck slot shrinking (ie not being cut quite big enough to start with).

Every Mexican Jaguar I looked at 3 years ago had rough frets like yours and a rough fingerboard (Pau Ferro wood). In the end I just bought the cheapest one I could find (stock was hard to find in 2020) and accepted I'd need to do some fretwork, but I shouldn't have needed to. I couldn't justify more than double for a MIA one, though the fret ends seemed a bit better finished.

Then a big chunk of paint came off it (thick poly finish), but that was entirely my fault as it slipped out of my gig bag onto a hard floor as I hadn't zipped it up properly. Gave me an excuse to strip it and refinish it though. At that point I was really glad I hadn't bought the USA one.

It plays nicely and looks great (to my eyes anyway), but I shouldn't have had to do the work to get it to that standard. Still worked out a lot cheaper than the Candy Apple red USA version and I bought some USA 65PV pickups used for under £100 (didn't like the bridge humbucker the MIMs came with and it's got an Eric Clapton mid boost like the EC Strats which makes it a bit more versatile).

What does the massive knob do right under the strings? Surely you must hit it with your right hand when you play?

[vdn]

OldSkoolRS said:

When you say 'full fat' you mean it's a USA built one? If so then it'll more likely be finished in nitro, which is more prone to cracking, but as SC said above due to the body/neck slot shrinking (ie not being cut quite big enough to start with).

Every Mexican Jaguar I looked at 3 years ago had rough frets like yours and a rough fingerboard (Pau Ferro wood). In the end I just bought the cheapest one I could find (stock was hard to find in 2020) and accepted I'd need to do some fretwork, but I shouldn't have needed to. I couldn't justify more than double for a MIA one, though the fret ends seemed a bit better finished.

Then a big chunk of paint came off it (thick poly finish), but that was entirely my fault as it slipped out of my gig bag onto a hard floor as I hadn't zipped it up properly. Gave me an excuse to strip it and refinish it though. At that point I was really glad I hadn't bought the USA one.

It plays nicely and looks great (to my eyes anyway), but I shouldn't have had to do the work to get it to that standard. Still worked out a lot cheaper than the Candy Apple red USA version and I bought some USA 65PV pickups used for under £100 (didn't like the bridge humbucker the MIMs came with and it's got an Eric Clapton mid boost like the EC Strats which makes it a bit more versatile).

That's lovely!!!

And no, mine was a MIM

[OldSkoolRS]

M5-911 said:

What does the massive knob do right under the strings? Surely you must hit it with your right hand when you play?

It's the control for the mid boost. I don't find that I hit it though. It's the same size as the volume and tone knobs, just the angle of the photo perhaps and the reflection in the chrome panel.

vdn said:

That's lovely!!!

And no, mine was a MIM

While not quite what I'd call 'full fat' (I'd assumed MIA) it's still disappointing, but also fits with my experience of the above MIM Jaguar.

[Mastodon2]

The fret ends on that Fender look st. For consistent factory quality, the Japanese-made stuff from Ibanez, ESP, Yamaha etc is exceptional. I've got an old Ibanez K-7 and Yamaha Attitude LTD II from the Yamaha custom shop, both early 00s guitars, both flawlessly built.

[M5-911]

OldSkoolRS said:

M5-911 said:

What does the massive knob do right under the strings? Surely you must hit it with your right hand when you play?

It's the control for the mid boost. I don't find that I hit it though. It's the same size as the volume and tone knobs, just the angle of the photo perhaps and the reflection in the chrome panel.

vdn said:

That's lovely!!!

And no, mine was a MIM

While not quite what I'd call 'full fat' (I'd assumed MIA) it's still disappointing, but also fits with my experience of the above MIM Jaguar.

Ok, make sense. The colour is stunning! I would be worried to scratch it!

[wombleh]

vdn said:

Let me ask... who makes quality instruments nowadays? I think Yamaha are about the only ones but the Revstar style irks me a little.

I've looked at a bunch of guitars and even all the way up to Gibson / Fender... some of the QC is shocking. It's below what I'd expect on a budget brand guitar.

I'm scratching my head.

I picked up a fairly low end Ibanez (RGA42, built in Indonesia) and was really impressed with the quality, it's flawless!

Was only a temporary one but going to keep it as it's a lovely thing, debating sticking a pair of the burnt chrome bare knuckle pickups on as would finish the look off nicely. Cost more than the guitar did for a set!

[Tom1312]

In my experience, the higher end Prestige ibanez were always, always flawless.

Same for Suhr and EBMM guitars I played.

[vdn]

Yes, I actually have a bottom of the line Ibanez from over a decade ago... and it's in better a state than all of these I've been trying.

I know I can't expect perfection for £400 / £600 but, so far I've had guitars from various brands with missing screws, pitted hardware, finish cracks, fret ends like Freddy Kruger's glove... and more. Just bizarre. This is Epiphone, ESP, Fender and Gretsch. To be fair the Gretsch was astonishing at first glance but I found the V Stoptail mount on one side didn't sit flush and with tension changes would move ever so slightly. But the rest of it was in another league... and it was actually the cheapest of the lot.

I think I'm going to find something I like , and accept its flaws, as long as the usability isn't affected. I am going to change my mindset as a starting point. I will repeat 100 times... "do not expect anything close to perfection". It just might work!

[AndrewGP]

New one for me, a Squier Paranormal Series Stratosonic, bought on a bit of a whim but first impressions are good and it's a lot of fun. First ever Squier I've had too, after lots of Fenders. Build quality is really good, no major fret issues either. I'll be sanding down the neck from the factory gloss finish to a more satin one and possibly swapping out the pickups for genuine set of P90s, we'll see.

[kev b]

Every Ibanez I’ve played, guitar or bass has had a superb neck and action.

Maybe their slim neck profile just suits me but you can’t argue with a low action, lack of buzzing and smooth fret ends.

[M5-911]

+ 1 on Ibanez,

Ibanez Jazz boxes are superbe as well. If I don't go for an Eastman, my next one is a LGB300. Saying that I just ordered an old Gibson....d'oh!

Old Fender Stratocasters are superbe as well. Never had anything wrong on mine since I bought it new in 1995.

[Giantt]

Mastodon2 said:

The fret ends on that Fender look st. For consistent factory quality, the Japanese-made stuff from Ibanez, ESP, Yamaha etc is exceptional. I've got an old Ibanez K-7 and Yamaha Attitude LTD II from the Yamaha custom shop, both early 00s guitars, both flawlessly built.

Even cheap Yamaha stuff Pacifica,perfectly fretted n set up straight out of box,plays like a dream crazy how there overlooked

[cherryowen]

kev b said:

Every Ibanez I’ve played, guitar or bass has had a superb neck and action.

Maybe their slim neck profile just suits me but you can’t argue with a low action, lack of buzzing and smooth fret ends.

Back in 2016 I sold my PRS as I had a hankering for an Ibanez, so got a SA360. As you allude to, I can't pick out any specifics but I do know I'm playing better now than in the last 30 years.....

[Animal]

AndrewGP said:

New one for me, a Squier Paranormal Series Stratosonic, bought on a bit of a whim but first impressions are good and it's a lot of fun. First ever Squier I've had too, after lots of Fenders. Build quality is really good, no major fret issues either. I'll be sanding down the neck from the factory gloss finish to a more satin one and possibly swapping out the pickups for genuine set of P90s, we'll see.

What are you going to use to sand down and refinish the neck? I've got an ESP Ltd EC (Les Paul-type thing) and I love it, but not the gloss neck!

[gazza285]

Animal said:

What are you going to use to sand down and refinish the neck? I've got an ESP Ltd EC (Les Paul-type thing) and I love it, but not the gloss neck!

Just rub some fine wire wool over the back of the neck, you only need to take off the shine, not the whole finish.