Quote:
Originally Posted by mylittledemon
Lemme ask you this...did you ever have to send your M1 back? I noticed, that Rick left the "lion head" off my headstock! Not only that but one of the knobs is "bent" (you can wiggle it back and forth) and is scuffed on the top too. Also, he gave me these weird Steinberger tuning heads that I dont like at all. I was expecting Grovers. Hmm...anyway...he told me to "send the guitar back and they would fix it ASAP"...which is cool, but now I gotta shell out another $125 to ship it. Not to mention the dangers of shipping and what not...GRR!!
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I don't want to say anything negative about Rick on a public forum. He's a passionate guy, sometimes the passion is not always directed in the right areas though.
I'll give you just some facts . I've had 3 Model 1's. First one had a really badly cut "soundhole" which wasn't even sanded before spraying and a faulty pickup, the second one had a crack in the neck where it joins the body. The one I have now is flawless in build although the finish is not great in a couple of places, one even goes through to the wood on the top..
BUT
you have to remember Rick is running a very small team of people from basically a glorified "shed". He is not Fender. I agree that quality control is not brilliant but with handmade guitars, made in small numbers perfection is almost impossible. If those are the only negatives then I wouldn't go to the trouble of shipping it back. Believe me Rick and Barry are so busy that it could take 12 to 18 months. New orders always get priority over returns. My new Model 1 is a replacement I finally got in March 2007. I asked for the problem that lead to it to be rectified (and replaced) in March 2004. I kid you not. 3 years.. nearly 10% of my life waiting for it to be sorted (in which time I've totally got used to Fenders!) and in which time I've remained patient, knowing exactly how long it takes Rick to get around to doing these things. He is also in his mid 60's now so I cut him some slack there. Not like he has to be building guitars anymore right?
The tuners. Are they Planet Waves locking tuners?. Whatever they are, Rick will put on what he has in stock at the time. I have Schallers on mine with ebony buttons. I didn't ask for them but there you go. Its easy enough to get Schallers in chrome like LB's and have them fitted and its gonna be the same as shipping the guitar back to buy them i would guess.
Its actually kinda cool without the Lion head logo. Lindseys first Model 1 didn't have it and I always thought that was the best one! Again Rick probably was out of stock when it was made. Did you order it asking for it to be the same spec as Lindseys? Perhaps this is why. Yours is one of the nicest I've seen.
As for the knob. They work with a little grub screw. It might just be loose. The pot shafts are shorter than the knobs so there is always a gap at the top. If the screw is not tight it can move about. Go to a hardware store and get a set of small Allen wrenchs (or keys). This should cure it. If not then Rick will mail out replacement knobs free of charge I expect.
I've seen and played 5 Model 1's (out of I think about 12 in the UK) and have yet to find a flawless one.
But **** happens. I got a new Fender Esquire delivered today with a 1" crack in the neck pocket.. But its going back tomorrow and I expect and know I'll get it sorted this week..
Trust me your issues are minor dude. But Rick will take care of them. Just be prepared to wait. Custom instruments are a pain in the ass for issues in timeframe terms. Which is why I'm playing off the rack stuff again, quick to fix..
** looking at your pics those are Planet Waves tuners. All Model 1's now shipping are coming with them as standard (as are those wooden control knobs you see on mine). They are really good tuners and lock the strings nicely. I have the Schallers which I think are a small upgrade, but to be honest the Planet Waves seem to be better. Nothing in it.