MIghtyMIte neck update

[PJ]

I think it's a good thing for the folks who have had less than favorable
experiences to share their thoughts with a rep from the company.
So, long as they're fairly constructive. Realizing it teeters on conflicting with site policy, I'll jump out. But, I appreciate your willingness to keep the thread open. I, too, will be following it as it develops.

[jkylloe]

To all:

I apologize for anything we Mighty Mite did wrong as a company and I hope Marty is happy with his new necks. Like I said my emails are posted above with my personal email first.

I looked abobe Broadmaster dude and can't see what your talking about but I am done with this argument, I have done all I can

new tracking number for anyone who wants too track his new necks

1Z3952X46856100052

Yours In Tone
Mighty Mite

[fattybrisket]

There are some unanswered questions but the necks appear to be on the way so maybe this is as good as it gets.

Hopefully we can manage to tone it down a bit and keep this thread open until Marty can post "the necks have arrived and they look fine." Then we will have come full-circle and anyone who bothers to read the whole thread will have a fairly complete story they can interpret to make their purchasing decisions.

[jkylloe]

Too Marty

Please call me when your necks arrive and please let them sit for a while before installing them, maybe 2 weeks. Like I said most of our dealers do this because of moisture and some necks depending will need the fret ends lightly filed.

Marty we are truly sorry for your trouble and I hope this all works out for you and also, I am sending you a dealer app because you are a company and I think it would be great to have you a board :>)

Jeff

[Targ]

Originally Posted by Mighty Mite

Yes Marty's name was on the RMA tag but so was Prarie Custom Guitars and our warehouse chose the company name too look it up because Mighty Mite does not sell direct and we hardly ever get consumer shipments
Jeff

I can understand receiving department looking up the dealer name and not finding it, But commonsense tells you that if the buisness name doesn't come up you simply cross reference the RMA number YOU issued to get the proper name and give them a call to verify. You DON'T just toss it on a shelf. A simple memo from the person handling this situation with a heads up to the receiving department would have helped this situation also, and should have been done do to the abnormal circumstances knowing full well it would throw the receiving department for a loop.
You keep going on about the date of purchase, do you deny that these are MM necks? Why couldn't Your vendor look up the date of purchase using there own accounting records for verification?
If you are having issues with wood picking up humidity while you ship it over seas, maybe you should realize that it's a bad idea and hire good old Americans to do it right here to solve what amounts to your quality control issues. That isn't rocket science.

[Dep]

After reading all this, whether Marty gets his necks or not, I won't be putting any MM necks on anything.

Dep

[lennyb]

Originally Posted by BroadMaster

is anybody really going to consider MM products after this tribulation?

Absolutely, this board doesn't control my wallet,and i strongly feel that more people dont know about this board than do...everyone has had a bad experience with Mcdonalds or Burger King or a Tire company But this is just chidish....... and if the product is of decent quality and in my experience it is i will buy it i have and i will again, as for me this isnt my axe to grind so i felt i should say something and i did....so whatever

[johnnylaw]

I've been watching this story develop over the past few days (takes that long to read this epic). FWIW I've had good luck with Warmouth consistently. I did one ebay thing with Jamerson. The communication was a little bumpy at first (no finger pointing at all here), but they were right on the stick rectifying a botched order and getting the neck out pronto.

I'm not confident that I would consider MM viable based on their QC and CC issues. Not worth the risk.

This is not the only thread that would give me pause, either.

[jkylloe]

A Little more Information.

Mighty Mite has about 20 people working, and our warehouse runs on 4 people so that is why we do not sell direct because we do not have the man power to cross reference things like this and we count on our dealers to help.

Also, Yea we could make the necks here and the price would be Warmouth pricing and there is already a Warmouth, They make AWESOME necks and I own a few myself and they are an insperation for me when I devolop my products.

I really find it hard to beleive that some of you just won't stop kicking a dead horse, run the tracking number, his necks are on the way

End Of Story
Jeff

[Spunky99]

Originally Posted by jkylloe

Neck Shrinkage Issues

The problem is this, We get our maple from Canada and ship it too Korea and the wood picks up moisture and by the time it gets back here it starts to dry and then the wood shrinks up a little exposing the fret ends. Most of our dealers store new necks and wait for them too shrink, then file the ends and send them out. if they don't then this would explain why some of you get them sharp or they sharpen on you.

Like I said, any issues at all PLEASE Contact me at the emails in my original post I will will do my best too help you out

Jeff

I bought a Brian May guitar that was made in Korea....I had to polish the fret ends to get them from snagging. They were not smooth on the ends though and needed a file and polish on the ends so maybe there is shrinkage.
I have an Alex Chase guitar that was made in Korea and the fret ends were perfect but have no idea if it was let set for a month and finished before it was sent to me.
I bought a Peavey bass made in Meridian Mississippi and when I took it to Arizona, the frets started coming up after 2 days. The rosewood dried out and the frets sprouted as they were not bent properly. I had the frets bent properly and reinstalled and glued. I still have the bass with no further issues.

I'm not taking sides here but there is a case for shrinkage. The twist in the neck is a different story that I will leave alone as I have no proof of green wood or improper storage or ???.

[timmer]

My first post in this thread.

So, its OK for the dealers to let them sit a while to shrink but when Marty does it he's storing them improperly?

fini...

[BroadMaster]

Originally Posted by timmer

My first post in this thread.

So, its OK for the dealers to let them sit a while to shrink but when Marty does it he's storing them improperly?

fini...

timmer... that was just too funny. Says it all!

[CatfishStudios]

Jeff...We are not kicking a dead horse...this horse is still kicking.

[shoretyus]

Originally Posted by jkylloe

Neck Shrinkage Issues

The problem is this, We get our maple from Canada and ship it too Korea and the wood picks up moisture and by the time it gets back here it starts to dry and then the wood shrinks up a little exposing the fret ends. Most of our dealers store new necks and wait for them too shrink, then file the ends and send them out. if they don't then this would explain why some of you get them sharp or they sharpen on you.

Like I said, any issues at all PLEASE Contact me at the emails in my original post I will will do my best too help you out

Jeff

Gee .... Is there anybody doing a quality check on the kiln job before maple goes to Korea? Random checks for moisture content?

So if I figure things correct you are buying maple from Canada sight unseen shipping directly to Korea. Having it sit there for an undetermined amount of time.
The necks are made then shipped to your warehouse. Where the wood shrinks again.


But Marty can't store his neck on the shelf for probably less time than your whole process takes.

Marty lets just keep the maple here and hire our own Koreans.

[BroadMaster]

Originally Posted by jkylloe

A Little more Information.

Mighty Mite has about 20 people working, and our warehouse runs on 4 people so that is why we do not sell direct because we do not have the man power to cross reference things like this and we count on our dealers to help.

Also, Yea we could make the necks here and the price would be Warmouth pricing and there is already a Warmouth, They make AWESOME necks and I own a few myself and they are an insperation for me when I devolop my products.

I really find it hard to beleive that some of you just won't stop kicking a dead horse, run the tracking number, his necks are on the way

End Of Story
Jeff

Jeff, although I believe you would like this to go away with you riding in and saying : end of story....... I think that MARTY gets to write the ending. The necks are on the way.... according to you, so when Marty gets them and they're ok, at best, he can tell us end of story. Sorry to burst your bubble. BTW, there would be no half dead horse to flog if MM/Jeff hadn't dropped the ball and left too many questions unanswered.

[boris bubbanov]

Hey, Marty, let's remind everyone of how much money you are out. ( Not to mention time and tears, )

Mighty Mite is supposed to be such a deal, but I have 4 necks I just got from Warmoth for $ 157 each that are really sweet, including one VM Tele rosewood board very heavy with tiger flame. I can hardly believe my eyes.

Plus this one piece Indian Rosewood neck with the canary wood skunk stripe and collar, $ 237. My choice of neck girth; never seen anything like this.

That and about $ 35 to ship the 2 orders to Louisiana.

Explain to me how the MM can be a good choice a basically any price whatsoever?

[kp8]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

I have 4 necks I just got from Warmoth for $ 157 each that are really sweet

How did you get them so cheap?

[TheBends]

Originally Posted by kp8

How did you get them so cheap?

Warmoth offers deals in their showcase along with the ability to put together your neck based on woods, varnishes etc.
Needless to say, Warmoth is a great company. I have dealt with them many times, and I am VERY pleased with their work on my partscaster body.
If you were to compare a Warmoth neck to a MM neck, the difference would be clear.
The Warmoth definitely reigns superior in quality (In my opinion), but I guess you get what you pay for.
And by the way Jeff,
Warmoth does their "drying" in factory so the consumer doesn't have to worry about drying their neck for 2 weeks and then filing the frets.
The idea behind this is: you guessed it! a product with easy installation and little labor.

[braderrick]

"If guitar necks sit on a shelf for a while there is always a chance no matter how remote that they may bend. This is the nature of wood. By nature of construction instrument necks need to have string tension on them. Particularly when they are fresh or new, they are more apt to warping then lets say you take a neck off of a guitar that had been mounted for some time.



I sell handmade guitars and when guitars are stored they need tension on the necks or they most of the time will bend."

Hmm....

"Please call me when your necks arrive and please let them sit for a while before installing them, maybe 2 weeks. Like I said most of our dealers do this because of moisture and some necks depending will need the fret ends lightly filed."

[chuppland]

Originally Posted by Rich Rice

This may be the single greatest picture that I've ever seen. That is Awesome!

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by jkylloe

I really find it hard to beleive that some of you just won't stop kicking a dead horse, run the tracking number, his necks are on the way

End Of Story
Jeff

I too have been watching this thread and trying to remain unemotionally attached and hoping the MM would, as it was aware of this escalating thread, do the right thing, own the problem and try and resolve in a win-win fashion for both MM and martyb1.

The worst thing in my humble opinion, is for suppliers to "join the debate" via these pages. Sure, it's a free world and everyone is entitled to have their say providing it doesn't break the rules of this forum, but we've seen it on many, many occasions with suppliers/manufacturers jumping in, defending their reputation and making complete @rses of themselves.

Compare and contrast those who consistently deliver great products and great service - Glendale, HighTech Tool, Callaham, USA Custom Guitars - and receive praise after praise. A couple of these companies mentioned have made mistakes with my orders in the past, but quickly rectified the mistake leaving me a very satisfied customer. Mistakes DO happen, quality sometimes slips and the odd bad product makes it out the door when it shouldn't have.

Tom Peters has observed that Service Perception is rated my more highly than Service Delivery and that is how MM has been judged in this thread. The perception is that MM have let martyb1 down, been inconsistent with advice, comment and customer service.

So Jeff, if you want to let sleeping dogs lie, have people here stop kicking a dead horse, etc., change that perception.

My perception is that if I were to risk buying a MM neck or body, I should expect poor quality and bad customer service, and until I start to read positive threads about MM products and customer service, I'm not prepared to take that risk.

So Jeff, stop fighting you battles here and do it on the shopfloor and on the telephones. The TDPRI is one of the most popular websites on the internet, has an interational membership and readership and has the power to make reputations. I won't say break reputations because I think "bad" companies can do that by themselves.

If you are confident in the quality of your products, then why not get in touch with Paul Green, the owner and Webmaster of this wonderful forum and offer to donate a body and neck to the next TDPRI Fund Raising event in November/December.

Good products get talked about more than bad products on these pages and if you choose to hang around, you'll see that we're a good bunch of guys.

I'll leave you with one word to consider: Perception.

Peter

[DrewB]

Peter, I don't think anyone could have said it better!

[e-merlin]

I was considering a couple of MM necks for the projects I'm working on based on price. However, if the quality and customer service are questionable, I'm just going to stick to what I know, probably Warmoth. There may be two sides to every story, but it seems that MM's side has more than one facet that can't be reconciled.

[po-boy]

peter uk - well said -

martyb1 - thanks for sharing - your efforts have helped many others who may have to deal with mm -

as per my first post on this thread - i will avoid dealing with mm directly and/or thru another supplier using mm parts -



- i'm not a complete idiot ... some parts are missing -