New American Deluxe Dilemma

magnatone1960 · May 8th, 2008, 08:47 PM

I've just received a new Cherry Burst AD today (online purchase) and my first impression was WOW

Beautiful fit/finish with a tight neck pocket and nice grain patterns - decent setup with no adjustments needed - great tone - weighs in at 7 lbs 12 ounces. After playing it for a while and the grin never leaving my face I set it on the stand and noticed the small crack on the headstock shown below. The crack looks to start from where one of the two screws is attaching the high E string tuning machine and extends almost to the front of the headstock. I have to wonder if this happened during shipment (FedEx Overnight from the mega warehouse in MO. to Chicago) because Fender doesn't seem to think it's important to secure the neck end of the case in the box. The case was rocking back and forth inside the box as I carried it into the house. I had the same problem with a Gibson shipment but at least they tried to secure the neck with a cardboard brace. Didn't work as the brace collapsed from rough handling. What's with these iconic American manufacturers with over a half century of experience shipping guitars forgetting how to safely pack a guitar?

I'm now faced with the dilemma of sending it back and risk getting one that isn't as nice. It seems that most of the pictures I've seen of these show a three piece body and some have very noticeable grain pattern differences. This one is a two piece and the joint is blended pretty well. Do I get it repaired under Fender warranty? I wonder if they would just replace the neck or fix the crack? Or just take the tuning machine out myself and try to repair it myself? Probably not a good idea with a brand new warrantied guitar.

Norrin Radd · May 8th, 2008, 09:54 PM

Send it in for warranty repair - seems the only way to assure you maintain that body. AND, if they fix instead of replace - well, at least if it goes sour later on there will be a record of the repair having been done by them.

BTW - pretty fiddle!

scoots · May 8th, 2008, 10:45 PM

i agree with the saint paul guy 100%. that is a really nice body(i have the same guitar with a rosewood neck) but i know the kind of money you spent for that guitar and i would not settle with it as is.

Nighthawk · May 9th, 2008, 12:34 PM

Hi, For whatever reason, I can't see the pictures but you should get what you pay for and this baby is not cheap. I know you want to make it wail and cry but send it back for the warranty work or have them send you a new one, they are not that much different one from the other. I have the same guitar, maple neck.

boris bubbanov · May 9th, 2008, 01:57 PM

Talk to the warranty guys.

I don't see any obvious evidence of abuse, but you might unstring that high "E" and see if the tuner post has been bent. I'll bet the impact was to the tuner, and when the load was transferred into the headstock a pre-existing crack became evident.

Talk to them. Maybe they'll send you a replacement neck, that'd be good enough for me. I agree if the guitar goes back there's a real chance they'll ship you back another guitar, and the body may not be as pretty.

I'm not saying throw the damaged neck away, but you're entitled to a sound one. This is not equivalent to a chip on the body; this could easily be holding back the performance of this guitar.

Scotele · May 9th, 2008, 03:00 PM

Return it for warranty repair, as in 'New Neck'. I wouldnt settle for anything less.

magnatone1960 · May 9th, 2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Talk to them. Maybe they'll send you a replacement neck, that'd be good enough for me.

I wonder if Fender would consider an exchange like that given my concerns about the gamble of getting another one online. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation where they'll ship a replacement part under warranty? Would the best bet be to contact their customer relations email address? I don't see any other contact links for requests like this on their website. Having just received the guitar and with the potential of having to send it back I haven't registered the warranty yet.

alexpigment · May 9th, 2008, 11:04 PM

i think you def have a concern there, as you definitely have some nice wood grain that you like. definitely call them and voice that concern. as a person who's talked to the fender people, they definitely seem like players themselves and can understand why you want the neck replaced and not the body. if you haven't called already, do it, and explain your situation. let us hear how it turns out. man, those cherry burst US tele deluxes are so damn beautiful...

alexpigment · May 9th, 2008, 11:05 PM

sorry for the extensive use of "definitely" in that last post

XKnight · May 9th, 2008, 11:34 PM

New neck or new guitar. Those are the only two acceptable choices.

Personally, I'd get a full refund and then go find a new guitar that I could play before buying.

magnatone1960 · May 10th, 2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

I don't see any obvious evidence of abuse, but you might unstring that high "E" and see if the tuner post has been bent. I'll bet the impact was to the tuner, and when the load was transferred into the headstock a pre-existing crack became evident.

Boris - I believe your diagnosis of how the crack occurred is correct. I've never taken the tuning pegs out of these type of Fenders before and was only familiar with ones that have visible screws attaching them. I had originally found this picture of a Deluxe neck and assumed that the small holes were for attaching screws that were under the back covers.

After a little more research I now know that they are locating holes for raised pins on the tuning peg.

It makes sense that if the tuning peg took an impact the force would be transfered to those small holes and cause this crack.
I think my safest course of action is to send it back rather than risk having Fender say that the damage happened from abuse.

I'm now wondering if this was a previous return that was sold to me as new stock. The "Made in America" flag sticker that you normally see on the pick guard was missing and the bottom of the Fender box had been opened and resealed with clear tape. That's where they stuck the receipt but I wondered why they chose the bottom when the top had the original reinforced brown packing tape in place and there was a large area where they could have easily slipped the receipt between the end flaps without breaking the seal. That's how the receipt was inserted on a Gibson guitar that I got from the same warehouse because Gibson has a huge security seal on the box ends that guarantees the contents has not been opened since packing at the factory. This wouldn't be the first time a dealer resells a previous return as new...

51tele · May 10th, 2008, 11:21 AM

dum de dum dum---------I wouldn't settle for anything less a new neck

May 8th, 2008, 08:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
magnatone1960 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chicago Burbs Posts: 12	New American Deluxe Dilemma I've just received a new Cherry Burst AD today (online purchase) and my first impression was WOW Beautiful fit/finish with a tight neck pocket and nice grain patterns - decent setup with no adjustments needed - great tone - weighs in at 7 lbs 12 ounces. After playing it for a while and the grin never leaving my face I set it on the stand and noticed the small crack on the headstock shown below. The crack looks to start from where one of the two screws is attaching the high E string tuning machine and extends almost to the front of the headstock. I have to wonder if this happened during shipment (FedEx Overnight from the mega warehouse in MO. to Chicago) because Fender doesn't seem to think it's important to secure the neck end of the case in the box. The case was rocking back and forth inside the box as I carried it into the house. I had the same problem with a Gibson shipment but at least they tried to secure the neck with a cardboard brace. Didn't work as the brace collapsed from rough handling. What's with these iconic American manufacturers with over a half century of experience shipping guitars forgetting how to safely pack a guitar? I'm now faced with the dilemma of sending it back and risk getting one that isn't as nice. It seems that most of the pictures I've seen of these show a three piece body and some have very noticeable grain pattern differences. This one is a two piece and the joint is blended pretty well. Do I get it repaired under Fender warranty? I wonder if they would just replace the neck or fix the crack? Or just take the tuning machine out myself and try to repair it myself? Probably not a good idea with a brand new warrantied guitar.

May 8th, 2008, 10:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
scoots Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: sandstone,mn Posts: 200	i agree with the saint paul guy 100%. that is a really nice body(i have the same guitar with a rosewood neck) but i know the kind of money you spent for that guitar and i would not settle with it as is. __________________ ...took the tube out of the v1 spot and replaced it with a dilithium crystal (like on star trek)...

May 9th, 2008, 12:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
Nighthawk TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Massachusetts Age: 59 Posts: 56	Hi, For whatever reason, I can't see the pictures but you should get what you pay for and this baby is not cheap. I know you want to make it wail and cry but send it back for the warranty work or have them send you a new one, they are not that much different one from the other. I have the same guitar, maple neck. __________________ "Inside the museums infinity goes up on trial"

May 9th, 2008, 01:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 5,342	Talk to the warranty guys. I don't see any obvious evidence of abuse, but you might unstring that high "E" and see if the tuner post has been bent. I'll bet the impact was to the tuner, and when the load was transferred into the headstock a pre-existing crack became evident. Talk to them. Maybe they'll send you a replacement neck, that'd be good enough for me. I agree if the guitar goes back there's a real chance they'll ship you back another guitar, and the body may not be as pretty. I'm not saying throw the damaged neck away, but you're entitled to a sound one. This is not equivalent to a chip on the body; this could easily be holding back the performance of this guitar. __________________ Bubban0v

May 10th, 2008, 11:21 AM	#12 (permalink)
51tele Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: new orleans Posts: 395	dum de dum dum---------I wouldn't settle for anything less a new neck __________________ look at the pictures and laugh at the words

May 8th, 2008, 09:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
Norrin Radd TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Saint Paul Age: 41 Posts: 33	Send it in for warranty repair - seems the only way to assure you maintain that body. AND, if they fix instead of replace - well, at least if it goes sour later on there will be a record of the repair having been done by them. BTW - pretty fiddle!

May 9th, 2008, 03:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
Scotele TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Elgin, Scotland Posts: 68	Return it for warranty repair, as in 'New Neck'. I wouldnt settle for anything less.

May 9th, 2008, 11:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
alexpigment Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Austin TX Posts: 100	i think you def have a concern there, as you definitely have some nice wood grain that you like. definitely call them and voice that concern. as a person who's talked to the fender people, they definitely seem like players themselves and can understand why you want the neck replaced and not the body. if you haven't called already, do it, and explain your situation. let us hear how it turns out. man, those cherry burst US tele deluxes are so damn beautiful...

May 9th, 2008, 11:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
alexpigment Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Austin TX Posts: 100	sorry for the extensive use of "definitely" in that last post

May 9th, 2008, 11:34 PM	#10 (permalink)
XKnight Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: TX Posts: 399	New neck or new guitar. Those are the only two acceptable choices. Personally, I'd get a full refund and then go find a new guitar that I could play before buying.