kumosan Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Hello all, I recently purchased a new h535. It sounds great and is gorgeous, but there are a few things that I didn't expect... 1) The nut appears very poorly cut; there is horrible binding and the slots are very shallow. 2) There are coarse sanding marks on the fretboard that run parallel to the frets. It looks like very little time was spent getting this right. 3) The frets are not totally even; I am fairly competent at basic setup and can visibly see unevenness which does cause some buzzing with a bit of relief set on the neck. 4) The fretboard and frets appear correctly radiuses, but not the saddles. I am curious to know what to expect and what other people see. Heritage offered to look the guitar over and correct any problems, I just don't want to waste anybody's time if I am being too picky. It is a handmade guitar after all. Thanks!
Vanschoyck Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 I wouldn't worry about wasting anyone's time. If they offered to make it right for you I'd take them up on it and get it done.
TalismanRich Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 That nut does look right. I would definitely have them look at replacing it.
HANGAR18 Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 If you bought his new from a Heritage dealer, you ought to contact them about it and work through getting the matter resolved.
ScottNaylor Posted May 17, 2014 Posted May 17, 2014 Time for your dealer to support the product and make sure Heritage gets the guitar set up to your satisfaction. Cosmetic issues are one thing, but there is no excuse for a factory nut from a manufacturer of this pedigree not to be perfect. I am sensitive to this issue because my '09 H535 had a factory nut with improper string spacing that had to be replaced for the instrument to play optimally.
kumosan Posted May 17, 2014 Author Posted May 17, 2014 Thanks! This is a brand new guitar purchased online. It is factory fresh, still perfuming my room with nitrocellulose. I hate purchasing online, but I have always wanted a h535. I think I will send it to Heritage and they can have a look. In order to get it perfect I think it needs a new nut and perhaps a fret level/ dress. This is my first experience with Heritage; is this common? I did get some money back from the dealer for the hassle, but I am always surprised by top notch companies not investing in really good setup work. At least the intonation was spot-on :>). I appreciate the feedback!
MartyGrass Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Whichever Heritage dealer sold you that guitar should be flogged. There have been some dealers that get the guitar from Heritage, open the box, take pictures, put it back in the box, then sell it. The dealer puts his/her reputation on the line with each transaction. Your dealer did not do the due diligence expected to assure the guitar is right. I'd refuse the guitar and send it back to the dealer. Take the appropriate pictures of the flaws for the record and return it. If you used a credit card, notify that bank that you are contesting the purchase. A good dealer will be embarrassed by this oversight and will correct the problem for you. I recommend that you do NOT send it to Heritage yourself. I know of cases where the guitar has languished months there while getting a repair. In my personal experience I didn't want to wait any longer and picked it up after two delays. In another case Heritage postponed the pickup date twice, adding more than a month to my wait, yet when I picked it up most of the work was never done. Fortunately one of the owners looked at the lack of work and told me he would personally supervise the completion, which he did. Many may chime in that they have had a good experience with warranty repairs at Heritage. I'm telling you that it is spotty. More importantly, the dealer is supposed to make it happen, not you. The dealer has much more leverage than you do. Heritage excels at its wood work and finishing. Nut and saddle cutting and fret filing sometimes are sloppy. Yes, Heritages are hand made guitars. Sometimes these are artisan hands and sometimes they are the hands of a factory worker who is inexperienced or in a hurry. Slot cutting often has to be redone. After several dozen Heritages needing this attention I bought the files and learned the techniques from two local luthiers. I'm actually happy doing it now, believe it or not. It's empowering. The fretboard files marks are pretty common. They don't bother me, but they are mistakes. Let me caution about Internet purchases of new guitars. Some dealers do this very well, like Wolfe's. But some dealers get rid of their "dogs" this way. These dealers tend to have high foot traffic, so the guitar is seen by many and rejected by all. To me, that is a red flag. But some dealers don't showroom the guitars and simply are a conduit to the web buyer at a low price. In either case it is the dealer's responsibility, not yours, to return the guitar to Heritage for repairs. My confidence level in buying a Heritage is highest when getting it from HOC. Otherwise I'd much rather do a face to face transaction.
yoslate Posted May 18, 2014 Posted May 18, 2014 Whichever Heritage dealer sold you that guitar should be flogged. There have been some dealers that get the guitar from Heritage, open the box, take pictures, put it back in the box, then sell it. The dealer puts his/her reputation on the line with each transaction. Your dealer did not do the due diligence expected to assure the guitar is right. I'd refuse the guitar and send it back to the dealer. Take the appropriate pictures of the flaws for the record and return it. If you used a credit card, notify that bank that you are contesting the purchase. A good dealer will be embarrassed by this oversight and will correct the problem for you. I recommend that you do NOT send it to Heritage yourself. I know of cases where the guitar has languished months there while getting a repair. In my personal experience I didn't want to wait any longer and picked it up after two delays. In another case Heritage postponed the pickup date twice, adding more than a month to my wait, yet when I picked it up most of the work was never done. Fortunately one of the owners looked at the lack of work and told me he would personally supervise the completion, which he did. Many may chime in that they have had a good experience with warranty repairs at Heritage. I'm telling you that it is spotty. More importantly, the dealer is supposed to make it happen, not you. The dealer has much more leverage than you do. Heritage excels at its wood work and finishing. Nut and saddle cutting and fret filing sometimes are sloppy. Yes, Heritages are hand made guitars. Sometimes these are artisan hands and sometimes they are the hands of a factory worker who is inexperienced or in a hurry. Slot cutting often has to be redone. After several dozen Heritages needing this attention I bought the files and learned the techniques from two local luthiers. I'm actually happy doing it now, believe it or not. It's empowering. The fretboard files marks are pretty common. They don't bother me, but they are mistakes. Let me caution about Internet purchases of new guitars. Some dealers do this very well, like Wolfe's. But some dealers get rid of their "dogs" this way. These dealers tend to have high foot traffic, so the guitar is seen by many and rejected by all. To me, that is a red flag. But some dealers don't showroom the guitars and simply are a conduit to the web buyer at a low price. In either case it is the dealer's responsibility, not yours, to return the guitar to Heritage for repairs. My confidence level in buying a Heritage is highest when getting it from HOC. Otherwise I'd much rather do a face to face transaction. Definitive response....
bolero Posted May 19, 2014 Posted May 19, 2014 Martygrass speaketh the truth! get your dealer to deal with it, that is their responsibility
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