dragonbiscuit
G.A.S. Therapist
Let me start this review off by stating that I am NOT on a mission to destroy this guy’s reputation. Check out my review and decide for yourselves. I simply feel obligated to present this information as objectively as possible and to that end have uploaded many hi-res pics that back up everything I will describe. The pictures speak for themselves. I sincerely hope this thread does not turn into a Claas bashing hate fest (or result in any animosity toward me). Let’s keep it respectful to all. I also want to quickly apologize for putting out info about this situation on Zsharp’s NGD thread. It was not my intention to harsh his NGD buzz or take away from his enjoyment in any way. It’s obviously a very pretty guitar.
This will be a somewhat detailed review - so for the impulsive folks (like me) here’s a link directly to the pics on photobucket: http://s749.photobucket.com/user/dragonbiscuit2001/slideshow/Claas%20POS%20Damage%20Pics
Damage to guitar body: breaks in two places that he poorly attempted to cover up and NEVER disclosed. First is below the bridge along the outer edge of body front, and second is on the outside edge of the body close to the upper recessed strap lock on the player’s side. Yikes
If that wasn’t bad enough… There was an obvious break where a chunk of maple came right off the fret board that was also horribly repaired. I mean look at the pics - Uggh
Moving on… The fret slots were made very deep and then apparently filled with some type of clear adhesive. Crazy glue? You can see the big gaps from the side view. The worst part of that situation is the way he installed the frets. Look at the fret tangs - my god they’re terribly crooked and bent. Very bad work - that was undoubtedly rushed. In fact, I’m guessing the whole build was terribly rushed - hence the poor quality. What other conclusion can I make? He’s clearly capable of doing good work on other people’s guitars.
Nut: There was no nut or form of string guide - at all. Check the pics - the strings moved back and forth laterally along the zero with the slightest pressure resulting in a loud ping noise. While I was still thinking about salvaging this guitar I went ahead and hand filed a black tusq nut that ultimately worked quite well - waste of time of course, but again - this build was rushed - big time. I mean no nut at all? Nothing?
Placement of the lower recessed strap lock makes it impossible to rest my forearm on the body. Even if everything else was done properly - this would be something big enough to prevent me from playing the guitar - at least with a strap.
Everything on the guitar was mounted crookedly - I mean everything. Essentially this means all the threaded inserts were installed crookedly in haste. Even his own name plate was mounted crookedly and not flush with the body. The rear trem and control covers were very bad, to the extent that one end of the metal cover was sticking way up past the body and the other end was recessed below it. Also, all the bolts were installed crooked. Check the pics showing the bolts holding on the neck. They were not even put in straight and again - some of them are up past the body while others are very recessed. This is obviously due to a rush job when installing the threaded bolt inserts.
The way he mounted the trem claw was obviously an attempt to find a workable solution with his body design while installing the Strandberg trem that went horribly wrong, and probably part of the reason (along with the improperly installed threaded inserts) the control cover was mounted so badly. As I attempted to remove the trem cover so I could adjust the trem claw screws (as the floating bridge was nowhere near parallel upon receipt), there was a loud crunch when one of the bolts that he haphazardly installed and inadvertently cross threaded, again due to the misaligned inserts, pulled the whole insert straight out of the body along with a nice chunk of mahogany. Check the pics to see the disaster that was behind the cover. It’s easy to see this was a terrible botch job, and because of the way he mounted the trem claw it was impossible for me to change string gauges or tuning. I mean look at the trem claw - it's right up against the body!
The way pickups were mounted make it impossible to adjust their height - no joy.
Finish: there’s some kind of weird finish flaw on the body that resulted in a very unsightly streak that is both highly reflective and a completely different texture from the rest of the body. Perhaps something was spilled on it? Clear coat? Who knows - it’s unsightly and again, could have been mentioned or repaired.
There’s actually more a lot more to say but I’m growing tired, and getting emotional about this again - so I’ll wrap it up.
Beyond the very obvious and major flaws in this instrument, I’m deeply troubled by the fact he never mentioned any of the issues with this guitar, and instead tried to hide them. Even the way he photographed the instrument and posted the pics on his FB site were an obvious attempt to obscure the very big flaws. It’s an integrity issue (or lack thereof) first and foremost. I demonstrated good faith by paying 100% of this build up front, and even if I had waited to pay the balance after he finished the guitar, I would not have been able to detect the damage due to the way he photographed it. The only way I could ever be compensated fairly in my opinion is with a full refund including shipping wired back to my account before I shipped back the guitar. I mean that’s only fair considering I showed absolute faith going into this by paying the full balance up front. Will it happen? I highly doubt it. I’m left with a very expensive guitar that will never be played and cannot be sold. I’m a man of modest means and spending $3-4K on a guitar represents a tremendous sacrifice to me and my family. They are the only luxury type item I spend money on. Yes, I know it’s a first world problem and I am truly grateful to own the beautiful guitars I have (love my Suhrs and Strandbergs). I perceive this review as a way to help others make an informed decision regarding a very substantial purchase, and an opportunity for Alexander to do the right thing and refund my money. We all deserve second chances and by no means am I perfect. I hope he owns up to this lapse in judgment and chooses to reimburse me instead of trying to dispute the obvious (I mean look at the pics) but that’s up to him. Enough said. I wish everyone health, happiness and most of all - plenty of time to play guitar! Peace
This will be a somewhat detailed review - so for the impulsive folks (like me) here’s a link directly to the pics on photobucket: http://s749.photobucket.com/user/dragonbiscuit2001/slideshow/Claas%20POS%20Damage%20Pics
Damage to guitar body: breaks in two places that he poorly attempted to cover up and NEVER disclosed. First is below the bridge along the outer edge of body front, and second is on the outside edge of the body close to the upper recessed strap lock on the player’s side. Yikes
If that wasn’t bad enough… There was an obvious break where a chunk of maple came right off the fret board that was also horribly repaired. I mean look at the pics - Uggh
Moving on… The fret slots were made very deep and then apparently filled with some type of clear adhesive. Crazy glue? You can see the big gaps from the side view. The worst part of that situation is the way he installed the frets. Look at the fret tangs - my god they’re terribly crooked and bent. Very bad work - that was undoubtedly rushed. In fact, I’m guessing the whole build was terribly rushed - hence the poor quality. What other conclusion can I make? He’s clearly capable of doing good work on other people’s guitars.
Nut: There was no nut or form of string guide - at all. Check the pics - the strings moved back and forth laterally along the zero with the slightest pressure resulting in a loud ping noise. While I was still thinking about salvaging this guitar I went ahead and hand filed a black tusq nut that ultimately worked quite well - waste of time of course, but again - this build was rushed - big time. I mean no nut at all? Nothing?
Placement of the lower recessed strap lock makes it impossible to rest my forearm on the body. Even if everything else was done properly - this would be something big enough to prevent me from playing the guitar - at least with a strap.
Everything on the guitar was mounted crookedly - I mean everything. Essentially this means all the threaded inserts were installed crookedly in haste. Even his own name plate was mounted crookedly and not flush with the body. The rear trem and control covers were very bad, to the extent that one end of the metal cover was sticking way up past the body and the other end was recessed below it. Also, all the bolts were installed crooked. Check the pics showing the bolts holding on the neck. They were not even put in straight and again - some of them are up past the body while others are very recessed. This is obviously due to a rush job when installing the threaded bolt inserts.
The way he mounted the trem claw was obviously an attempt to find a workable solution with his body design while installing the Strandberg trem that went horribly wrong, and probably part of the reason (along with the improperly installed threaded inserts) the control cover was mounted so badly. As I attempted to remove the trem cover so I could adjust the trem claw screws (as the floating bridge was nowhere near parallel upon receipt), there was a loud crunch when one of the bolts that he haphazardly installed and inadvertently cross threaded, again due to the misaligned inserts, pulled the whole insert straight out of the body along with a nice chunk of mahogany. Check the pics to see the disaster that was behind the cover. It’s easy to see this was a terrible botch job, and because of the way he mounted the trem claw it was impossible for me to change string gauges or tuning. I mean look at the trem claw - it's right up against the body!
The way pickups were mounted make it impossible to adjust their height - no joy.
Finish: there’s some kind of weird finish flaw on the body that resulted in a very unsightly streak that is both highly reflective and a completely different texture from the rest of the body. Perhaps something was spilled on it? Clear coat? Who knows - it’s unsightly and again, could have been mentioned or repaired.
There’s actually more a lot more to say but I’m growing tired, and getting emotional about this again - so I’ll wrap it up.
Beyond the very obvious and major flaws in this instrument, I’m deeply troubled by the fact he never mentioned any of the issues with this guitar, and instead tried to hide them. Even the way he photographed the instrument and posted the pics on his FB site were an obvious attempt to obscure the very big flaws. It’s an integrity issue (or lack thereof) first and foremost. I demonstrated good faith by paying 100% of this build up front, and even if I had waited to pay the balance after he finished the guitar, I would not have been able to detect the damage due to the way he photographed it. The only way I could ever be compensated fairly in my opinion is with a full refund including shipping wired back to my account before I shipped back the guitar. I mean that’s only fair considering I showed absolute faith going into this by paying the full balance up front. Will it happen? I highly doubt it. I’m left with a very expensive guitar that will never be played and cannot be sold. I’m a man of modest means and spending $3-4K on a guitar represents a tremendous sacrifice to me and my family. They are the only luxury type item I spend money on. Yes, I know it’s a first world problem and I am truly grateful to own the beautiful guitars I have (love my Suhrs and Strandbergs). I perceive this review as a way to help others make an informed decision regarding a very substantial purchase, and an opportunity for Alexander to do the right thing and refund my money. We all deserve second chances and by no means am I perfect. I hope he owns up to this lapse in judgment and chooses to reimburse me instead of trying to dispute the obvious (I mean look at the pics) but that’s up to him. Enough said. I wish everyone health, happiness and most of all - plenty of time to play guitar! Peace
I suppose its fitting some of those pictures were taken over the toilet.
