Guitars you really wanted, but turned out to be a disappointment

[MaxOfMetal]

LTD KS-M7.

Not the fault of the guitar per se.

MusiciansFriend sent me one that looked like it had been on tour with Unearth. It was beat, the Evertune was jacked up, and the action was stupidly high. It either ships with super heavy gauge strings or the previous "owner for 44 days" restrung it. I got the feeling someone messed with the Evertune, jacked it up, and then returned it. There was so much wear on the parts and scuffs on the body and pickguard.

I set up an exchange but then ended up canceling the new one that was back ordered after a couple months of waiting because something else came up. Shame because I only paid $1199 new and now they're $1599.

MF pretty much admits that all they do is make sure it's pretty much the right instrument before sending out open box stuff.

 

[USMarine75]

MF pretty much admits that all they do is make sure it's pretty much the right instrument before sending out open box stuff.

Except it was supposed to be brand new.

And yeah I've gotten some absolute scores from them over the years. I actually assumed there was a scam going where they would mark mint returns as tier 2 or 3 when it was just a return (tier 1) so one of their friends or they could buy a new item at a huge discount. I bought a tier 2 Engl FB100 for $1300 when they were $1799 and it came in original box, wrapped in the factory plastic bag, none of the styrofoam was damaged, and it had the book and spare new 12AX7 tube. I also got a JEM77VBK for $1399 when they were $2199 (iirc). The only issue was the case smelled like cat pee haha.

 

[protest]

The biggest disappointment for me was the Majesty. Basically a perfect guitar...except the neck profile cramped my hand. I was thinking about just getting a new hand.

 

[Albake21]

The biggest disappointment for me was the Majesty. Basically a perfect guitar...except the neck profile cramped my hand. I was thinking about just getting a new hand.

That was exactly my experience with my JP16. Loved literally everything about it, but my hands just weren't having it. I fought with myself for so long about selling it until eventually I gave in. Still miss it haha

 

[jco5055]

The biggest disappointment for me was the Majesty. Basically a perfect guitar...except the neck profile cramped my hand. I was thinking about just getting a new hand.

yeah i didn't have cramping but the neck is pretty thin, I think I may need a thicker neck because I've had some issues with my Aristides 070SR neck wise and it seems pretty thin to me.

 

[oracles]

Every iteration of the JP I've played has felt like a child's toy. A well built one, but a toy none the less. They've always felt undersized and the neck profile and I absolutely don't get along.

 

[Disappear_85]

For me t was the Edwards EX 125 D, based n the ESP MX 250 explorer. it was very light weigh, it felt like a plastic toy.
the finish was open grain kinda finish, the clear coat was satin butit was too thin, it started to flake and fall away. the light weight body wood gets damaged and gouged easily and caused the neck to dive.
Sounded decent with actives, but didn't like it with passives.

Sorry for my Bad English.

 

[eaeolian]

Lol, i don't think anyone is, they're few and far between to say the least...

People who swear that 22nd fret changes the tone are literally the only ones. They are all insane - Fender doesn't even move the neck pickups!

 

[eaeolian]

Just about every Caparison I've owned or played.

Around 2004 I was kinda bored with Ibanez. I thought about moving a few UVs and had my mind set on a Dellinger 7. I bought two of them. Huge mistake! The fit and finish was okay at best, the fretwork was solid, but no better than an off the shelf RG1550. They didn't sound very good either. I spent a wad of cash on new pickups and put a lot of time in on the bench getting them to play like the almost $2800 guitars they were at the time, remember this was early 00's. I wound up trading them off, would of lost my shirt if I sold them. Really soured me on the brand. I've played more since and despite a couple artist models they've never spoken to me.

Seriously. I don't get the love. Henrik from Evergrey had *one* I thought was great. Otherwise, I have no idea what the hype is about. I've owned several much better Japanese Jacksons.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Seriously. I don't get the love. Henrik from Evergrey had *one* I thought was great. Otherwise, I have no idea what the hype is about. I've owned several much better Japanese Jacksons.

Yeah, I think it was just to have something "different" back then. They did look badass. The headstock is great, finish options were awesome, the clocks are cool, and 27 frets has its novelty. Back when Dellingers were $1200 it wasn't bad, but it's like overnight they doubled in price without any quality gains.

Recent ones have been much better, especially after the buyout/rebirth, but they're still crazy overpriced by the time you get to the good stuff.

 

[kerryymm]

Gibson Les Paul Voodoo... I saw it when they first launched it and thought it looked so cool... fast forward a good few years, and I scored one for a good price on eBay.

First disappointment: opened the case and it looked really plasticky - like a piece of something made to look like open-pore swamp ash, rather than actual swamp ash.

Used it for a gig, and couldn't get on with the control layout: I was using LTD EC1000s at the time, so I was used to 3 knobs, not 4. Sounds silly, but it was just an annoyance. All in all, I decided that I'd rather use my LTDs, so the Voodoo went back on eBay. There was a happy ending though: it's one of the only two guitars I've ever sold and made money on

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Gibson Les Paul Voodoo... I saw it when they first launched it and thought it looked so cool... fast forward a good few years, and I scored one for a good price on eBay.

First disappointment: opened the case and it looked really plasticky - like a piece of something made to look like open-pore swamp ash, rather than actual swamp ash.

Used it for a gig, and couldn't get on with the control layout: I was using LTD EC1000s at the time, so I was used to 3 knobs, not 4. Sounds silly, but it was just an annoyance. All in all, I decided that I'd rather use my LTDs, so the Voodoo went back on eBay. There was a happy ending though: it's one of the only two guitars I've ever sold and made money on

Bummer.

What Voodoo model was it? The MKI versions from 2005-ish or the MKII 2016-ish version?

 

[kerryymm]

Bummer.

What Voodoo model was it? The MKI versions from 2005-ish or the MKII 2016-ish version?

It was a good few years ago now so it must have been the mk1 version...

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

It was a good few years ago now so it must have been the mk1 version...

Easiest way to tell is the fretboard. MKI had blank ebony fretboard with red skull inlay @5th fret. MKII had richlite board with red dot inlays.

MKI

MKII

 

[kerryymm]

Easiest way to tell is the fretboard. MKI had blank ebony fretboard with red skull inlay @5th fret. MKII had richlite board with red dot inlays.

MKI

MKII

Definitely a mk1 in that case

 

[Mathemagician]

Seriously. I don't get the love. Henrik from Evergrey had *one* I thought was great. Otherwise, I have no idea what the hype is about. I've owned several much better Japanese Jacksons.

I played exactly one Caparison in the last year after always wanting to try one in the 00’s and frankly it confirmed why I’d held off. It was an ibanez but somehow bulkier? Thick shoulders + wide string spacing + a bigger heel. Nah fam not for me. Fastest GAS cure ever.

 

[bzhang9]

I played exactly one Caparison in the last year after always wanting to try one in the 00’s and frankly it confirmed why I’d held off. It was an ibanez but somehow bulkier? Thick shoulders + wide string spacing + a bigger heel. Nah fam not for me. Fastest GAS cure ever.

very few bolt on necks feel less bulky than a wizard neck + AANJ, maybe a JP but that's about it

 

[Jzbass25]

The biggest disappointment for me was the Majesty. Basically a perfect guitar...except the neck profile cramped my hand. I was thinking about just getting a new hand.

I personally love the neck profile but I still may give an edge to the JEM. My only issue is that I've had trouble nut binding

 

[couchguitarplayer]

I will get hurt for this but:

PRS SC245 Artist package. The guitar looked stunning. It was dissapointing in the playability for me. It had a wide fat neck which felt weird. I'm more used to Ibanez, Jackson and fender necks. The tone was still really nice for classic rock and blues but definatly not a tight machine. Just not my cup of tea.

Suhr Modern Pro. Again quality was there. Playability was awesome. The problem for me was the tone. It has a basswood body and it sounded a bit thin. I remember having hard a time getting good tones through my mesa TC-50. Never had issues with that before. Loved the Gotoh floyd though.

Ibanez RG3120 Prestige. One of the sweetest Ibanez I've ever had. Playability was great but I didn't like the tone. I know I could have swapped the pickups but I let it go for a kiesel.

 

[Mathemagician]

very few bolt on necks feel less bulky than a wizard neck + AANJ, maybe a JP but that's about it

Yeah and I don’t like ibanez necks are all, so this was even worse. The AANJ is great sure, but the everything else is not my bag.