cheapwalkcycles
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- Joined
- Nov 13, 2023
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- 18
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I recently ordered an LTD Arrow Black Metal which I was really excited for, but when it showed up I quickly noticed some issues. First of all, there are several imperfections in the finish. The binding on the neck is pretty sloppy, with lots of specks of dust trapped under the finish and several cut marks by the frets. The trem cavity is also unpainted, and the area between the bridge and the pickup looks pretty ugly in direct light.
I could maybe overlook these cosmetic issues, but there's a more serious problem with the Floyd Rose 1000. I noticed it wasn't returning to pitch perfectly even after stretching the strings extensively. It would come up sometimes 5-10 cents flat from dives, and 10-15 cents sharp from pull ups. Upon inspecting the bridge, I noticed that the post on the bass side is leaning backwards away from the neck, and the treble side post seems to be slightly leaning in the opposite direction toward the neck. This was concerning, so I pulled out the bridge, and there appears to be some gouging in the knife edges and posts, especially on the bass side. I couldn't actually pull the bridge out without detuning the strings which I didn't want to do, so I couldn't inspect very closely to see if this was just the paint being scraped off or more significant wear. Either way, it seems like a pretty bad sign on a new guitar to me. I guess it's possible this could have been caused if the tech adjusted the action under tension, but I also suspect that the incorrect angle of the posts might be causing this wear and the failure to return to pitch.
After applying some chapstick to the knife edges, the return to pitch is better, but still not perfect. It's usually within 5-10 cents either way. It now seems like the bottom three strings are coming up slightly flat and the top three a bit more sharp, even if I try to reset with a dive, which is puzzling. Is this problem likely to get worse with time?
Here are some pictures showing the unpainted trem cavity, the post angle, and the gouging on the posts/knife edges, but it might be hard to see clearly:
Would these issues warrant a return for you? I think I could live with the finish imperfections if the guitar were functional. The return to pitch isn't terrible right now, but it could definitely be better and I'm concerned that the knife edges and posts will continue to wear and make the problem worse over time.
I could maybe overlook these cosmetic issues, but there's a more serious problem with the Floyd Rose 1000. I noticed it wasn't returning to pitch perfectly even after stretching the strings extensively. It would come up sometimes 5-10 cents flat from dives, and 10-15 cents sharp from pull ups. Upon inspecting the bridge, I noticed that the post on the bass side is leaning backwards away from the neck, and the treble side post seems to be slightly leaning in the opposite direction toward the neck. This was concerning, so I pulled out the bridge, and there appears to be some gouging in the knife edges and posts, especially on the bass side. I couldn't actually pull the bridge out without detuning the strings which I didn't want to do, so I couldn't inspect very closely to see if this was just the paint being scraped off or more significant wear. Either way, it seems like a pretty bad sign on a new guitar to me. I guess it's possible this could have been caused if the tech adjusted the action under tension, but I also suspect that the incorrect angle of the posts might be causing this wear and the failure to return to pitch.
After applying some chapstick to the knife edges, the return to pitch is better, but still not perfect. It's usually within 5-10 cents either way. It now seems like the bottom three strings are coming up slightly flat and the top three a bit more sharp, even if I try to reset with a dive, which is puzzling. Is this problem likely to get worse with time?
Here are some pictures showing the unpainted trem cavity, the post angle, and the gouging on the posts/knife edges, but it might be hard to see clearly:
Would these issues warrant a return for you? I think I could live with the finish imperfections if the guitar were functional. The return to pitch isn't terrible right now, but it could definitely be better and I'm concerned that the knife edges and posts will continue to wear and make the problem worse over time.
