Musiciansfriend.com Debacle - Effed Up Clearcoat on Breedlove

[Webmaestro]

I'm posting this here, because I'm wondering if any of you can speculate as to what the HELL is wrong with the clearcoat on this otherwise fantastic-sounding Breedlove American Series C25/SRE-H.

FWIW, this is the first guitar I've ever ordered from Musician's Friend, and it'll definitely be the last. It was listed as "used mint" (and discounted a couple bucks to just north of $1700)... and the person I spoke to assured me that it was "functionally and cosmetically mint." fu**ing liars.

The guitar's going back today, but I just needed to rant. Thanks for listening.

Now, what the hell is that white stuff in the finish? There's actually more than just what's shown in these pics, but I couldn't capture the others very well.

 

[Prophetable]

I've ordered quite a bit of stuff from that page and never had issues. Sorry you got dicked down on your first go.

That milky finish is a shame.

 

[xzyryabx]

Maybe try some scratch remover and then polish with carranuba wax before returning it in case that gets the shine back.

 

[sehnomatic]

Lacquer finish? Blushing from moisture.

I would have tried some some blush remover/blush eraser/blush retarder

 

[flaherz09]

Probably from sitting in their warehouse. I ordered an Ibanez Artwood that they had listed with a similar description as yours and the setup out of the box was terrible, the nut was separating, and so was the pickguard! I've never ordered a guitar from there ever again.

 

[tedtan]

Lacquer finish? Blushing from moisture.

I would have tried some some blush remover/blush eraser/blush retarder

Yeah, I've seen that with nitro finishes, but I think the Breedloves use poly.

 

[SevenStringJones]

I gave musiciansfriend three tries a few years ago, each one being a huge cluster ..... Who the hell sends a giant bass half stack combo instead of the fender 2X12 I ordered? I haven't ordered from them since and won't.

 

[Austin_MF]

Hey Webmaestro, I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're having with the finish on that guitar. If you email us at gearheads@musiciansfriend.com, I will be more than happy to get you taken care of.

Thanks!

 

[Webmaestro]

Hey Webmaestro, I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're having with the finish on that guitar. If you email us at gearheads@musiciansfriend.com, I will be more than happy to get you taken care of.

Thanks!

Austin_MF, I've already had this taken care of and just dropped the guitar off at the UPS store. The resolution was swift and everyone was courteous, so no complaints there. However, going forward, I'll only use MF for accessories: strings, cables, pickups, etc.

If I need a new guitar, I'll stick with the smaller (perhaps local) retailers.

 

[Promit]

I'm going to defend MF. It's not that they haven't screwed up, but their customer service has always gone the extra mile to make things right.

 

[Austin_MF]

Austin_MF, I've already had this taken care of and just dropped the guitar off at the UPS store. The resolution was swift and everyone was courteous, so no complaints there. However, going forward, I'll only use MF for accessories: strings, cables, pickups, etc.

If I need a new guitar, I'll stick with the smaller (perhaps local) retailers.

I am sorry to hear that. If you ever want to give us another chance, email me and I can get you a good deal. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

 

[technomancer]

It is entirely possible that happened from heat / humidity changes during shipping

 

[SandyRavage]

I've had similar issues with guitars coming from colder climates and sitting on the UPS truck all day. If you have later deliveries scheduled in your area (which I do) I now have them hold at location and pick them up that way.... That and I don't usually ship guitars in the summer here.

 

[7stg]

I don't usually ship guitars in the summer here.

This. I only like ordering guitars during spring, fall and maybe winter. I try to determine where it is coming from because I do not want large temperature and humidity changes during transport.

 

[cardinal]

Yeah, I definitely would have sent that back like you did. My first thought was blushing too, but a Google search turned up that they use poly, so irrespective of when it happened (factory or shipping), it'll be very difficult to get out. I doubt blush eraser would do anything. Another possibility is that it is "stressed" poly. I've heard of poly getting "cloudy" like that if a guitar's been dropped and the finish flexed too much.

Either way, not something I'd want to deal with unless it was an outrageous deal.

That said, I love ordering from GC and Musicians Friend. I've always dealt with friendly, helpful people and yeah, sometimes you get something that's jacked up or wasn't as described, but you can return it easily and just walk away if you want. Hard to beat that, IMHO.

 

[ahvia_musicom]

it happens, a few prs that has gone by my table had the same problem and those have poly's in them i dont think BL would allow that to move out of the factory had it manifest itself in the 1st place also to be fair with MF i wouldn't think they'd BS you just to have the guitar moved out of the store i mean for a company a return would be costly, im guessing either it was not evident then or somebody just didn't mind to mention it it might be an honest mistake but im sure a company as big as MF would do everything in its power to rectify issues like this

hope everything ends well