NGD: Chapman Ghost Fret

[ExtremophileElite]

I tend to place more faith in spec sheets than I do pictures of the guitar I'm buying unless I'm buying from Sweetwater and I can see my actual instrument. Guiatrs fo through so many stages of development and mockups that to me the spec sheet is where the manufacturer has to everything right. The fact that the spec sheet says "Hipshot" bridge, when it's in fact a copy, is an inexcusable error. If I paid for a PRS with \m/ pickups and my guitar arrived with covered Entwistles, I'd be pissed. It drives me crazy that mistakes like this are fixable but due to the convoluted relationship between a brand to manufacturer to reseller to customer a lot of times it's hard to see where the mistake originated. Also, would this not be an issue for Hipshot the company? A brand is using the Hipshot name to make the instrument more appealing. For some, a Hipshot is a dealbreaker and I think Hipshot has to pride themselves on that.

I agree with you 100% in regards to the spec sheet. I might send another email to Hipshot asking them if they are going to pursue the issue any further. If I were the company I wouldn't want people to think that a knock-off bridge is a representation of my product and quality.

 

[ExtremophileElite]

If it helps any I actually sent Rob direct message on youtube with a link to this thread. It is a long shot, but hopefully he will respond.

I appreciate you taking the time to help me. Being that you are a potential buyer, I know you are partially doing it for your own benefit but I am thankful for your efforts nonetheless.

 

[Señor Voorhees]

the picture in the online stores/chapman website are clear enough. I have never seen a ghost fret or a chapman guitar in person, but I knew pretty easy with a first glance that the bridge wasnt a hipshot due to the differences I explained above.

But yeah someone mess up the spec sheets, and if you dont know the differences you can get badly informed. Im also curious to see how this would work out too

Oh yeah, I went onto the chapman guitars page and there are some definite giveaway shots. Most shots of it I saw were sort of grainy and you couldn't make out any real details of the bridge. The close up shots on their site, especially the natural finish one, are beyond obvious.

It's just striking me as odd that a lot of posts here are saying things like "maybe you got a prototype" "maybe every site including his own unknowingly listed the wrong specs" etc.

I think it's just false advertising, it's strange seeing people here making excuses on behalf of Rob Chapman, Andertons, other sites, etc.

I never meant to absolve them of any wrongdoing, if I'm one you're talking about. If they told the manufacturer they wanted a particular spec, they better damn well make sure that when the guitars come in that they have the actual spec. When all is done and said, it's falsely advertised and isn't acceptable. Even looking now, their website still says "hipshot hardtail bridge," so they either still haven't gotten the memo or they just don't give a damn. Either way, they should fix to reimburse folks some "I'm sorry we lied" money.

 

[ExtremophileElite]

How do you quote multiple people in one response? Sorry for the dumb question.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

How do you quote multiple people in one response? Sorry for the dumb question.

Press that button in each reply you want to respond to.

 

[ExtremophileElite]

Press that button in each reply you want to respond to.

Thank you!

 

[ZERO1]

I appreciate you taking the time to help me. Being that you are a potential buyer, I know you are partially doing it for your own benefit but I am thankful for your efforts nonetheless.

Thanks. Well it was actually between this guitar or a jackson kelly. Just waiting for jackson to release one worth buying. sorry a bit off topic. But I did want to help. I don't like seeing people being deceived on a product they purchased.

 

[vkw619]

Not to try and derail the topic at hand (and I am in no way condoning the seemingly bad "label" issue going on here) but is the bridge actually all that bad? Do you think the price of the guitar is still warranted even with the supposed non hipshot bridge? I am still interested in the Ghost Fret as its the best looking affordable EX model I can find. Does the guitar still play well? Is the bridge comfortable?

 

[ExtremophileElite]

is the bridge actually all that bad? Do you think the price of the guitar is still warranted even with the supposed non hipshot bridge? I am still interested in the Ghost Fret as its the best looking affordable EX model I can find. Does the guitar still play well? Is the bridge comfortable?

The bridge seems to be okay. Whether or not the price is warranted is sort of a loaded question. The bridge can still be adequate but we paid for a Hipshot. It's a great guitar, don't get me wrong. It plays well and it is comfortable, bridge included. I'm not unhappy with the bridge per se. I'm unhappy that it was advertised to have a Hipshot bridge and it does not.

 

[vkw619]

The bridge seems to be okay. Whether or not the price is warranted is sort of a loaded question. The bridge can still be adequate but we paid for a Hipshot. It's a great guitar, don't get me wrong. It plays well and it is comfortable, bridge included. I'm not unhappy with the bridge per se. I'm unhappy that it was advertised to have a Hipshot bridge and it does not.

I completely understand and I hope this is resolved soon. I was just wanting some opinions on the guitar as is barring this whole issue.

What is the end game here we are hoping for? Have you tried contacting Andertons or any other dealer who might be able to provide information? I am really hoping something gets resolved. Has the place you purchased it from offered you a partial refund? Are you considering sending back the guitar over this or is this something at this point you are just trying to get information on. I am sorry if I missed it scrolling through the thread but did Hipshot ever confirm it isn't an OEM bridge produced by them of some sort?

 

[ExtremophileElite]

What is the end game here we are hoping for? Have you tried contacting Andertons or any other dealer who might be able to provide information? I am really hoping something gets resolved. Has the place you purchased it from offered you a partial refund? Are you considering sending back the guitar over this or is this something at this point you are just trying to get information on. I am sorry if I missed it scrolling through the thread but did Hipshot ever confirm it isn't an OEM bridge produced by them of some sort?

My endgame isn't entirely clear at this point. I was supposed to get a Hipshot bridge and I did not. I feel as if I should be compensated in some way. I contacted the dealer in which the guitar was purchased. They are going to investigate and call me back. Its been a few days since we talked so I will probably follow up with them Monday. I do not want to return the guitar. Not at all. Hipshot did tell me that the bridge on my guitar was not a Hipshot bridge. I'd like for Chapman to return my emails though. Hearing from them will probably make my desired endgame more clear.

 

[vkw619]

My endgame isn't entirely clear at this point. I was supposed to get a Hipshot bridge and I did not. I feel as if I should be compensated in some way. I contacted the dealer in which the guitar was purchased. They are going to investigate and call me back. Its been a few days since we talked so I will probably follow up with them Monday. I do not want to return the guitar. Not at all. Hipshot did tell me that the bridge on my guitar was not a Hipshot bridge. I'd like for Chapman to return my emails though. Hearing from them will probably make my desired endgame more clear.

Understandable. I am going to keep an eye on this thread for sure. I hope things are cleared up soon as I really want to pick up this guitar and from what I've heard Rob is actually a nice guy. Lets hope someone gets to the bottom of this soon. Thanks for trying to figure this out and letting us all be aware of it!

 

[GraemeH]

I wonder if the people advertising the guitar on the website understand what "hipshot" is. It's quite possible they believe that Hipshot refers to the style of the bridge without actually realising that Hipshot is a brand.

Possible, but unlikely.

Yeah people ought to be aware that Rob Chapman actually knows very little about guitars despite the YouTube hits - I've seen him point at a wenge fretboard and go "ooh is that rosewood?", he doesn't know what coil-tap is (he thinks it's coil splitting...) etc.
That factory make solid guitars, people should buy based on that, not anything Rob says.

It's also possible that he just said to his account manager at the factory in the initial prototyping stages "yeah use hipshot hardware on it", and after the prototypes, the factory at some point simply fitted a cheaper copy of it for production runs to increase their margins, and as mentioned above, Rob's the last person who's going to notice.

I'd be 95% sure it's either of the above two, i.e. inept innocence, rather than malice.

Definite ask for a refund of the price difference between the two, and as long as you get that and they fix the advertised specs, no harm no foul.

The Edwards E-EX is probably the best bet for a cheap-ish Explorer type guitar. MIJ quality from ESP, top hardware as advertised, and the same price as the ghost fret even after £100 of shipping from Japan (~£700).

 

[Pikka Bird]

Not to try and derail the topic at hand (and I am in no way condoning the seemingly bad "label" issue going on here) but is the bridge actually all that bad? Do you think the price of the guitar is still warranted even with the supposed non hipshot bridge? I am still interested in the Ghost Fret as its the best looking affordable EX model I can find. Does the guitar still play well? Is the bridge comfortable?

The bridge is fine. I use one of these Chinese no-name ones. The thing is, it's a sub-ten dollar dealio (including shipping) on eBay whereas the Hipshot is what ... 60 bucks or something? And considering the end user can get one of them at such a crazy low price, just imagine how cheap they are for the Korean factory that buys them in bulk.

edit: Here's an example, by the way. There's an even cheaper one listed right here that arguably has prettier saddles. It's definitely the same baseplate though. Sometimes you'll order one and it'll come with the other type of saddles, because they're just put together from a huge parts bin.

... he doesn't know what coil-tap is (he thinks it's coil splitting...) etc.

Who actually makes pickups that can be tapped? SD does, but are there any others?

 

[Señor Voorhees]

He doesn't know what coil-tap is (he thinks it's coil splitting...) etc.

To be fair I know there's a distinct difference between tapping and splitting, and I still fall into the rut occasionally of saying "coil tapped" when I mean "split." It's just how I learned it... Misinformation is a bitch like that.

On topic, I think part of the end game should be proper communication on their part. Don't tell people they're getting something they're not. For example, I'd be miffed if I was told I was getting BKP's and got SD's instead. Both are great brands and function very well, but if you're lured in by $200+ pickups and get $120 pickups, it's a bummer. Fortunately OP got the benefit of SD's, which sort of makes up for getting cheaper hardware.

Doesn't change the fact that they were expecting something they didn't get due 100% to false advertisement, however.

 

[Hollowway]

I completely agree that they should do something, because it's just plain wrong to be told you're getting something you're not. I had a similar experience years ago in that I bought a guitar that was supposed to have a certain handful of specs, and it arrived with none of those specs, and had a really ....ty job of scalloping done. I called to complain or ask for a refund, and I was told that I was still getting an awesome guitar for the money, and that I couldn't really expect anything better out of a Korean factory. And that there would be no refunds. Since it was a preorder, my 60 day window of CC dispute had passed, so I was screwed. The brand isn't really around anymore.

 

[Vrollin]

I don't understand why everyone is saying the chinese bridge is a copy of the hipshot? Aside from the fact that it looks nothing like it, hipshot were far from the first company to make a hardtail bridge in a design like that... There's more to the world than hipshot kiddies, has been for years before them....
And I'm going to be the one to say it, the bridge you got looks nicer anyway and I can't see how it would be responsible for tuning stability, more likely the nut, or dare I say it, the hipshot tuners....

 

[downburst82]

Its kind of beside the point, the issue isn't the quality of the bridge its the fact that OP didn't receive the guitar with the parts it was advertised as having. As already mentioned several times Its a fairly significant price difference between the cheap Chinese bridge and a hipshot..even if the cheap bridge was better (its not) that still doesn't change that fact. Thats the heart of the issue..no one ever said anything was wrong with the cheap bridge other than its not what its supposed to be and its certainly not an equal value substitution.
If you bought a guitar that was supposed to come with dimarzios (or duncans or bareknuckle ...lace..whatever) and it arrives with decent sounding but obviously factory produced in china for $5 a pop no name pickups, would you be cool with that just because they sound ok?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

...

So you're perfectly fine with false advertising?

People aren't bashing the quality of the bridge, they're saying it's shady how they claim it's a Hipshot, a highly-reputable brand, while it's actually an OEM unbranded bridge.

 

[Vrollin]

So you're perfectly fine with false advertising?

People aren't bashing the quality of the bridge, they're saying it's shady how they claim it's a Hipshot, a highly-reputable brand, while it's actually an OEM unbranded bridge.

Wasn't justifying the wrong part at all, was just commenting on how many have called it a copy of the hipshot when a blind kid learning braille would pick up instantly its not the case, and that the OP was thinking tuning stability might be an issue because of the bridge.

Maybe it's issues like these though, tuning stability, wrong parts etc that are seeing your chapmans, KM7's and the like flooding into the second hand market despite being new guitars. Surely blokes like Chapman, having come from a background I'm sure most guitarists go through, being strapped for cash and wanting the best money can buy, could appreciate how slip ups like this in his promotion and final product could really piss off a buyer and have them feeling pretty jaded about the name and the guitar itself. Not good business....