Well, it's already on its way back, so it's too late to try anything else. I thought about filing the nut slot, but if the slot wasn't deep enough, that would only affect the first few frets. It shouldn't be sharp half-way down the neck. It also doesn't explain why i had to move the saddle so far back. I ultimately decided that this wasn't my problem to figure out... This isn't a Firefly, or an Ali Express special. Theres no reason why I should accept this. Nothing really makes sense, considering it was just that one string that was off. The other five strings were fine, so it can't be fret placement.nomadh wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 4:42 pm As a quick test capo it at the 1st 2 or 3rd fret and tune again. I'm thinking itll be alot better. Intonate it with the capo and it'll be perfect. If the nut isn't high it means your nut is in the wrong place. Usually too far from the 1st fret. If it's still weird then the only other thing I can think of is randomly placed frets.
Otherwise, the guitar is freakin' gorgeous! Besides the scratches on the headstock, I couldn't find a single flaw. Even the sides were flamey, and it didn't have the usual over-spray on the binding that Epiphone is famous for. I was really surprised by the Indian Yanni - I mean, Indian Laurel fretboard...uwmcscott wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:50 pm That is a bummer, I have been watching these from the weeds too. I've seen more than one "blem/bstock " show up on AMS/ZZounds over the past weeks - not that specific model but in the same 335/339 range. I hope this isn't a sign that the QC is still suspect on these newer models/newer manufacturing facilities.
How was the rest of the guitar overall from a fit/finish standpoint?
I haven't liked the examples I've seen on Squiers. I always think it looks like a chocolate bar that's been in the vending machine for too long. But this one looked pretty much like Rosewood, except with more of an open grain. I was hoping that guitar manufacturers would go back to Rosewood after the CITES restrictions were lifted, but I suppose Laurel is cheaper, and nobody has really kicked up too much of a fuss about it, so I guess that's what we're going to get from now on. If they all looked like this fretboard, I wouldn't really mind.Me neither... I've never come across anything like this in the 15 years I've been working on guitars. The only thing I can reckon is... maybe it was the string itself? This morning I was wondering if a new set of strings could have solved the problem... But there would still be the issue of the scratchy finish on the headstock.
Eh... I must have developed some more patience for this kind of thing, because oddly, it doesn't really bother me. I'm happy to know that the next one will have been inspected and (most likely) free from flaws.
Well, my positive feelings for AMS (as well as my patience) is starting to fade. When I arranged the exchange, they told me that they would ship out the replacement as soon as my return showed up in UPS' system, so I wouldn't have to wait until they actually received the defective guitar. I thought that was pretty cool, so I shipped it out the next day (last Wednesday), thinking that the new one would be shipped out on Thursday or Friday (when I bought the first one, it shipped out the same day).BatUtilityBelt wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:13 am I find it noteworthy that your experience with AMS is a positive one. Their willingness to take the return and exchange the guitar based on a problem they can't remotely diagnose via email or phone conversation is great. AMS deserves points for service there! When I had a similar issue with the first guitar I purchased from Thomann, their (mis)handling of the issue ensured it was the only purchase I ever made from Thomann. I have had a couple other returns over the years, and good companies lean toward keeping a happy customer. That's one for AMS.
My problem with people is when they tell little lies, they tell big ones. Good luck. It will work itself out, eventually.Mossman wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 9:24 pmWell, my positive feelings for AMS (as well as my patience) is starting to fade. When I arranged the exchange, they told me that they would ship out the replacement as soon as my return showed up in UPS's system, so I wouldn't have to wait until they actually received the defective guitar. I thought that was pretty cool, so I shipped it out the next day (last Wednesday), thinking that the new one would be shipped out on Thursday or Friday (when I bought the first one, it shipped out the same day).BatUtilityBelt wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:13 am I find it noteworthy that your experience with AMS is a positive one. Their willingness to take the return and exchange the guitar based on a problem they can't remotely diagnose via email or phone conversation is great. AMS deserves points for service there! When I had a similar issue with the first guitar I purchased from Thomann, their (mis)handling of the issue ensured it was the only purchase I ever made from Thomann. I have had a couple other returns over the years, and good companies lean toward keeping a happy customer. That's one for AMS.
By Friday evening, I still hadn't received a shipping notification, so I called them to find out what the status was, and they had no explanation for the delay, but said it should ship out on Monday. Well, Monday and Tuesday came and went, and I assumed that the bad weather may have delayed shipping, but when I got no notification on Wednesday, I called them again... Sure enough, they said their warehouse was closed on Monday and Tuesday due to snow, but it should ship out any minute now. I told him I could understand the snow delay, but asked why it didn't ship out before the weekend, and he said that it took a couple of days to inspect the guitar (as they promised they would do). I didn't say anything, but I was thinking: "Why should it take two days to open a box and visually scan a guitar for finish flaws??". But I was just happy they didn't tell me that the guitar had sold out, and I would have to wait for more to come in, or something like that (that's happened to me before, but not with AMS), and I figured it would ship out later that day, or maybe today...
Well, I still haven't received a shipping notification... I'm not losing my cool over it or anything. They can't control the weather, and I'm sure their shipping department is backed up from being closed for a couple of days, but I'm thinking this really should have shipped last week, if they were being honest about it. I have a feeling that they actually did wait until they received the first guitar (which arrived yesterday) before starting the process... I should have at least gotten a notification when the label was created, and the two-day inspection period seems specious to me.
Well, I don't want to come right out and call them liars... but I have my suspicions. On one hand, I have no idea how their warehouse operates, or how disruptive it is to their flow to single out one guitar for inspection, and I'm only assuming that they just gave it a cursory, visual inspection. They may have been more thorough than that, I dunno. But on the other hand, I keep thinking: Sweetwater does their 55-point inspection on every guitar they ship (yeah, I know, sometimes they miss things, but it doesn't mean they're not doing what they say they're doing), and they don't seem to have any problems getting them out the door in a timely fashion.
The pickups were wound to 13k with 42awg wire (!), and it sounded like a hairy electric monster (and not in a good way). But Buddha Tim fixed me up by rewinding them to a sensible output (7.5-8k, I believe), with 43 gauge wire, and it sounds fantastic now. Big props to @Buddha Pickups as usual! 
