custom shop guitar issue

[baritone]

Hi! I have a semi-custom guitar which I designed & ordered in December, & it reached me this week. Between the final photos they emailed me & the guitar which reached my hands, there appeared a 1/2-cm round 1-mm deep gouge which cuts through the finish & into the binding. The guitar was ~$2700, & they're offering $200 refund. I am in the process of shopping for guitar repair experts in my neighborhood to see what can be done. My question here is if there is a prospect of it being repaired to brand-new condition without compromising the value which I expected.

 

[GuitarStv]

Is it a solid finish, or clear? Solid you can almost certainly have it fixed undetectably. Clear it depends on whether or not the wood itself has been gouged, or if it's just in the clear coat.

Either way, 200$ seems a little low for refund.

 

[jeremy]

the value drops as soon as you you buy the guitar. its new, then is isnt. a pic of the injury would help but $200 seems low for sure. was the packaging it arrived in damaged at all?

 

[Mincer]

Post a few pics of this...I wanna see the pics they sent you and what you actually got.

 

[baritone]

This is a photo they sent me, a month before it reached me.

 

[baritone]

This is as soon as I unwrapped it.

I am sure they'll work with me a little more on reimbrsement, but I'm concerned if the repair can be done well enough to hide the damage. I totally understand if the value drops from ownership, but how much of the value drops due to damage?

 

[baritone]

And the shipping box has a superficial scratch on it, but the guitar was shipped within a padded gigbag which doesn't show any damage or sharp piece which could have caused this damage. They seem like they would be nice about finding a resolution, but it is hugely disappointing to order a brand new guitar to be build from scratch, spend this kind of money, wait 7 months, and then end up with something busted.

 

[uOpt]

Somebody in their shop fatfingered thingie and they should pay (more) for that.

 

[jeremy]

seems like that might be able to be fixed so its not noticeable

 

[Masta' C]

Can we get more pics of that guitar? Looks awesome!

Agreed, that looks like a clear coat chip over the binding and could probably be made less noticeable without much effort

Still, I would expect a blem-free guitar at that price and 10% off would be the minimum I would accept if it were me.

 

[GuitarStv]

seems like that might be able to be fixed so its not noticeable

Yep, that should be fixable so that nobody ever knew that it was there. If the cost of the fix is more than 200$ though, then OP should return the guitar.

 

[Masta' C]

Oh, a Balaguer! I should have known when you said "semi-custom"

Great looking guitar. How do you like the rest of it?

I had a semi-custom idea of my own in mind...an Espada 7-string with Hipshot trem and rustic white finish!

 

[baritone]

It's a stunning instrument, and it will need a couple tiny tweaks of the setup. Even the repair guy was like, "Wow, this is a beautiful guitar!" They have been really nice to deal with while waiting for the guitar to be built over the past 7 months.

 

[Mincer]

I have to say, that is one cool guitar. I would ask them to take care of that, though.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Spalted maple? Looks like a cross between Ethan Hart and Pete Crossley build.

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[baritone]

A couple different repair experts in my neighborhood said they can patch it up, but there would be some residual blemish. Balaguer is offering me a lot more reasonable refund. With the dark theme, spalted maple cap, & double-cutaway body, I was aiming for something like a gothic-PRS-style guitar. It is so nice to hold & play; I didn't want to send it back. In the end, Joe from Balaguer is being pretty awesome about working toward a resolution. Your comments were all helpful in dealing with the stress.

 

[beaubrummels]

So they nicked it when they took it outside to photograph it? Is this yours before they shipped it?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgFLLyUluUW/

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

There's a video of Dan Erle patching that kind of nick on an acoustic on You Tube.

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[baritone]

Yep, that's my guitar! I deleted all of my social media accounts a few months ago. The solid spalted maple looks hypnotizing in real life. Their own Balaguer pickups sound pretty awesome through my rig. The damage is on the treble side of the lower bout.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

I have to say, that is one cool guitar. I would ask them to take care of that, though.

I thought you hate wood looking like a disease.

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