Is the Warranty Even Worth It?

[Alan Peterson]

A very famous U.S. company that owns an equally famous U.S. brand name makes a line of budget "nostalgic" acoustic guitars under that subsidiary brand. Knowing said company has shown issues with fret sprouts on brand new instruments in recent times, I wondered if warranty service would apply if fret sprouts appeared soon after purchase on this budget guitar. But in reading over the entire One Year/Limited Lifetime warranty online, I see fret wear is not covered; nor is "deterioration to the neck set or internal bracing due to the normal and natural aging properties of the woods...".

It can be argued that one or both of these conditions could possibly obviate the company's obligation to treat fret sprouts as a defect. In fact, once the entire warranty has been read through, it seems the only thing guaranteed by the company is that the body will hold air and set it into vibration. Why even have a warranty?

I have in my basement a ten-dollar 1960s Silvertone (Harmony) cowboy guitar with a split & broken back. It actually makes more sense for me to cut a piece of 1/8" birch laminate to make a new back for it than buy one of these new models. It's held up for 50 years and may make it another ten.

[Barry Daniels]

Is the humidity (or lack thereof) in your house part of the issue?

[Alan Peterson]

Not a concern - all my gear is fine. The thing is, Ive seen this company's brand new offerings go all scratchy-pokey right on the floor in Guitar Center, and while the aforementioned Silvertone has a dried and broken back, the neck is perfectly fretted after a half-century.
Guitars shouldnt leave the factory without a properly trimmed fingerboard compensated for the elements, or at least the confidence to correct it if necessary.

[Barry Daniels]

Then it sounds more like a "green wood" issue. That may or may not be excluded from the warranty.

[Chuck Tweedy]

how humid was it in china when the beast was made?
Now - if that isn't a ridiculous question - i don't know what is

[Markus Schmid]

Let's analyse this case thoroughly.

1. A budget guitar (or budget whatever item): we get what we pay for.
2. Why even have a warranty? Because that's what people are asking for, even if they are too lazy to read what it contains and excludes, and because most people don't even claim the covered issues as they think they got what they paid for.
3. The warranty exclusions of fret wear, deterioration to the neck set or to the internal bracing clearly do not apply. Maybe natural ageing properties (shrinking while drying), depending on the time span until it appears after purchase, could apply to a normal guitar. But then, we are talking here of a budget guitar for which overhanging fret ends are more a standard feature than a defect, so what. If someone would bother to fix this at home or let it be done by a professional luthier it would have to be considered as added value and to be mentioned if re-sold or given away as a gift.

Now my (rhetorical) question and my answer to it: why even bother with budget items? Well, unfortunately they are important for keeping the economy running. Most likely not your or my economy (except of the "money saving" by buying incredibly cheap stuff we do not need or can not use because it doesn't work or stops working too soon).

End of rant.
Happy holidays!

[Alan Peterson]

I need to make clear that I have not directly noticed this particular model as having such issues, but their line of ukes and a $400 banjo-uke feel like you're dragging your fingers down a fishbone. Seems to me if you're a major company carrying the name of a legendary brand, you'd want a little QC consistency, down to your budget models.

If I were building one of those "for my daughter" masonite guitars we frequently read about on the web, I think I'd put a bit of care into the fingerboard.

Also, if overhanging fret ends are now considered more a standard feature than a defect, time for me to take up the theremin.

[Randy Roberts]

If this was the legendary Esteban guitar of television fame, you definitely have a warrantee claim in that you made no mention of the renown benefits of bleeding while playing nor did you receive any of the benefit of black hands from the paint on the neck transferring to your hands.

[Michael Lewis]

Generally frets lifting is not a wear issue, but a manufacturing issue unless the instrument has been maltreated. If you have a warranty it should cover this problem.

[Clay Schaeffer]

" If you have a warranty it should cover this problem."

Simply pay the shipping both ways and wait for them to (maybe) fix it in their own good time. Or get out a file and spend 10 minutes dressing the fret ends.

[Beate Ritzert]

I would do the latter. Well, actually i did.
I would do that even on Fenders and most other well known mass producing companies which from time to time are also candidates for overhanging frets.
Looks as the latter seems more a consequence of mass production by itself than on the pricing. Or on the humidity conditions in the (large?) shops?

[David King]

There is a reason that Fender moved most operations from Fullerton, CA to Chandler, AZ.