Guitar dispute, anyone got a lawyer friend?

[godgrinder]

On the other hand, if you got it for a good price, pay to have it repaired, end up with a rad guitar that’s good to play, without hitting an excessive overall cost, isn’t that a good outcome?

Yeah agreed.

If it's still a fair price for a broken headstock LP after you add in the repair cost, then it's not too bad after all.

[Jay]

 a forward bow in the neck and after tightening the truss Rod it pulled it pretty much into alignment but not perfectly straight, and there was already an extra washer in place for extra leverage so it

Back to basics with a few dumb questions...

Did you notice the issue through playing it or by looking over the neck?

Did you tighten the rod with strings under tension?

You say not perfectly straight. Are all your guitar necks setup perfectly straight?

When it was almost straight, how did it play? Some neck relieve is common for many players.

Where on the neck is it not perfectly straight? At the nut end, middle bit?

Are you happy with the action atm? Or you want it lower or higher?

My take without seeing it...

The truss tod has been tightened in the past with full string tension on thereby causing the damage under the nut area. Check if the rod thread has no damage... doesn't appear to be from what you are saying.

The truss rod actually works so unlikely to be issues under the fretboard.

If you really need a perfect straight neck, go with the low cost option. If your other necks are not perfectly straight and this one is entirely playable now, then stop worrying and just play the hell out of it.

It is never nice to find these unexpected things but we also must not lose perspective.

I hope I don't come across as an AH, as I am only trying to take the emotion out of the dilemma.

[TmcB]

My initial response is, it’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth so sell it move on, but ultimately I still want an LP and this one ticks all my boxes otherwise so think I need to sleep on it, calm down before I make any major decisions.

$1500 was always too good to be true.

$2300 for a classic Lp is still excellent buying, plus Peter Stephens is best of the best.

Sure, seller is a dick but I think you can make some excellent lemonade out of these lemons

[Molly]

FYI this sets out the state of the law in NZ in plain terms
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/ ... and-goods/

You would have to establish you were misled or deceived. On the balance I don't see anything from the seller that would support a successful claim to that.

Yea I think overwhelming message I’m
Getting is I should have done due diligence and have no legs to stand on in this case. I think it’s game over and try to either recoup some costs or spend the money to repair and make the guitar a keeper instead.
At least in this thread I’m learning my rights as a seller, seems as though anything S/H is essentially buyer beware

Have you thought about repairing it yourself? I know it's dramatic taking a fretboard off (I've never done it) but with patience etc.

[Reg18]

My initial response is, it’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth so sell it move on, but ultimately I still want an LP and this one ticks all my boxes otherwise so think I need to sleep on it, calm down before I make any major decisions.

$1500 was always too good to be true.

$2300 for a classic Lp is still excellent buying, plus Peter Stephens is best of the best.

Sure, seller is a dick but I think you can make some excellent lemonade out of these lemons

I paid $1900, I was more saying what’s it worth in its current state now, maybe $1500?

[Reg18]

 a forward bow in the neck and after tightening the truss Rod it pulled it pretty much into alignment but not perfectly straight, and there was already an extra washer in place for extra leverage so it

Back to basics with a few dumb questions...

Did you notice the issue through playing it or by looking over the neck?

Did you tighten the rod with strings under tension?

You say not perfectly straight. Are all your guitar necks setup perfectly straight?

When it was almost straight, how did it play? Some neck relieve is common for many players.

Where on the neck is it not perfectly straight? At the nut end, middle bit?

Are you happy with the action atm? Or you want it lower or higher?

My take without seeing it...

The truss tod has been tightened in the past with full string tension on thereby causing the damage under the nut area. Check if the rod thread has no damage... doesn't appear to be from what you are saying.

The truss rod actually works so unlikely to be issues under the fretboard.

If you really need a perfect straight neck, go with the low cost option. If your other necks are not perfectly straight and this one is entirely playable now, then stop worrying and just play the hell out of it.

It is never nice to find these unexpected things but we also must not lose perspective.

I hope I don't come across as an AH, as I am only trying to take the emotion out of the dilemma.

Lots of good questions here but I’ll summarize,
When the guitar arrived it had an obvious forward bow, without playing it you could see it.
Adjusted truss Rod to find it already had an extra washer added meaning someone had issues before most likely.
It pulled it straight enough that it was playable but there is still more gap between strings and fretboard in the middle of the neck. Action is low is it can be every where else on the neck but still high around middle of neck.

The reason Peter Stephen wants to take the fretboard off and why he isn’t guaranteeing the cheaper fix will be a long term fix is because he said the truss Rod looks kinda low in the neck looking from
The front which would have been installed from factory like this. So if it was in fact installed to low from
The factory it would limit its ability to work correctly even if he rebuilt the bit where the washer has sunk into the wood. But I’m hopeful that Gibsons tolerances for this sort of thing would be tight so surely Gibson wouldn’t make a mistake like this? Essentially it means if it was like it from factory then someone had issues from new with it hence why they needed to add a washer and why it’s sunk into the wood overtime.

[murky]

Bummer. Had my fair share of damage being worse than expected. I’ve now learned to expect the worst. The thing is, if you pass it on, then it becomes someone else’s problem - probably some kid that’s buying the dream guitar he can’t afford.

Personally, I’d do the full repair, then you can enjoy the gat until such time as values catch up (if needed) and sell with a clear conscience.

[Jay]

It would be interesting to see and measure the bow with strings off and truss Rod nut fully loose.

Is it possible to 'heat' the neck back straight while applying opposed tensión?

[MikeC]

Bummer. Had my fair share of damage being worse than expected. I’ve now learned to expect the worst. The thing is, if you pass it on, then it becomes someone else’s problem - probably some kid that’s buying the dream guitar he can’t afford.

Personally, I’d do the full repair, then you can enjoy the gat until such time as values catch up (if needed) and sell with a clear conscience.

If you sell it "as is" and are honest about the issue(s) then you can have a clear conscience. The price should reflect the issue(s) as it did when you purchased it. But still, bummer.

[captainfruitbat]

It would be interesting to see and measure the bow with strings off and truss Rod nut fully loose.

Is it possible to 'heat' the neck back straight while applying opposed tensión?

Interesting suggestion. I've done this three or four times with good results over the years - just a combination of heat lamps, clamps and a little time. However, I've only ever done it on fairly budget guitars. On this one, I'd want a pro's opinion before trying it.

[Jay]

It would be interesting to see and measure the bow with strings off and truss Rod nut fully loose.

Is it possible to 'heat' the neck back straight while applying opposed tensión?

Interesting suggestion. I've done this three or four times with good results over the years - just a combination of heat lamps, clamps and a little time. However, I've only ever done it on fairly budget guitars. On this one, I'd want a pro's opinion before trying it.

The heating process works on all wood. That is how they make bend seats and guitar sides, etc.

Truss rods can be preloaded with tension, so when heating and straitening the neck, it has to go somewhere.... which should be at the nut end. So measure how much change there is in the tross Rod end.

Interesting the Luther did not bring this up.

[TmcB]

My initial response is, it’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth so sell it move on, but ultimately I still want an LP and this one ticks all my boxes otherwise so think I need to sleep on it, calm down before I make any major decisions.

$1500 was always too good to be true.

$2300 for a classic Lp is still excellent buying, plus Peter Stephens is best of the best.

Sure, seller is a dick but I think you can make some excellent lemonade out of these lemons

I paid $1900, I was more saying what’s it worth in its current state now, maybe $1500?

Hmm, it gets a bit close to the the line. Have you considered searching further afield for repair? Peter Stephens is famous for incredible work and equally incredible price. Could hit up Rob Matthews here in Welly and see what he thinks

[Reg18]

I’d only ever sell with full disclosure if I was to sell.
He did mention the lamp/heat option and I’ve done enough research on it in the last week to almost give it a go myself and I would have if it wasn’t a Gibson probably, but decided to get the pros to do this one.
I can’t honestly afford the full fretboard off repair so that’s off the table without doing a fire sale or some such, so for me it’s either the cheaper repair which will at least get the truss Rod working again and hopefully the washer won’t continue to sink into the wood after the repair or sell as is with full disclosure.
I’m guessing he hasn’t offered the heat option as the first issue to sort is the truss Rod either way and it might be all that’s needed.

[Reg18]

$1500 was always too good to be true.

$2300 for a classic Lp is still excellent buying, plus Peter Stephens is best of the best.

Sure, seller is a dick but I think you can make some excellent lemonade out of these lemons

I paid $1900, I was more saying what’s it worth in its current state now, maybe $1500?

Hmm, it gets a bit close to the the line. Have you considered searching further afield for repair? Peter Stephens is famous for incredible work and equally incredible price. Could hit up Rob Matthews here in Welly and see what he thinks

Yes he is known for quality but expensive work, I had already taken it to Alan Farrow who couldn’t do anything with it but I guess it’s out of his skill set.
I wouldn’t be game to risk courier with it at this point for a maybe cheaper repair option.
At least I’d get a great playing LP if Peter Stephen did do the repair, but I’d have to accept it will be a keeper and I would have considerably over capatilised!

[Slowy]

My 2c worth Reg. Please forgive me for being blunt.
You paid $1900 plus say $800 for a proper fix.

List a Les Paul on TM with fucked neck; you might get $1200?

What I'm saying is you're into this for $7-800 regardless. One option is a total loss, the other gives you the guitar you wanted.

Putting it aside, saving the cash and doing the work properly will give you the best long term return on the whole investment. And with the prices of Lesters these days, you might even do OK.