I would have kept the guitar and left the frets and when I was a bad boy I would make myself play Christian Contemporary until the blood ran down the neck and down my arm because I deserved it. Or maybe I would just send it back.
What would you have done? Let me know. :) Timestamps: 0:00 - Sometimes things 0:35 - My experience 1:14 - the Uboxing 3:45 - the frets up close 5:05 - the gigbag? 6:45 - fret edge sharpness test
A couple of winters in Canada would have done the same to a PRS if stored in a cold warehouse...the price was good...probably you need to learn how to file sharp frets and do other minor work, it is fun work...I got three guitars that had the same issue...I have seen custom shop fenders with sharp ends in my local guitar center.
Beautiful guitar, I've been looking at the Squier version of that. I would have done everything I could to keep it, I couldn't pass it up for that price. Was there any chance you could have the frets fixed as a warranty repair? Before you send it back, take it to an authorized service center and see if they will fix them under warranty??? If they won't fix the frets I'd do them myself. Watch lots of videos showing how and buy the tools and learn the skill.
I agree with others that you could have kept it, and possibly gotten a partial refund of some type. As you mentioned, polishing the frets is not that big of a deal and the time you spend boxing it back up and taking it down to drop it off could have been spent on making the frets right. Just my opinion.
I would have kept it and in a few hours filed and sanded them down to perfection. I've done it for other guitars. Not even an issue for me. It's less trouble and time to fix that, than to repackage, and drive to mail it back to them.
Its hard to make a guitar playable and function and suck unless you deliberately make the electronics shitty just so higher priced guitars will sound better. So, if you're guitar company and trying to create some difference that the customer would notice to justify buying one over another, this is one of the gimmicks. The filing of the frets is supposed to trick the buyer into thinking one is substandard based on 'feel'. A novice will pick up a guitar and note how one feels compared to another. If someone picked up that guitar and felt the neck compared to a standard or pro model, they'd 'feel' a difference. The pro model would be smoother and consciously, or subconsciously, that feel would justify a price difference of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. You can file the frets easily and get it to feel pretty damn similar a pro model neck. The fact that this trivial detail was a deal breaker for you is kinda sad. Im not even that great at guitar and know this sale gimmick. File them bitches and turn that frown upside down!
Not everyone is inclined to do that at home ,but if they would have deducted another $100 maybe as a goodwill gesture it might have been worth having the frets sorted professionally.
Hi Lando: Had the same problem a few months ago. Bought and FSR Surf Pearl Fender Player Stratocaster online (Muscian's Friend) with maple neck . The frets were sharp as razor blades. I called Fender . They find me a luthier near where I live and agreed to cover the repair under warranty. Now the guitar plays like butter. I think Mexican Fenders are quality instruments. I mean the materials and hardware are high end , but lately the quality control lacks a little. I hope Fender hears this and decides to do something about it. A Mexican Strat is by no means a cheap guitar. I takes financial effort and saving for us working people to afford one of these instruments, and Fender keeps on raising the prices on their guitars. So the least they could do is put a little more detail in their quality control. This is not and isolated incident. there are more videos and forums talking about sharp frets on Mexican Fenders and sometimes even USA ones. If I were you I would order a new one and if it comes with sharp frets contact Fender to cover the repair under warranty. Cheers.
Literally all 3 of the 3 Fender player strats I've played in stores here in NZ had ridiculously sharp frets, poorly cut fret slots, and some sort of glue at the ends of some of the frets... I bought an affinity Squier strat instead for 1/3rd the price and an overall better feel
I tried a lot of Fender guitars (Mexican and American) because I couldn't decide which one I want to have. So since we have this pandemic I couldn't just go into the shop to play them so I literally had to order them one by one and return them (I asked the store if that was ok and they actually agreed). No guitar out of the 7 I tried had any issues, they were all perfect. The Americans just felt a bit nicer but nothing special to spend like 400 or 200 bucks more on. The guitars were Player Series Tele and Strat, Vintera 50s mod Strat and 60s mod Jazzmaster and American Performer Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster. In the end I went with a Player Strat but I will get a Vintera Jazzmaster soon in like 2 months. My Player Series P-Bass also has no issues at all.
I have noticed that as well. The entire Player line up all seem to have issues. Weight is one of them that has no fix. QC has gone down hill for sure and I don't buy these guitars at all anymore. 2017 or earlier are beautiful, well built and good value for the buck. A lot has changed.
If you really really liked it, buy a fret leveling file, knock those sides down and even roll the edges. Pau Ferro, doesn’t do it for me. I would have sent it back. Probably find a good Squier JM for less money I just today received a Squier Bullet Tele in Lake Placid Blue, Indian Laurel board for $120 US. I Feel like I super lucked out with the neck & board and the guitar as a whole. Neck was as good as I could have hoped for. Really no issues with the guitar. Had to polish the frets and oil the board, but I completely expected it. That board definitely shrank.
Great video. Recently went to GC and compared a Player Strat to a Squire CV strat. Player had all sorts of fret sprout. The Squire, which was about half the price, was fine.
I've purchased a couple things on Amazon that showed things in photos that didn't come with the item. My favorite example was a lamp that didn't come with a power cord or plug.
Interesting video. I just bought a Fender Players Series Strat HSS through Amazon Canada for $700.23 (not a typo). It is the 3 tone sunburst with a maple fret board and is typically a $890 guitar. I was also sceptical about the drop in price. I could not be happier with it. Definitely no fret sprout issues. It’s a beautiful playing and sounding instrument. I will do some minor action adjustments. I think it is still available in the low $700 range. Amazon is like Thomman, they know how to move merchandise.
Really is a shame. I own this guitar, same color, got it for 600 US. New. It plays like a dream and the switching single coil/humb is amazing. It was purchased from a shop though and was pre set up.
When humidity goes down the wood shrinks and ends up with " fret sprout". When it absorbs moisture again it usually goes away. If you think this guitar is bad you should have seen the Gibson Les Paul tribute I bought a couple weeks ago! Horrendous
When looking at reviews on the store sites for guitars they are selling, I often see problems that the buyer has to address. Not many complaining about frets like that though. The part that makes me laugh though, is how much some of them say how much they love their purchase and go on to say how they have plans to replace the tuners and pickups because they are not very good. The most common of the complaints I see are fret buzz, poor pickups, cheap tuners and fit and finish. I wonder if this is why so many people have started buying the bargain guitars in the $75 - $150 range. Maybe they are thinking why buy a $600 - $800 guitar and have to fix it and replace tuners and pickups, when you can just spend $100 knowing up front you are replacing these parts.
The problem with $150 guitars is that the fret material is generally soft, and wears out quickly. They feel great but a year or two later they need a refret.
I have noticed that pretty much all Player series fenders have more or less fret sprout when fresh from the box. I think this might be intentional as it will always be easier to file down frets than refretting the instrument. They are not willing to risk it if the instrument is sold in a place where the air is very humid. This means that you should never order them online, i had my Player series jazz bass taken back to the store and they filed down the frets for me free of charge. It only took about 10 minutes. I still think these instruments are very good value for the money.
@@landonbailey That's interesting, my bass has a maple fretboard. I asked the guy in the store about pau ferro vs maple in regards to fret sprout, he said there should be no significant difference in material stability. I'm not sure whether this is true or not. The instruments that i have tried seem to all have about the same amount of sprout regardless of fretboard material. What bothers me the most is that there is little gaps / empty space under some of the frets, this has definitely been on all Player series i have ever tried including my bass. It should be noted that i live in Sweden where the climate tends to be cold and dry as well.
Hello Lando27Music, I bought a 2016 USA Telecaster and liked the sound so much I decided to creater another from bits and peices I picked up all around the internet, mainly ebay. I've got most of it put together now with the exception of the neck, I couldn't find a decent USA neck at my price point and thought I'd never get one. Anyway one of the sellers I deal with had on old Mexican neck (Mexico is still America) he said I could have for nothing. The actual neck was OK but it had a snapped truss rod, The truss rod on this guitar neck is in the heal. I got the neck and steamed out the old skunk stripe and replaced the snapped truss rod with a new one. I used a walnut dowel to repair the truss rod plug in the headstock and sanded the remainder of the dowel down to create the new truss rod skunk stripe down to width and hey presto I had a new neck for my Telecaster. I'm on refretting the neck now with Hosco frets. I can't wait till its finished. That Jazzmaster is a work of art, it's gorgeous, get a good fret file and the requisite sand papers and you will have a guitar that is truly yours, lock stock and barrel. You got a great deal, Make it better. Cheers Lando, from Pete.
If it was purchased from a Fender authorized dealer, then I would have contacted Fender to get it taken care of under warranty. They would fix it for free. It was too good of a deal to just send back, IMO. Otherwise, I would have let it acclimate for a few days in proper humidity, then filed the fret ends myself. I had an issue with a new SG with terrible file marks on the neck binding and the fingerboard. The online retailer gave me partial credit, then I called Gibson and got an RMA and sent it to them. 2 weeks later it arrived from Gibson's Repair and Restoration shop and it is great--they even fixed an issue that I didn't notice. Glad that I went that route. I hope you have better luck with your next purchase.
I have had good & bad experiences with MIM Fender Strats. It took PMT in Bristol ,England 3 attempts to acquire my 60th anniversary 50's Classic Player undamaged. The first 2 even arrived in the USA anniversary embroidered logo Tweed case ,which it wasn't actually advertised with ,but there was metalwork poking through the plush & scraping the upper body to bits ,right down to the wood. Finally they got me a pristine condition one in a regular (Korean?) Tweed case which I can't fault. My Hendrix Strat was faultless straight from Ensenada. I played the floor model in PMT ,and loved it but wanted to pay a deposit & collect & pay up on my birthday a couple of months later. So me & the young shop guy went into the storage and found an unopened one . Got it out , inspected it , played it . Absolutely perfect ,I had that one ! Looking at the shipping labels , that guitar left Mexico , went to 2 depots in California before arrival in what looks like the Netherlands (!), Then onto England (possibly Southampton) and all around England before we opened it in the shop. I paid full price , didn't haggle ,turned down their free set up within 2 months offer !
Yeah... would have sent it back, too. I’m kind of a negative thinker about this kind of thing... so I would think they knew it was a bad run and hoped you wouldn’t send it back. I’ve of course had this kind of thing happen to me before. No great big deal, just frustrating. Nice level headed video about it, Landon. Thanks.
If you otherwise think the guitar is a keeper, you should consider dressing the overall fret ends. If the frets don't have binding (it doesn't look like yours does), you should check out Darrell Braun's video on how to dress the ends of the frets and the edge of the fingerboard so it feels like a well broken in guitar. It doesn't take very long either. I found a Squire CV JM and am enjoying it. Like other CVs, the frets are well-dressed, so mine didn't need it.
All you had to do was put masking tape on the edge of the fretboard, the whole length of the neck, covering the sprouted fret ends. Take a screwdriver and rub the handle along the edge of the fretboard, the whole length of the neck, to partly exposing the fret ends. Then take a long file and file down the fret ends, up and down the neck. Don’t file too aggressively. The masking tape is protecting the wood but it’s easy to over file through the tape and scratch up the edges underneath.
I don't blame you. That's extreme, bad! I have a 25th anniversary Vintage V75 Silverburst and when I got it was fine. Took about a week for the fret ends to start to poke through the lacquer. NO crazy temp or humidity changes in my house. I just took it to my tech, it was maybe 7 frets. I like it so much I just took it to my tech. I really don't like ordering online, but I did order a Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST the other day, gotta have one. About a month ago now or so, I was really interested in a good Strat and really liked the Vintera series. Was looking online, but was not about to spend that kinda cash online. Walked into my friends shop one day, an authorized Fender dealer and saw a brand new Vintera Modified 50s strat, I played it and loved it. Sent a video to my wife, she loved it. My buddy told me it's been in the box and he just put it out a few weeks ago. Said he had been selling so much that he actually forgot about this .He says we'll it has a 2020 serial and you bring everything to me so I'll give you 200 off of it. He said, look it was waiting just for you. I think he saw how much I loved it and wanted me to be able to get it. I got a new Vintera modified 50s Strat for 900 after tax. Lol every once and awhile things work out well. I absolutely love it. I'm addicted to it. Wouldn't change a thing on it. Pickups are to die for and that 2 Tone is beautiful! Thanks for the content!
Looking at the close up shot, it looks dreadful. Not only are the frets hanging over the ends of the fret board, but they are really square and unfinished looking, and I can see glue, which shouldn't be visible. Also, it looks like the frets have lifted out of the board, as they are not sitting flush with the board as they should be. It looks a bit like a horrible amateur re-fret, which to be honest, I doubt it is. I think your guess is probably correct that it's been stored in a cold and very dry environment that has caused the fret board to shrink. If the frets were just sticking out, yea, finish it yourself, but with the visible glue and the frets not sitting flush, sod that, I'd want my money back.
Fret edge pop is from the neck being fretted whilst the wood is in a warm moist climate, or has been taken into a dryer colder one. Frets are nipped and filed flush with the edges, however once that wood dries slightly and shrinks, the frets stick out. It's a price point thing as well. The necks will be rushed through the processes with as little time in a workers hands as possible, so dressing will be minimal at best. Just a basic fret end bevelling and light deburring. It isn't something that you can't do yourself, and for my own part I would be doing this anyway once I establish a guitar as a keeper (I build my own, making this a bit hypothetical). Pao Ferro is a nice wood, but visually too light for some people. I think it's a great wood and built a super 5-string '51 P-Bass with that as the fingerboard.
That looks like fret sprout and if it came from Calgary that makes sense since it was probably just in a warehouse. I probably would have kept it and treated the fretboard to get it back as much as possible and then dressed the ends of what was left sticking out after that.
@Mr Tech After looking at it more closely it is a lot but we have no idea how wet the fretboard was when they fretted it. Bad QC in either of those cases but Calgary is very dry FWIW.
@Mr Tech absolutely agree. When you buy a new instrument it shouldn't come like this but with the $200 off I would have just dressed them especially if the rest was fine.
Landon you did the right thing sending the guitar back. I can undertstand just a few frets but all the frets it's not acceptable for a such expensive guitar.
I got a Mexican Player Series Jaguar this week, with a pau ferro board, and it looked/felt very dry so I oiled it up immediately. But the frets didn't look anything like that. Maybe they are coming dry from the factory, and when it sits in that Canadian air for a while it just shrivels up. I live in a humid subtropical climate, I've had multiple Pau Ferro guitars and Squiers and never seen anything like that.
I got a new 2016 blacktop jazz master really impressed with it I find the term is great it stays in tune intonation is spot on 👍👍and it’s pau ferro Witch to be fair looks cheap to me
Bought a player jaguar last year, from a local guitar shop/chain. Unbelievably badly finished. Really sharp fret ends and uneven past the tenth frets. I live I Scotland so I’ve never had any problems due to fret sprout due to climate. The shop was very unhelpful and reticent to replace. I bought it as a present so decided to set it and file the fret ends. I’ve bought a number of fenders and have always been satisfied. I’ve even had Jaguars , strats and teles and have always been impressed with the final product. After buying I looked on line and there were some people in Britain who had the same experience. I don’t think the fret ends were due to climate change. I think it was really bad workmanship and quality control. I’m a fairly experienced guitar and bass player and have never seen such poor workmanship on a new or used guitar. I was very disappointed with the aftermarket care. I think next time I’m going to buy I’ll do it via amazon.
I absolutely would have returned it. I also don’t think they should show a gig bag if it doesn’t come with one. I’ve seen those fretboards on lots of basses and guitars here in Vancouver, and they’ve been fine. Maybe it’s just too cold and dry in Alberta?
Calgary is dry. The guitar is dried out from being in a warehouse too long. I suspect It would have improved just by putting it in normal humidity for a while. Otherwise one can file fret ends to resolve. That would have been my recommendation.
There are plenty of good videos on TH-cam about how to repair sharp frets. I'm sure you've seen them. If it's not worth your time, I understand. But if you can do one, you can do them all. Every new guitar needs a setup. This one just needs an extra hour or two of attention. Maybe since you got a good deal, then it's worth it to fix the frets yourself. And you could make a video of your setup!
Mark...I kinda agree...is the money you saved worth an hour of your time and how much you really like the guitar....you’re gonna have to try a lot of guitars before you find one for 700 bucks that has premium fret treatment....good luck with that!!!!
.mmm, I'm thinking of buying a player series Jaguar. The more I read about fret problems & QC makes me a little dubious! I bought a Gretsch Jet BT Electromatic in gorgeous Casino Gold 2 months ago. RRP is around £500..I got it for less than £400 new. The finish is immaculate! Beautifully built guitar & plays like a dream. I've had US Fenders & they were no way better built than this Gretsch. Its made in China but their QC is excellent. I've not read any bad reviews of this China made Jet. I think a lot of players are hypnotised by the Fender name!
I try to buy most guitars from Guitar Center for that reason, but they don't sell some of the guitars I've bought. I pre ordered a Strat from G.C., waited 2 months for it and it had razor sharp frets. They took care of it under warranty no charge but it took 2 weeks.
Pau Ferro use to be more exclusive and "expensive" than Rosewood. I have a Player Strat with Pau Ferro and haven't had any problems with frets sticking out, and I do live at a colder place so I think it differs depending on where you live and not the wood.
Hey Bud! I just got this same deal yesterday on Amazon.. last one in stock. Regular price for these today in Canada is 1059$ plus tax. I’d easily pay a luthier 45$ to sand those down and give it a set up. Hopefully, that’s the only issue. I’ll be playing in the Ottawa area soon. Hopefully with this baby in tow. Keep the Great videos coming. Cheers
@@jimbo4311 pristine. The neck was a little too straight out of the box, so made a tiny truss rod lefty loosey. Next, I’ll be switching out the 9-42 for EXL 110 10-46, and a lemon oil rub on the fingerboard. Chefs kiss. Very happy with my purchase.
Hi, That was a lot of fret sprout but you could have easily sorted that with a file and sandpaper and maybe asked the seller to compensate you for doing it. Would have been a lovely addition to your collection. Sad that it wasn't perfect for you!
My Player Series Jag came that way also. The frets were not properly filed and dressed. I had to file both sides with a fine long metal file and round then off with some steel wool. Solved the problem perfectly and the neck is smooth as my American Jag. Next time keep it!
I guess you were unlucky, I'm gonna go to Arizona and buy a player series stratocaster in December, so I hope it comes in great shape because it will be difficult to return it to the store since I'm living in México. I didn't want to buy it in México due to bad experiences with guitar pedals in mexican stores. I guess Arizona and Sonora have the same weather so it would be no problem, hopefully.
Honestly sharp fret ends are super easy to fix. I wouldn't send it back. It's probably due to the cold weather. Bought a Epiphone Les Paul custom that had super sharp fret ends. Fixed in about five minutes. It was also super cold out when it shipped.
Simple solution is always buy in-store from a reputable business as it will always come set up ready to play . You can then try it out first and any problems can be solved prior to purchase.
In the past couple of years, I've bought four Squiers and there's not been a single sharp fret end to be found. To be sure, there's always going to be the odd end of shift rogue that passes QC when it shouldn't but that Jazzmaster was abysmal and the cut price suggests that the vendor knew that it was an unplayable lemon. That's rogue trading, it's a different ball game if they say its price reflects some playability issues (so describe at as "B grade"), then it's a case of caveat emptor and you then figure in the time/effort/cost of sorting out the frets, whether you do the job yourself or employ a luthier. The gig bag issue again, points to sharp practice. They KNOW the description they're putting up online, if it includes a photo of a gig bag, then the customer shouldn't be required to assume "Oh, that's gotta be a mistake."
Hey bud, I just bought a player strat with a one piece maple neck. Compared to my 2018 Standard Tele, the edges of the player strat's frets weren't as rounded off and smooth as my tele. However, it looks like you had total fret sprout on that jazzmaster. Forgive me if you already know about this, but the difference in your case is that the fretboard shrunk exactly like you said, but to such a large degree that the fret ends themselves are protruding out the sides (at least the best I can tell from your video). This would have been more than polishing the fret, you would have had to sand down the ends and then round off the edges with a fret finishing file. I might polish the edges of my strat at some point, but the difference is massive when I see your video. I had no idea it could get that bad on a Player series, but damn. Definitely good idea to return it. I had to return the first player strat I got from zzounds because the neck pocket had massive cracks. thankfully, the second is great and only needs some smoother fret edges like I mentioned.
I would have sent it back too - unless they'd offered me more discount. I don't think it was a fretboard shrinkage issue or the fretboard wouldn't have matched up to the neck width like that one did. I think it was simply a case of you got a "made late on a Friday afternoon" item. Workers just wanting to 'finish' the job and get home or to a bar. It happens all around the world and in all areas of manufacturing to a greater or lesser extent.
I'm in Canada too and my local L&M doesn't really like to bring in guitars from the " western stores " , far too cold and dry out there....their humidity is far different then alot of Canada . Sometimes you can put the guitar in a room with 50 % humidity for a few days and re hydrate the guitar , it would help with some of it.
Landon....I agree with you on that gig bag situation...that is 100% misleading if not outright false advertising....notice they didn’t show a hard shell case!!!!
Sometimes you get the Bear , sometimes the Bear gets you .I have a 1999 50s reissue Tele that is great , always has been .Also a 1999 Jazz Bass , also great ! Both bought new . But I have owned and played some real dogs made in USA , I had a 1982 Gibson es 335 that was bad , I bought a new 2014 Morgan Monroe acoustic with the same fret problem . I bought it cheap from Amazon . I still have it , but I had to file the frets , adjust the neck , replace the saddle , and lower the nut before it was playable . I think a lot of the problems with new guitars is storage issues and wood not completely cured because there is such a hurry to get guitars built . I have bought several new guitars over the years , but I prefer to buy used , because the bugs get worked out , the wood gets throughly cured , and the issues are more evident . The 70's Fenders and Gibsons were just inferior . Right now there are so many great guitars being built , that there is no excuse to keep something that you are not happy with ! Also with used guitars you can usually get the piece for 1/2 the price of a new one . Love your videos , nice that young people are carrying on the cause . I am 71 and have been playing since 1963 !
Also I have to add that the Mexican Fenders are very good quality in general , and a great value . I have Fenders made in USA , Mexico , and Japan . All mine are very good , and similar in quality , although a huge difference in price .
No, it's not something about the wood be Pau Ferro, cause I bought a Fender Vintera Stratocaster 60s Ice Blue Metalic and the fretboard is with Pau Ferro and it's totally different from this Jazzmaster you bought, the frets are perfect, it's very comfortable and smooth and I did the same thing you did with the stick and no problem at all, the fret stayed clean, no small pieces of the stick was taken. Probably you just had bad luck with this deal, maybe they knew the state of the frets, put the price low just to sell and tested their luck for the guitar ended up on some beginner hands that don't know about these kinds of things yet.
Every Player series Fender I've ever played has had sharp fret ends. I have one of these Jazzmasters, and there are a lot of reasons to like it, but the frets are sharp. I'm keeping mine, but that's also $50 to have someone finish what Fender did not.
yeah!! i would do the same as yoy... specially because i dont konw how to solve it by my own ... but if you buy new and from a "trusted" brand you should get it at least in a "playable" condition ....
I could be basing this off a limited sample size but I really get the impression the previous Classic Player JM series was better made than the new ones and the Vintera.
That’s a shame Landon. I think you did the right thing in this case. They were ridiculously bad and I only have budget guitars. I’ve never seen anything like that.
From Leo: Pretty wormy to show a picture of a gig bag and not include it, that IS false advertising. The seller is a jerk. Period. You are right, When paying for the "FENDER" logo, the sharp frets were completely unacceptable. Sounds like they didn't properly dry the wood. I have a guitar with a Pau Ferro fretboard that was properly finished when I got it and it has been fine for years. The humbucker Jazzmasters are nice, but the biggest joy is the original style with those big glass clear pickups and the rhythm switching circuit. It always looks like we save money online, or with a big retailer, but defective guitars used to be corrected or returned by the legitimate shops, and the customer did not have to be the quality control. I never minded paying more for good service at a good shop. Discounts are not always a good thing.
I’ve even had this with a MIM Player Series Mustang Bass purchased at L& M in Winnipeg. It also had really bad Fret Sprouting. Same kinda scenario. I found said bass for a reduced price on Amazon, only difference is I got L&M to price match, so I bought it from L&M cause they matched pricing. But as I already said, it had bad fret sprouting which I brought to L&M’s attention that this was unacceptable. They claimed this is common in big show rooms where it’s hard to control climate like an acoustic room. They ended up polishing the fret edges for me before I took it home. If I was you, I would have just kept it, and brought it to a luthier and spent $75 bucks and had the fret edges polished
I got that exact same one from guitar center and it also came in a box and with no gig bag. Also wasn’t perfect out of box and had to tune it up a bit. Still brand new in my bedroom lol it’s pretty but I enjoy playing my Ibanez az a bit more.
I watched many reviews and bought mine back in 2018, it wasn't perfect & the local TOM LEE store refuse to set it up their store, they had lots of excuses but they said their other chain will do it, it's been the most finicky guitar in my collection, i've done initial setup, then had it professionaly set up, tech ended up shimming the neck, none of the bridge screws would stay, the tech's excuse is that I don't play it enough and no grime gets in the hardware to "gum" it up. I've had to file/sand the ends of fretwire. re-set it up. everytime it sits in storage it gets out of whack. but its a great guitar when I got it all sorted out.
I guess it was a question of how much you would of liked that guitar if the frets were perfect. I've purchased guitars knowing they had worse problems but I thought it was worth buying because they were special in some way and that outweighed the problem of fixing something. I'd like to point out as a word of warning if you have to return something and the seller arranges a pickup by courier make sure you get proof they picked it up. I had a return get lost in transit and currently have no refund or replacement guitar.
Wow Landon this is so easy to deal with. Deal with a guitar store. My fav here in Chicago is Chicago Music Exchange. I have a Troy MIM with the Mastery bridge. It has the old 7.5 radius but it is surprising how fast you adapt to it. The tone palate is unique and it is a great pairing with ambient pedals. Stop being so cheap! This is your lifetime and this instrument may likely occupy an important part of it. The best "deals" are often on Reverb where someone has done all the tweeks to a guitar for you. Anyway hope you will try again because Leo really was onto something with this 3rd gen take on a Jazz box solid body!
Good video but if your going to send it back why take off the plastic on the neck pocket plate. Be careful I've had a few instances where I did that and they consider it "not in original condition ' if you start peeling the plastic off. Just for future reference but yes I have had some bad experiences in the past year with getting player stratocasters with neck pocket chips, cracked nuts, chipped headstocks. Haven't had problems with frets but I usually go for maple gloss fretboards Wich don't usually have the problems the darker ones do. I wish there QC department would do a better job.
If the rest of the guitar was okay I would have kept it and fixed it. Fret dressing is pretty easy and not all that expensive even if you take it to someone. I was looking at these about a month ago in a local shop, and the frets on the ones I felt were mostly fine. Nothing like yours, for sure. I wonder what happened with that one? It must have been a factory second that they didn't disclose. But why didn't the factory just fix it? As far as the gig bag goes, I would have been pissed off, too. Lots and lots of guitars come with them, so if it's pictured it's reasonable to assume it comes with one. Edit: Someone else mentioned the warranty. Using the warranty would have been the thing to do, I think.
On closer examination those frets have lifted, so this guitar is going to need more that the frets polished to fix it. This looks like it may need a entire re fret. so you made the correct call by sending it back.
I went to get a Player series strat in seafoam green with the mint green pickguard and the frets were unplayably sharp. I was super disappointed as I had wanted it for a while. Ended up just saving the money. Fenders prices have gotten way out of hand and the quality isnt keeping up. The player jazzmasters are particularly disappointing for me because they put humbuckers in there.
I dunno bro. At the great price you got it for, I probably would have sourced a really good local guitar luthier and I’ll be for $100 that thing would have been perfect when they were done. All of the charvel guitars that I’ve ordered recently have all needed some fret dressing and finishing. And some minor tlc.
Ive read quite a few of these have quality control issues. Im not sure what Gibson and Fender are doing because they should be the standard! At this point its better to get a CV Squire if you have to do this much work on a Fender.
hey Lando++ you should keep it !!! this is not a big thing just one hour work and you can break the sharp edges of the fretboard too. hey this is a very good deal !!! Don`t give it back...
I would probably also returned it. I mean, I get that it's not such a big deal and that the frets can be fixed, etc. But if a vendor managed to ship a guitar like this, then that's a loss of trust with the seller. How was that guitar stored? Was it properly taken care of while it was with them? Etc.
For that price, i would have dressed the frets. I bought a seafoam green Squier bullet telecaster with the same problem. Took a little time, but came out great!
Heck, I would have kept it. Had the frets done by my local luthier. Put a set of fat P90’s in it at the same time. Think I would have said to myself that’s where the 200 quid saving is going. Really is wrong them putting a gig bag in the advert but not including it. But as you say, it’s something not included with that series.
I would have fixed the frets myself. I've had American Fenders like that too, and have needed some leveling in addition.. If I like a guitar its worth putting a couple hours into.
I was surprised you gave up so easily . I would have paid a good Luther to file the frets. Then you'd have had a great guitar , Luther may cost, but it's overall a great deal to get the guitar cheap nd have it professional set up . When I look at guitars I factors in price of set up and case . I do expect to have someone check and set it up .
*Gig Bag NOT included * That price was because of the fret issue. Just my guess. On a separate note. Many thanks for your Telecaster comparison video. Helped me a lot to know which one I wanted. 👍
I bought the same guitar (in metallic sage green) also from Calgary (I live in Toronto)...mine had a different problem, the spring had come loose from the trem system so it arrived with a dead trem. It only took a few mins to fix, but it might indicate that the fit & finish of these guitars isn't the best.
This happened to Fender, Mexico say, 10-12 years ago. Sam Ash my favorite store, slashed the prices and put 'em in front of the store to get rid of them. Then the fret finishing returned to normal. Lack of oversite, worker attitudes, change of personnel??? Who knows. No, it's not one type of wood or another. It's clearly not beveled or polished. Return it. I buy tons of used guitars and have a fast, sure method for finishing, but I don't publish it since it requiers lots of experience and involves power tools. I would rather return it as defective at any price. It's not a finished, mass produced build that it should be. Thanks!
I picked up a player tele @ GC and ran my hand down the neck. My first reaction was “holy sh*t”. I couldn’t believe how rough it was. And I like cheap guitars! Since then, I assumed all the player series were like that. I really like the looks and price of the player series, but I’m afraid to buy one. Who knows what other shortcuts they took? Fender has too much competition to let those out of the factory like that.
i got a player strat in january and it was great right out of the box, no fret issues, guitar was only slightly out of tune and it only needed a slight action adjustment to suit my personal taste and aesthetically speaking its one of the shiniest and cleanest looking guitars ive ever pulled out of a box and wasnt set up and polished to be displayed on a store wall
Yes false advertisement. I guess you need to contact every seller now to ask what EXACTLY comes with the product. I guess they should have shown a new MESA amp with the guitar to show that it could be plugged into an amp like this. I believe Amazon itself would be interested in knowing the seller is doing this.
Yes I would not blame Fender for that. Wood shrinks, in dry cold climates. I would have have filed them down on my own because it was a great deal and a beauty guitar. No principle here just a bargain. No one to blame. Although I would say the gig bag is a scam. Could have pictured an amplifier..."doesn't come with one but you could plug one in if you wanted."
you can kinda blame fender, i have a 2003 mim strat thats never had fret sprout or any serious fret end issue also living in a dry cold climate in canada, if im not having any fret issues with an 18 year old guitar and theres fret issues on a year old guitar or a few months old then clearly that guitar slipped thru quality control or wood being used isnt the same quality as it was 18 years ago, either way thats a fender issue that can be blamed on them
My Squire Jaguar VM has sprout, but I got it used and filed it down. Now I have Jack issues to deal with and the Trem arm falls out. Will buy a Fender replacement soon.
Your in Canada you should have sent it to Dave's world of fun stuff I think that the whole guitar was missed on the frett work if I had a person like Dave I would let him do it it would take him 30 minutes then it would have been sweet thanks for showing best from the UK
I would have kept the guitar and left the frets and when I was a bad boy I would make myself play Christian Contemporary until the blood ran down the neck and down my arm because I deserved it. Or maybe I would just send it back.
Repent!!! 😁
What would you have done?
Let me know. :)
Timestamps:
0:00 - Sometimes things
0:35 - My experience
1:14 - the Uboxing
3:45 - the frets up close
5:05 - the gigbag?
6:45 - fret edge sharpness test
A couple of winters in Canada would have done the same to a PRS if stored in a cold warehouse...the price was good...probably you need to learn how to file sharp frets and do other minor work, it is fun work...I got three guitars that had the same issue...I have seen custom shop fenders with sharp ends in my local guitar center.
Beautiful guitar, I've been looking at the Squier version of that. I would have done everything I could to keep it, I couldn't pass it up for that price. Was there any chance you could have the frets fixed as a warranty repair? Before you send it back, take it to an authorized service center and see if they will fix them under warranty??? If they won't fix the frets I'd do them myself. Watch lots of videos showing how and buy the tools and learn the skill.
Woodeso guitar mods dude
A good alternative to the fender is a G&L tribute Doheny, similar price and has usa pickups and a better trem.
I agree with others that you could have kept it, and possibly gotten a partial refund of some type. As you mentioned, polishing the frets is not that big of a deal and the time you spend boxing it back up and taking it down to drop it off could have been spent on making the frets right. Just my opinion.
I would have kept it and in a few hours filed and sanded them down to perfection. I've done it for other guitars. Not even an issue for me. It's less trouble and time to fix that, than to repackage, and drive to mail it back to them.
Would've done the same man, guess for some people it's just the principle of it.
Right lol I have had to do it with multiple guitars, he even said he loved the guitar and got a good deal but he just couldn’t do a simple fret job
Its hard to make a guitar playable and function and suck unless you deliberately make the electronics shitty just so higher priced guitars will sound better. So, if you're guitar company and trying to create some difference that the customer would notice to justify buying one over another, this is one of the gimmicks. The filing of the frets is supposed to trick the buyer into thinking one is substandard based on 'feel'. A novice will pick up a guitar and note how one feels compared to another. If someone picked up that guitar and felt the neck compared to a standard or pro model, they'd 'feel' a difference. The pro model would be smoother and consciously, or subconsciously, that feel would justify a price difference of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. You can file the frets easily and get it to feel pretty damn similar a pro model neck. The fact that this trivial detail was a deal breaker for you is kinda sad. Im not even that great at guitar and know this sale gimmick. File them bitches and turn that frown upside down!
At that price, I would've filed and dressed the fret ends.
Not everyone is inclined to do that at home ,but if they would have deducted another $100 maybe as a goodwill gesture it might have been worth having the frets sorted professionally.
Shaun W yeah, I probably would’ve done that if I were him and then resold it on reverb
I never would have known you could put a guitar in a bag, without that photo.
Hi Lando: Had the same problem a few months ago. Bought and FSR Surf Pearl Fender Player Stratocaster online (Muscian's Friend) with maple neck . The frets were sharp as razor blades. I called Fender . They find me a luthier near where I live and agreed to cover the repair under warranty. Now the guitar plays like butter. I think Mexican Fenders are quality instruments. I mean the materials and hardware are high end , but lately the quality control lacks a little. I hope Fender hears this and decides to do something about it. A Mexican Strat is by no means a cheap guitar. I takes financial effort and saving for us working people to afford one of these instruments, and Fender keeps on raising the prices on their guitars. So the least they could do is put a little more detail in their quality control.
This is not and isolated incident. there are more videos and forums talking about sharp frets on Mexican Fenders and sometimes even USA ones.
If I were you I would order a new one and if it comes with sharp frets contact Fender to cover the repair under warranty.
Cheers.
hey thanks for sharing the experience. I ordered a Player Tele last year and had no issues.
Literally all 3 of the 3 Fender player strats I've played in stores here in NZ had ridiculously sharp frets, poorly cut fret slots, and some sort of glue at the ends of some of the frets... I bought an affinity Squier strat instead for 1/3rd the price and an overall better feel
I tried a lot of Fender guitars (Mexican and American) because I couldn't decide which one I want to have. So since we have this pandemic I couldn't just go into the shop to play them so I literally had to order them one by one and return them (I asked the store if that was ok and they actually agreed). No guitar out of the 7 I tried had any issues, they were all perfect. The Americans just felt a bit nicer but nothing special to spend like 400 or 200 bucks more on. The guitars were Player Series Tele and Strat, Vintera 50s mod Strat and 60s mod Jazzmaster and American Performer Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster. In the end I went with a Player Strat but I will get a Vintera Jazzmaster soon in like 2 months.
My Player Series P-Bass also has no issues at all.
I have noticed that as well. The entire Player line up all seem to have issues. Weight is one of them that has no fix. QC has gone down hill for sure and I don't buy these guitars at all anymore. 2017 or earlier are beautiful, well built and good value for the buck. A lot has changed.
get some painters tape and Emory boards , 30 min job and you save money
If you really really liked it, buy a fret leveling file, knock those sides down and even roll the edges.
Pau Ferro, doesn’t do it for me. I would have sent it back. Probably find a good Squier JM for less money
I just today received a Squier Bullet Tele in Lake Placid Blue, Indian Laurel board for $120 US. I Feel like I super lucked out with the neck & board and the guitar as a whole. Neck was as good as I could have hoped for. Really no issues with the guitar. Had to polish the frets and oil the board, but I completely expected it.
That board definitely shrank.
Great video. Recently went to GC and compared a Player Strat to a Squire CV strat. Player had all sorts of fret sprout. The Squire, which was about half the price, was fine.
You show bag, send a bag. Sleazy answer from them.
Yeah that was definitely 🐂💩 on their part
I've purchased a couple things on Amazon that showed things in photos that didn't come with the item. My favorite example was a lamp that didn't come with a power cord or plug.
Interesting video. I just bought a Fender Players Series Strat HSS through Amazon Canada for $700.23 (not a typo). It is the 3 tone sunburst with a maple fret board and is typically a $890 guitar. I was also sceptical about the drop in price. I could not be happier with it. Definitely no fret sprout issues. It’s a beautiful playing and sounding instrument. I will do some minor action adjustments. I think it is still available in the low $700 range. Amazon is like Thomman, they know how to move merchandise.
cool ya I got a Player Tele last year from Amazon. it's just hit and miss sometimes
that is some serious fret sprout. holy cow!
Really is a shame. I own this guitar, same color, got it for 600 US. New. It plays like a dream and the switching single coil/humb is amazing. It was purchased from a shop though and was pre set up.
When humidity goes down the wood shrinks and ends up with " fret sprout". When it absorbs moisture again it usually goes away.
If you think this guitar is bad you should have seen the Gibson Les Paul tribute I bought a couple weeks ago!
Horrendous
When looking at reviews on the store sites for guitars they are selling, I often see problems that the buyer has to address. Not many complaining about frets like that though. The part that makes me laugh though, is how much some of them say how much they love their purchase and go on to say how they have plans to replace the tuners and pickups because they are not very good. The most common of the complaints I see are fret buzz, poor pickups, cheap tuners and fit and finish. I wonder if this is why so many people have started buying the bargain guitars in the $75 - $150 range. Maybe they are thinking why buy a $600 - $800 guitar and have to fix it and replace tuners and pickups, when you can just spend $100 knowing up front you are replacing these parts.
The problem with $150 guitars is that the fret material is generally soft, and wears out quickly. They feel great but a year or two later they need a refret.
I have noticed that pretty much all Player series fenders have more or less fret sprout when fresh from the box. I think this might be intentional as it will always be easier to file down frets than refretting the instrument. They are not willing to risk it if the instrument is sold in a place where the air is very humid. This means that you should never order them online, i had my Player series jazz bass taken back to the store and they filed down the frets for me free of charge. It only took about 10 minutes. I still think these instruments are very good value for the money.
I only had this issue on the Pau Ferro fretboard
@@landonbailey That's interesting, my bass has a maple fretboard. I asked the guy in the store about pau ferro vs maple in regards to fret sprout, he said there should be no significant difference in material stability. I'm not sure whether this is true or not. The instruments that i have tried seem to all have about the same amount of sprout regardless of fretboard material. What bothers me the most is that there is little gaps / empty space under some of the frets, this has definitely been on all Player series i have ever tried including my bass. It should be noted that i live in Sweden where the climate tends to be cold and dry as well.
Hello Lando27Music, I bought a 2016 USA Telecaster and liked the sound so much I decided to creater another from bits and peices I picked up all around the internet, mainly ebay. I've got most of it put together now with the exception of the neck, I couldn't find a decent USA neck at my price point and thought I'd never get one.
Anyway one of the sellers I deal with had on old Mexican neck (Mexico is still America) he said I could have for nothing. The actual neck was OK but it had a snapped truss rod, The truss rod on this guitar neck is in the heal. I got the neck and steamed out the old skunk stripe and replaced the snapped truss rod with a new one. I used a walnut dowel to repair the truss rod plug in the headstock and sanded the remainder of the dowel down to create the new truss rod skunk stripe down to width and hey presto I had a new neck for my Telecaster. I'm on refretting the neck now with Hosco frets. I can't wait till its finished.
That Jazzmaster is a work of art, it's gorgeous, get a good fret file and the requisite sand papers and you will have a guitar that is truly yours, lock stock and barrel. You got a great deal, Make it better.
Cheers Lando, from Pete.
If it was purchased from a Fender authorized dealer, then I would have contacted Fender to get it taken care of under warranty. They would fix it for free. It was too good of a deal to just send back, IMO. Otherwise, I would have let it acclimate for a few days in proper humidity, then filed the fret ends myself. I had an issue with a new SG with terrible file marks on the neck binding and the fingerboard. The online retailer gave me partial credit, then I called Gibson and got an RMA and sent it to them. 2 weeks later it arrived from Gibson's Repair and Restoration shop and it is great--they even fixed an issue that I didn't notice. Glad that I went that route. I hope you have better luck with your next purchase.
I have had good & bad experiences with MIM Fender Strats. It took PMT in Bristol ,England 3 attempts to acquire my 60th anniversary 50's Classic Player undamaged. The first 2 even arrived in the USA anniversary embroidered logo Tweed case ,which it wasn't actually advertised with ,but there was metalwork poking through the plush & scraping the upper body to bits ,right down to the wood. Finally they got me a pristine condition one in a regular (Korean?) Tweed case which I can't fault. My Hendrix Strat was faultless straight from Ensenada. I played the floor model in PMT ,and loved it but wanted to pay a deposit & collect & pay up on my birthday a couple of months later. So me & the young shop guy went into the storage and found an unopened one . Got it out , inspected it , played it . Absolutely perfect ,I had that one ! Looking at the shipping labels , that guitar left Mexico , went to 2 depots in California before arrival in what looks like the Netherlands (!), Then onto England (possibly Southampton) and all around England before we opened it in the shop. I paid full price , didn't haggle ,turned down their free set up within 2 months offer !
ya I bought a player Tele last year from Amazon and it was great! hit or miss. 👍😄
Yeah... would have sent it back, too. I’m kind of a negative thinker about this kind of thing... so I would think they knew it was a bad run and hoped you wouldn’t send it back. I’ve of course had this kind of thing happen to me before. No great big deal, just frustrating. Nice level headed video about it, Landon. Thanks.
If you otherwise think the guitar is a keeper, you should consider dressing the overall fret ends. If the frets don't have binding (it doesn't look like yours does), you should check out Darrell Braun's video on how to dress the ends of the frets and the edge of the fingerboard so it feels like a well broken in guitar. It doesn't take very long either. I found a Squire CV JM and am enjoying it. Like other CVs, the frets are well-dressed, so mine didn't need it.
All you had to do was put masking tape on the edge of the fretboard, the whole length of the neck, covering the sprouted fret ends. Take a screwdriver and rub the handle along the edge of the fretboard, the whole length of the neck, to partly exposing the fret ends. Then take a long file and file down the fret ends, up and down the neck. Don’t file too aggressively. The masking tape is protecting the wood but it’s easy to over file through the tape and scratch up the edges underneath.
Will try one day...
I don't blame you. That's extreme, bad! I have a 25th anniversary Vintage V75 Silverburst and when I got it was fine. Took about a week for the fret ends to start to poke through the lacquer. NO crazy temp or humidity changes in my house. I just took it to my tech, it was maybe 7 frets. I like it so much I just took it to my tech. I really don't like ordering online, but I did order a Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST the other day, gotta have one. About a month ago now or so, I was really interested in a good Strat and really liked the Vintera series. Was looking online, but was not about to spend that kinda cash online. Walked into my friends shop one day, an authorized Fender dealer and saw a brand new Vintera Modified 50s strat, I played it and loved it. Sent a video to my wife, she loved it. My buddy told me it's been in the box and he just put it out a few weeks ago. Said he had been selling so much that he actually forgot about this .He says we'll it has a 2020 serial and you bring everything to me so I'll give you 200 off of it. He said, look it was waiting just for you. I think he saw how much I loved it and wanted me to be able to get it. I got a new Vintera modified 50s Strat for 900 after tax. Lol every once and awhile things work out well. I absolutely love it. I'm addicted to it. Wouldn't change a thing on it. Pickups are to die for and that 2 Tone is beautiful! Thanks for the content!
I just got one today brother. Zero issues. Too bad you got a lemon. 🍋 This is truly a cool axe. I’m just going to install locking tuners. 👍 Perfect 👌
ya cool! I think the one I had was in too many weather environments
Looking at the close up shot, it looks dreadful. Not only are the frets hanging over the ends of the fret board, but they are really square and unfinished looking, and I can see glue, which shouldn't be visible. Also, it looks like the frets have lifted out of the board, as they are not sitting flush with the board as they should be. It looks a bit like a horrible amateur re-fret, which to be honest, I doubt it is. I think your guess is probably correct that it's been stored in a cold and very dry environment that has caused the fret board to shrink. If the frets were just sticking out, yea, finish it yourself, but with the visible glue and the frets not sitting flush, sod that, I'd want my money back.
Am I the only one who's taken back to "a kid at Christmas" whenever I unbox a guitar? I just love that feeling.
Looks over at the boxes to his 35 guitars. Looks at wife through peripheral vision. No, I totally don't know that feeling. Lives another day... ;)
Fret edge pop is from the neck being fretted whilst the wood is in a warm moist climate, or has been taken into a dryer colder one. Frets are nipped and filed flush with the edges, however once that wood dries slightly and shrinks, the frets stick out. It's a price point thing as well. The necks will be rushed through the processes with as little time in a workers hands as possible, so dressing will be minimal at best. Just a basic fret end bevelling and light deburring. It isn't something that you can't do yourself, and for my own part I would be doing this anyway once I establish a guitar as a keeper (I build my own, making this a bit hypothetical). Pao Ferro is a nice wood, but visually too light for some people. I think it's a great wood and built a super 5-string '51 P-Bass with that as the fingerboard.
You could have used it to practice your fret skills. “De-sharpen my axe” 3 million new subscribers, your loss!
ha I wish! :)
The fretboard itself looks sharp and needs to be rolled too. Glad they took it back.
they don't roll the edge on the Player series. but they do now on the Player Plus models
Even though you shouldn't have to, I would have filed down the frets. I've done a lot of fret dressings, it's definitely not my favourite thing to do.
That looks like fret sprout and if it came from Calgary that makes sense since it was probably just in a warehouse. I probably would have kept it and treated the fretboard to get it back as much as possible and then dressed the ends of what was left sticking out after that.
@Mr Tech After looking at it more closely it is a lot but we have no idea how wet the fretboard was when they fretted it. Bad QC in either of those cases but Calgary is very dry FWIW.
@Mr Tech absolutely agree. When you buy a new instrument it shouldn't come like this but with the $200 off I would have just dressed them especially if the rest was fine.
Landon you did the right thing sending the guitar back. I can undertstand just a few frets but all the frets it's not acceptable for a such expensive guitar.
I got a Mexican Player Series Jaguar this week, with a pau ferro board, and it looked/felt very dry so I oiled it up immediately. But the frets didn't look anything like that.
Maybe they are coming dry from the factory, and when it sits in that Canadian air for a while it just shrivels up. I live in a humid subtropical climate, I've had multiple Pau Ferro guitars and Squiers and never seen anything like that.
this is the worst I've seen, and it's really rare in my experience
I got a new 2016 blacktop jazz master really impressed with it I find the term is great it stays in tune intonation is spot on 👍👍and it’s pau ferro Witch to be fair looks cheap to me
Bought a player jaguar last year, from a local guitar shop/chain. Unbelievably badly finished. Really sharp fret ends and uneven past the tenth frets. I live I Scotland so I’ve never had any problems due to fret sprout due to climate. The shop was very unhelpful and reticent to replace. I bought it as a present so decided to set it and file the fret ends. I’ve bought a number of fenders and have always been satisfied. I’ve even had Jaguars , strats and teles and have always been impressed with the final product. After buying I looked on line and there were some people in Britain who had the same experience. I don’t think the fret ends were due to climate change. I think it was really bad workmanship and quality control. I’m a fairly experienced guitar and bass player and have never seen such poor workmanship on a new or used guitar. I was very disappointed with the aftermarket care. I think next time I’m going to buy I’ll do it via amazon.
that sucks! same fretboard as this one?
I absolutely would have returned it. I also don’t think they should show a gig bag if it doesn’t come with one. I’ve seen those fretboards on lots of basses and guitars here in Vancouver, and they’ve been fine. Maybe it’s just too cold and dry in Alberta?
ya who knows. Mexico to USA,then Alberta, and lastly Ontario.
Calgary is dry. The guitar is dried out from being in a warehouse too long. I suspect It would have improved just by putting it in normal humidity for a while. Otherwise one can file fret ends to resolve. That would have been my recommendation.
Thanks for this honest review !
There are plenty of good videos on TH-cam about how to repair sharp frets. I'm sure you've seen them. If it's not worth your time, I understand. But if you can do one, you can do them all. Every new guitar needs a setup. This one just needs an extra hour or two of attention. Maybe since you got a good deal, then it's worth it to fix the frets yourself. And you could make a video of your setup!
ya I work full time and making a standard demo video takes me a lot of hours. I’d rather work on a demo, then fix a new guitar :)
Mark...I kinda agree...is the money you saved worth an hour of your time and how much you really like the guitar....you’re gonna have to try a lot of guitars before you find one for 700 bucks that has premium fret treatment....good luck with that!!!!
@@eddiejr540 I bought a Player Tele, which is great, from the same Amazon source and same delivery, and it had no issues. so hit and miss
@@landonbailey Could of took it to Dave from Dave's world of fun stuff. Bet he would of had a good laugh at the gooched fret job!
.mmm, I'm thinking of buying a player series Jaguar. The more I read about fret problems & QC makes me a little dubious! I bought a Gretsch Jet BT Electromatic in gorgeous Casino Gold 2 months ago. RRP is around £500..I got it for less than £400 new. The finish is immaculate! Beautifully built guitar & plays like a dream. I've had US Fenders & they were no way better built than this Gretsch. Its made in China but their QC is excellent. I've not read any bad reviews of this China made Jet. I think a lot of players are hypnotised by the Fender name!
safest bet is to check one out in store, or buy from a place with a no hassle return. I was able to send this back no problem
I try to buy most guitars from Guitar Center for that reason, but they don't sell some of the guitars I've bought. I pre ordered a Strat from G.C., waited 2 months for it and it had razor sharp frets. They took care of it under warranty no charge but it took 2 weeks.
Well, even in 1000+ guitars, if neck or fretboard is unfinished, wood will shrink or expand quicker than finished neck
I paid 300$ for my Yamaha pac311 and it came in Perfect condition and setup
Pau Ferro use to be more exclusive and "expensive" than Rosewood. I have a Player Strat with Pau Ferro and haven't had any problems with frets sticking out, and I do live at a colder place so I think it differs depending on where you live and not the wood.
Hey Bud! I just got this same deal yesterday on Amazon.. last one in stock. Regular price for these today in Canada is 1059$ plus tax. I’d easily pay a luthier 45$ to sand those down and give it a set up. Hopefully, that’s the only issue. I’ll be playing in the Ottawa area soon. Hopefully with this baby in tow. Keep the Great videos coming. Cheers
ah interesting! same price I paid a while back? hope yours is ok. I'm sure if will be fine :)
@@landonbailey close to the same deal.. 709$. Fingers crossed, there aren’t any issues.
@@CarlosCandidoMusic were there any issues?
@@jimbo4311 pristine. The neck was a little too straight out of the box, so made a tiny truss rod lefty loosey. Next, I’ll be switching out the 9-42 for EXL 110 10-46, and a lemon oil rub on the fingerboard. Chefs kiss. Very happy with my purchase.
Hi, That was a lot of fret sprout but you could have easily sorted that with a file and sandpaper and maybe asked the seller to compensate you for doing it. Would have been a lovely addition to your collection. Sad that it wasn't perfect for you!
ya I wasn't looking to spend time fixing up a new guitar. cheers!
My Player Series Jag came that way also. The frets were not properly filed and dressed. I had to file both sides with a fine long metal file and round then off with some steel wool. Solved the problem perfectly and the neck is smooth as my American Jag. Next time keep it!
there won’t be a next time! :) Glad you were able to fix it. I don’t spend time fixing brand new items :)
I guess you were unlucky, I'm gonna go to Arizona and buy a player series stratocaster in December, so I hope it comes in great shape because it will be difficult to return it to the store since I'm living in México. I didn't want to buy it in México due to bad experiences with guitar pedals in mexican stores. I guess Arizona and Sonora have the same weather so it would be no problem, hopefully.
Honestly sharp fret ends are super easy to fix. I wouldn't send it back. It's probably due to the cold weather. Bought a Epiphone Les Paul custom that had super sharp fret ends. Fixed in about five minutes. It was also super cold out when it shipped.
Simple solution is always buy in-store from a reputable business as it will always come set up ready to play . You can then try it out first and any problems can be solved prior to purchase.
For sure that's the way to go!
In the past couple of years, I've bought four Squiers and there's not been a single sharp fret end to be found. To be sure, there's always going to be the odd end of shift rogue that passes QC when it shouldn't but that Jazzmaster was abysmal and the cut price suggests that the vendor knew that it was an unplayable lemon. That's rogue trading, it's a different ball game if they say its price reflects some playability issues (so describe at as "B grade"), then it's a case of caveat emptor and you then figure in the time/effort/cost of sorting out the frets, whether you do the job yourself or employ a luthier. The gig bag issue again, points to sharp practice. They KNOW the description they're putting up online, if it includes a photo of a gig bag, then the customer shouldn't be required to assume "Oh, that's gotta be a mistake."
So helpful-thank you! (I actually just ordered one from Reverb-hopefully this wont be the case)
should be fine. this was a one-off thing. It happens though.
Hey bud, I just bought a player strat with a one piece maple neck. Compared to my 2018 Standard Tele, the edges of the player strat's frets weren't as rounded off and smooth as my tele. However, it looks like you had total fret sprout on that jazzmaster. Forgive me if you already know about this, but the difference in your case is that the fretboard shrunk exactly like you said, but to such a large degree that the fret ends themselves are protruding out the sides (at least the best I can tell from your video). This would have been more than polishing the fret, you would have had to sand down the ends and then round off the edges with a fret finishing file. I might polish the edges of my strat at some point, but the difference is massive when I see your video. I had no idea it could get that bad on a Player series, but damn. Definitely good idea to return it. I had to return the first player strat I got from zzounds because the neck pocket had massive cracks. thankfully, the second is great and only needs some smoother fret edges like I mentioned.
hey ya, I confirmed with someone else that the work was more than a simple polishing. take care!
I would have sent it back too - unless they'd offered me more discount.
I don't think it was a fretboard shrinkage issue or the fretboard wouldn't have matched up to the neck width like that one did. I think it was simply a case of you got a "made late on a Friday afternoon" item. Workers just wanting to 'finish' the job and get home or to a bar. It happens all around the world and in all areas of manufacturing to a greater or lesser extent.
Too bad about that, you should have had the frets dressed and filed at L&M and send the bill to Amazon seller.
I'm in Canada too and my local L&M doesn't really like to bring in guitars from the " western stores " , far too cold and dry out there....their humidity is far different then alot of Canada . Sometimes you can put the guitar in a room with 50 % humidity for a few days and re hydrate the guitar , it would help with some of it.
Last April I had the same shipping routine with my Butterscotch Player Tele and it was ok. but ya probably not ideal to get it from the west
@@landonbailey Nice folks but a brutal climate for guitars . .lol
Landon....I agree with you on that gig bag situation...that is 100% misleading if not outright false advertising....notice they didn’t show a hard shell case!!!!
ya I didn't fight it. pretty bad customer service
Sometimes you get the Bear , sometimes the Bear gets you .I have a 1999 50s reissue Tele that is great , always has been .Also a 1999 Jazz Bass , also great ! Both bought new . But I have owned and played some real dogs made in USA , I had a 1982 Gibson es 335 that was bad , I bought a new 2014 Morgan Monroe acoustic with the same fret problem . I bought it cheap from Amazon . I still have it , but I had to file the frets , adjust the neck , replace the saddle , and lower the nut before it was playable . I think a lot of the problems with new guitars is storage issues and wood not completely cured because there is such a hurry to get guitars built . I have bought several new guitars over the years , but I prefer to buy used , because the bugs get worked out , the wood gets throughly cured , and the issues are more evident . The 70's Fenders and Gibsons were just inferior . Right now there are so many great guitars being built , that there is no excuse to keep something that you are not happy with ! Also with used guitars you can usually get the piece for 1/2 the price of a new one . Love your videos , nice that young people are carrying on the cause . I am 71 and have been playing since 1963 !
Also I have to add that the Mexican Fenders are very good quality in general , and a great value . I have Fenders made in USA , Mexico , and Japan . All mine are very good , and similar in quality , although a huge difference in price .
No, it's not something about the wood be Pau Ferro, cause I bought a Fender Vintera Stratocaster 60s Ice Blue Metalic and the fretboard is with Pau Ferro and it's totally different from this Jazzmaster you bought, the frets are perfect, it's very comfortable and smooth and I did the same thing you did with the stick and no problem at all, the fret stayed clean, no small pieces of the stick was taken.
Probably you just had bad luck with this deal, maybe they knew the state of the frets, put the price low just to sell and tested their luck for the guitar ended up on some beginner hands that don't know about these kinds of things yet.
Every Player series Fender I've ever played has had sharp fret ends. I have one of these Jazzmasters, and there are a lot of reasons to like it, but the frets are sharp. I'm keeping mine, but that's also $50 to have someone finish what Fender did not.
Hey there! I’ve been fortunate that this was the only one I played with sharp frets. All the rest have been maple fretboard
yeah!! i would do the same as yoy... specially because i dont konw how to solve it by my own ... but if you buy new and from a "trusted" brand you should get it at least in a "playable" condition ....
I could be basing this off a limited sample size but I really get the impression the previous Classic Player JM series was better made than the new ones and the Vintera.
That’s a shame Landon. I think you did the right thing in this case. They were ridiculously bad and I only have budget guitars. I’ve never seen anything like that.
From Leo: Pretty wormy to show a picture of a gig bag and not include it, that IS false advertising. The seller is a jerk. Period. You are right, When paying for the "FENDER" logo, the sharp frets were completely unacceptable. Sounds like they didn't properly dry the wood. I have a guitar with a Pau Ferro fretboard that was properly finished when I got it and it has been fine for years. The humbucker Jazzmasters are nice, but the biggest joy is the original style with those big glass clear pickups and the rhythm switching circuit. It always looks like we save money online, or with a big retailer, but defective guitars used to be corrected or returned by the legitimate shops, and the customer did not have to be the quality control. I never minded paying more for good service at a good shop. Discounts are not always a good thing.
this waz sold directly by Amazon
I’ve even had this with a MIM Player Series Mustang Bass purchased at L& M in Winnipeg. It also had really bad Fret Sprouting. Same kinda scenario. I found said bass for a reduced price on Amazon, only difference is I got L&M to price match, so I bought it from L&M cause they matched pricing. But as I already said, it had bad fret sprouting which I brought to L&M’s attention that this was unacceptable. They claimed this is common in big show rooms where it’s hard to control climate like an acoustic room. They ended up polishing the fret edges for me before I took it home. If I was you, I would have just kept it, and brought it to a luthier and spent $75 bucks and had the fret edges polished
I got that exact same one from guitar center and it also came in a box and with no gig bag. Also wasn’t perfect out of box and had to tune it up a bit. Still brand new in my bedroom lol it’s pretty but I enjoy playing my Ibanez az a bit more.
I watched many reviews and bought mine back in 2018, it wasn't perfect & the local TOM LEE store refuse to set it up their store, they had lots of excuses but they said their other chain will do it, it's been the most finicky guitar in my collection, i've done initial setup, then had it professionaly set up, tech ended up shimming the neck, none of the bridge screws would stay, the tech's excuse is that I don't play it enough and no grime gets in the hardware to "gum" it up. I've had to file/sand the ends of fretwire. re-set it up. everytime it sits in storage it gets out of whack. but its a great guitar when I got it all sorted out.
I’m waiting on the exact same jazzmaster Amazon, for the exact same price right now. Fingers crossed I suppose?
should be fine
@@landonbailey I'm curious to know why these one-off drastic price drops occur
I guess it was a question of how much you would of liked that guitar if the frets were perfect. I've purchased guitars knowing they had worse problems but I thought it was worth buying because they were special in some way and that outweighed the problem of fixing something. I'd like to point out as a word of warning if you have to return something and the seller arranges a pickup by courier make sure you get proof they picked it up. I had a return get lost in transit and currently have no refund or replacement guitar.
3:42 you can even see the 3rd fret from the left is popped up at the end.
more than just the 3rd fret was protruding
Well, that's what you often get from gibson at a way higher price.
Wow Landon this is so easy to deal with. Deal with a guitar store. My fav here in Chicago is Chicago Music Exchange. I have a Troy MIM with the Mastery bridge. It has the old 7.5 radius but it is surprising how fast you adapt to it. The tone palate is unique and it is a great pairing with ambient pedals. Stop being so cheap! This is your lifetime and this instrument may likely occupy an important part of it. The best "deals" are often on Reverb where someone has done all the tweeks to a guitar for you. Anyway hope you will try again because Leo really was onto something with this 3rd gen take on a Jazz box solid body!
Good video but if your going to send it back why take off the plastic on the neck pocket plate. Be careful I've had a few instances where I did that and they consider it "not in original condition ' if you start peeling the plastic off. Just for future reference but yes I have had some bad experiences in the past year with getting player stratocasters with neck pocket chips, cracked nuts, chipped headstocks. Haven't had problems with frets but I usually go for maple gloss fretboards Wich don't usually have the problems the darker ones do. I wish there QC department would do a better job.
👍
If the rest of the guitar was okay I would have kept it and fixed it. Fret dressing is pretty easy and not all that expensive even if you take it to someone. I was looking at these about a month ago in a local shop, and the frets on the ones I felt were mostly fine. Nothing like yours, for sure. I wonder what happened with that one? It must have been a factory second that they didn't disclose. But why didn't the factory just fix it? As far as the gig bag goes, I would have been pissed off, too. Lots and lots of guitars come with them, so if it's pictured it's reasonable to assume it comes with one.
Edit: Someone else mentioned the warranty. Using the warranty would have been the thing to do, I think.
On closer examination those frets have lifted, so this guitar is going to need more that the frets polished to fix it. This looks like it may need a entire re fret. so you made the correct call by sending it back.
ya I'm no expert on guitar repair, but I knew it felt wrong
I went to get a Player series strat in seafoam green with the mint green pickguard and the frets were unplayably sharp. I was super disappointed as I had wanted it for a while. Ended up just saving the money. Fenders prices have gotten way out of hand and the quality isnt keeping up. The player jazzmasters are particularly disappointing for me because they put humbuckers in there.
How in any way is fenders pricing way out of hand. You clearly have never heard of Gibson
I dunno bro. At the great price you got it for, I probably would have sourced a really good local guitar luthier and I’ll be for $100 that thing would have been perfect when they were done. All of the charvel guitars that I’ve ordered recently have all needed some fret dressing and finishing. And some minor tlc.
then you do know!
Ive read quite a few of these have quality control issues. Im not sure what Gibson and Fender are doing because they should be the standard! At this point its better to get a CV Squire if you have to do this much work on a Fender.
hey Lando++ you should keep it !!! this is not a big thing just one hour work and you can break the sharp edges of the fretboard too. hey this is a very good deal !!! Don`t give it back...
I would probably also returned it. I mean, I get that it's not such a big deal and that the frets can be fixed, etc. But if a vendor managed to ship a guitar like this, then that's a loss of trust with the seller. How was that guitar stored? Was it properly taken care of while it was with them? Etc.
For that price, i would have dressed the frets. I bought a seafoam green Squier bullet telecaster with the same problem. Took a little time, but came out great!
Heck, I would have kept it. Had the frets done by my local luthier. Put a set of fat P90’s in it at the same time. Think I would have said to myself that’s where the 200 quid saving is going.
Really is wrong them putting a gig bag in the advert but not including it. But as you say, it’s something not included with that series.
I would have fixed the frets myself. I've had American Fenders like that too, and have needed some leveling in addition.. If I like a guitar its worth putting a couple hours into.
ya if it's worth it to you and you can, do it for sure!
I was surprised you gave up so easily . I would have paid a good Luther to file the frets. Then you'd have had a great guitar , Luther may cost, but it's overall a great deal to get the guitar cheap nd have it professional set up . When I look at guitars I factors in price of set up and case . I do expect to have someone check and set it up .
I do my own setups, but this killed the deal for me.
You need a luthier to file the frets?? Do you have a luthier tune it for you too Jason?
@@landonbailey weak
it was a great price ... but dang
Popsicle test! now you have something that needs to be added to your repertoire.
*Gig Bag NOT included * That price was because of the fret issue. Just my guess. On a separate note. Many thanks for your Telecaster comparison video. Helped me a lot to know which one I wanted. 👍
The response to the gig bag picture from Amazon is starting to become par for the course with Customer service.
Have a 1968 fender jazz master good condition (sunburst) worth?
What’s that?
I bought the same guitar (in metallic sage green) also from Calgary (I live in Toronto)...mine had a different problem, the spring had come loose from the trem system so it arrived with a dead trem. It only took a few mins to fix, but it might indicate that the fit & finish of these guitars isn't the best.
This happened to Fender, Mexico say, 10-12 years ago. Sam Ash my favorite store, slashed the prices and put 'em in front of the store to get rid of them. Then the fret finishing returned to normal. Lack of oversite, worker attitudes, change of personnel??? Who knows. No, it's not one type of wood or another. It's clearly not beveled or polished. Return it. I buy tons of used guitars and have a fast, sure method for finishing, but I don't publish it since it requiers lots of experience and involves power tools. I would rather return it as defective at any price. It's not a finished, mass produced build that it should be. Thanks!
thanks for sharing the experience. ya I'm interested in fixing a brand new product.
I picked up a player tele @ GC and ran my hand down the neck. My first reaction was “holy sh*t”. I couldn’t believe how rough it was. And I like cheap guitars! Since then, I assumed all the player series were like that. I really like the looks and price of the player series, but I’m afraid to buy one. Who knows what other shortcuts they took? Fender has too much competition to let those out of the factory like that.
i got a player strat in january and it was great right out of the box, no fret issues, guitar was only slightly out of tune and it only needed a slight action adjustment to suit my personal taste and aesthetically speaking its one of the shiniest and cleanest looking guitars ive ever pulled out of a box and wasnt set up and polished to be displayed on a store wall
I have a Pau Ferro fretboard on a Danelectro and it's smooth as silk, I imagine it is just shrinkage.
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What this probably was was you got a Demo guitar. If a specific model is cheaper that way, its either been used, or its a demo savings.
it was factory sealed
Yes false advertisement. I guess you need to contact every seller now to ask what EXACTLY comes with the product. I guess they should have shown a new MESA amp with the guitar to show that it could be plugged into an amp like this. I believe Amazon itself would be interested in knowing the seller is doing this.
ya this seller is Amazon directly. I've already shipped it back :)
Yes I would not blame Fender for that. Wood shrinks, in dry cold climates. I would have have filed them down on my own because it was a great deal and a beauty guitar. No principle here just a bargain. No one to blame. Although I would say the gig bag is a scam. Could have pictured an amplifier..."doesn't come with one but you could plug one in if you wanted."
you can kinda blame fender, i have a 2003 mim strat thats never had fret sprout or any serious fret end issue also living in a dry cold climate in canada, if im not having any fret issues with an 18 year old guitar and theres fret issues on a year old guitar or a few months old then clearly that guitar slipped thru quality control or wood being used isnt the same quality as it was 18 years ago, either way thats a fender issue that can be blamed on them
That really stinks! I would've done the same thing you did - fretwork shouldn't be bad on a Fender.
You know, there is a plek machine in Ottawa. Not sure if the plek does fret edges but it would have made a good repair video. Maybe next time.
hey cool!
"the bag that was advertised....it is not false advertising"
rightio
ya I didn't like that. :)
My Squire Jaguar VM has sprout, but I got it used and filed it down. Now I have Jack issues to deal with and the Trem arm falls out. Will buy a Fender replacement soon.
Sorry bout that man she is def a beauty tho . 😬😬 I hope your week is filled w other guitars that don't have those frets
ya maybe next time! :)
Dude man I would have loved to see u run that thru one of your voxs 😊 I'm a confirmed vox man myself . I watch your vids for that same reason 😃
Your in Canada you should have sent it to Dave's world of fun stuff I think that the whole guitar was missed on the frett work if I had a person like Dave I would let him do it it would take him 30 minutes then it would have been sweet thanks for showing best from the UK
Dave just dealt with this issue on a Mexican Fender not long ago. It's poor QC. Just finish making the guitar, Fender.