Check out the leftover glue on the frets.
And the crappy little piece of wood shim for the nut.
The fingerboard is too thick as well. The neck has more of a C-profile than an ibanez D-profile. So I am clearly disappointed when I thought I can just assemble it without much fuss after getting it.
I know Herc did not make the parts but I really thought the body and especially the neck will be more well-made. The swirl is great and Herc is probably the best out there right now. When I contact Herc on this, his reaction was that no others complained about the quality of the guitar and that I am fussy. After some pressing he offered to give me a new neck or send him a neck for swirling of the headstock with some top-up of course. After getting such quality, I do not think I am going to risk waiting another 6 months for a neck... So I took it to my
local luthier and see what I can do with it.
The final solution is to do a refret, filling and recutting the slots. In the end I spent more money but I have a better feeling I will actually see it becoming a guitar finally. So after some waiting for the pickups and parts, the guitar is ready.
The moral of the story: HERC does great swirls BUT you have to wait a LONG time and the quality of the body and neck is something less than desired. Unless he changes his suppliers, do not get his body and neck... Be warned...
The luthier who did my guitar was great the pics showed the frets and and slots are done properly this time round. Here's the pics...
