My Lo Pro Edge got screwed by someone else..help me!

[aj_foes]

Hello peeps. Couple months ago I got myself a brand new Lo Pro Edge kit, from the Ibanez dealer here in Malaysia. And yes, it cost me a bomb to get one, so, by nature, I am fond to death of this bridge. Oh I almost forgot, the bridge is for a project Jem I'm working on.

So, I have no access to routers and stuff, and even if I had access to such tools, I would screw up badly, granted me being a not-so-good-at-technical-stuff guy. So, I took my Jem333 body to a luthier/tech to strip the paint and do some routing for the Lo Pro Edge (note that Jem333 are routed for ILT1 or Edge 3, mine's equipped with ILT1).

Last Friday, I went to the tech's place to check what's going on with the project. To my dismay, he showed me the bridge, BROKEN. The tip of the trem at the knife edge tipped off, but he claims that the bridge is still usable. He wanted to glue it back, and I said okay, go ahead. But still I'm pissed as hell. I'll post some pictures when I get my camera soon.

So, now, after 3 sleepless night thinking about the bridge, I decided to take my customer-rights-action.

1. Let him finish my guitar first, and then paying him a small amount of the labor, and asking him to give me a BRAND NEW Lo Pro Edge, if he wanted the rest of the payment. I need him to finish up the job first, because if I wanted him to get me a brand new bridge, it's gonna take me years to get this guitar done. OR,

2. Work out a "discount" to compensate the loss I suffered, since I bought it brand new and he f*cked it up. I bet if he were to give me a discount, he would ended up paying me money instead.

So, I want your opinion. Which action should I take?

p/s, you should see the ugly-ass routing he did to my Jem body. wait up for pics.

[brothersnowgone]

He should replace it, no question. How you should go about getting it replaced is really up to you. Plus if he messed up the route I don't see how you could owe him any money at all. He didn't do what you asked and in the process also broke a part that I'm assuming you paid more than a couple hundred for. Whether he likes it or not, if he's an honest business man he'll end up owing you money.

[aj_foes]

Yup, that's what I thought. He could be owing me money instead. I bought the bridge at a higher price than Rich's brand new bridge, due to constraints like the lack of PayPal and CCs.

But yet, he DID sanded the whole body down from its original paint, and he also fitted the custom neck I got to the body, plus fitting the tuners, locking nuts, etc. So I suppose he still deserves the pay. It's the bridge and the routing that's really pissing me off. So, that's why I believe I need to pay him first (a really, really small amount) and then insisted that if he wanted the rest of his payment, he needs to provide me with a brand new replacement Lo Pro Edge.

Any other thought guys?

[brothersnowgone]

I'd ask exactly how it happened, granted a Lo Pro isn't forged from titanium, but it must've took quite a force to nip the piece your talking about off. If he still has the broken piece (doubt it) you can look at that and the trem to see if there is a flaw in the casting, but I highly doubt that.

[redaxe]

Oh man, that is terrible. I'd say you hound that guy until he either replaces that piece or gives you a good discount. I lived in KL until just last year and I KNOW how hard it is to find good Ibanez hardware in Malaysia. I think I remember some shops in KL stocking OFRs (which I know isn't a lo-pro but if things get worse). I hope this comes through for you and you can get back to that project.

[jb4674]

Unfortunately, I don't think option 1 will be somehing you'll be able to do, unless the guy is honest enough and recognizes that it was him that broke the trem and therefore it should be him who has to replace it. With that being said, the customer service rules or the customer service mindset in Malaysia is not the same as here in the States but, honestly knows no boundaries, so let's hope the guy is honest.

I think you should just confront him and let him know where you stand with this because you obviously spent your hard earned money on hardware to finish the project you hired him to handle for you and it isn't fair nor professional that he is simply thinking that throwing glue at the problem will solve it. Just remember not to lose your cool about it when you talk to him and use a little reverse psych to let him know that you brought him your guitar because of his reputation, etc, etc.

Post more updates...

Jimmy

[aj_foes]

@Jimmy:

The guy is honest enough to admit that he dropped the bridge by accident, but I'm not sure if he's willing to offer me a replacement though. But, all in all, he confessed, so he HAS to pay the price, either a new bridge or a hefty discount.

@brothersnowgone:

He claimed that he still have the missing piece of the trem that broke off, and he explained that if he glued it, it would be fine, but the crack is gonna be visible. I agreed on the visible crack, but I DOUBT that the trem is going to work fine if abused heavily, which I intended to when I bought an expensive trem in the first place.

Okay, here are some pictures:

This is the broken trem,


...and this is the routing that he made:


To my eyes, it's horridly horrid.

So, guys, tell me what you think of it. At first, I wanted to do a replica of this Vai prototype:

http://www.vai.com/Machines/guitarpages/guitar017.html

but now, I might have to go with another finish options since I have this plan to re-do the routing by filling it up with lotsa wood filler or some wood and filler to mould the shape of the routing..

[LonePhantom]

If the broken piece is glued on with the right sort of stuff it should be right.

I'd let him glue the broken piece back on to the trem, and advise him that you will use the trem until he has a new, unbroken Lo Pro Edge for you. then he can take the fixed one back and use that for someone else if they are happy with it in it's repaired state.

[aj_foes]

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

If the broken piece is glued on with the right sort of stuff it should be right.

I'd let him glue the broken piece back on to the trem, and advise him that you will use the trem until he has a new, unbroken Lo Pro Edge for you. then he can take the fixed one back and use that for someone else if they are happy with it in it's repaired state.

That's exactly what I am planning to do. I'm going to use the repaired trem until he got himself a new replacement for me.

BTW phantom, what's the 'right sort of stuff' to glue the trem pieces together if I may ask?

[hall]

You can use something like "JB Weld" to "glue" them back together, but given the location (right at the post), I'm not sure if it would hold up under use.

What material is the bridge made of ? It's possible to weld back together and strength-wise it should be good.

[JohnnyRG1527]

Thats unlucky man, but yeah he should replace it and i think the route could be cleaned up more.

I've got an RG548 with an origional Edge on it and the same thing happened to that for no reason, the tip just dropped off and i wasn't eaven using the trem at the time, so i glued it back on but it doesnt bare any load on it still fits and doesn't slide about and the trem still works perfect so it will get you by untill he sorts a new one out.

Cant you just buy the trem body seperately without the block and saddles? cheaper that way than a whole new one.

[teokiatuan]

hey dude, which luthier was it man?sheesh..

well tough luck on the lp edge i guess

i assume the lions paw isn't CNCed? personally i'd never trust most people to hand carve a Lions paw.. but oh well

i say get a new body.

[aj_foes]

Originally Posted by teokiatuan

i assume the lions paw isn't CNCed? personally i'd never trust most people to hand carve a Lions paw.. but oh well

i say get a new body.

The lion's claws are in fact CNC'ed, by the Cort factory. The body was actually a Jem 333's body - I got it off dirt cheap and sold off the rest of the parts for this project.

A new body does sound tempting, but that would involve spending more money :P.