SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I was happily trying to come to grips with my "new" HD-28 last night when I felt something funny on the neck but I didn't really bother to investigate. Tonight I felt something really odd so I took a look and here it is: I think I'm seeing delayed reaction shipping damage from a good drop in transit - the case has two ding marks on the bottom of it. I've got an email in to both Martin and eBay so we'll see what transpires. This is really depressing as I've never owned a really good acoustic guitar before and I've only had it for a week and now the neck is self destructing on me. Fun and games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sg50 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 ouch, that sucks. I hope it works out. It's hard to see brand new stuff take a bad turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 The seller is basically telling me tough **** at the moment so we'll see. The guitar was in perfect shape when it showed up, a week later it looks like the picture. I wonder just how long it takes a good bang to the neck to make it's presence known? Six days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brc Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Boy that REALLY sucks, Turns my stomach. Martin D28 no less, sure hope things work out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdeuce Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 That stinks. Hopefully, Martin will take care of you. Was it a new guitar from a Martin dealer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Nope, a 1999 from eBay and I'm having to file a dispute as the seller told me to get lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoya Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Nope, a 1999 from eBay and I'm having to file a dispute as the seller told me to get lost. I know some of you have had satisfactory deals on eBay but this makes me cringe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I have never heard of a delayed reaction neck break… Guitar gets knocked over and it breaks or doesn't. Where it arrived in perfect condition you are going to have a hard time saying the break didn't happen while in your possession. Good luck hope it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I've never seen anything like this, either. I think it's off to the Martin factory to visit their repair center. Yesterday was also the first time I played it for any length of time so I think I had a small crack underneath the nut which wasn't visible and it started to open up and migrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Wow!! What a bummer. I hope you're able to get it worked out. Was it shipped by UPS or Fedex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 You're not going to like this post but there's no way that transit damage happens 6 days after transit. Something broke that headstock yesterday. The eBay seller is presumably taking the same view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDC Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 That's not a terribly difficult repair. I'd find a top guy within driving distance and have it repaired there to avoid the notoriously long wait time at Martin repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I don't think sitting in a case would cause the crack. I've had guitars for over 40 years and this is a first. I spoke with both Martin Customer Service and one of their previous Service Managers (who lives not too far from me) and they are of the opinion it took a real shot in transit (like falling from a height and then landing on the head stock) and a few hours of playing brought it to light. It appears that this crack begins under the nut. I was also advised that the other side is probably cracked as well, I just haven't seen it yet. The old service manager didn't even need to see a photo, he described the damage to me and said the head stock wasn't supported during shipping, was it? Nope. He also said not to loosen the strings as the tension is what is currently holding it together and don't play it, of course. For shipping, I did have the guy loosen the strings. What I didn't know was that he was just going to wrap cardboard around the case and ship it that way. No bubble wrap, no packing peanuts, just a form fitting cardboard case made from two old cardboard boxes shaped just like the guitar case itself. I've never seen anyone ship a guitar that way before and I hope to never see it again! I also didn't know that he would ship it the cheapest US Mail service possible and only insure it for $200! WTF?!? And yes, the Martin case has a few dents on the bottom of it - the seller wouldn't answer my question as to whether or not they were present when he shipped it. I would have paid for a professional packaging job - it's an expensive instrument but instead, he did it the cheapest way possible and here it sits, all beat up. I'll find out next Monday if eBay will do anything for me and if not, either the retired Martin Service Manager or one of my buddies can repair it. The whole thing just sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brc Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 This has to suck all the way around. Man, I feel so bad for you. I have owned a couple of Martins, a D28 and a D18, and they were both beautiful guitars. ONLY reason I sold them is because I was offered much more than they were worth, as far as the going rates for those guitars at that time. I am very interested in your post and hope you will keep us informed on the outcome. Sure hope things work out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thank you. I'll either get a refund and get another one or I'll get it repaired - it's such a beautiful guitar and the sound is just what I was after. One lesson I've learned is to NEVER buy an acoustic guitar that requires shipping. It's not like getting an electric shipped. I'm lucky in that they make the guitars right here in Pennsyltucky and I know so many people who are much more knowledgeable than I'll ever be One of my coworkers, for instance, helped found the Martin Owner's Club which is how I got hooked up with an ex Service Dept. Manager who warned me that the other side is probably cracked as well, I just don't know it yet. Between those two guys and some other gearhead/guitar freak buddies I think I'm in good hands and it will all work out okay. It was even suggested just knocking the neck off and sticking on a new one with the vintage-style profile I like (it's more of a V shape than a Les Paul shape). We'll see. I draw the line at adding a Bigsby, ha, ha. I'm about to get sucked into the wonderful world of all things Martin which I KNOW is dangerous for my check book! I should add one thing: I'm unsure if John (my coworker) helped found the national Martin Club or simply a regional or state chapter. He's a talker and when I'm at work it's nose to the grindstone time so I didn't press him for particulars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 That sucks big time Steve. Damn! Take that as far as you can with Ebay brother. Keep us posted. Jeez it's like the cracked neck syndrome going on for both of us this Fall. I'm sure this has put a damper on the Martin experience for you. Hope this gets straightened out quickly. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Were the strings slacked when shipped or was tension on them? I bought a ES-335 from SW, before I got my BB King. And when it came someone at SW forgot to slack the strings and the headstock came with the classic headstock crack. SW took it back and refunded me. I bought HD28 directly from Martin in 1995, a special deal shipped straight to my house from the factory. It arrived in tune, no slacking required. Actually, every guitar I ever bought arrived that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 How to ruin your day!I hope you are able to have things made right. Keep us posted. I have received a new amp for my son for Christmas. There is some damage to the cardboard box it was shipped in. The store "inspected" it and assures me everything is OK. Christmas day when my son opens the box we'll know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Good luck man. I hope you can get refunded through ebay or paypal. How was the guy's ebay feedback? He could have busted the headstock and sold it quick before the crack got big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 from the description of his "shipping" prep... he is an idiot. who the hell ships something like a Martin "D" that way? Did you ever see the boxes (for example - Taylor) ships guitars in? They are rock solid, double boxed and you'd have to be TRYING real hard to screw them up in shipping. In hindsight, if that was me, I think I would have sent it back the minute I saw that come off the truck. good luck Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 His feedback is 100% which is why I took the chance - mostly golf clubs with the occasional Sigma acoustic thrown in there. I think I figured out today exactly what happened: there's two dents in the bottom of the case and I know that some of the conveyer belts that packages tumble off of can be 20' or more. They land in a cart and off they go. This poor guitar landed one something like metal posts (like on the side of a cart which dented the underside of the case), the head stock took the shock and started the crack under the nut and the strings were applying sufficient tension to keep everything together. The bone nut has a tiny crack in it as well. After a day or two I removed the strings, lemon oiled the fret board and restrung it. Removing the tension for 10 minutes allowed the crack to start migrating on down the neck and a couple of hours of playing the guitar, without noticing the crack had begun, caused it to shift enough so I took a look to see what felt so weird with the first fret area. I'm into the planar speakers (big Magnepans) and they can get destroyed in shipping in a similar fashion: if they flop face down the force of the impact will deform the foil which is glued to the mylar. The box will look fine but the speakers will sound horrible - you have to shine a flash light through the sock to see if the foil is straight or wavy and if it's wavy, you've got impact damage. You wouldn't know anything was wrong just looking at them. Yes, this was really incredibly bad shipping. He didn't even write Fragile on it and to ship an $1800 guitar with $300 insurance in a home made cardboard wrapper with no additional protection the slowest way possible is just crazy.I don't think he was dishonest, I think he was just incredibly cheap and didn't think to ask me if I'd pay additional to have it professionally packaged. I would have, this is not a piece of crap from Wal Mart. On a more positive note, my bone colored Tusq strap nut and truss rod adjusting tool showed up today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Yes, this was really incredibly bad shipping. He didn't even write Fragile on it and to ship an $1800 guitar with $300 insurance in a home made cardboard wrapper with no additional protection the slowest way possible is just crazy.I don't think he was dishonest, All this, and you still don't think he's dishonest? Who insures a D28 for 300 bucks, unless it isn't a D28? Dishonest or not, yer screwed and he ain't. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 It ain't over 'til the fat lady farts. I'll know more next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 It ain't over 'til the fat lady farts. I'll know more next week. I would be surprised if you did not get relief on this. I'm also hopeful you took photos of the packing job because it will help your case. What I cannot understand is why he didn't fully insure the guitar Even if he's not a packaging expert on shipping guitars who the f*** doesn't fully insure the gear just to protect their initial investment? That's just stupid! Good luck Steve! Keep us posted please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 I'll let you know what the outcome is - worst case I get the neck repaired or go nuts and have the neck replaced with a different profile one. It's funny how I woke up, having a nightmare, about the guitar showing up and the neck was all screwed up. I'm pretty sure that happened right about the time of impact; I've had that happen with other things, mostly with pets as they're dying in the middle of the night which is a horrible thing to go through. I have a zoo, in case you weren't aware of it - lots of tortoises, lizards and snakes which keep me busy. My late stepfather, Charlie, always used to say "If you want to go to Heaven you've got to go through Hell and Steve, you're going to Heaven!" so I think that things are about to turn around for me. There's a few things I've really been after for quite some time: a good acoustic, a "new" Triumph Sprint motorcycle so I'll have a good two-up bike for going on trips with Lynda and a "new" Firebird VII to replace the one I stupidly sold to buy some gigantic stereo speakers. Maybe it will all come together shortly, I just have to take my lumps in order to have it happen. I'm taking my lumps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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