Defective or normal?

[Leon2365]

So I recently bought an epiphone prophecy extura directly from the epiphone website. I was super excited to try out this new guitar but when it arrived I noticed a small problem:

All the frets stuck out along the neck and leave cuts on my hands and fingers whenever I rub them while trying to play. 

 

I was just curious if this is a normal thing or of its a defect in which I should return the guitar to epiphone. For such a cool guarantee that they put in the box with my instrument, this sort of problem doesn't seem to match up with the quality they are assuring me off. 

 

Also, I'm asking this here since I emailed support and they haven't responded so I thought maybe the community would know of this is common place or if I should keep waiting for support to get back to me. 

[Pinch]

I've never really experienced fret sprout, and I should have, given the conditions of some of the places I've lived in the past. But this sounds like fret sprout, squared. 

Not normal, and you should return the guitar. 

[Cougar]

10 minutes ago, Pinch said:

But this sounds like fret sprout, squared....  Not normal, and you should return the guitar. 

Yeah, that's definitely the symptom of fret sprout, but it may not be the actual cause.  Fret sprout results from the fingerboard becoming way too dry, so it shrinks a bit.  But the frets don't shrink, so they end up sticking out the sides of the fingerboard.  On the other hand, during production the frets often just need to be filed down so they're not sticking out, and Leon's guitar may not have gotten this "finishing touch."   Either way, yeah, return the guitar.... or have Epiphone pay for you to take the guitar to a local luthier and have the frets "dressed" and filed down. 

[Pinch]

1 hour ago, Cougar said:

Yeah, that's definitely the symptom of fret sprout, but it may not be the actual cause.  Fret sprout results from the fingerboard becoming way too dry, so it shrinks a bit.  But the frets don't shrink, so they end up sticking out the sides of the fingerboard.  On the other hand, during production the frets often just need to be filed down so they're not sticking out, and Leon's guitar may not have gotten this "finishing touch."   Either way, yeah, return the guitar.... or have Epiphone pay for you to take the guitar to a local luthier and have the frets "dressed" and filed down. 

Mm. I have let things slide in the past, but if I bought a guitar and couldn't play it without cutting my hands (!), that guitar would go back, accompanied by harsh words. 

[Leon2365]

Now if only customer service would actually reply to my emails about this. 

 

I find it funny that before I got my guitar I asked them what kind of strings it had and the gauge they were and they answered immediately within a day or two. 

 

Asking them about this bigger issue and it's already been almost a week without a single reply. 

[kidblast]

as Pinch and Cougar are implying, the fret ends need to be filed.  But I'm not sure it's worth a "Return/Exchange" cycle.

I've owned a number of Epiphones, and some are far worse than others out of the box.  The worse I ever had was a Washburn Mandolin,  playing that thing when I first got it was torture.

Get a small file, take off the strings, use some blue painters tape to mask off your fretboard and finish area on the neck, and just file them down so they are smooth.  Problem solved!

The chances are very good that a replacement will have the exact same issue, especially if the cause for this is just sloppy finish work.

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by kidblast

[mihcmac]

A Prophecy I supposed to be a very high end Epiphone which I don't think you should have problems like this. It would be worth contacting Gibson Support 1-800-4GIBSON.

[Larsongs]

Is it a 2021 or maybe an NOS  that may have been around a few years? I have played a lot of new Fenders with rough Frets.. Very common.. But, not with Gibson & Epiphone.. They’re usually finished quite good..

In any case return it for a replacement... Why go thru the hassle.. It’s a new Guitar!

[10K-DB]

Easy fix on that one:   Take strings off { its time for a new set anyways,right?}  take a small jewlers file{ flat one about 1/4 in width}  and carefully  file down sharp edges,,it takes awhile,,but its worth it,   Do both sides of fretboard,,carefull not to gouge the fretboard  with the file,,some repair guys apply masking tape in between all the frets as to not damage fretboard.

Edited April 27, 2021 by 10K-DB
typo

[Larsongs]

On 4/27/2021 at 3:02 PM, 10K-DB said:

Easy fix on that one:   Take strings off { its time for a new set anyways,right?}  take a small jewlers file{ flat one about 1/4 in width}  and carefully  file down sharp edges,,it takes awhile,,but its worth it,   Do both sides of fretboard,,carefull not to gouge the fretboard  with the file,,some repair guys apply masking tape in between all the frets as to not damage fretboard.

If the OP is talking one or two frets I agree. If it’s the whole Neck? In either case I’d call the Seller & say if you expect me to resolve this issue it requires a renegotiation of the Price.. It should be at least equal to a quality Luthiers Estimate to resolve the issue.. 

In either case if you or someone else does something to the Guitar & it ain’t right it very well could void the Factory Warranty... Which is why I’d avoid all that nonsense & say send me a replacement.

A NGD is supposed to be special! Do what you think is best to make it special!

[mihcmac]

I noted that the OP doesn't seem to have responded  to most of the suggestions, so maybe has lost interest.

But if this had happened to me being in the middle of the Pacific, I would have fixed it myself and I have gotten quite good at that..

[Leon2365]

So after a long time [and a lot of other spontaneous nonsense pertaining to other parts of life] this is what became of all this:

 

Several emails later and a week and s half of waiting after I got my instrument direct from epiphone, they finally told me I should take it to a tech under their certified list to get the instrument repaired. 

 

Luckily, there was one shop that was right across from the guitar center I know how to get to [oddly though, no big name stores like guitar center or Sam ash are on their certified list]

 

I took my guitar to them and it turns out it's a one man shop and he tells it to me straight that he id a month behind on his work. He shows me a back room lined with about 50+ guitar cases and he says they all still need to be done. 

 

He asks me if I don't have a case for it [which I didn't at the time] and I said no because the one I ordered from guitar center is on backorder. EVERYWHERE had the specific case that I was recommended back ordered. 

 

So he gave me his card, told me to call him back in a month and he will see if he can take me. 

 

This was back on April 24th, a day after my birthday. 

 

So after some deliberation I decided to just take it to guitar center to get it set up there. It will cost me money, but it beats waiting for a month for a guy that potentially might not even be able to take care of my instrument right away anyway. 

 

Fast forward to today. My epiphone explorer case FINALLY arrived, and I get to guitar center. The frets are perfect, the guitar is set up to the way I like it, but then when I go to put the instrument in the case, it doesn't fit. 

 

As a reminder I bought an epiphone extura and the case is for an epiphone explorer which is what I was recommended to get. 

 

So I took the guitar across to Sam ash, they didn't have any either but they said they would call some case makers and see what they could do for me at least. Had to call an uber to get me hoke since I don't have a car and taking a guitar on the bus and train out of its case is not something I plan on doing. 

 

So I have my guitar home now, frets no longer sticking out to the point of slicing my hands up, and I'm waiting to hear back from the guy at Sam ash on if they can find me a case or not. If they do, I'll return this epiphone explorer case I bought. If not, I might just have to manually cut the few odd inches that prevent the guitar from fitting myself and pretend it was a case for my guitar to begin with.

[Larsongs]

Glad it’s working out..... sort of...

Yet, I don’t know why you & others, you’re not the only one, are reluctant to pick up the Phone & contact a live Customer Service person at Gibson or Epiphone as the case may be?
 

In each case that I’ve done this the Guitars were either expertly repaired at the Factory or, if not repairable sent a new replacement Guitar.. And Completely perfect, including the Set up....

Dealing direct with a live Customer Service Rep on the phone has been the most successful way for me to get Warranty Issues resolved at the Factory. Not at some so called Guitar Tech in the Directory or at GC or whatever... Every time I tried that the experiences were not great to absolutely horrible..

 

[Leon2365]

On 5/8/2021 at 10:22 PM, Larsongs said:

Glad it’s working out..... sort of...

Yet, I don’t know why you & others, you’re not the only one, are reluctant to pick up the Phone & contact a live Customer Service person at Gibson or Epiphone as the case may be?
 

In each case that I’ve done this the Guitars were either expertly repaired at the Factory or, if not repairable sent a new replacement Guitar.. And Completely perfect, including the Set up....

Dealing direct with a live Customer Service Rep on the phone has been the most successful way for me to get Warranty Issues resolved at the Factory. Not at some so called Guitar Tech in the Directory or at GC or whatever... Every time I tried that the experiences were not great to absolutely horrible..

 

For me personally I suppose it's the whole process of having to deal with customer service for long periods of time on the phone. Not to mention that I had to send several emails before eventually getting a response. 

 

And mind you it was a response to the same email I had sent before I even received my guitar asking about the string gauge and the brand. I had to dig that one up, reply to it asking if it was a monitored email where I could get a response with an issue, and then wait for them to reply with the whole list of certified techs. Not once did they mention they wpuld be willing to take mynguitar back ro fix it themselves, they didn't mention they could send me a new one, they didn't even mention that I should try talking to them on the phone. 

 

Combine all that with the fact my customer service experiences over the phone with other companies have always taken extended periods of time and multiple phone calls to resolve the issue and you have my own personal reasons as to why I usually try to avoid the phone as much as possible. 

 

 

[Larsongs]

1 hour ago, Leon2365 said:

For me personally I suppose it's the whole process of having to deal with customer service for long periods of time on the phone. Not to mention that I had to send several emails before eventually getting a response. 

 

And mind you it was a response to the same email I had sent before I even received my guitar asking about the string gauge and the brand. I had to dig that one up, reply to it asking if it was a monitored email where I could get a response with an issue, and then wait for them to reply with the whole list of certified techs. Not once did they mention they wpuld be willing to take mynguitar back ro fix it themselves, they didn't mention they could send me a new one, they didn't even mention that I should try talking to them on the phone. 

 

Combine all that with the fact my customer service experiences over the phone with other companies have always taken extended periods of time and multiple phone calls to resolve the issue and you have my own personal reasons as to why I usually try to avoid the phone as much as possible. 

 

 

Getting my Guitars repaired at Gibson Factory & or being sent a brand new replacement is worth it for me to make a Phone call... Plus, keeping the Factory Warranty in tact. I’ve had to do it for 2 different Guitars.. Each time it was one Phone call. Dealt with one CS Rep.. It takes some effort but it was worth it. They sent me a Label for shipping at no charge. Repaired one Guitar to perfection.. The other was replaced with a brand new one.. Even nicer looking than the one I had... In both cases the Guitars came back to me in perfect condition & Set up perfect... 

If I’d gone the email route I’d have gotten jacked around like you & many others who have told their stories on this Forum & other Forums I read....

Edited May 10, 2021 by Larsongs

[Leon2365]

On 5/10/2021 at 11:45 AM, Larsongs said:

Getting my Guitars repaired at Gibson Factory & or being sent a brand new replacement is worth it for me to make a Phone call... Plus, keeping the Factory Warranty in tact. I’ve had to do it for 2 different Guitars.. Each time it was one Phone call. Dealt with one CS Rep.. It takes some effort but it was worth it. They sent me a Label for shipping at no charge. Repaired one Guitar to perfection.. The other was replaced with a brand new one.. Even nicer looking than the one I had... In both cases the Guitars came back to me in perfect condition & Set up perfect... 

If I’d gone the email route I’d have gotten jacked around like you & many others who have told their stories on this Forum & other Forums I read....

Fair enough. I guess maybe in the far future if I ever decide to buy another new guitar haha. Cause atm now it's the fact that there is no case for this thing. Xp

 

But I've gotten to try it now and at the very least it works wonderfully and sounds amazing. If I get another directly from these guys in the future and it comes out like that, ill be sure to try the phone call first. 

[10K-DB]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:23 PM, Larsongs said:

If the OP is talking one or two frets I agree. If it’s the whole Neck? In either case I’d call the Seller & say if you expect me to resolve this issue it requires a renegotiation of the Price.. It should be at least equal to a quality Luthiers Estimate to resolve the issue.. 

In either case if you or someone else does something to the Guitar & it ain’t right it very well could void the Factory Warranty... Which is why I’d avoid all that nonsense & say send me a replacement.

A NGD is supposed to be special! Do what you think is best to make it special!

Stu Mac has fret tools to order online to do a fret level,,kindof like straightedge type tool to keep track of your progress all along the entire fretboard as you file/dress the frets

[Randy63]

When I got my New Extura Prophecy the fretboard was bone dry with white ghost stripes. I oiled the board a few times and looked up the manufacture date. This was purchased in September,2023 and the manufacturer dates it to 11/2021. So it really isn’t uncommon for necks to shrink in storage, by storage I mean a cardboard box in a warehouse somewhere. Your guitar should be kept between 45% and 55% humidity. In a couple weeks you’ll not notice any fret sprout, dressing up the fret ends is expected in this price point for a guitar.