Just A Rant On Buying Online

[Sgt. Pepper]

So 2 week I bought a used in great condition 00-28. I set it up how I like it and I need to shave about another 64th off the saddle and it will be pimpin'. 

Now here is the rub. After having the guitar for a few days I smelled this smell from the case and guitar. I only smoke weed (its legal in Virginia) and not in the house. I only had the guitar for a week and a half once you factor in shipping time. Well the cigarette smoke smell is there. The guy who sold it to me said it was bought new in August of 2021. The serial number is from 2020 and is 2405677. The last serial number from 2019 is 2366880  and the last serial number from 2020 is 2454224. So I am estimating the guitar was made in April or May.  He may have bought it used and forgot he said he as a few guitars around the house? He said it was kept in his non-smoking home, and he and his wife don't smoke, and as mentioned he said he bought it new. I messaged him about it. He told me it must have happened before he bought it. So I guess In Nazareth, PA at the Martin Factory they smoke inside while working. I doubt that. Wait it happened in the 3 days it was boxed up, and in transit when it was in Fed Ex's possession, I doubt that too. 

So one of us is BS-ing?

Edited December 9, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[Dave F]

I hate that smell. I've had it from guitars I've played in the bars and a few used ones I've bought. Best solution I've found  besides pitching the case, is to get a can of the OXY rug cleaner spray for pet mishaps, Spray the the inside of the case heavily and then take a cloth and rub it. After a few days after it dries, vacuum it. That's worked every time. 

As far as misleading salesman, plenty of them. I've returned at least a half dozen guitars on EBay.

[Notes_Norton]

Try putting it in a closed room near an open bowl of white vinegar.

When we were gigging in rooms before smoking was banned indoors, we used to hang our clothes on a line in the utility room over a bowl of vinegar. By morning the cigarette smoke was gone.

 

Notes ♫

[merciful-evans]

I had a ebay guitar delivered wrapped in orange bubblewrap. The orange was all tobacco. Must have had years of exposure to smoke. I got advice here about that one too.

I used all manner of cleaners and vinegar also. This was the guitar itself of course. It took a whole year to remove the smell. It only fully went after I left it outside in the fresh air for hours at a time. 

If I was you I would begin with Dave & Notes ideas. Febreze wouldn't hurt either. The if you still need it, open the case & leave it outside.

[fortyearspickn]

Some keep an open box of armand hammer baking soda in their reefers to absorb bad food smells.  It seems to work.  I would steer clear of Febreeze.  It leaves a coating impossible to remove on fabric if it builds up.  And, would do the same on a guitar, especially on the raw wood of the fingerboard, bridge and insides.     Maybe it's not smoke.  Did your seller have a cat? 

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said:

Some keep an open box of armand hammer baking soda in their reefers to absorb bad food smells.  It seems to work.  I would steer clear of Febreeze.  It leaves a coating impossible to remove on fabric if it builds up.  And, would do the same on a guitar, especially on the raw wood of the fingerboard, bridge and insides.     Maybe it's not smoke.  Did your seller have a cat? 

No confirmation on a smoking feline in his house.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[RBSinTo]

Chief,

I used to be a very heavy smoker, and have always owned multiple cats, and can attest that the odors of cigarette smoke and cat urine are entirely different.

The baking soda, vinegar and sunlight are the safest solutions to the problem.

If you insist on washing the inside of the case, use a mild soap and water solution and rinse repeatedly before drying. The other strong organic that was suggested might leave residue that could attack the finish.

Better safe than sorry.

And enjoy the new guitar.

RBSinTo 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by RBSinTo

[kidblast]

be patient eventually it will dissipate.   I've had a few that smelled pretty bad from either a secondhand purchase or too much time spent playing in bars when you could smoke anywhere.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, kidblast said:

be patient eventually it will dissipate.   I've had a few that smelled pretty bad from either a secondhand purchase or too much time spent playing in bars when you could smoke anywhere.

 

The smell is is fairly light but its there. I think I will put the case outside today for a bit when I get home from work. 

Bonus on the the guitar as the non-smoker who owned it before me did not register the guitar, so according to Martin I'm now the original owner. The same thing happened with the 000-18 in July.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[Retired]

Congrats on the guitar Sgt.  I have always been a non smoker and can understand the problem. I cannot stand the slightest smell of cigaret smoke.  My cousin that taught me to play at 13 was a heavy smoker and even burnt a hole in my tube amplifier. 

[rct]

That's the delightful, delicate aroma of RHAWK.  Rub some beer and cheap wine in, dash of cheap perfume and you got the smell of heaven.

rct

[SteveFord]

Did you have it near the screen when you watched Get Back?  

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 12/10/2021 at 6:57 AM, SteveFord said:

Did you have it near the screen when you watched Get Back?  

That was what did it.

[OrdinaryNimda]

There was a great song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I doubt it was about THAT smell. 

I hope the smoke-smell fades away quickly, and the guitar handles & plays as it should. What else could one want? 👍

Edited December 11, 2021 by OrdinaryNimda

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 12/11/2021 at 4:34 PM, OrdinaryNimda said:

There was a great song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I doubt it was about THAT smell. 

I hope the smoke-smell fades away quickly, and the guitar handles & plays as it should. What else could one want? 👍

Its cigarette smoke. The smell of death does not surround me.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[themarkwilkinso]

How could someone endure waiting days if not weeks for a package to arrive. Even for ebay or amazon deals that offer same day deliveries, I still find it so obnoxious to have a parcel come at a later time during the day which defeats the purpose of the whole endevour in the first place. 

[RBSinTo]

8 hours ago, themarkwilkinso said:

"How could someone endure waiting days if not weeks for a package to arrive........"

Seriously?

There are greater tragedies in the world.

RBSinTo

[Sgt. Pepper]

I hear government scientists are working on a transporter system like on Star Trek that beams your package to you immediately after purchase.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[RBSinTo]

11 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I hear government scientists are working on a transporter system like on Star Trek that beams your package to you immediately after purchase.

Chief,

Let's hope they get all the kinks worked  out very soon, so this poor guy doesn't have to suffer much longer.

RBSinTo

 

[SteveFord]

Considering where both myself and Sgt. Pepper work we both know that your package will be transported to Alpha Centauri and you'll have to fill out 27 different forms to track it down.

At least with FedEx they'll throw it in the neighbor's bushes so you can walk around the block and find it.

[Sgt. Pepper]

I tried vinegar, and that didn't do anything. I left the case outside for a few hours and it seemed to get the case smelling better, its one of the thermoplastic ones (I like those better that the Geib  cases).  The guitar I take out every day and let sit at room temperature even if I don't play it. The smell is still the same. I guess over time its gonna fade. 

People have mentioned online and here Febreze. I'm not spraying that stuff in my case or near my 00-28. Some online  and here suggested baking soda. I am going to try that and I also saw online someone mentioned coffee grounds. At least my guitar will smell like coffee instead of smoke. 

[merciful-evans]

If you dont mind a bit of bird guano, keep a canary in the case for a weekend. If its coughing on Monday, it aint fumigated yet.

 

[SteveFord]

Please, no bat guano, we've suffered enough.

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, SteveFord said:

Please, no bat guano, we've suffered enough.

Nope, baking soda in a coffee filter, in the body, in the case sitting horizontal.

[Retired]

After hearing several peoples problems of ordering guitars on line, plus I remember my own when I ordered that Rivera and waited for several months and it never did come in, so I bout one they had at GC.  I'll never order on line again.