BillyGibson Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I went to Best Buy Tuesday to look around at lunch. They had a Dot priced at 299. This was not a studio either, but a regular Vintage Sunburst with 2 tone and 2 volume knobs. I played it a little and took it home thinking I got a deal. After playing it some more, I discovered the neck was wavy about 1/2 way up. I thought it was my imagination. I started looking at it from different angles. Sure enough - waves on the neck near the fret board. The more I ran my fingers up and down it, it felt like a wash board. I took it back yesterday. The salesperson admitted about 1 in 5 Dots is having this problem. Since he had my money, he wanted to up sell me a Sheraton II for another $400. They didn't have any more Dots. I looked at the Sheraton. It was their only one too and was a little beat up. He offered to come down to $599. I passed. Then he wanted to sell me a Fender Tele. Huh? I got my money back and left. I'm off to Guitar Center today at lunch to look at a Dot Delux Flame Top they are holding for me. I called them last night and they have one left. I hope it's a good one. With the gold hardware and flame top, it looks as good or better than the Sheraton II and is $300 less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Well, if what that salesman at BB told you is, in fact, true...that would be a 20% unacceptable ratio, and that's WAY out of line, in manufacturing quality! That's disturbing...IF it's in fact, true?? The thing that disturbs me, and I'm quite sure others here...is that these "horror stories" are (seemingly) on the increase...7 years, beyond what should be any "change-over" bumps in the road. I'm sure that Japanese, Korean...(even Indonesian) percentages are far lower! Hopefully, anyway. Anyway...good luck, with Guitar Center...hope they have a good one, for you! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stone1281734000 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I guess Best Buy and Epiphone figure that 80% of the people who buy guitars there know very little about guitars and they can get away with selling that "1 in 5" second quality stock. I wonder if you could've exchanged it for a first quality one under the Epiphone warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I wonder if you could've exchanged it for a first quality one under the Epiphone warranty? Of course, if you're willing to eat the shipping and wait 6 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andylivingston Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Honestly, I'm not even sure why Best Buy has the music section these days anyway. It's like trusting Wal-Mart with major car repairs. Some things should have their own stores, and I think instruments should be sold with instruments. At least you got to try it out, unlike guitar shopping at a pawn shop. Best Buy's target market is probably younger teens with rich parents who are impulse buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Way to go, Bill. Of course, you will find it back in stock until someone comes along with lower expectations and takes it home. At least you didn't have to eat it. If you had purchased it from an online retailer, it would have cost you the shipping to return it. Buy those guitars from a mom and pop dealer. Then you can cherry pick and get the one that was put together the right way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyGibson Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Guitar Center came through for me. I bought the Dot Deluxe Vintage Sunburst with a Flame Maple Top. Gold pick ups, and gold Grover Tuners. I'll post pictures as soon as I find my camera. My wife used it last and it's not where it normally is kept. I don't think I should go wake her up at 5:30 a.m to tell her I need it to post a picture. What the heck. Maybe I'll do it anyway... I'm now feling pretty old after talking to the salesperson there. He said, they only had one of these because the kids all want the "shredder" guitars. This one went unnoticed, so it's in great shape, i.e., it didn't get played very much. I brought it back to work to show a few friends. My assistant said, my dad would like that. I'm old enough to be her dad too. Then another said, my grand pappy would like that too. I'm only 45! This guitar is outstanding. My friend at work who usually goes with me to look at guitars has over 60 of them now. He said, the neck on this feels like a Gibson. He also likes the golden color of the sunburst better than the yellowish color of the Gibson. He was impressed with this one. I'll definitely post a picture when I find the camera sometime over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stone1281734000 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I don't think I should go wake her up at 5:30 a.m to tell her I need it to post a picture. What the heck. Maybe I'll do it anyway... You are very brave. So you ended up with a really nice Dot Deluxe for only a hundred more than the defective Dot Standard? Sounds like you made out pretty good. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timandbob Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Guitar Center came through for me. I bought the Dot Deluxe Vintage Sunburst with a Flame Maple Top. Gold pick ups' date=' and gold Grover Tuners. I'll post pictures as soon as I find my camera. My wife used it last and it's not where it normally is kept. I don't think I should go wake her up at 5:30 a.m to tell her I need it to post a picture. What the heck. Maybe I'll do it anyway... I'm now feling pretty old after talking to the salesperson there. He said, they only had one of these because the kids all want the "shredder" guitars. This one went unnoticed, so it's in great shape, i.e., it didn't get played very much. I brought it back to work to show a few friends. My assistant said, my dad would like that. I'm old enough to be her dad too. Then another said, my grand pappy would like that too. I'm only 45! This guitar is outstanding. My friend at work who usually goes with me to look at guitars has over 60 of them now. He said, the neck on this feels like a Gibson. He also likes the golden color of the sunburst better than the yellowish color of the Gibson. He was impressed with this one. I'll definitely post a picture when I find the camera sometime over the weekend.[/quote']Yep, that's what I ended up with after playing several guitars. I am "officially" old at 51. But our band plays stuff from the 60s, so I guess I am older than I look (or something like that). I spent a lot of time tweaking the intonation of my Dot Deluxe. I had some trouble with the first 3 frets being 2 cents sharp. I bought a new nut and lowered the action as low as it can go. I still have some intonation issues, but its now workable. And, for solos, the Dot is sweet and easy to play. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Pfff...KIDS, all of you! I remember when a ES-335 Gibson was less then the standard Epiphone Dot is now. It seemed like a small fortune, then...too. In fact...I can remember when there was no such thing, as a ES-335 yet. Hadn't been thought of, much less built. Talk about OLD! ;>) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluezOldy Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I just love my Dot ... ... and any excuse to post a pic of it! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman345 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Beautiful guitar!!! One question, though...I didn't know that a "Dot" has the rectangular inlays - I thought it only had "dots". I used to own a red Gibby ES335TD. It had rectangular inlays and a trapeze bridge (and bound fingerboard, I think). :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Timandbob: I've been fiddling with the Buzz Feiten tuning system thingy which compensates for the tuning problem on the first 3 to 5 frets. After the hype has settled, it seems that all you need is a shelf nut such as the Earvana, a good ear, adjustable bridge, and a Feiten-tempered electronic tuner like the Korg DT-7 or Peterson V-SAM tuner, or if you're really picky, the Peterson 490 8-octave - the most accurate. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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