davenumber2
Member
The D30 arrived yesterday.
First, the bad: I don't know if it was damaged in shipping or if it was shipped this way hoping I wouldn't notice but the the top was caving in in front of the bridge. The guitar was shipped in a super tight case crammed into a box with no padding. I had to wrestle it just to get it out of the box. I took a look inside the guitar and the x brace was cracked on one side and had separated from the top. The support brace around the sound hole had also come loose and was cracked. I also measured the bridge and it's only .26'' tall so seems to have been shaved. The action was super low and the b and e strings were fretting out all the way up the neck. The relief was like .17, way too much. It's amazing how many used guitars I see that are completely out of whack.
Now, the good: I contacted the seller and told him all the issues. He said send it back. I requested a refund, which he initiated immediately and he was very apologetic. I told him I'd have to get a new box to properly send it back to prevent any further damage. A couple minutes later he responded and said don't even worry about sending it back because he wouldn't be able to sell it anyway since it was damaged (bought from a pawn shop on Reverb). So in the end, I got a full refund and got to keep the guitar.
Being the amateur luthier I am (key word being amateur), I got to work fixing it. I pushed the top back into shape from the inside using some rubber hosing and glued and clamped the x brace and the support brace back together, glued the top cracks and let it sit overnight. I shimmed the saddle up until I can order a new one. I strung it up this morning and the top is all flattened out and holding pat. The action is 6/64'' on the bass and 4/64'' on the treble. It plays great now and sounds fantastic. Such a full sound that just fills the room. I'm not sure if it conveys in the video. This guitar makes me rethink my preconceived notions about maple. It has more bass than my D50.
I've attached some pics of the damage and post-repair. Any idea on date of manufacture? I didn't see the serial number in the database and also couldn't find a date under the top or on the neckblock.
Thanks for reading my long-winded post.
First, the bad: I don't know if it was damaged in shipping or if it was shipped this way hoping I wouldn't notice but the the top was caving in in front of the bridge. The guitar was shipped in a super tight case crammed into a box with no padding. I had to wrestle it just to get it out of the box. I took a look inside the guitar and the x brace was cracked on one side and had separated from the top. The support brace around the sound hole had also come loose and was cracked. I also measured the bridge and it's only .26'' tall so seems to have been shaved. The action was super low and the b and e strings were fretting out all the way up the neck. The relief was like .17, way too much. It's amazing how many used guitars I see that are completely out of whack.
Now, the good: I contacted the seller and told him all the issues. He said send it back. I requested a refund, which he initiated immediately and he was very apologetic. I told him I'd have to get a new box to properly send it back to prevent any further damage. A couple minutes later he responded and said don't even worry about sending it back because he wouldn't be able to sell it anyway since it was damaged (bought from a pawn shop on Reverb). So in the end, I got a full refund and got to keep the guitar.
Being the amateur luthier I am (key word being amateur), I got to work fixing it. I pushed the top back into shape from the inside using some rubber hosing and glued and clamped the x brace and the support brace back together, glued the top cracks and let it sit overnight. I shimmed the saddle up until I can order a new one. I strung it up this morning and the top is all flattened out and holding pat. The action is 6/64'' on the bass and 4/64'' on the treble. It plays great now and sounds fantastic. Such a full sound that just fills the room. I'm not sure if it conveys in the video. This guitar makes me rethink my preconceived notions about maple. It has more bass than my D50.
I've attached some pics of the damage and post-repair. Any idea on date of manufacture? I didn't see the serial number in the database and also couldn't find a date under the top or on the neckblock.
Thanks for reading my long-winded post.
