First of all I do not owe anybody on this forum and explanation on anything on any level and I laugh at the mob mentality and small mindedness of a lot of people around here.
The ball has been in this guy’s court since Tuesday and honestly he would have had his problem solved one way or another or his money back by now if he would step up.
A this point like I said if anyone one wants to take sides or not buy anything from me I honestly could care less because you are uniformed.
That said there is not one person, thread or post made by anyone on this forum that will ever influence my standing in this matter ever or what the final outcome is.
The biggest problem when you write something is people misinterpret what is said and read into everything the wrong way as demonstrated multiple times in this thread already by a few fools. My time is very valuable and I have wasted close to three days dealing with serious nonsense from Shane and this “would be tech” and personal friend of his for 15 years (I was told). I feel like there is a lot of nepotisim going on here as well. I am posting this epistle and I am done and am moving on and am not going to publicly entertain this matter at all. In the future as Tom, Steve, Alex and few other close friends have told me DON’T deal with people who have little or no posting history on this forum and you will avoid much headaches.
I bought these guitars from Pedro Rodriguez on TGP, they are/were very beautiful guitars and perfect with zero issues when Pedro shipped then to me when I received them, and when I sold them. I posted many pictures of these guitars 5 days prior to receiving them from Pedro. I was very excited about finding such great condition practically new USA Charvel guitars. As a matter of fact Pedro jumped in the thread and proudly said “Your going to love them bro”.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=159216
Also, prior to even paying for them when we are going over the details of the transaction Pedro told me if there was a single thing about these guitars that I did not like it would be no problem to send them back for a full refund. I have this in writing in an email, text or PM.
I bought the guitars on Sunday August 24 and they arrived during the day on Friday August 29th. Those who know me know that I am very picky and trust me when I say that when both these guitars were received they were as Pedro said. Like brand new and they both played FLAWLESSLY. The necks bodies and hardware were all inspected thoroughly from top to bottom. Had there been anything of unrepairable neck issue or neck issues of any kind I would have contacted Pedro and RETURNED as he said I could. In other words I hd an easy out if there were any issues. I spent a good portion of the afternoon playing the guitars - no issues. During the 5 short days I had these guitars in my possession I did not touch the gold guitar in anyway shape or form with any tools or anything, I just played it right out of the case as it came to me.
Later on the evening I noticed Steve from CMC guitars posted on ebay the Vanilla Shake custom shop guitar. I was no stranger to that guitar because Steve was at the Charvel custom shop in early August and took pics of it while it was being built and sent to me from his phone. He said he was buying it and that it was really killer. He mentioned it might be 3-4 week until he gets it though and I know how things can drag out so I had kind of moved on from that guitar until it showed up. I was man I should have been patient. On Saturday the 30th of August I text-ed Steve and against my better judgment ( I had just got two new guitars the day before) I snapped and convinced myself to buy the vanilla shake guitar mainly because I wanted a rosewood board and I had only maple boards ( I think I mentioned this in the thread about the guitar).
During my conversation with Steve on the phone which lasted a while we talked in depth about my new Charvels that I had received from Pedro and I was telling him how amazing they were and I’m probably a total nutcase for buying another Charvel custom shop since I just received these. During our conversation I clearly told him that I was going to most likely sell one or both to help out with the cost of this new unanticipated purchase. He is going to post and verify all this soon as the OP make false accusations in regards to the Vanilla Shake guitar.
The following Monday, September 1st. I put up a for sale thread with both guitars in it.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=159533
I also had them for sale locally here in Franklin. On Tuesday a really good friend of mine a pro touring musician who made a serious living in a signed touring band for years came over to look at the Gold Guitar in question. I pulled it out of the case and BOTH OF US WANKED ON IT FOR OVER AN HOUR. He loved it ( and so did I ) The guitar as when I got it played and sounded killer, made me think about keeping it. He really wanted it but needed time to get money together.
I told him it would probably sell fast. On the 4th of September I was contacted by Shane and he wanted to buy the guitar. He asked me something in the many years of buying and selling guitars I had never been asked. “How is the neck pocket”. I called him and we talked about it and it really seemed to big a big deal for him. His line of questioning made me feel that he was kind of fussy to some extent or had something in mind. He said he currently owns Charvel he recently bought and the neck had a small tiny gap and didn't fit real tight in the pocket and he was very concerned about this guitar in that respect. I took pictures of the guitars neck pocket area and spoke to him over the phone in great detail about the guitar. Again the guitar was immaculate and I checked the neck myself and is had ZERO humps and actually had a pube of relief in the neck which is what I like. There was no back bow between the 1st and 6th frets at all. (BTW which is beyond easy to fix if you have a clue).
The guitar would have not played at all like it did and there is no way I would ship anything to anyone if the neck needed a tweek without telling him up front. This guitar was in no way shape or form in some un-repairable condition. I was very detailed in describing the neck pocket and taking extra pictures of it and I told him the guitar played great and that the only thing I would do is raise the bridge a bit and put a little heavier gauge string on it if I was going to keep it for myself.
So shipped Shane the guitar and checked the tracking, it was held over the weekend at a fedex location in Cypress, Tx. which I believe is in Southern Texas Houston area, he received it Monday September 8th, I checked the tracking to make sure it was picked up…
This is where the nonsense begins.
I will say this damn guitar was so nice that if you told me I would wasting 3+ day sof my time dealing with nonsense like this I would have laughed.
The last thing I expected to receive was this shocking email from Shane and his personal friend of 15 years or know as the "would be tech”.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giles,
Received the guitar yesterday
And aesthetically it is great. Brought to my tech ( who is also an avid RT'er) for set up and he alerted me to the issue below. I am gong to be traveling today but he can be reached at (281) 798-2118 or the below email if you need further explanation. Let me know how you would like to handle the return. I will keep the hard case (deduct $50) and send in a charvel gig bag that I have for another guitar if that works for you. Joe will ship it for me as I am gone until the 15th.
Thanks
Shane
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Joe Villarreal <jvil2@yahoo.com>
Date: September 8, 2014 at 11:21:59 PM CDT
To: Shane Cormier <Shane1713@gmail.com>
Subject: Charvel So Cal
Shane, there is an issue with the Charvel So Cal. It's got a hump on the high string side from the 1st fret to about the 6th fret and you can't dial it out with the truss rod. The hump is at it's highest point at the 3rd fret and it's on the verge of choking out just playing that note never mind trying to bend it. I can't do anything more with it.
Joe
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where do I start???
1. Return? What return? You and I have not even had a basic conversation about anything and we have not had the opportunity to come to any mutual agreement or even an understanding about anything.
2. Keep the case??? WTF? Who are you to arbitrarily tell me your sending me a guitar back and your keeping the case and shipping back in a used gig bag you have lying around the house??? This shows little concern for the guitar during transit or me as the seller
3. Why is your tech/friend who did not buy the guitar nor was the person I did business with shipping the guitar back to me?
4. On the subject of Joe, you say your tech an "AVID RIG-TALKER" in your I'm returning the guitar email??? I would hardly call 87 posts “AVID”.
5. I'm getting an email from an unknown third party l who is supposed to be a “TECH” and I am now being notified that the perfect guitar I just bought from Pedro and had at my house for 5 days is now somehow not only broken and unplayable, but is broken BROKEN BEYOND ANY AND ALL REPAIR AND ANY FURTHER TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT CANNOT FIX IT EVER???
I was not happy, to me this was questionable several reasons. I called the Joe Tech/Friend expecting to get a repair shop and all I got was a voice-mail “This is Joe Leave a message”. I do not know about you but when a guy says my TECH” that is a strong word like when you hear “Doctor” you assume professional skills and some one who is fully certified and qualified to make these statements and back them up. Especially when you read an email containing frets choking out, cant dial the hump out with the truss-rod, etc. I have been told repeatedly a hump between 1 and 6 can be fixed by any tech wit half a brain. While the guitar did not leave my hands looking like that, it is a straight forward thing and those charvel necks are amazing. This guy needs to take it a real pro and based on the circumstances has been asked to get a second opinion by a real tech who is not his personal friend of 15 years and had real credentials and fender certification. My tech Tom Barkstrom works for "Joe Glaser Guitar" here in Nashville and pretty much is the top shelf of top guitar Luthiers anywhere you can think of. I bought a brand spanking new ibanez RG hardtail to him back in the day when we he worked in south Florida that played bad and I could not dial it in and it had a twist in the neck and this guy in 20 min and that thing playing so good and fixed the twist it was unbelievable. This was a brand new guitar too. There are tons of people who claim to be "techs" because they change strings and do minor setups but are in the pro league at all.
I have tactics I use when I feel things are not right and I was pissed and decided to bust this dude balls hard. The main reaon was I knew what I bought from Pedro and what I shipped this kid.
I called him and ripped him about keeping the case and telling me he is going to throw the guitar in a used gigbag and ship it back to me in that. This in and of itself which is totally wrong and fishy on all levels and put a dent in this guys integrity from the get-go.
I proceeded to ask him asked him about his “tech” and what happened and told him I was totally blown away by everything in the email above, that it made zero sense to me.
Shane quickly defended the email telling me get this “MY TECH WORKED ON THE GUITAR THE ENTIRE DAY AND CANT FIX THE NECK”. My wife of 15 years was standing near and heard this conversation quickly escalate and upon hearing Shane state over the phone to me "his tech worked on the guitar the ENTIRE DAY" I blew up because any good tech should not be working on a neck the entire day period??? This was his exact statement to me over the phone and if Shane says any different he is a stone cold liar period. That single statement that came out of his mouth was resounding in my head for the rest of the day and was the catalyst for my continued busting of his balls.
Anyway I went off and yelled “The entire day???”...WTF?
I was like my tech could figure out if a neck was bad or had issues in 10 min??? WTF an entire day???
Then I said how the hell did you get the guitar over to and in front of a quality tech so fast you just got it???
I asked how could any tech with a bench load of work mess with a neck the entire day???
So this guy (your friend) or your tech is saying THIS GUITAR IS UN REPAIRABLE??? I was like what are his qualifications? What certifications does he have? I specifically asked Ol’ Shane boy is his tech was Fender/Charvel certified to work on the truss rod of a neck and make a judgment call that the neck was completely unrepairable. Many bad pictures entered my head because of what this kid was saying about a tech working all day, truss rod not working, cant to take the back bow out, etc.
To all of the above "CRICKETS"…
Because I now have an email stating a perfect guitar with a straight neck I shipped this guy is totally broke beyond repair I asked him to produce info about this tech and the repair itself.
I asked for the name of the Repair shop where this tech works.
I asked for a copy of a repair order or work order to be photographed or scanned and photographed with smart phone
I asked for a copy of his payment to this tech for services rendered and a written statement that this guitar is unrepairable
"CRICKETS"….
I said dude, I know what I sent you, “a perfectly playing Charvel USA like brand new in a brand new Charvel hard-shell case and you didn't even play it, took it to someone you call a tech who emails me at 11:21 PM that night stating the guitar is unrepairable and you want to keep the case and throw it in a gig bag, send it back to me and you can’t answer a single question or provide proof of where this guys works or anything about his qualifications?
Shane tells me I should just call his tech. I said I already did and got a voice mail and BTW, I didn't sell the guitar to him, I sold it to you and you need to handle this yourself with me.
I asked him repeatedly to take it to another tech for a second opinion because of his statements about his tech working the entire day on a neck honestly made me think the guys not very capable. ( which me now know is very true) Plus I refuse to hear that this guitar is broken beyond repair as it makes no sense at all as I did not ship a broken beyond repiar guitar to Shane , not even close.
Anyway I beat this guy up all day to take it somewhere else for a second opinion and told him I would need the opinion of a real tech, a preferably certified tech.
Thus far CRICKETS.
I called him out on the carpet right and left to get to the bottom of things because from where I was sitting everything was very fishy and was just unbelievable. Then I get this email from Shane and this was the end of the road…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Giles. I have no desire to rip you off nor take your money and the guitar.
The guitar could still be sold to a less discriminating buyer if you want.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was like RESELL TO A LESS DISCRIMINATING BUYER???
You and your so called tech’s email said THE GUITAR IS UNFIX-ABLE AND YOU NEED A REFUND???
Now you telling me in an email I can resell it to a less discriminating buyer after your tech said he cant fix it???
Any "Less discriminating buyers" reading this thread want to take Shanes offer???
I said ENOUGH and reading that... I’m done bro with you on all levels, first its unfixable and now I can resell it to another less discriminating buyer... This is fishy beyond fishey sounding.
I demanded that he take it to a real tech that I can trust who is fender certified or that he can enjoy your new Charvel "as is". This situation needs to be Vetted IMO by a real pro since I sent the kid a straight guitar that I could have returned to Pedro no questions asked and the fact I didn't and kept the guitar speaks volumes as too the condition of the neck. I know how to sight a guitar neck and set up a guitar like this after z couple decades guys. This thing was not jacked when it left and nothing makes sense.
I contacted Pedro the original owner I got the guitars from and forward him the “bedroom pics” and emails from “Joe-Blow the wanna be tech who says the guitar chant be fixed (but it can if you’re a pro) and Shane. I even grilled him about the history of the guitars and he said that he bought these and barley played them and that they have never been to a tech. He said he never ever thought there were any issues with these guitars when he had them and sold them to me and neither did I or I would have sent them back to Pedro for an easy refund.
Pedro is a stand up guy and because I only had the guitar but 5 days at my house offered to just shut everything down and refund me to avoid all this mess and I could get the guitar back from Shanus and send it back to him.
To be honest that would have been an easy out for me and we would not all be here. But I feel bad because Shane and his personal friend aand everything that went down is very questionable AFAIC at all and everything from them is hinkey to the max. I have been pushing for these clowns to step up and prove this guitar is broken beyond all repair and “CRICKETS”. Now these guys come on this forums after striking out with paypal and are trying to strong arm me with people here… lol
It won’t work and shows the true character of these guys who are supposed to be AVID rig talkers. 87 posts… very avid indeed!
The fact that Shane does not want to get a second opinion and took this thing to a "bedroom tech" buddy is beyond telling. His whole story and cadence stinks to high heaven since the first email.
Shane was/is offered a repair, refund or a new neck from Pedro if he steps up and he won’t. NOT MY PROBLEM ANY MORE. Pedro and I have exchanged several emails and your door is fast closing.
As stated in the beginning of this epistle I’m done with this thread once posted. Keep it going if you all want and feel free in true forum fashion to misinterpret everything I have just said..
BTW those pics of the neck hump have been in front of a pro tech who laughed hard and said that can fixed very easily even if the neck was heated up and humidified in the south Texas heat at the fedex place over the weekend while it was on hold. (this is the "take the high road" on this debacle possible theory)
At this point I have no clue what to believe from these guys because first and foremost I was told from square one by Shane (unbeknownst to his friend) “My tech” (who is not a tech at all IMO)” worked the entire day trying to fix the neck. All I can say is Shane buddy you buried yourself with that statement. I have asked for technical credentials for the friend of yours who says the guitar is broken beyond repair. The story has gone from "he worked the entire day to level a neck" straight to from Shane's mouth to the tech saying in a post in this thread "I never even took it apart because I wouldn't know how to do anything like that" from the techs post in this thread???
I know what I shipped Shane and what Pedro Rodriguez shipped me just a 5 days earlier, a guitar with a straight perfect neck that was not "unrepairable" ...So ya think about that.
You know how to get a hold of me Shane and out of pure respect for this forum I'm not going to continue this publicly on any level, both Pedro and i have been on stand by for a day and a half for you to "step-up" and "CRICKETS" buddy CRICKETS.... until now and this thread.
IMO it shows a lot of sincere cheesyness in light of the facts to come like and start this crap (like i really care anyway...) I'm thinking "thank GOD this clown" paid with paypal gift
BTW I do wonder a little about why so many questions and the photo-OP of the the neck pocket prior to buying the guitar and nothing else? Hmmmmm.....
Here is the pic I took of the guitar and sent to the buyer in regards to the neck pocket fit to accommodate the buyer in any way I could while discussing the transaction over the phone with. I thoroughly answered all his questions and again this situation is beyond belief to me.
"TRANSPARENCY WAS VERY HIGH ON THIS TRANSACTION". I went over the entire guitar with him and myself... Many times I bwill low off buyers because I can tell from their questions (Does it have tooobz?) that they are are just too "JV" and then all you get is problems from someone who is just not experienced enough to know about anything they are buying and I do not have time for that as the headaches are not worth it. As a 49 year old pro gear nut I know who is good for about 30-40k a year in gear deals since about 1997 (that's when I got a real job.. lol) I totally know all about things getting jacked up with sellers/buyers. Never again with forum unknowns...Tom told me he searches post history of anyone who does a buyer inquiry, sound like a good plan to me from now on.
Peace.
