PSA: Yamaha L-series MIJ model blowout at Yamaha Music London

Universal8

Modellista said:

Universal8 said:

My LJ26 is going back. All along the edge of the fretboard the finish (lacquer ?) has lifted , looks like its dried out . Flaking in places and it feels roughy by the 3-4th fret. Not the quality I was expecting. No more Yamaha’s for me, that’s 2 in a row that were poorly finished.

Ouch.  Disappointing.  Looking at mine I can't even imagine what's going on, the finish is such a thin matte that it looks like there's nothing to lift.  Something's obviously gone astray with yours.  Having tried a fair few in the flesh they were all essentially perfect cosmetically (apart from the LL36 in the showroom which had picked up a few unfortunate dings).

My one was the last one left. Can’t imagine why.........

artiebear

Universal8 said:

My LJ26 is going back. All along the edge of the fretboard the finish (lacquer ?) has lifted , looks like its dried out . Flaking in places and it feels roughy by the 3-4th fret. Not the quality I was expecting. No more Yamaha’s for me, that’s 2 in a row that were poorly finished.

That's disappointing. As @Modellista has said, it's hard to see what could have happened there, maybe the board contracting then expanding as is in the nature of ebony ? I assume that the 26 has the same very thin matte finish as the 56 ? 

Whitecat

artiebear said:

Universal8 said:

My LJ26 is going back. All along the edge of the fretboard the finish (lacquer ?) has lifted , looks like its dried out . Flaking in places and it feels roughy by the 3-4th fret. Not the quality I was expecting. No more Yamaha’s for me, that’s 2 in a row that were poorly finished.

That disappointing. As @Modellista has said, it's hard to see what could have happened there, maybe the board contracting then expanding as is in the nature of ebony ? I assume that the 26 has the same very thin matte finish as the 56 ? 

The 26 is not lacquer... only the 36 and higher get that (nitro) - the 26 is some sort of thin poly, so hard to see what could have caused it but anything is possible. I think it’s unlikely it would have left the factory that way, probably environmental factors in the interim for sure. Disappointing either way of course!

artiebear

Whitecat said:

artiebear said:

Universal8 said:

My LJ26 is going back. All along the edge of the fretboard the finish (lacquer ?) has lifted , looks like its dried out . Flaking in places and it feels roughy by the 3-4th fret. Not the quality I was expecting. No more Yamaha’s for me, that’s 2 in a row that were poorly finished.

That disappointing. As @Modellista has said, it's hard to see what could have happened there, maybe the board contracting then expanding as is in the nature of ebony ? I assume that the 26 has the same very thin matte finish as the 56 ? 

The 26 is not lacquer... only the 36 and higher get that (nitro) - the 26 is some sort of thin poly, so hard to see what could have caused it but anything is possible. I think it’s unlikely it would have left the factory that way, probably environmental factors in the interim for sure. Disappointing either way of course!

If anything, I would have expected the nitro finished guitars to be more volatile and prone to cracks etc. As you say, there is next to zero chance of a QC issue at Yamaha. Sadly, it sounds more like the guitar has "settled" after being displayed in typically dry showroom conditions. If the board contracted causing the binding to shift, that could explain the lacquer issue along the edge. Whatever was happened, really disappointed for @Universal8. ;

Modellista

artiebear said:

Whitecat said:

artiebear said:

Universal8 said:

My LJ26 is going back. All along the edge of the fretboard the finish (lacquer ?) has lifted , looks like its dried out . Flaking in places and it feels roughy by the 3-4th fret. Not the quality I was expecting. No more Yamaha’s for me, that’s 2 in a row that were poorly finished.

That disappointing. As @Modellista has said, it's hard to see what could have happened there, maybe the board contracting then expanding as is in the nature of ebony ? I assume that the 26 has the same very thin matte finish as the 56 ? 

The 26 is not lacquer... only the 36 and higher get that (nitro) - the 26 is some sort of thin poly, so hard to see what could have caused it but anything is possible. I think it’s unlikely it would have left the factory that way, probably environmental factors in the interim for sure. Disappointing either way of course!

If anything, I would have expected the nitro finished guitars to be more volatile and prone to cracks etc. As you say, there is next to zero chance of a QC issue at Yamaha. Sadly, it sounds more like the guitar has "settled" after being displayed in typically dry showroom conditions. If the board contracted causing the binding to shift, that could explain the lacquer issue along the edge. Whatever was happened, really disappointed for @Universal8. ;

The 26 doesn't have a bound 'board.  Would be interesting to see a photo of this just because I can't imagine what it looks like!  Indeed very disappointing.

sunshinewelly

Disappointed for you. Mine was immaculate 

FreddieVanHalen

Very disappointing, commiserations indeed. Not worth keeping for a decent discount?

Universal8

FreddieVanHalen said:

Very disappointing, commiserations indeed. Not worth keeping for a decent discount?

Haven’t been offered one. They said they would repair or pay for repairs. That’s of no interest to me. 

FreddieVanHalen

Universal8 said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

Very disappointing, commiserations indeed. Not worth keeping for a decent discount?

Haven’t been offered one. They said they would repair or pay for repairs. That’s of no interest to me. 

Fair enough, I know on some of my guitars something like that would bug the hell out of me, it's all very personal.

Universal8

FreddieVanHalen said:

Universal8 said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

Very disappointing, commiserations indeed. Not worth keeping for a decent discount?

Haven’t been offered one. They said they would repair or pay for repairs. That’s of no interest to me. 

Fair enough, I know on some of my guitars something like that would bug the hell out of me, it's all very personal.

I have asked for a discount just to see what they offer. I’ll find out on Monday.

sunshinewelly

Do you have photos of the issue 

Universal8

Universal8 said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

Universal8 said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

Very disappointing, commiserations indeed. Not worth keeping for a decent discount?

Haven’t been offered one. They said they would repair or pay for repairs. That’s of no interest to me. 

Fair enough, I know on some of my guitars something like that would bug the hell out of me, it's all very personal.

I have asked for a discount just to see what they offer. I’ll find out on Monday.

Email from Yamaha today. No further discount offered. I either keep it or send it back.

sunshinewelly

thats a bit strange of them and not exactly customer friendly - makes me think my price match request on a 12 string LL16 will be rejected. probably will not bother using them down the line

most retailers would be happy to give a discount on a defective product

peach gave me a discount on my martin and it seems the issues were not as bad as those on the Yamaha but peach were still decent enough to offer a discount.

Whitecat

It is strange - either they will have to pay to repair it, or sell it as B-stock at a reduced price anyway, or possibly both... if they just flip it back up for sale then they are being very naughty... bummer. 

sunshinewelly

thats why i find it odd they will not offer some discount. Ultimately it would cost them something to rectify it in the end unless they do just flip it back up for sale which would be worrying

Universal8

It’s bizarre. Must be easier for them to knock a bit off and hope I keep it than mess about with it. 

FreddieVanHalen

Only reason I can think of is as a blanket policy to dissuade the criminal or disingenuous from deliberately damaging something to obtain a discount.

Otherwise, For all those of us that are honest And for Yamaha itself it seems like a perverse decision for Yamaha to have made.

sunshinewelly

do people actually do that - ie damage to get a discount - seems odd behaviour,.

however i have been attempting to get hold of yamaha for the last 5 days now regarding a purchase and their price promise and a price match and they are impossible to get hold of. dont think they have heard of how to respond to email. possibly the worst customer service i have come across in trying to spend money with a store. 

danny_777

Universal8 said:

It’s bizarre. Must be easier for them to knock a bit off and hope I keep it than mess about with it. 

Well, to me that's quite commendable. Of course it would be easier to throw you £100, but they clearly would rather spend the money and time doing a proper job and getting the guitar up to scratch,

danny_777

How's everyone enjoying their Yamahas? I've just put some new Elixirs on my LS26 and it has come to LIFE!!