QC on new Legacy Tribute

[-Tim-]

Beginner guitarist here - old dog looking to learn a new trick during a long coronavirus lockdown. Purchased my first quality mid-range guitar, choosing the Legacy Tribute as a high bang-for-the-buck option. Was excited to receive the brand new guitar recently and obviously did a quick once-over, even though the music shop I ordered from claimed they'd already done it. A couple of questions...

I noticed right away that there was a noticeable lump in the pickguard near the jack. Loosened up the pickguard and found one of the pickup wires tightened down between the body and pickguard. Figure it's been pinched there for a while but without any visible damage to the wire. Tucked it back into the cavity, but the pickguard lump remains.

Noticed that the jack itself has a springiness to it that pushes against the cord, leaving some in/out flex or play in the fully inserted cord. Seems to be fine electrically but doesn't feel seated as solidly as any others I've tried.

The pickguard, pickup covers, and control knobs are all cream colored. Everything is the same color except for the two tone knobs that are a noticeably darker shade. Probably still technically cream, but visually stand out.

The 4D string has a noticeable V-shaped kink in it.

New strings are $5, and I'd have changed them anyway. I've got a soldering iron and could put in a new Switchcraft jack for probably $10. Given an apparent lack of easy drop-in replacement pickguards and bad odds of finding color matched knobs online, would you just move on with your life, or is any of this worth a call or email to G&L? I recognize that I went with the more budget-minded Tribute line (and am probably nitpicking) but had my expectations set higher by all the praise for these guitars here and elsewhere online. Feels like factory and reseller quality control checks let me down. (And for the record, I do believe it is brand new, for what it's worth.)

Thanks for helping a first time buyer set realistic expectations.

Edited to add requested photos.


Full size: https://imgur.com/yn6ll5T


Full size: https://imgur.com/jNT2k37

[john o]

welcome, Tim!
show us a pic of your gtr.
trib legacy is a good place to start, amazing quality for the $$.

[-Tim-]

welcome, Tim!
show us a pic of your gtr.
trib legacy is a good place to start, amazing quality for the $$.

Good call. Got home and was working on it, so good timing too. Have been applying some light (safe) heat and pressure to see if I can flatten the pickguard bump a bit. The color difference in knobs isn't as apparent in the picture, but that's the best I could get. Added pics to first post.

[john o]

yeah, looks like they don't match.
if that works on you, buy a matching set, they are cheap enough, or ask the dealer to give you a matching set, worst they can say is "no".
if they work fine, and you can embrace imperfection, go with it!
personally i like imperfection. nothing is perfect, right?
my tribute legacy sounded amazing with the CLF-100's, and i sold 2 of my strats as a result.

[Craig]

Beginner guitarist here - old dog looking to learn a new trick during a long coronavirus lockdown. Purchased my first quality mid-range guitar, choosing the Legacy Tribute as a high bang-for-the-buck option. Was excited to receive the brand new guitar recently and obviously did a quick once-over, even though the music shop I ordered from claimed they'd already done it. A couple of questions...

I noticed right away that there was a noticeable lump in the pickguard near the jack. Loosened up the pickguard and found one of the pickup wires tightened down between the body and pickguard. Figure it's been pinched there for a while but without any visible damage to the wire. Tucked it back into the cavity, but the pickguard lump remains.

Noticed that the jack itself has a springiness to it that pushes against the cord, leaving some in/out flex or play in the fully inserted cord. Seems to be fine electrically but doesn't feel seated as solidly as any others I've tried.

The pickguard, pickup covers, and control knobs are all cream colored. Everything is the same color except for the two tone knobs that are a noticeably darker shade. Probably still technically cream, but visually stand out.

The 4D string has a noticeable V-shaped kink in it.

New strings are $5, and I'd have changed them anyway. I've got a soldering iron and could put in a new Switchcraft jack for probably $10. Given an apparent lack of easy drop-in replacement pickguards and bad odds of finding color matched knobs online, would you just move on with your life, or is any of this worth a call or email to G&L? I recognize that I went with the more budget-minded Tribute line (and am probably nitpicking) but had my expectations set higher by all the praise for these guitars here and elsewhere online. Feels like factory and reseller quality control checks let me down. (And for the record, I do believe it is brand new, for what it's worth.)

Thanks for helping a first time buyer set realistic expectations.

Edited to add requested photos.


Full size: https://imgur.com/yn6ll5T


Full size: https://imgur.com/jNT2k37

You have a two year Warranty, so take it back to the dealer and show them the issues. They will contact G&L and will work out the best
way to take care of it for you. I would not be surprised if G&L replaces the guitar, so they can return the defective guitar to the Indonesia factory.

Hope this helps.

[-Tim-]

Appreciate the feedback. This was a purchase of a new guitar from a music shop via Reverb (guessing / hoping that doesn't complicate anything warranty-wise since it was sold as new), which is unfortunately half the country away from me. I've reached out to them with the same pictures and a request for resolution. Will see what they say.

[Danley]

I think a lot of that falls into the spectrum of import-level guitar wackiness, coupled with purchasing sight-unseen. The bones of the guitar are fine, but a few iffy-yet-correctable errors here and there. On my dad's Tribute ASAT, the jack was cross-threaded *hard* . On yours it could just be that the jack is physically a bit loose, and you may be able to bend the contact further back in place to tighten it. I'd hope either the dealer or G&L will mail you a new pickguard. All in all, I wouldn't let it stop me from enjoying a guitar at a Tribute price

[john o]

that warp of the pickguard looks pretty significant.
i would ask them to replace that if it's new!

hey Danley, nice to see you back!

[soulman969]

The problem with G&L replacing the pickguard is they simply don't stock or sell replacement pickguards for Tribute Series models which I still believe is a mistake on their part. Pickguardian does produce G&L pickguards but the cost can run as much as $60 or more. That's a lot of money for a cosmetic piece on a $500 guitar.

I thought G&L was inspecting Tributes in Fullerton before shipping them out. How did that pass inspection?

G&L offers some great instruments and the Tributes offer great value but the sheer number of times little things are missed on both Tribute and US production is an annoyance to buyers who in some cases own multiple G&L instruments and this has been happening since long before COVID has had it's impact.

[-Tim-]

As a follow-up, the retailer basically handed me off to G&L, providing me contact info for a National Sales Manager, who is hopefully my best path into G&L for some sort of response. Sent him an abbreviated description of the issues and included the same pictures, so we'll see what he says. I'd hate to have to send the thing out for service or replacement, but we'll see what happens as far as repair options and parts availability go.

On a related note, if I can't get matching cream tone knobs, has anyone used G&L's chrome knurled knobs (which I've seen on ASAT and S-500 models) on a Legacy? The G&L store is currently out of stock for the ones that fit a Tribute, but I'm wondering if that's another option worth considering, assuming fit and function won't be an issue.

Appreciate the input and feedback from the community here. Will close the loop to let you know what happens and how G&L responds.

[john o]

F*#%$r sells strat bell knobs that should fit the trib legacy posts.
I have a G&L skyhawk, s-style gtr, with chrome dome style knobs, should also work.
I have some custom dome knobs from Q-parts that i like. Whatever suits you.

[-Tim-]

As a follow-up for those that may be interested, I didn't have any luck working through the retailer. They pointed me to their G&L contact, who did not reply to two separate emails. After giving up there, despite G&L's apparent preference to work through the retailer as a first option, I emailed their support and heard back the next day. After sending the same pictures and a copy of my receipt, I used a pre-paid shipping label to send it to Fullerton, CA today. They said they'll replace the pickguard, replace the mismatched knobs, repair or replace the input jack, and give it a professional setup before sending it back to me. Time will tell, but after a bumpy start it seems like they are interested in getting this small collection of minor issues resolved. I'll post a final follow-up, assuming anyone cares , once I've got it back and hopefully in the condition you'd expect for a new G&L.

[SUaPYG]

Please do follow up on this. I worked with the service folks in Fullerton for an older Tribute ASAT and was very satisfied with the response I got and the genuine interest displayed.

[soulman969]

As a follow-up for those that may be interested, I didn't have any luck working through the retailer. They pointed me to their G&L contact, who did not reply to two separate emails. After giving up there, despite G&L's apparent preference to work through the retailer as a first option, I emailed their support and heard back the next day. After sending the same pictures and a copy of my receipt, I used a pre-paid shipping label to send it to Fullerton, CA today. They said they'll replace the pickguard, replace the mismatched knobs, repair or replace the input jack, and give it a professional setup before sending it back to me. Time will tell, but after a bumpy start it seems like they are interested in getting this small collection of minor issues resolved. I'll post a final follow-up, assuming anyone cares , once I've got it back and hopefully in the condition you'd expect for a new G&L.

By all means let us know how it works out for you.

It's possible G&L is beginning to keep some Tribute replacement parts on hand more so than they have previously.

[Rbert0005]

I ferar that the pick guard issue is from the location of the holes being drilled off.

I hope I am wrong.

Good luck,
Bob

[Danley]

As a follow-up for those that may be interested, I didn't have any luck working through the retailer. They pointed me to their G&L contact, who did not reply to two separate emails. After giving up there, despite G&L's apparent preference to work through the retailer as a first option, I emailed their support and heard back the next day. After sending the same pictures and a copy of my receipt, I used a pre-paid shipping label to send it to Fullerton, CA today. They said they'll replace the pickguard, replace the mismatched knobs, repair or replace the input jack, and give it a professional setup before sending it back to me. Time will tell, but after a bumpy start it seems like they are interested in getting this small collection of minor issues resolved. I'll post a final follow-up, assuming anyone cares , once I've got it back and hopefully in the condition you'd expect for a new G&L.

Nice. With G&L just having posted they're hiring setup techs, seems Tributes might finally be getting the attention they deserve Hope it works out.

[-Tim-]

Really pleased to report that I got the guitar back today. As promised, the pickguard, knobs, and output jack were all replaced, and everything is exactly as you'd expect to see on a brand new instrument. I'm a novice, but I'd also say the setup they did on it is pretty good too. The pickguard still has the plastic on it, the three knobs are now identical in color, and the jack has got the positive "snap" you'd expect when plugging in a cable. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first reached out, but in my specific case G&L really came through.