So, one of the things I like about Schecter is the lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. It’s one of the reasons I could have gotten a used Studio for the price of my Custom but ultimately went with the Custom.
But I was looking at my Custom and thinking it would look better with black components (instead of gold) and that I’d like to put a Hipshot Bass Xtender on it. So, I reached out to Schecter who said, and I quote, “Our warranty does stipulate that any modified instrument does void our warranty, so installing these parts will unfortunately make your warranty void.”
I can kinda understand swapping out the bridge. But is seems a bit draconian to void the warranty if I change the knobs or tuners. Of course, I can always keep the original parts and put them back on should I need warranty work. But that feels kinda sleazy.
Now I gotta figure out how much that warranty is worth to me.
That’s a valid question. I guess, like, if the pre-amp fritzes out or something, I’d want that fixed/replaced if it’s under warranty. Or, I dunno, the fretboard pops off or summat.
If the preamps goes kablooey, are you going to replace it with another generic Schecter after months of waiting for warranty, or are you going to put in a Darkglass Tone Capsule?
A lifetime warranty is cool, but what’s the risk when it comes down to it?
Under warranty work, who pays for shipping? Because it’s easier to spend a hundred dollars and buy an EMG preamp, and if they use the plugs pretty simple, than to ship it. Or do they use a dealer?
Seems to me the risk is like the cost of a preamp, an EMG BTC is right around $110 without checking
I had some warranty work done on a new bass (Warwick Rockbass Streamer LX5 electronics issue). That said I likely could have fixed it myself, but I wanted to rule out a preamp issue.
It was a nice way to test the true nature of the place I bought it, and they passed with flying colors - great customer care when a problem arose. It’s why I have stuck with Ikebe, so I guess a win for them too now, two basses and a guitar purchase later.
The older I get, the less enthused I am about any type of warranty. Seems they have become more of a sales gimmick than anything else. I bought a brand new Yamaha base, bb734. Had one defective machine Head tuner. You cannot believe the BS I had to go through to get that replaced. They wanted me to ship it to another state and back at my expense. The repair shop they sent me to, I called and spoke with the repairman and he told me even if I sent the guitar in he could not replace the machine Head because he didn’t have it. Several days later I get another follow-up email from Yamaha wanting to know if I was satisfied and problems resolved. After I kindly tore a chunk out of someone’s backside, another stranger finally emailed me and asked what he could do to fix the problem. I told him a simple phone call to the machine Head supplier, with a request for one machine Head to be shipped to me free of charge, would solve the issue. Several days later I got another email from someone else trying to follow through and help me. Almost 1 month later and a lot of anguish, they’re warranty didn’t prove to be very beneficial considering what I had to go through to get the service. My advice to you would be just to buy what you want irregardless of the warranty. If something happens to it you’re most likely going to get it fixed locally by an expert in the field anyway.
Actually I’d be like a drop off to the dealer than shipping in his case. My only thing would be the neck. The rest I don’t really care I could spend a morning sorting them out.
Yeah, the only thing I would really care to warranty these days would be the neck. Neck repair, even when possible, is not cheap - and unlike electronics, I can’t do it myself.
YouTube makes it look so easy with household items. In reality, if you go no skillz you’d need expensive tools and a practice neck before even planning one.
Yeah I don’t even trust myself to unglue the fretboard, much less swap out the rod or heat-correct a twist. I am willing to bet that fewer than 10% of the “youtube repairs” actually work out.
10% you are very generous, lol. Actually most works but their kung fu are few notches beyond my skills. Many areas on the bass you can wing it but neck, you need to be German, Japanese or a Pastry chef to get it in The ball park on the first try, lol.
