How to make enemies and influence people

[toejam]

It's a guitar over 20 years old, and Fender's only owned Jackson for about 13 years? I fail to see how they would have parts for it, anyway.

[VoiceX3]

I have to agree with Joe. After what I just went through with the flood damage my suggestion is this. Find an authorized Jackson Repair Shop with a reputable luthier an just let them do their thing. Most good ones take pride in their work and want the customer happy as word of mouth is their best advertising because guitar players can be fickle. They will make it a close to dead on as they can. Otherwise you have 2 options. A.) Take the insurance money then sell the guitar as is and buy something else...someone will buy that guitar and repair it. OR B.) Get it fixed then sell it.

[Dog Boy]

Slightly off topic but this is why I buy Mesa amps. I recently had my 1981 Mark2B factory serviced. They took care of me like they do that sort of thing everyday...amazing.

[Nightbat]

Somehow I could relate with the rant more if it was more about replacement parts like 'hop up' parts, like pickup rings, switches, tuners
It's one thing to discuss the kitchen sink, ...replacing the whole wall is another matter

[Matt_B]

Mike Learn is an authorized Jackson repair center. He won't sell the parts but he might be able to get them and do the repair work. He can definitely do the work to the quality level of the factory.

[rjohnstone]

Somehow I could relate with the rant more if it was more about replacement parts like 'hop up' parts, like pickup rings, switches, tuners
It's one thing to discuss the kitchen sink, ...replacing the whole wall is another matter

This is my main complaint.
Getting replacement parts for things like sustainer boards and other electronic components.

[lepard]

That's a major repair. Your only option for a perfect repair is GMW or GMP. Personally, Lee at GMW has done me good for 15 years.

[veemagic]

It's a guitar over 20 years old, and Fender's only owned Jackson for about 13 years? I fail to see how they would have parts for it, anyway.

Joe I don't know if I agree with this. When Fender purchased Jackson, they "assumed" all things Jackson. Meaning orders, materials, parts, and any warranty liabilities that may come up. They would be responsible to "correct" any and all warranty issues regardless of the year purchased. I understand this is not a warranty claim, but to say that Fender wouldn't have parts or materials to fix this because its over 13 years old is not true, and really a mute point. They would have to repair any warranty claim guitar regardless of the age, and figure out the part situation. Which I am sure they would. In this case, while its not a warranty claim, the parts he's having problems with could easily be a warranty type area to have problems with. I couldn't see Jackson having any issues with repairing a fretboard, binding, inlays, frets, or a trussrod on any instrument they have ever made.

The obvious problem here is that Jackson/Fender does not offer a repair or restoration service. With the age of their instruments it may be something they would want to look into. I'm sure they wouldn't be able to hire 10 people, and the cost they would inevitably charge would more than likely be prohibitive, but the demand may be there. Who knows.

[neilli]

But if we sidestep guitars here and talk about (for example) cars - after 20 years can you buy a new motor for your Taurus from Ford? Or do you have to go trawling the auto-recyclers and so forth to find something? I appreciate that more or less an 24 fret ebony fingerboard with sharkies from 1992 is going to be the same as one from today, but it still comes back to the fact that after a time, most manufacturers will step away to a significant degree.

Plus again, the guitar in question is maybe worth 1200 bucks. To rebuild a guitar to the level that one needs and fix the paint is ultimately just not financially viable - it's an insurance write off. And that's using a 3rd party. 'Official' factory rates likely would be much higher which makes it even less viable. There's a reason people don't take their 20 year old Taurus for main dealer servicing and in that case it's not because the dealer won't touch it..That doesn't mean the heart doesn't rule the head, but it does mean there's not much of a business justification for a rebuild of that level or for Jackson to start supplying that level of parts.

That said, given the flaky nature of the sustainer boards, it does seem stupid they won't offer them as a 'repair kit' even if they won't sell the whole sustainer package.

[CowboyFromHell]

Actually, yes, you can go buy a new crate engine from Ford for your 20 year old ride.

Just sayin'...
(crickets chirping in the background)

[neilli]

Oh really? Hmmm, guess that analogy was a bad one to pick then LOL

Bet it's not cheap though..

[Dog Boy]

Doesn't Fernandes own all things Sustainer these days? Maybe they are the ones to check with for parts...

[bratfink]

Actually, yes, you can go buy a new crate engine from Ford for your 20 year old ride.

Motorcraft a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford offers the full range of legacy parts for vehicles dating back decades.

Jackson already has a capable shop able to perform repairs and restoration. It's called the custom shop. Add a couple of guys to that setup and open it up for owners of older Jackson products. people will pay.

Do you think a fretboard from a 1990 USA select RR is going to be that different to a current USA RR1 fretboard? I doubt it, just take one off the shelf...

The actual repair isn't as bad as it sounds, any decent luthier will be more than capable of making a good job of it, and it shouldn't cost that much. It might run to as much as the value of the guitar, but if I get a really good repair so that I can play it again and not worry about it failing in the future then I am happy.

[MikeStrat]

Mike Learn is an authorized Jackson repair center. He won't sell the parts but he might be able to get them and do the repair work. He can definitely do the work to the quality level of the factory.

Agreed. I was going to suggest sending it to Mike Learn or Dan Lawrence. Those guys are top notch. They will do a better job than if you could send it back to Fender.

[bratfink]

I haven't yet spoken to either Mike or Dan, but they are both on my list. The people I was dealing with ARE an authorized Jackson repair center. It is them that told me they couldn't get the parts. Hence my rant here.

If Mike and Dan are able to get parts that other Authorized repair centers are not allowed to get then that opens the question of why do these other centers pay for the right to be an authorized center...