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I bought one of these when they were on sale last week. It is a great value at this price.
That being said, this is the 5th Fender guitar I have bought from Adorama and 4 out of the 5 have been in a similar condition when they arrived. They are always in boxes that have been opened and re-sealed. They always have the tags and accessories included but often show light wear. No more than you would get if you bought a guitar that had been on display in a store but very different than when you buy from a normal online retailer. I have always wondered exactly what the nature of Adorama's deal with Fender is. This next part is only speculation on my part, but I have always wondered if these are guitars that come back to Fender from the retail channel and then are sold to Adorama.
Either way, not a huge deal but something to be aware of if you are picky about such things.
Other than that, the guitar is great. I am not sure I love the v-mod pickups but that is just a matter of personal preference.
It did come with the trem arm tip broken off. I messaged Adorama but they have not gotten back to me about that yet.
I would like to say that the above text completely describes my experience with Adorama as well. About 7 months ago I got an American Original 60's Jazz Bass in apple candy red from them and the instrument arrived in a crumbling, dried and faded out, scotched together, not factory sealed, tired looking original fender box (not double-boxed). The instrument had all the tags but gave the impression that it had been opened and used before, the guitar had a paint defect near the bridge (paint flaking off). Now, kudos to Adorama they took it back no questions asked, but, still, it made me apprehensive when it comes to buying musical instruments from them again.
The classic. Maple black. Haven't told wife yet but I cashed in almost $1k on citi points
Nice! Can't go wrong with the Blackie look, I jumped on the Dark Night maple that was posted here about a month ago, and although it is similar, not the same at all. I wish I would have waited for the Dark Night rosewood deal that was posted a week or two afterwards(had I known it was going to happen I would have), but for black I would much prefer the maple look... weird! If I could pick one free between the pro II blackie vs. the fender signature blackie, ignoring the custom shop difference, I would prefer the pro ii setup in a big way I think, with the vmod2 pickups, 2 point pop in trem, real bone nut, the tuners I like better (at least the look of them, I would swap for lockers anyway tho), heel cutaway, etc.
Post your experience once you get it, a few have posted here that they might have gotten open box guitars, and I think for me as well. Mine was setup great, etc. and first impressions when i got mine are the same with shipping damage but the guitar looking great but handled before... but I thought that it was awesome with respect to setup/quality other than an open G buzz/deadish string (sustain is like a 3rd of length of the other strings) that I though would be easy to fix. After a several hour setup session including a fret polish, installing lockers and new set of ernie ball 9's, and significant time work on checking fret levels, rebuilding the bridge to remove possible buzz sources, cleaning out the pickup and trem spring cavities, tightening EVERY screw that could possibly be the source of buzz, and a bunch of other stuff. The buzz was reduced, but the string is still kind of dead.
I bring this up wondering if Arodama gets guitars that have been determined to have a gremlin, either by another shop or by Fender themselves or something, to explain the deep discounting on these american strats?? Nothing that would cause an instant return like obvious defects or blemishes, but rather the kind of hard to notice thing (unless you are a luthier or very experienced) right away... stuff like on mine. I plan on trying again a bit more scientifically (eg track down the buzz as I used to try and track down noices in a car more scientifically with a screwdriver in the ear stethoscope kind of approach), and if that doesn't work talk to a luthier. Until then I won't really know if there is anything significant wrong with mine.
I ordered the Dark Night in rosewood last week and my box came a little beat up. There was actually damage to the guitar case - not sure if it's superficial or if it'll affect the clasp that has damage on it. I message Adorama about it early this morning but haven't heard back. Guitar is great, still has plastic on it. I gave it a quick once over and it all seems new, but will inspect it more closely tomorrow just in case.
Oh wow, my Fender box from Adorama arrived like that this week as well. I thought it got damaged by UPS. The guitar and case were fine after opening, but it looked pretty bad. I actually sent the a picture prior to opening and they went along with the thought that it was shipping damage lol.
Top Comments
That being said, this is the 5th Fender guitar I have bought from Adorama and 4 out of the 5 have been in a similar condition when they arrived. They are always in boxes that have been opened and re-sealed. They always have the tags and accessories included but often show light wear. No more than you would get if you bought a guitar that had been on display in a store but very different than when you buy from a normal online retailer. I have always wondered exactly what the nature of Adorama's deal with Fender is. This next part is only speculation on my part, but I have always wondered if these are guitars that come back to Fender from the retail channel and then are sold to Adorama.
Either way, not a huge deal but something to be aware of if you are picky about such things.
Other than that, the guitar is great. I am not sure I love the v-mod pickups but that is just a matter of personal preference.
It did come with the trem arm tip broken off. I messaged Adorama but they have not gotten back to me about that yet.
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88 Comments
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People expect guitars to have never been touched. Weird.
Just imagine Joe Bonamassa works part time and he played your instrument for a hour before giving the blessing.
I speak fluent Retailese.
Especially for anything with a visible wood grain and other nuance.
I speak fluent Retailese.
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Post your experience once you get it, a few have posted here that they might have gotten open box guitars, and I think for me as well. Mine was setup great, etc. and first impressions when i got mine are the same with shipping damage but the guitar looking great but handled before... but I thought that it was awesome with respect to setup/quality other than an open G buzz/deadish string (sustain is like a 3rd of length of the other strings) that I though would be easy to fix. After a several hour setup session including a fret polish, installing lockers and new set of ernie ball 9's, and significant time work on checking fret levels, rebuilding the bridge to remove possible buzz sources, cleaning out the pickup and trem spring cavities, tightening EVERY screw that could possibly be the source of buzz, and a bunch of other stuff. The buzz was reduced, but the string is still kind of dead.
I bring this up wondering if Arodama gets guitars that have been determined to have a gremlin, either by another shop or by Fender themselves or something, to explain the deep discounting on these american strats?? Nothing that would cause an instant return like obvious defects or blemishes, but rather the kind of hard to notice thing (unless you are a luthier or very experienced) right away... stuff like on mine. I plan on trying again a bit more scientifically (eg track down the buzz as I used to try and track down noices in a car more scientifically with a screwdriver in the ear stethoscope kind of approach), and if that doesn't work talk to a luthier. Until then I won't really know if there is anything significant wrong with mine.
Box picture:
https://imgur.com/a/99jDrdf
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Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!