crack in my D64SKW

[mk7169]

I bought an expensive D64SKW a few years ago, and shortly after I got it, I noticed a tiny hairline crack in the back.  I though it was just in the finish and never worried about it until recently when I noticed that the crack got bigger and went all the way thru the wood!  There are actually 2 cracks in the back wood... on both sides of the bookmatch.  The cracks are equilaterally opposite each other running along the same faults on either side of the bookmatch.  I am paying a local luthier $ to fix this issue, but I just wanted to let you guys know how disappointed I am in this. The guitar sounds great, which is why I am paying to have it fixed... but the quality control is NOT good!  I also own another acoustic that is 40 years old with no cracking anywhere.  I keep my guitars in a properly humidified room, and I take very good care of my equipment.  Disappointed to say the least because this is one of your higher priced models.  I'm pretty sure Washburn won't honor their lifetime warrantee.  I never registered it, and I prefer to use a local luthier who i can meet with face to face and he can explain to me what happened, and why, and how to fix it, instead of shipping it to somewhere.  It would be nice of Washburn to pay for the repair work, but I highly doubt this will happen.. but its worth a shot in the dark.
Any advice is greatly appreciated,
Best regards,
Mike

[Rocket]

Read the warranty: http://www.washburn.com/warranty/

It is not necessary to "register" a product. If you are the original owner and instrument was purchased from an authorized Washburn dealer, you should definitely contact Washburn customer service.

[mk7169]

I got it at my local music store.. how can I tell if they are an authorized Washburn dealer??

[Rocket]

I got it at my local music store.. how can I tell if they are an authorized Washburn dealer??

Look here: http://www.washburn.com/dealer.php (which is NOT all-inclusive)...

... or you could just ask the dealer you purchased from.

[mk7169]

I had the guitar cracks in my D64SWK repaired by a local luthier who I trust.  The repairs cost $180.  He repaired (cleated) 2 cracks in the back running along equilateral grains in the wood - several cleats for each crack.  He said the cracks were caused because the neck heel wood wasn't cured properly and expanded - which caused the cracks in the back to form.  There is also a hairline crack in the fretboard because of this same reason.  I do love the sound of this guitar, otherwise I wouldn't have had it repaired.

In any case, I contacted my regional Customer Service rep (Tim) who told me several things needed to happen to honor the 'Lifetime Warrantee'.   First, I needed to find my original receipt, which I do have!   Second, I needed to have purchased the guitar from an authorized Washburn Dealership (which my local music store is not). and third, I needed to have had the guitar repaired at an authorized Washburn repair shop (which my local luthier is not).  Tim suggested that I have my local luthier fill out an application to become an authorized washburn repair center, but he was not too keen on this idea, and I don't blame him after he explained to me why not.

So to make a long story short, I'm out of luck.... and I am going to have to bite the bullet on the $180 repair bill on this guitar.  Not too pleased with this process, as there are a lot of roadblocks and technicalities set in place that make honoring the Lifetime Warrantee more of a hassle than anything else.  I wish I could recommend Washburn guitars to my friends, but at this point I am displeased with how the company handled this situation.

Washburn Customer Service.. are you out there?  Are you listening?  This is an expensive model guitar that I shelled out a lot of har earned money for... it was made in China.. obviously a defective one... any comments on quality control?  howabout some actual proper "customer service" for your product instead of pushing this aside due to technicalities?   

[mk7169]

here's the repair job.  it is rock solid now thanks to my local luthier.

[Ripple]

I heard from someone that Grand Rewards had improperly seasoned wood problems guess this is proof being a G O serial#

[mk7169]

just a quick update...

Washburn Customer Service is non-existant.   Every single person in this company has brushed me aside and basically told me to go F myself because I had the guitar repaired at my local luthier instead of at one of their 'authorized service centers'. 

Needless to say I will NEVER buy another Washburn again, and I will be spreading word of this horrendous experience throughout the music community starting with my friends (which includes a close friend who is a 2012 Grammy award winning producer), all the up through the forums communities.

For such an expensive guitar.. not having it built properly.. and not supporting your customers -- two HUGE blunders....  I will make sure people know about this.

over and out.

[mcloud10]

The way I see it Washburn DID tell you what you needed to do.  1)Original purchaser, 2)Washburn dealer, 3)Washburn authorized repair shop.  Sounds reasonable to me.  How else do you expect them to properly evaluate warranty repairs?  I work for an automobile dealership, and NO warranty repairs are allowed on our cars anywhere except by an authorized dealership.  Issues happen with any product.  That's what a warranty is for.  But if you're not willing to follow their instructions and take it to an authorized repair center, then I don't blame them for not covering it.  Seems to me they went the extra mile already by offering to repair it even though the dealer you bought it from wasn't a Washburn dealer. 

Your complaint rings hollow.

[YerDugliness]

I'm with Mark here.

You knew the rules, you chose to deviate and then you expect Washburn to cover your a$$ when it blows up in your face?

Seems to me like you've got a case of sour grapes......whose fault is this???

Sad to hear that it happened on one of the Bluegrasser D64SW's...to my knowledge the only one Washburn produced was reviewed by Rocket here on the forum...never heard of anyone else with one.....although that doesn't mean that I know anything about Washburn's production, just what we see here on the forum.

Choices made....that's the bottom line here.  I had a lifting bridge on an Epiphone product, could have had it fixed by warranty but chose to pay a luthier to fix it locally, for exactly the same reasons you use a local luthier.  Did I ask Epiphone/Gibson to cover the cost?  He11 NO! It was my choice to go outside their network, not theirs.

Maybe we ought to take up a collection from the members here, buy you some lumber so you can build a bridge and get over it.

[Rocket]

Seems to me like you've got a case of sour grapes......whose fault is this???

As usual... the only thing one can make with sour grapes is a batch of whine.

[YerDugliness]

As usual... the only thing one can make with sour grapes is a batch of whine.

As usual, Rocket, your wordsmithing is true genius.  I LMFAO!!!!

I'm an amateur oenologist....will certainly use that one in the future!

Cheers (and it sure is nice to see you posting on here again).

[sorry...new forum software won't let me delete the equipment list  ]

[WD10]

mk7169,

I think you will find these two pages illuminating:

http://www.martinguitar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=572&Itemid=144

http://www.taylorguitars.com/legal/warranty-united-states

If you read the second bullet in Martin's page and paragraph "e" in Taylor's you'll see that they too (no surprise) have the same policy as Washburn: warranty coverage applies only to instruments purchased from an authorized dealer.

If you had bought your guitar from one of the two, you would be in the same predicament. The only difference would be having spent at least 5x to purchase the guitar 

I can understand your disappointment with the crack, but frankly not your complaints about Washburn handling of the situation. Stuff happens, no manufactured object is consistently perfect. You should have made sure to buy from an authorized dealer, nothing can replace individual responsibility.

Hope that with the fix you can continue to enjoy the D64SKW for many years to come.