New Guitar with Flaws (Is it normal?)

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New Guitar with Flaws (Is it normal?)

Hi, I am a newbie to the forum. I just bought an brand new XTone PS-1 from an eBay shop. They claimed that the guitar is new and I believe so as it shipped with the original box carton and tight package without any trace of pre-open/unboxing. And the shop got over 99% positive feedback. Hence I think the flaws I am gonna show you is not caused by pre-own or so.

These flaws are easily noticeable on the guitar. I have taken a few close-up photos and want to show you. The first two defects appear very obviously on the f-hole of the guitar. Please see these two photos for the first defect:

They show the uneven coloring along the f-hole. The second photo is with the contrast adjusted to show it more clearly. The white color region looks like a repaint over the original ivory color of the f-hole.

The second defect is also on the f-hole:

It is a thickness difference between two regions along the f-hole profile. And between these two regions, there is an obvious excessive material protruding from the bottom of the f-hole. It can be felt when touching it by finger, and can be seen easily when the guitar is being played.

The third defects are the two knobs of the guitar:

There are scratches on the top of the knobs. They are more obvious when seen under lights.

The last group of the defects are the tilting of the humbucker pickups:

It can be seen that both neck and bridge pickups are way too tilted and so away from being parallel to the pickup rings and also the strings. I know it is common for humbucker to tilt on guitar but the degrees appear on my guitar are just too unacceptable to me (for a newly purchased guitar). I may need to open up the pickup cavity to repair it to make it works without affecting the sound.

I have already sent a mail to ESP support and I am waiting for their reply. I am not sure what they will do to settle the case. My question is, are these flaws normal for a new guitar? Your comments will be appreciated.

Pushead

Send it back.  If these issues are eating at you now, you'll never be happy with it. 

Binding an F-hole is difficult.  The white area on the one F-hole isn't a repaint, but an area that didn't get any/enough clear coat.  The thickness at the bottom shows that LTD doesn't scrape the binding at the bottom of the F-hole.  I can't say that I'm surprised, it's an extra step, and with thin F-holes, it's a difficult process.

You can use some polishing compound on the knobs and get much of the scratching out of the tops.

You can raise the height of the bridge pickup, and it will likely level a bit, but it may be a case of the pickup hitting the edge of the route.  I doubt it's the case, but it's possible.  Frankly, I think playing technique has more of an effect on the sound than can be heard from a 2 degree tilt to the pickup.

Not meaning to be condensending, you may have to adjust your expectations for a $300 guitar.

Y.B.W.

Thanks for your reply. Actually I do not care about the knob scratch and the pickup tilt as much as the f-hole defect. I understand I cannot expect too much from an LTD guitar, but the f-hole issue keeps bugging me these days. If ESP is going to tell me that every manufactured products of this model are all with such defect along the f-hole, I will accept that. But of course I hope it is not the case...

Pushead

I'd say that these issues are not typical of the LTD brand, but instead typical of a guitar in that price point.  I argue that you'll find similar quality in a $300 Jay Turser or even an Ibanez Artcore hollow body.

Y.B.W.

I understand. I am thinking about if any luthier can fix the f-hole issue. I am still waiting for ESP's reply.

Y.B.W.

Did you buy it online or in shop? Did you notice that while purchasing or afterwards? If I were in the shop noticed such flaw, it is very likely I will ask for another copy before paying.

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