GuitarFetish

Be aware at time of order the promotional discount codes do not auto-populate and the cart prices are not reduced to sale. After placing an order I realized the code as missing and immediately emailed a courteous request to apply the Final12 and Final25 discounts. That was on 1/4/2019 as the promotions ended on 1/5/2019. In response, I received robo-responses that alluded to being too busy with orders and to give Guitar Fetish a couple of days to respond. After not hearing from them as promised I sent similar requests to *******@guitarfetish.com and *******@guitarfetish.com. And again in response I received robo-messages saying we are busy and eventually denied on or around 1/11/2019 because my request was sent too late and after the goods were delivered. Asking to escalate I have yet to hear from a decision maker in authority. Think twice before ordering anything from Guitar Fetish. There are other companies out there.

I wish that I could review separate aspects of a business. It would help give the public and Guitarfetish.com a clearer idea of where improvements could be made.

I have been purchasing products from guitarfetish.com for over a decade now. I know that what I buy there is made in Asia and that it may not be the highest quality. So my expectations for the product aren't unrealistic. To be fair, I have been pleasantly surprised most of the time by the quality of the parts I have bought from them in the past. I certainly would not expect to buy a guitar for less than 300 or 400 dollars US and think that there would be no need for a setup or tweaking for improved performance. You can buy a guitar for 1000 US and have those same problems.

HOWEVER, here are some problems you, as well as guitarfetish.com, should be open to hearing about:

-- Communications with the company are only via email or through Facebook. In either case the responses from guitarfetish.com are not substantive. They do seem to be "upbeat" or polite. Which is a change from what has been well documented in internet guitar forums as historically having had very poor and combative interactions with customers. While the tone is better, the service problems noted in those forums seem to have resurfaced with the company's move to Sarasota, Florida.

-- They seem to be overwhelmed when response to email discount announcements and campaigns is high. I can be days, weeks or even months before you get a response or receive a shipment. This might indicate inventory issues. It certainly indicates bad planning.

-- The site is a poor example of "ease of use," or "compelling to use." They should take the time to create a better navigation scheme for the variety of products. That left rail menu is hard to read, poorly organized and, in a few cases doesn't let you use the "pop-out" submenus" without a struggle.

-- The site is so "over-designed" that the graphics detract from the product offerings. It looks cheap and send the message to their customers that they are not a top notch organization.

-- The prices are the attraction. The claims for the qualities are very overblown. The phrase "polished to a deafening gloss" comes to mind. Guitarfeish.com should take the time to write descriptions that better represent value/cost benefits and knock off claims to be as good as other well established high end products. It just makes them look suspect.

I've purchased a couple of sets of pickups, some tuners and a brass tremolo block for one of my Strats. Everything shipped quickly, everything worked as advertised (the pickups are very nice) and prices are more than competitive. I have never purchased a guitar from GFS but I've played one that belongs to a friend and it looked and played okay. These of course were not serious tests, just me trying out a friend's guitar. I see some bad reviews, but my experience with Guitar Fetish has been pretty good.

The last time I shopped at Guitar Fetish I received two defective products in the same shipment. Now I know it's common practice to send international buyers B-stock and defective items because it's hard to ship it back, but getting two defective products in one shipment seems a bit too blatant.

One of the products I didn't contact them about because despite the defect it functions okay (it was a stratocaster bridge and it had a trem arm thread that was drilled twice) but the other product I bought (a stratocaster pickguard) simply did not fit.

I contacted them about the fitting issue and all they said was that not all stratocasters are cut equally so it's up to me to modify the pickguard, when the description says that it's replacement that works for all stratocaster bodies. I had a different third party manufacturer pickguard before this one (WD music) and it fit perfectly without any modifications so I know they are lying to me. I've attached some photos. Note that barely any of the screw holes line up correctly and that the routes for the pickups don't line up either. Also the lower bout cutout is too shallow so it protrudes past the bevel of the body.

Not sure how they got something so simple this incorrect, but that's not my main problem. My main problem with Guitar Fetish is that they are simply denying their quality control problems, stating that in such budget products, defects are normal and that it's up to the buyer to make it right.

I've done business with Guitar Fetish a few times and when I was living in the US, I didn't have any problems. Now that I'm living somewhere else, all of a sudden I'm receiving lemons. On top of that, they deny any responsibility.

I would also like to add that apparently international buyers get screwed over often by this company. A quick google search for "guitar fetish defective" yields a top result for a TDPRI forum thread regarding their treatment of international customers. There's your proof that my experience isn't an isolated one.

I will no longer be doing business with Guitar Fetish. You should too, especially if you are an international buyer.

Just purchased and installed a set of E70 Locking Tuners for my PRS SE Santana. They work perfect. THey are heavy duty, solid, and after days of play, my tuning remains spot on. You will not be disappointed with these tuners. THere is no way other tuners warrant over $100 for a set of tuners when you can get these great tuners for less than $40. Order was processed quickly and delivery was fast.
I'll purchase again from Guitar Fetish.

I have bought from Guitar Fetish for over 15 years. I have received only one item that was not up to par with what had expected. I know the products and do not expect a $100 part for $10. They run a little slow sometimes, they are a small staffed company, that helps keep the prices low. If you need to have someone give you a backrub and fawn over your build, maybe this is not the company for you. A no nonsense guitar part supply company - not Starbucks.

I purchased a J-bass kit from Guitarfetish a few weeks ago, and just finished assembling it. For a modest $105, the kit was fun to build... not without problems. But anyone who expects Fender quality for $105 is simply being unreasonable.

The paulownia body was very roughly machined, and the wood itself is very light... TOO light, relative to the weight of the neck. I wanted to finish the guitar natural, using Tru-Oil, and that worked well, although paulownia is a poor choice for it... the end grain has lots of pores which didn't look good after using a wood filler, and clear finishing.

The neck, however, was far better than I expected... nice, smoothhard maple, well machined, with a really nice optional rosewood fingerboard that featured smooth, level frets (the ends of which need to be dressed... they were cut sharp).

I did have some assembly problems. The neck angle was off, and I had to add a 1 degree shim to get the neck properly aligned with the bridge. There was no pre-drilled hole for a bridge ground wire, into the control pocket... I managed to find a way to drill one. I also mis-measured the lateral position of the bridge, and had to move it once.

The components (bridge, tuners, etc.) are certainly bottom of the line... but I didn't think it was worth spending money to upgrade them.

Regardless, the result works... the sound is pretty good. If you're looking for a fun kit, and don't have unreasonable expectations, this kit was a decent deal.

I bought a guitar body, and the neck pocket was too large for standard Fender necks. It measured 57 mm. They asked me to send the body back, then said that the pocket was the right size, and charged me return shipping on the refund. The Tech told me that the necks were too narrow, but the standard neck pocket on Fenders is 55.5 mm, and Guitar fetish said their necks are 56 mm. I told the service geek that it was too loose, and he said I could shim it, I said that kills the sustain, and he said it was a lower quality body, so that was as good as it gets. Too bad, because the body would have been nice, but when the company treats a dissatisfied customer this way, I will never buy anything from them again. Also, you can't call ANYONE, no phone number, sign of crooks, in my opinion. STAY AWAY

I've purchased from Guitarfetish.com for several years now and I have never had a problem with products, shipping or with service. In fact, I made a purchase earlier this year and had an emergency that required me to travel and be gone during the shipping process, I CALLED them and the offered to either cancel the order or hold the shipment. I chose the hold and they followed through with my request, down to the letter! The XGP products are as good as the "well-known brand" as they like to say and I plan to continue buying from them.

Take your time when purchasing, use the sale codes as they come along and just know that sanding and fitting is required.

I bought a few bodies and necks from their clearance/ factory buyout section. I want to start building guitars so for 15/20$ a neck 20/25$ a body it's not bad but you will be getting what you paid for these parts need work sanding, finishing, and refinishing. Be very careful while inspecting the photos to determine if you want to fix the part or not. It's not bad if you mess it up it's very cheap. However if you want something affordable and yet functional the moment you get it, go elsewhere.