Question for Furch Little Jane owners

Aspiring · #1 10-28-2019, 09:33 AM

I have a Furch Little Jane that I recently purchased. Overall I love it, but I have one small issue that I wanted to get feedback from other owners. In the photos you can hopefully see the backside of the neck with string tension on at the first fret.

Is this what other owners see?

IMG_20190925_072442107.jpg
When I tension the neck the headstock moves forward at that join which effectively raises the 1st fret action (doubling from if I pull back on the headstock to keep the join straight)

This makes the guitar a little more difficult to play than I would prefer

I purchased from Thomann and they said they would take it back for a warranty look however before I go sending it off to Europe and back I wanted to understand if this is normal for the design and if I should just go and get the zero fret lowered to bring the action under tension where it needs to be.

Mobile1 · #2 10-28-2019, 09:54 AM

I've never seen anything like that on a guitar neck before.

Aspiring · #3 10-28-2019, 10:04 AM

It is a travel guitar so the headstock detaches from the neck piece at that point to travel. The join is an inherent part of the design and it is reinforced with metal pins inside the neck.

My question is if this is a bad example in manufacturing tolerance or if this is just to be expected based on the design

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mobile1

I've never seen anything like that on a guitar neck before.

nickv6 · #4 10-28-2019, 10:08 AM

I have one and mine doesn't do that. The join can't be felt at all.
I will go and look at it hypercritically but I'm sure I would have noticed it.
I've also had it apart a good few times so it's had some "wear" as it were.
Nick

Aspiring · #5 10-28-2019, 04:17 PM

Good to know. Looking at it I felt like it shouldn't be this way. Please let me know what you see. Given its a brand new guitar I'd like to have them address it but only if it is going to result in a significant improvement

And as should be obvious from the picture I can easily feel that join. It's a gap on the order of 1-2mm at the bottom of the neck

I also have some rotational play in the joint in that while it is under tension I can raise or lower the 1st and 6th string sides of the joint by twisting the headstock.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickv6

I have one and mine doesn't do that. The join can't be felt at all.
I will go and look at it hypercritically but I'm sure I would have noticed it.
I've also had it apart a good few times so it's had some "wear" as it were.
Nick

nickv6 · #6 10-29-2019, 10:10 AM

Ok, I've had a really good look at it. There's absolutely no movement at all on mine. If I run my thumbnail along the neck I can feel the join, just about, but there's no step or anything like it. It's impossible to feel the joint on the fretboard as it's not close to the fret. There's no twist possible at all from the headstock.
So yours would seem to be faulty, I guess.

Hope that helps, Nick

irvine · #7 10-29-2019, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aspiring

Is this what other owners see?

That gap is far to much, I think.
On my Little Jane there is a small gap due to string tension pulling forward, and I can move it a bit (pulling backwards), but not so much as yours. This is my second neck, because of a broken truss rod in the first, and with the first neck, the gap was almost not notable.

Maybe Thomann can just send you another neck?

irvine · #8 10-29-2019, 10:41 AM

P.S.: the zero fret can or even should be a little higher than the others, this will not be a flaw. From your photograph I can just not see how much the distance to the first fret is, maybe you are right, and it's to big

Aspiring · #9 10-29-2019, 10:47 AM

Thanks. From my measurements of the 1st fret action it seems about double what my other conventional nut guitars are set at and when I pull back on the headstock it ends up pretty much measuring the same as my conventional guitars.

I am also thinking that the gap is probably not the greatest for sound transmission either.

And great suggestion on the neck. I have asked if they will do that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by irvine

P.S.: the zero fret can or even should be a little higher than the others, this will not be a flaw. From your photograph I can just not see how much the distance to the first fret is, maybe you are right, and it's to big

Mbroady · #10 10-29-2019, 12:04 PM

Don’t have a Little Jane (yet) but have played a few and don’t ever recall seeing a gap like that.

If purchased new you have a 3 year warranty and I found Furch Customer service to be excellent and would contact them. I like the idea of just having the neck replaced.

vld · #11 10-29-2019, 02:22 PM

I have 2015 Furch Little Jane, and I love her. There is a small gap at the neck joint under the string tension, but I can fit just a 0.1mm feeler gauge in, nothing close to 1mm you indicate. Also, no rotational play at all.

I have seen and played various other LJs (including a Sitka spruce - rosewood one - yes, we have such things here in Czech Republic :-), tiny gap or no gap at all for all of them.

I would also suggest contacting Furch Customer Care.

Aspiring · #12 10-29-2019, 02:56 PM

Thanks for all the replies so far this has confirmed my suspicions that this is likely a one off problem that I need to go back to the dealer / Furch and have it fixed.

Kantaka · #13 11-28-2019, 03:48 PM

The first I bought had the same problem, only even a little worse -- I returned it to the dealer. Then bought another one (spruce/rosewood) from another dealer and that was perfect. I certainly would not have just the neck replaced but of course the whole guitar -- everything has to fit and be properly adjusted. If the new neck doesn't sit well on the old body for whatever reason, you'll have a new problem, shipping things to and fro, waiting for it all to resolve. Let us know how it all works out.

Aspiring · #14 11-28-2019, 05:33 PM

I contacted US Furch distributor and they were generally very helpful in the phone and were quite good to deal with even though I up front let them know I had bought it via Thomann

I also tried working with Thomann and then Furch in the Czech Republic directly. Thomann was perfectly willing to take a look if I returned the whole instrument but nothing else.

Furch the parent company asked me to send the neck and headstock to them without the guitar body and they will take a look. That is the route I have gone. The package reached them yesterday so we will see what happens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kantaka

The first I bought had the same problem, only even a little worse -- I returned it to the dealer. Then bought another one (spruce/rosewood) from another dealer and that was perfect. I certainly would not have just the neck replaced but of course the whole guitar -- everything has to fit and be properly adjusted. If the new neck doesn't sit well on the old body for whatever reason, you'll have a new problem, shipping things to and fro, waiting for it all to resolve. Let us know how it all works out.

Mbroady · #15 11-28-2019, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aspiring

Furch the parent company asked me to send the neck and headstock to them without the guitar body and they will take a look. That is the route I have gone. The package reached them yesterday so we will see what happens.

That is what I would call customer service. I had a Furch guitar with a neck I was not happy with. it was not a warranty issue but a preference issue. I sent them the serial number and a bunch of photos and they made me a new neck. And the price was about 70% cheaper then what any of the major USA brands would have charged me for a new neck. They treat their customers well

Look to forward hearing about how your neck turns out.