Three brand new Martin 000 18’s with faulty neck !?

[rmyAddison]

I have owned 37 Martins, no warped necks, no too low saddles, no neck resets.
I do know it happens, but it's very rare.

It does sound like these guitars were in some bad environmental conditions during shipping between Nazareth and Europe, part of why Martin does not offer international warranties.

I do have two questions, why would you tune a guitar to pitch with no saddle, it's not a solution to anything and possibly scores up the bridge, and why not take any pictures? Didn't you catch these "issues" checking out the guitar when you bought it, at the dealer, or the dealer seeing the problems?

I do believe you, your not bashing Martin or the dealer, I hope you get resolution...

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

While I feel for your situation, let's look at a few things. I have (in over 40 years of playing Martin guitars professionally) never seen or received a new Martin with a "relatively low saddle". That's not how they're made. I've never seen a Martin with a warped neck - not new, not 50 years old or any age. I'm not saying that part isn't possible, I've just never seen it. Next your "Martin distributor" can't check any guitars due to logistics? I would contact Martin with the serial numbers of the guitars you received and verify that they were indeed Martin guitars - and if so - when they were made. Your 000-18's would have been manufactured to strict Martin standards & PLEK'd. They would not have left the factory in any condition other than ready to play.

Is it possible that a distributor had access to a quantity of Martin guitars that have sat in an improperly controlled hot and/or humid warehouse for months (or longer) while waiting for customs, purchase, new distribution or some other delay.... or that after such a mishandling this distributor picked them up on clearance - yes. Would this be Martin's fault or mishandling - no. Even with this possible mishandling, the only way for the saddles to be low would be for someone to have realized (assuming that these are Martin manufactured and defective) that, due to mishandling under extreme conditions, something needed to be done so they tried to salvage the guitars & then shaved the saddles or did some other inappropriate "set up" to pawn these off on unsuspecting buyers.

So again, I would contact Martin about this with the involved serial numbers so they can follow up on what could be either counterfeit instruments or mishandling by an importer/distributor.

Well, I don't have your experience with Martin guitars but there is a store that has a 000-15 (brand new) in my town with a very low saddle and the strings are far enough off the board to turn it into a cheese cutter. Definitely a bad neck angle. It has been hanging for some time and is likely to continue to do so.....

[Big Band Guitar]

Sounds like a fake to me.

[MHC]

Originally Posted by Osage

What is the humidity like where you live?

yeah, I was going to say - only to discover that the dealer stores their guitars in a steam room.

[jazzguy]

I would definitely not be going back to that dealer for two reasons:
1. likely bad storage humidity environment.
2. "difficult" logisitcs?! Any reputable dealer should be checking the action and setup for an expensive guitar before going out the door.

[jaymarsch]

I purchased a high end guitar from a shop that was in an entirely different climate from mine. The action was high and it was very stiff to play. I was able to take it to the luthier who made it and he said that it was due to the difference in humidity. He adjusted everything and set it up for me and the difference was like night and day. Nothing wrong with the guitar but at first it sure seemed like there might be. So, this sounds to me like it could have had an effect on the guitars you mention.

Best,
Jayne

[Osage]

I see plenty of new or fairly new guitars come across my bench that have high action. Martin, Taylor and others. The humidity is really high here in the summer (Over 85% for the past 2 weeks) and people are often unaware of what that will do. I also often see them come through with the saddles taken down to next to nothing. We have one mom and pop store and they don't know what they're doing at all as far as setting up a guitar and instead of investing in a dehumidifier, they just take the saddles down as the action gets worse. I'm of the belief that these guitars of yours have been stored in a similar situation and then someone took the saddles down to try to compensate.

[g_david59]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

While I feel for your situation, let's look at a few things. I have (in over 40 years of playing Martin guitars professionally) never seen or received a new Martin with a "relatively low saddle". That's not how they're made. I've never seen a Martin with a warped neck - not new, not 50 years old or any age. I'm not saying that part isn't possible, I've just never seen it. Next your "Martin distributor" can't check any guitars due to logistics? I would contact Martin with the serial numbers of the guitars you received and verify that they were indeed Martin guitars - and if so - when they were made. Your 000-18's would have been manufactured to strict Martin standards & PLEK'd. They would not have left the factory in any condition other than ready to play.

I.

I agree with this. Guitars leave factory on high side of recommended set up.

[s2y]

Are your guitar playing colleagues in your area having the same problems?

Being a Taylor guy, I'm confident buying them without trying out first since the QC is very tight. I'd be hesitant to buy a Martin, Fender, or Gibson without getting my hands on them first.

For the classic Martin vibe, I have been using a small builder whose prices aren't horrible. Obviously more than a stock Martin, but less than half the price of a Martin custom shop.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by Ember

Most likely scenario to me: All the guitars have been in storage for more or less the same amount of time (as a batch purchase) and they haven't been taken good care of in terms of humidity.

So rather than all three guitars each being faulty, it's more an effect of them all having been stored in the same location under the same conditions, i.e. it's the store's fault, not the manufacturer's, they might have started out fine when they were received.

Just a guess though, no hard evidence, but that seems like the only likely explanation to me.

That's what I'm wondering as well. I'm from Germany originally and have regular contact with my family over there. The past two months, Germany has been ravaged by extreme heat and dryness, and I wonder if that might play a role. The country is not used to such extreme summer heat, nor are most places equipped with climate control systems that are common-place here in the US.

Before I moved to Arizona from Germany, I didn't even know that humidity was an issue with guitars. No dealer had ever mentioned anything to me about that. As a result, I kept my guitars out on stands all the time, and when I shipped them over to the US, I didn't pack humidifiers in their cases. They were in transit for four months, and once they arrived, I kept them out on stands as I was used to doing. Needless to say, they developed cracks and other ill-effects, and that's when I finally learned about the humidity issue.

I would not be surprised if a big box store like session.de (to my knowledge, the largest musical instrument supplier in Germany) was less used to paying attention to proper humidification than we do here in the US, or didn't have the choice but to deal with their usual warehouse logistics, which probably has been adequate before the recent effects of climate change, but not anymore. When I compare the climate in Germany between when I left 15 years ago and now, I don't even recognize it anymore. Summer temps in the high 90s were unimaginable when I grew up, now they're common. The Rhine river has dried up so much that out of nowhere, a hitherto undiscovered shipwreck from the 1800s emerged from its banks just last week. My parents tell me the lakes in their region are drying up, too, and crops are dying across the country. It's insane.