Hi All,
Well as promised just a note to keep you updated with my GA4. The guitar is still in Amsterdam. The shop said that Taylor are sending it back to him next week (they would have had it for 3 weeks by then). I have lost faith in the guitar and certainly do not want it back. The one I bought in my mind was a fully working "quality" guitar, not something that would make me have to leave it with the shop 3 times and then be sent away to Amsterdam for 3 weeks.
The dealer has been very good and said that he will honour the price of the guitar as credit in his shop for me on a new one of my choice, even if Taylor repaired it and sent it back. That is great service from him and I am very pleased with that. However, to date I have heard nothing from Taylor in the way of what was wrong, and nothing about any good will gesture to compensate for my time making trips to the dealers store and not having a guitar to play intermittently through the winter months.
Without any news or updates from Taylor I almost feel as if they are blaming me for the issues with the guitar. Just a point to note, when I took it back to the dealer the dealers tech put it on the bench, adjusted the buzz out of it, left it for 3 or 4 hours and when they went back to it guess what, buzzing strings again. The did this 2 or 3 times. So that gives you the kind of idea of what was happening.
I have asked my dealer to enquire about a price for a 512 12 Fret with the added request for a gesture of good will on the price so I do not feel so aggrieved about the issues I have had.
Lets see what next week brings
I completely understand how frustrating this must be for you. However, having worked with Taylor and being personal friends with the guy who set up the location in Amsterdam and the guy that oversees it from the U.S., I have a hard time believing that they blame you. I'd be very surprised if that ended up being the case. Your dealer should be able to contact the guys in Amsterdam who are working on it to find out exactly what the issue is and how it is being solved. Since you aren't the person dealing directly with them, it makes sense that they haven't personally contacted you.
Try, as hard as it may be, to keep your chin up about all of this. Play it when it comes back and see if it still gives you the pleasure that it first did when you fell in love with it the first time around. If the joy is just gone, then it sounds like you've got a great dealer working with you on it. Remember, though, this isn't their fault either. So often, the dealer gets blamed by the consumer for a product that's defective. Truly, they are just the middle men and it sounds like they are working hard to rectify the situation for you.
Taylor builds great guitars, but even with all their checks and balances, something can go wrong. Not to mention that it's a really long way from El Cajon to the UK. It's surprising to me that more doesn't go wrong just from all the guitars go through to get there.
All that said, I know it really sucks when it happens to you.