Just got my replacement guitar

[Avantar]

I ordered mine on Saturday and just got it this morning. My old one wasnt broken completely. I mainly had double strums on the menu but it worked ok in the game. I knew it was going out though. So far the new guitar doesnt have the same problem but it still feels like the old one. The strum bar feels a tad bit tighter than my other one though, but overall it feels the same. Now im going to have to order my drums since i have to beat on my yellow pad for it to register.

[darkforcesjedi]

What the heck I ordered on the 20th and still no response.

[3Dave]

I ordered mine on Saturday and just got it this morning. My old one wasnt broken completely. I mainly had double strums on the menu but it worked ok in the game. I knew it was going out though. So far the new guitar doesnt have the same problem but it still feels like the old one. The strum bar feels a tad bit tighter than my other one though, but overall it feels the same. Now im going to have to order my drums since i have to beat on my yellow pad for it to register.

Did you ever check the UPS tracking site? I was just wondering if your tracking number always showed as "Billing Information Received," even in transit.

[Zeus974]

yaeh, cuz... i ordered mine on the 21st and it still says billing information recieved

[admanimal]

What the heck I ordered on the 20th and still no response.

What the heck indeed. I also ordered on the 20th after. I figured I was smart for getting in before the rush...

[Avantar]

I checked the ups site each day and on Monday it said it was shipped so I knew I would get it Wednesday. It only showed the billing information recieved for Sat and Sun then Monday it changed.

[Avantar]

What really sucked though was my 360 got the 3 red lights of death on Monday so I went out and bought an Aracde 360 package and Im waiting for my box to send my old one in :(.

[DasKonstruct]

Sounds like the replacements are just models with the tension screw tightened.

[lordkemo]

I also got my guitar yesterday. I was able to track it.

[teramudson]

This may be a silly question, but is the box the replacement guitar ships in (that we use for returning the broken one) large enough to fit the guitar or did the ship the replacement one in a box that only fits the guitar without the neck attached?

[AMartin56]

I have to admit that reports of people getting their replacements already when they ordered theirs 1-2 days after I ordered mine is really starting to piss me off...

Good for the people who now have working guitars, but this really makes EA look like a bunch of idiots...

[AgainstOne]

i put mine in on the 22nd and it still hasn't shipped. this is bull****!

[XeonPro]

If it makes you feel any better, I put mine in last night and it is on its way. Both EA and UPS are showing it shipped and it is on its way.

[Jealleo]

If it makes you feel any better, I put mine in last night and it is on its way. Both EA and UPS are showing it shipped and it is on its way.

Same here. While there wasn't really anything wrong with it I want to be on the safe side as it was feeling off.

[EAxMetroJack]

This may be a silly question, but is the box the replacement guitar ships in (that we use for returning the broken one) large enough to fit the guitar or did the ship the replacement one in a box that only fits the guitar without the neck attached?

Hi teramudson,

The box you will be sent to return the old guitar is large enough to fit a fully assembled guitar and includes a shipping label that covers the cost of postage.

Cheers,
EAxMetroJack

[wickedbadz]

EAxMetroJack, why the hell are people getting replacements that ordered them yesterday and a day ago and those of us who ordered early didn't get anything....what kind of backwards shipping is that...it's making people mad to see this happening...ea should have sent orders out in the way they got recieved not backwards...this is stupid

[AMartin56]

If it makes you feel any better, I put mine in last night and it is on its way. Both EA and UPS are showing it shipped and it is on its way.

Actually no since I ordered mine a week ago...

[albinousrex]

well according to the manager supervisor, all packages ordered last week were shipped out today. he said he knows that the ones from this week are going out first but it was easier because everything from last week couldnt get out and was sitting in teh warehouse waiting to be boxed, when monday rolled around, new orders were being packaged and thrown right onto the availible truck. I know its wrong but he said expect new parts by thursday or friday if ups is behind but he says ups has all ordered last week. He also said that ups is not updating their site because of the mass of packages from ea and other people aroudn this time of year so the site isnt their priority. He said ups said that it may or may not get updated before your package arrives.

[wickedbadz]

well according to the manager supervisor, all packages ordered last week were shipped out today. he said he knows that the ones from this week are going out first but it was easier because everything from last week couldnt get out and was sitting in teh warehouse waiting to be boxed, when monday rolled around, new orders were being packaged and thrown right onto the availible truck. I know its wrong but he said expect new parts by thursday or friday if ups is behind but he says ups has all ordered last week. He also said that ups is not updating their site because of the mass of packages from ea and other people aroudn this time of year so the site isnt their priority. He said ups said that it may or may not get updated before your package arrives.

UPS isn't behind...christmas rush isn't new for UPS they do this every year....it's not shipped out peroid...EA is lying and trying to cover up mistakes...the rep I spoke to said it has NOT shipped but it's been billed...go figure....order the 21st and get nothing...order the 27th and have a guitar in hand...EA's a major f'up not UPS.....nice job at them trying to push the blame on someone though...>EA is so outsourced it isn't even funny....what manager did you talk to? The one in Egypt, Pakistahn. Portugal, India or Mexico?

[TheDoctre]

well according to the manager supervisor, all packages ordered last week were shipped out today. he said he knows that the ones from this week are going out first but it was easier because everything from last week couldnt get out and was sitting in teh warehouse waiting to be boxed, when monday rolled around, new orders were being packaged and thrown right onto the availible truck. I know its wrong but he said expect new parts by thursday or friday if ups is behind but he says ups has all ordered last week. He also said that ups is not updating their site because of the mass of packages from ea and other people aroudn this time of year so the site isnt their priority. He said ups said that it may or may not get updated before your package arrives.

I can confirm at least that they told me the exact same thing that they told albinousrex. And I've decided to give them until Friday as they have asked (Luckily my drums still work). As a test one of my co-workers who has just started noticing issues with downstrums on his guitar put in for an RMA this morning and his EA "My Questions" section reports "Parts Shipped" (Mine still shows "New RMA" from 11/20) but his UPS tracking number still shows "Billing Information Received", I'll get an update from him tomorrow on his UPS status.

[AMartin56]

Well we should know in a few hours. In my experience the UPS website does not 'lag' for multiple days. If your tracking number doesn't show in transit by midnight tonight EA either lied about fufilling all backlogs by today or their records are so screwed up that they have no clue what tracking number was used.

I honestly don't care what their excuses are. Shipping newer orders before people who have waited longer is pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever and I hope it bites them in the ass.

[johnnyboy23]

I orderd my guitar las thurs. and dont have it yet so i called customer support and some lady told me that ups wasn't able to ship it out until early this week and she said it would be 3-5 business days and would get to me the latest on monday. I gave them my credit card number and I thought I was getting 2nd day air not 3 - 5 business days. That's messed up.

[DesiredFX]

Yeah, I'm a bit cheesed about this myself. I requested my replacement on the 21st, and I've received no notification about it since the initial request--worse, there doesn't appear to be a way to recover my UPS tracking number through EA's support site--I let the page go since I figured I'd be getting an email with the tracking number in it. Nope.

[albinousrex]

I can confirm at least that they told me the exact same thing that they told albinousrex. And I've decided to give them until Friday as they have asked (Luckily my drums still work). As a test one of my co-workers who has just started noticing issues with downstrums on his guitar put in for an RMA this morning and his EA "My Questions" section reports "Parts Shipped" (Mine still shows "New RMA" from 11/20) but his UPS tracking number still shows "Billing Information Received", I'll get an update from him tomorrow on his UPS status.

im with you on that, its not here friday, im gonna be mad. Also, many sources including ups have claimed that their site is not their priority at this time and may take 48 hours to update.

my petal snapped, at the very bottom, tape is holding it for now so its not as bad as it could be, but it still falls apart on fast base drum sections

[Duncans Ghola]

I just got my replacement guitar today. I opened it with high hopes, which were very quickly smashed.

While the strumbar was much tighter than my original, it was registering as down while in the neutral position. So instead of having a guitar that only works on the up-strum I have one that is too tempermental to work in either direction with reliability. All this was literally minutes after unpacking it.

It's really sad that I haven't even left my apartment to go send off my original guitar and I've already had problems with the replacement.

[wickedbadz]

I just got my replacement guitar today. I opened it with high hopes, which were very quickly smashed.

While the strumbar was much tighter than my original, it was registering as down while in the neutral position. So instead of having a guitar that only works on the up-strum I have one that is too tempermental to work in either direction with reliability. All this was literally minutes after unpacking it.

It's really sad that I haven't even left my apartment to go send off my original guitar and I've already had problems with the replacement.

Well that just sucks

[steelcurtain187]

I just got my replacement guitar today. I opened it with high hopes, which were very quickly smashed.

While the strumbar was much tighter than my original, it was registering as down while in the neutral position. So instead of having a guitar that only works on the up-strum I have one that is too tempermental to work in either direction with reliability. All this was literally minutes after unpacking it.

It's really sad that I haven't even left my apartment to go send off my original guitar and I've already had problems with the replacement.

This isn't the first I've heard of this either :(

[coffinrock94]

I guess this is a prime example of why games seem to always get delayed these days. I'll admit, it frustrates me as much as anyone else. I hated hearing that Metal Gear Solid 4was pushed back to Q2 2008 when Q1 2008 was still months away (and it was originally supposed to release around this time). Despite all that, I'd rather wait a bit longer and get a properly working product, than have a product that craps out after about 32 total hours (including the time I was asleep, and the guitar wasn't being used). As much as I hate delays, this is much worse. It especially sucks when some versions work perfectly, but the one you get your hands on doesn't, so everyone else is having tons of fun, while you're sitting there wondering what could be.

Bottom line: Game delays suck. I think we can all agree on that. Getting the game right though is the top priority, whatever the cost may be. And any amount of waiting I have to do for a hot game is worth it if I don't have to deal with a crap guitar like the one I got in my Rock Band package.

All that being said though, if someone promises you a shipment in 2 days, you shouldn't have to be sitting there a week later without any updates. That's not impatience, that's just taking someone at their word. If it takes 7-10 business days, fine, just tell me that. I won't enjoy the wait, but at least I know what to expect.

[EntropyDivides]

I posted this on another thread but I just thought I would share my experiences on this thread as well:

-----
I have received my guitar today and have been playing with it for the last 4 hours. I can certainaly tell that this one is just... well, different. It took about 8 hours for the old one to start screwing up royally but it wasn't ever completely right from the start. I don't know how to really explain it but it just didn't feel right.

I plugged in the old one to compare it against new one just to make sure I wasn't imagining things and most definately the old guitar is bad bad bad.

On the new guitar the strum bar has a much more confident feel to it. I can tell the notes I'm missing are truely my own mistakes and not issues with double strumming. Able to go long stints of fast notes now without missing. I have a good feeling that this one is going to definately last past the previous one and much much more.
-----

I hope you guys that are still having problems get what you deserve soon too!

[sickdaddy]

Can you fit both into one box, at least?

[wickedbadz]

Can you fit both into one box, at least?
Probably not but it's broken anyhow so duck tape it to the box :D

[TheDoctre]

I can confirm at least that they told me the exact same thing that they told albinousrex. And I've decided to give them until Friday as they have asked (Luckily my drums still work). As a test one of my co-workers who has just started noticing issues with downstrums on his guitar put in for an RMA this morning and his EA "My Questions" section reports "Parts Shipped" (Mine still shows "New RMA" from 11/20) but his UPS tracking number still shows "Billing Information Received", I'll get an update from him tomorrow on his UPS status.

Well he's checked up with UPS now and as of 11:23 EST they still show "Billing Information Received" on his. We'll keep monitoring it through the day to see if that changes.

[Cabezone]

Well he's checked up with UPS now and as of 11:23 EST they still show "Billing Information Received" on his. We'll keep monitoring it through the day to see if that changes.

Typically UPS will not update that until the night they received the parts. for me it's usually around 5-7PM PST.

[TheDoctre]

His RMA was put in and "shipped" yesterday (11/28/2007, According to EA's site) just tracking to see if his ever shows up in the UPS system beyond what those of us who RMAed on Tuesday or Wednesday does.

[greygoosetall]

I spoke today with EA (the manager of the support department)and they manufactured a 3rd generation controller and they are shipping for PS3 on Thursday, Friday and Monday. XBOX guitars were shipped first, on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. The manufacturing was addressed. Also the EA rep told me that Red Octane was so inundated with complaints for not making the the GH3 controllers in a way to be cross used with RB, that Sony, Harmonix and Red Octane are now finishing a patch that will allow GH3 controllers to be used w/ RB. The patch will be available any day now. It will be installed when you turn on Rock Band. Microsoft had already done this and it was fixed by Friday last week I believe.

As soon as the guy was telling me all of this, it would ship that day, I received a status update saying it was shipped at 9:18 am Today. We were still on the phone and he noticed it at the same time I did.

[TheDoctre]

Well he's checked up with UPS now and as of 11:23 EST they still show "Billing Information Received" on his. We'll keep monitoring it through the day to see if that changes.

Well that proves that they are still going out of order. His UPS information has shifted to "In-Transit" as of 16:09 EST.

[AVC808]

Also the EA rep told me that Red Octane was so inundated with complaints for not making the the GH3 controllers in a way to be cross used with RB, that Sony, Harmonix and Red Octane are now finishing a patch that will allow GH3 controllers to be used w/ RB. The patch will be available any day now. It will be installed when you turn on Rock Band. Microsoft had already done this and it was fixed by Friday last week I believe.

wondering if the guy was feeding more BS? sounded believable until the mention that "microsoft fixed it" part. they didnt need to fix it did they? all the reviewers were already using it with no problems from the beginning.

[pdawg17]

I'm getting REALLY close to just ordering a second replacement as I'm sure it'll get here quicker than my original request from eight days ago...I'm sure though that as soon as I submit it my UPS status for my original order will update to "in transit" :)

EA is full of crap though because even if they screwed up and went out of order you would think they would have went back and fixed it now...instead they continue to take care of the newest orders first....

[Muffster]

Here's one I haven't heard yet.

The status of both my RMA's were changed to "Updated by customer" a few days ago when I updated them to ask for a ship date (neither of which was ever answered by EA).

They've been sitting in that status for over 2 days and now, as of a few minutes ago, they've both reverted back to "New RMA" status.

Your guess is as good as mine.

[pdawg17]

Here's one I haven't heard yet.

The status of both my RMA's were changed to "Updated by customer" a few days ago when I updated them to ask for a ship date (neither of which was ever answered by EA).

They've been sitting in that status for over 2 days and now, as of a few minutes ago, they've both reverted back to "New RMA" status.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Mine has said "updated by EA" for three days...this is since calling them last...so I have no idea if anything has happened with mine or not...

Also, this problem is not only a guitar thing because I also put in for new drums on 11/21 as well and nothing has happened there either...

[Muffster]

Also, this problem is not only a guitar thing because I also put in for new drums on 11/21 as well and nothing has happened there either...

True story, one of mine is for the guitar, the other the drum kit.

[Muffster]

Here's one I haven't heard yet.

The status of both my RMA's were changed to "Updated by customer" a few days ago when I updated them to ask for a ship date (neither of which was ever answered by EA).

They've been sitting in that status for over 2 days and now, as of a few minutes ago, they've both reverted back to "New RMA" status.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Here a landmine you'll want to avoid stepping on, so I had to pass this along as a follow-up:

Violet from EA was kind enough to check the status of my two RMA's.

Apparently, if you use the "update question" button like I did on the actual incident numbers for your return requests, the system removes the incident from the returns queue and transfers it to a general support request queue.

That's why the status of my returns is now "New RMA" again, Violet changed them for me to get me back into the returns queue.

[AVC808]

yikes. im glad i didnt mess with that option. so essentially if you "update" your RMA with a new question or something, you could possibly reset the whole process and begin from square-one?

[Muffster]

Not only will it reset the whole process, you'll get placed into a general support queue where will sit for &deity; only knows how long (in my case, 2+ days). If it weren't for Violet noticing this, I'd be up the creek without a paddle (thanks again Violet!).

There's no use in updating them in the first place asking for a ship date, since no one is going to answer you. Instead, open a new ticket referencing your existing RMA numbers and ask for status on them that way. I at least got a response doing that, but all they did was echo my UPS tracking numbers back to me.

At any rate, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR ACTUAL RMA TICKETS!

[MrNazraq]

Thought I'd add my post to this thread instead of starting a whole new thread.

Just got my replacement guitar yesterday and went to the UPS store to ship back my old one. My old one started acting weird after about 2 hours of play.

I played the new one last night for a few songs, just to see if it worked. Then today I played for about 2 hours straight. I've been 5-starring the songs and doing great!

The new guitar doesn't feel any different than the old one: the strum bar is still "mushy" (which I like), weight is about the same...

I heard in another post that the new strum bar switches are magnetic, and not mechanical. I haven't opened mine up yet, so I can't confirm. I'll be playing more later on and see how this thing holds up. Then I'll post my results here!

EDIT: Here are the links to the pictures

Here's two:

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/

Here's the third:

http://community.rockband.com/vbforu...ead.php?t=9692

[TheDoctre]

Well that proves that they are still going out of order. His UPS information has shifted to "In-Transit" as of 16:09 EST.

AMAZING! My EA status shifted to "Parts Shipped" finally. Still no change on my UPS status though.

[Zeus974]

where do you find your ea status?

[Duster340]

Do we ship the Dongle back with the guitar or do we keep the dongle?

[wickedbadz]

Do we ship the Dongle back with the guitar or do we keep the dongle?

I would think guitar replacement means the guitar not the dongle, thats seperate.

[threeos]

I posted this in a new thread before I saw this one:

I got my replacment today and it's worse than the original one.

The original guitar would not activate Overdrive no matter how you tilted the guitar.

This replacment has the exact same problem, plus the upstrum is not working properly.

[Duster340]

so we just send the guitar back not the strap or the sensor that lets the guitar work?

[HeruLuingul]

I used the Rock Band support site to issue a complaint about the guitar, strumbar specifically, on the 26th. I selected the express method, entered all information and then when I hit "finish," got the scripty page. I thought it didn't go through, but then I saw it a day later under "questions" in My EA Account > Support.
When I clicked the instance, it gave me a "shipped parts" message. Today I got home from work to find a fully functional strat on my doorstep, including strap. I put the old one in the box and I'm shipping it tomorrow.

The new guitar definitely has a different feel, and the strumbar is EVEN QUIETER than the first. It feels a lot more sturdy with a distinct "i hit that note" feel, instead of the unsure feeling the first one gave me. I might open it up to see if it's one of the new designs we saw here (http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/) or here (http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=9692), but I'm pretty sure it is NOT the same as the original.

[enjoiskating6]

yeah I got that stupid scripty page as well and thought I was the only one. glad to see you got your guitar so hopefully I will get mine too. i never got any e-mail on EA about anything though so I dont know.

[AgainstOne]

mine has still not shipped! i put my order in on the 22nd! ****ing bastards!!!

[devorama]

Well I got my replacement guitar today. I opened it up and found it had the magnetic strum detector like here (http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/). But guess what? The 5 way selector switch for the effects (Chorus, echo, etc.) is off. So each notch is kinda between two settings and tends to flip around between them if I'm on anything but Wah Wah or Normal. I never used this anyhow, so I guess I'll keep this one and return the old one with the metal leaf switch strum bar...

[Senkoy]

I ordered mine on the 21st and it still hasnt been shipped. This is infuriating.

[wickedbadz]

I ordered mine on the 21st and it still hasnt been shipped. This is infuriating.

Same here, I got ticked off and ordered a box only a few minutes ago, I sure didn't want to order another advanced replacement and let them dip another $100 out of my account when I still haven't seen the first....lets see which arrives first...if it's the box which I'm sure it will be EA's getting a ass ripping off me. Maybe I should start a poll on which will arrive first.

[bojimenez8]

my strum bar broke yesterday :-/ so i NEEDED to order my new, fixed one. like the addict i opted for the 2 day air shipping selection. I had to put $125.00 as holding charge. I should be getting my new, FIXED guitar in 2-4 days and in turn sent back the dysfunctional one. Once recieved at EA then NO charge will be made. i better get my guitar. and box to send the broken one back or im losing a bill and a quarter! So avantar, how is the guitar holding up? i really hope this new guitar is durable. i mean for as much money we all fork up its got to! Geez man i still got my original guitar hero guitar and it works like new (ok maybe a bit sticky on one of the frets but come on its like 3 years old). This guitar issue seems to be a common inconvienence yet shouldn't be for the price.

[MrNazraq]

Today is day #3 of having the new guitar for me. It seems to be holding up better than the previous one. I've been trying to play like there's no tomorrow. Basically, I have 30 days to break this guitar, right?

I've had no problems with hitting notes. The overdrive works when I want it to. I'm even doing the up-down strumming when it comes to the faster notes, and things are looking good.

By all means, I'm definitely not holding back with this guitar. The original guitar showed signs of wear after about 2 or 3 songs (the strum bar wouldn't return to the neutral position). Also, after the first day of playing, the original guitar was already having problems with the strum bar "sticking" to the down position. But this one shows no wear as of yet (I'm being very conscious to look out for something... anything wrong with the guitar between each song).

I'll post again after wreaking havoc on this guitar over the weekend.

[Kallidoan]

Yea, you need to put the credit card for "expedite".

[Kallidoan]

What the heck I ordered on the 20th and still no response.
Yea, you need to put the credit card for "expedite".