Replacements are Refurbished

[Stevenam81]

Ok, I got my replacement today. I did not even bother plugging it in. I pulled the guitar out of the bubble wrap and there is a huge scrape along the bottom right edge. It stretches between the d-pad and where the cord comes out. I mean paint missing. My eyes were immediately drawn to it. The bottom strap connector is loose and rattles. I tried to tighten it, but it is stripped. It just kept spinning. The strum bar did feel tighter but like I said I knew I wasn't going to keep it so I didnt even bother plugging it in. I just boxed it right back up. A couple of the fret buttons seemed easier to mash and they all were a little louder than my original guitar. The blue and orange were easy to mash and seemed springy. The other three felt a little more like my original. The solo buttons felt a little different as well.

The toggle switch felt loose and wiggled from side to side a little bit. The one on my launch guitar is solid. The start and back buttons felt worse also. They rolled around when I pushed them. My first guitar's buttons push straight down nicely. I didn't bother to open the guitar to see if it had the newer strum. I'm assuming it did. It had three green stickers on the back. Oh and also there is a soldering iron scar on the side of the guitar where it looks like the soldering iron sliped and burned a rod shaped mark into the guitar. There also appeared to be hot glue on the mark. I picked some of it off.

I take excellent care of my things. My guitar I got at launch looks brand new. Not a scratch. I've never dropped it or abused it in any way. I refuse to accept this scraped up, beat up looking, cheap feeling guitar. My launch model does have the old design with the metal contacts. So far, it hasn't given me any trouble, except missing some fast notes which could have been my fault. Overall it feels solid. When I called about my drums, I talked to a supervisor about my guitar. I explained to him that I had an older model and I was afraid that it was going to crap out. He told me that if I had a first gen guitar it was pretty much going to stop working. He said I should get a replacement. I said ok and used my credit card. That was Monday. I get my replacement and it's a joke. Now I have to send it back and try again.

When I called support I didn't get an American. I explained that one of the major rules about refurbished items is you aren't supposed to be able to tell its refurbished. He agreed. I really don't even want a refurb. I think that is BS. Basically EA isn't losing guitars over this. They make us pay for the replacement in case we don't send them ours. When they get ours, they just swap out the strummer and send it to someone else. I don't want a refurb, but what I don't know won't hurt me. At least send me one that looks new where I can't tell.

And get this. I told the guy it was BS that I had to put that charge on my card to get this POS. Now I have to send it back, wait for them to get it, and then have them send me a new one. I told him that is the same difference as me requesting an empty box since I just have to send this one back. He had the nerve to tell me, "No, it's not the same. If you had requested the empty box, then sent your guitar, then waited for ours, gotten that POS refirb, then had to go through the process again it would take a month. Since you used the express method it is only going to take a couple of weeks." Then he actually said, "It could be worse" I couldn't believe he said that. Am I supposed to feel better because I could be waiting a month. Am I supposed to be happy that now I have to mess with sending back a replacement and waiting all over again when A, their launch models should have been up to far to begin with and B, at the very least my replacement should be perfect. I'm going to send it back tomorrow and try again. But this is completely ridiculous.

[John Locke]

wow I just ordered my replacement the other day. I hope the same thing doesnt happen to me. Let us know how you make out.

[Maggot_Brain]

Fee-ass-ko.

[steelcurtain187]

Same thing happened to me. What a joke!

[toefer]

My face plate has a scratch or two in it, near the screws, as if someone tried taking it apart, and got a little sloppy with the screwdriver. I'm glad it works, but at the same time, I didn't pay for someone else's formerly broken guitar. I thought these were going to be new.

[pdawg17]

The first replacement drum kit I got was the biggest piece of crap I've ever seen...half of the buttons on the "dashboard" were non-responsive, and the red/green pads were super loose...you could tell they had been pulled off numerous times...NONE of the pads were consistently responsive...

[Android8675]

my first replacement fender was perfect, until the strumm bar broke again. Someone should be getting my old guitar soon, it's in perfect condition, barely used so you'll live.

[Dochtor]

I just got my replacement guitar back today and while I was happy they were able to get it out to me so quickly, I was really disappointed when I took the guitar out of the box. My guitar had inch long scratches (x2) across the main body and the back strap holder was stripped and loose. It also looks like someone tried to buff the guitar with a cloth that was to abrasive and ruined the finish. Lastly the fret buttons all seem to make loud clacking sound when you release them and almost sounds/feels like they are sticking.

But the strummer does seem to be working….at least for now.

[roxperch]

Just got the replacement for my replacement. A coupl of black smudges on the back of the neck, but I can live with that. But it works so far. The downstrum has been fine (through five songs) and the overdrive starts easily when lifting the guitar (had to lift and shake get it to sometimes work on the replacement). And the frets are all firm (the replacement had some funky-feeling frets).

So far so good.

[Zanaflex]

Which strap button are you talking about? It sounds like the one on the butt of the guitar. If that is the case, then of course it is going to be "stripped" (at least on mine, and there may be a different revision), but unlike the "top" strap button that is screwed in. The one on the butt just sits in there. If you open up the guitar you would see what I mean. It is made like that.

[Alucard400]

So it seems, EA is doing the MS way (like xbox refurbished style) to give replacements to people with problems on their instruments. That also explains why "EVERYONE HAS TO WAIT LONG BEFORE THEIR REPLACEMENTS ARE SENT" because EA isn't sending real new guitar/drums/ mic replacements, but they're really WAITING FOR BROKEN INSTRUMENTS TO COME IN FROM CUSTOMERS AND THEN FIX THOSE, AND THEN SEND THEM OUT AS REPLACEMENTS.

So EA/Harmonix. Do you see this post I just made? You're cheating out your consumers a bit too much in this method. To save costs when you should have designed your instruments and accessories to take a beating in the first place.

[Zanaflex]

I dont really know if they are refurbing them. I remember reading a post, that a Customer Service rep told a customer to just break off the headstock of the guitar to fit it in the return box, cause they just toss them.

[Stevenam81]

Which strap button are you talking about? It sounds like the one on the butt of the guitar. If that is the case, then of course it is going to be "stripped" (at least on mine, and there may be a different revision), but unlike the "top" strap button that is screwed in. The one on the butt just sits in there. If you open up the guitar you would see what I mean. It is made like that.

I still have my first gen guitar I got at launch. Thank God I didn't send them mine first. I did the express method. I would be super pissed if I sent them my guitar which is in perfect condition and then had to worry that I will never get one back that is as nice. Anyway, the strap connector on my original guitar is tight. I'm talking about the one on the bottom. You can swist it to a point where it stops and its tight. The one on my replacement would never stop turning. It was "stripped". Maybe there is another version out. I don't know. All I know is my launch guitar is perfect in every way, other than it having a first gen strum.

Maybe I got lucky though. My guitar still works great. I was just worried that I would have issues later and wanted to take care of it now. Now that I know they are just sending out beat up refirbished guitars I think I'll just stick with mine. The supervisor I talked to said I should request a replacement even if it is working if I bought it at launch. He said "it will break, they are crap" that was his exact words. So I said ok, now that I know they are sending out the 4th gen models I will go ahead and order one. Then I got that scraped up, cheap feeling POS. After seeing how much everything else sucked on the replacement, I can see how people were not satisfied with their guitars, if that is the way they were. My toggle switch is perfect, my buttons feel good, the fret buttons are nice. Even my strummer works well after many songs with no issues. So maybe I got a first gen that is going to last. Who knows? But I taped a typed letter to the box inside the return box stating how I felt about the issue and that I will just keep sending back replacements at their expense until I get a new one or at least one where I can't tell it's not new.

[Spartacus14]

I just recieved my replacement and it wouldn't even turn on. I did also notice it was a little more beat up then my original but it did seem like they could have possibly fix the strum but i couldnt actually tell since i couldnt even turn the guitar on. When i called them to get it straightened out they said they had to put another hold on my credit card so that they could send me a third guitar so i could use the game I paid 180 dollars for. This is ridiuculus i would not recomend harmonix games to anyone the game is good but the coustomer service is terrible and the reliability on there products obviously isnt up to par yet.

[davidshek]

I just got my replacement Strat (360) and it's not banged up, scratched up, or anything else. Looks brand new, feels brand new, and works like a charm. :)

So they're not all refurbs, just so ya know...

[EAxViolet]

I do apologize that your replacement was damaged. If you contact Support they should be able to make sure you get another sent to you. I just wanted to clarify that all of the replacement peripherals sent are ones we receive directly from the manufacturer. We are not sending refurbished or used guitars as replacements. I will, however, report these complaints concerning the condition of your offered replacement.

~Violet

[Assassinbug]

I do apologize that your replacement was damaged. If you contact Support they should be able to make sure you get another sent to you. I just wanted to clarify that all of the replacement peripherals sent are ones we receive directly from the manufacturer. We are not sending refurbished or used guitars as replacements. I will, however, report these complaints concerning the condition of your offered replacement.

~Violet

Woot! Thank you! I've been really sweating it reading these posts. Good to hear something from a rep. *grin*

[Monkeychow01]

Just got mine. Strumming is great...but I can't get the damn star power to work :( I wiggle the guitar all over the place and jump like a madman and cannot get the star power to work at all. I think it worked twice.....any suggestions?

Edit ....correction doesn't work at ALL. I just swang the guitar around all over the place and nothing........so now I have to deal with a broken strum bar or an overdrive that does not work.....why did they send me a broken guitar?

[Berethrof]

Does anyone else have clacky-sticky fret buttons? I e-mailed support, but they just sent me the canned form letter about requesting a replacement guitar without answering whether the clackety buttons are "normal" or not.

Anyone else?

[Assassinbug]

Does anyone else have clacky-sticky fret buttons? I e-mailed support, but they just sent me the canned form letter about requesting a replacement guitar without answering whether the clackety buttons are "normal" or not.

Anyone else?

Mine are super loud/clacky. There have been a lot of people mentioning the Strat's clacky frets/silent strums vs. the Les Paul's silent frets/clicky strum.

[EAxViolet]

Does anyone else have clacky-sticky fret buttons? I e-mailed support, but they just sent me the canned form letter about requesting a replacement guitar without answering whether the clackety buttons are "normal" or not.

Anyone else?

I have seen that many people have seen 'clackier' buttons with the replacement guitars although they should work normally. I'll ask and see if I can find anything about why they might be clacky but from what I understand it is not a defect and shouldn't affect game play.

If your buttons are sticking, however, and not reacting properly then you can definitely request a replacement.

~Violet

[Schreibs21]

my guitar that I got back from EA was brand new as well, so they must be getting damaged at the manufacturer or during shipping, I kind of doubted they were shipping people refurbished ones, they're not that cheap.

[Monkeychow01]

How does the overdrive sensor get damaged upon shipping? It's inside the guitar?

[Zanaflex]

I still think the strap button you are reffereing to as being "stripped" is fine. There must be a different revision. The strap button on the wing of the guitar is screw style (so you can go left to right handed). The one on the butt of the gutiar (at least on mine), is not screw style. It is actually secured by the two halves for the guitar body. Which is fine, and there is nothing wrong with doing that. The strap button is NOT going to come off unless you take apart the guitar.

[Berethrof]

I have seen that many people have seen 'clackier' buttons with the replacement guitars although they should work normally. I'll ask and see if I can find anything about why they might be clacky but from what I understand it is not a defect and shouldn't affect game play.

If your buttons are sticking, however, and not reacting properly then you can definitely request a replacement.

~Violet

Thank you, Violet! I love the game, and just want to play it (as well as my wife and son). I'll hammer on the guitar this weekend, as I've read that for many people the "clackiness" as subsided after use.

It just makes it harder to play, honestly, as your fingers don't "slide" and you can't be as nimble due to the tacticle feedback you get with the clack and the stickiness.

But thanks for responding, I know you guys are swamped and are doing the best you can, but in my line of work I get yelled at by QA and customers all the time, so I figured it's my turn. ;) Kidding.

[Peytah]

My guitar was scratched like that straight out of the retail box...

[Stevenam81]

It's nice to hear that they are not refirb. Although I can't help but think some are. What happened to my guitar is not going to happen during shipping. It was in bubble wrap, inside a box which is inside another box. The way I pulled it out is definately the way it was put in. Either they didn't even look at the guitar or they just didn't care. They managed to put 3 round green stickers on the back so I believe they had to know its condition. Whether they are actually refirb or not, I don't know. But from pics I have seen, it looks like they are opening up guitars with the old strum (whether they are new in the factory or used) and taking out the old strummer. Then they are quickly gluing in the chipboards with the sensors and melting a piece of plastic with the magnet in it to the strummer. So far, none of the models I've seen have been designed with the magnets in mind. You can still see where the screws go for holding the metal contacts of the old strum design.

I would like to receive a guitar where they actually made the mold for the guitar body for the new design so the sensors have an actual place to go instead of just being hot glued in. I don't know how people are receiving beat up guitars. I've heard other stories similar to mine lately so something is going on. I didn't take any pics of mine, which is definately the worst I've seen so far, but I've seen pics of other replacements that look pretty bad.

Violet, if you are able to get any info on why our guitars are coming to us scraped and scratched up please let us know. Thanks for posting. I'll be looking forward to hearing back from you.

[xBlackMagix]

Are you a plant?

They were exclusively shipping refurbs at one point. It would cost them too much to ship new guitars out every time, as their refurb stock would keep growing.

I'll see if they are shipping new guitars soon, as I should get a replacement.

The product that I got brand new from EBGames seemed to be refurb. The guitar had a rattle right from the start, and one of the drum pads looked worn/replaced. I checked on the sides of the drum, and there were marks from tools. Why couldn't they just provide working hardware like the guitar hero people.

At least my 360 guitar works with RB, or else I would have returned this product already.

[Dartagnan64]

Well I've received 2 guitars so far and they seem to be operating fine and none seem like refurbs at all.

So I'm sure they are sending out new guitars for the most part. Whether they were refurbing some in the beginning or not, I don't know.

[Project_Mercy]

Dude, this thread is a month old.

There's also no way for you to determine if it's a referb or not. My release day guitar's strum bar broke in the first hour. It was pristine when I sent it back. My second RB box, the guitar rattled, and looked like ass when it came out of the box. Both were new in box.

Sometimes things get mangled in manufacturing. That's part of he charm you get when paying third world children $.03 an hour to assemble stuff.

[pandaru_express]

I bet you a shiny nickel that the damage is from the manufacturer. IE EA sends them a message saying whats busted and how they have to fix it. The manufacturer changes the production method for future units but what to do with the couple hundred-odd previous gen instruments sitting in the manufacturer's warehouse? They tear them open and try to jury rig fixes to them, then ship em out.

The damage is probably from some underpaid 12 year old that got yanked from the line where he just glued one piece onto the chassis a couple hundred times a day... and then was told to open units up and do "complicated" things to fix them.

[Android8675]

Are you a plant?

They were exclusively shipping refurbs at one point. It would cost them too much to ship new guitars out every time, as their refurb stock would keep growing.

I'll see if they are shipping new guitars soon, as I should get a replacement.

The product that I got brand new from EBGames seemed to be refurb. The guitar had a rattle right from the start, and one of the drum pads looked worn/replaced. I checked on the sides of the drum, and there were marks from tools. Why couldn't they just provide working hardware like the guitar hero people.

At least my 360 guitar works with RB, or else I would have returned this product already.

No, I am not a plant. About 4 years ago I would of been a plant, but not anymore.

I have much love for EA, espically the hard working underpaid guys in tech support, so yes, my opinion is biased, but I wasn't lying when I said, I ordered a replacement guitar on day 2 of release, I got the replacement by day 5, and it was perfect, not a scratch on it. If it was refurbished, then it wasn't used too much.

My Whammy bar broke on the second guitar as well, I got another replacement before the end of week 3, and it was perfect as well, in fact this one has given me "several" hours of uninterrupted bliss, but I'm starting to prefer my Gibson again, the lack of a clicking strummer makes it hard to nail those punk passages with heavy strumming. (Joe Strummer FTW)

So, yes and no, I am a plant in that I try to stick up for my friends at EA, but if my experience had been anything less than amazing I probably would of said nothing or something less savory. I admit having to replace 2 controllers sucked, but EA is making good and the game is just fun as hell with friends.

BTW, thanks EA for releasing "Last Train to Clarksville" cover from the Monkee's, now where's "I'm A Believer"?