Why not just try fixing it yourself?

[psykotik]

i'm just curious. we all know that the rock band guitar and drum CAN be faulty ('broken' strumbar, drums not sensing hits etc etc etc) and that you CAN RMA them for a new one.

and for those of you who ARE affected by faulty guitars etc, how many of you actually go in and try fixing the problems by yourself?

obviously, if you RMA it, you MIGHT get back an even better, working guitar etc etc, but chances are you might get another faulty one as some people have experienced.

just curious as to how many people just 'give up' and RMA their faulty guitars etc without even trying to fix it themselves? because most of us know that there's quite a number of 'self fixes' out there that you could try before doing an RMA.

i only ask this because when most people post about their broken guitar and whatnot and then RMAing their broken equipment in, i just wonder, did they even try to fix it themselves?


and yes, i know a few people who are paranoid about warranties being void etc etc but still, having to wait a long time waiting for EA to send a replacement guitar vs making a quick and easy working fix...? i'd pick quick and easy.

what's your opinion?

i personally dont have the luxury of RMAing since i imported my rock band so if my instruments ever break, my only choice is to try and fix it myself (my downstrum crapped out but i fixed it by wedging in tiny pieces of paper to fill in some gaps and make the metal contacts not 'double touch' or 'double strum')

[AdamWill2]

well, people are not going to be very willing to try fixes that invalidate the warranty, because if it doesn't work - or you screw up - you're completely screwed. you have to wait until separate instruments become available, then pay for one.

I did decide to fix my own bass pedal though, for the reason you mention (a replacement would just break anyway). so it has two random pieces of metal I found lying around screwed into it, at present, and I have a 'proper' metal reinforcement plate on order.

[White_Rider]

There are a number of reasons why many (one might argue "most") people would rather RMA a broken instrument instead of trying to fix it:

1) The Express replacement option was *supposed* to be fast and painless. You call or order a replacement online, they send you a replacement and then you send back the broken one. Using a CC hold, you don't have to wait for your broken one to go to them first. In theory, this is really great service, especially since they send out the replacement instrument via 2nd Day shipping. In practice, as we all know, there have been some mistakes and problems including longer than expected delays, sending empty boxes instead of replacement instruments (this happened to me), and what not. BUT, if this Express had turned out to be reliable, then it's definitely a much better option than trying to fix it yourself.

2) Some people aren't comfortable trying to fix things themselves. Regardless of warranty concerns, they simply don't want and/or don't feel confident in trying mods or self fixes. I don't blame them for this, do you? We really shouldn't have to concern ourselves with fixes and mods just to get our gear working as it should. Sure, there are some who like to improve or supplement their gear and for that, mods are great. But when you pay $170 for a package, you expect the gear to work right!

3) Warranty concerns ARE valid. Even a simple fix can go wrong. Many people don't want to take a chance when a substantial amount of money is involved. For example, if you accidentally damaged your drum kit where EA would know and void your warranty, you'd probably be out $120 (which is the amount of money they hold on your CC when you do the Express option). Or, you'd simply be stuck with a broken instrument which means you can't play the game or you have to buy another instrument (which are not available ala'carte yet). So yeah, some people would rather take a chance and go through one or more RMA's than being stuck with a broken instrument or have to pay upwards of $100.