Epiphone Jack Casady Disappointment.

[Old Blastard]

Bought mine back in 2014 brand new. Varitone spun like Satan's own merry-go-round and the jack all but fell out. Actually, it fell in. It seemed like a disaster because I'm not a techie, I'm a tooltard. Luckily, the mom and pop store where I bought it had a hell of a tech who fixed the fidget-spinner on warranty and installed a Switchcraft Jack for cost of the jack. Plays great all these years, but it is uncomfortable. I don't sling low my basses, but this one demands it

 

[doctorfixit]

Purchased a slightly used and beautiful Casady Signature bass. Impulse purchase, then I had surgery and realized I could not continue playing so I sold it and during shipping the neck spontaneously snapped at the headstock. Now I am out $800
I has a Gibson SG years ago, the neck snapped at the truss rod headstock end. Very common with SGs and Les Pauls Needless to say I would never buy another Gibson or Epiphone product. They use weak woods on the neck. Mahogany is very weak and prone to cracking & snapping. Really, maple is the ONLY wood to use on an electric guitar or bass neck.

 

[Ostie]

The neck didn’t spontaneously snap. It suffered a blow during shipping that was hard enough to snap the neck. That was the fault of the shipper, and possibly the packer, not a spontaneous event. Guitars are built to withstand the stresses of stringing and playing, not shipping. That responsibility falls on us. To the carriers, it’s just another box, and we all know how they treat boxes.

 

[Michael Jewels]

I’ve often wondered why Gibson doesn’t use volutes on their necks.

This headstock snapping problem has been around for years.

You don’t seem to hear about this problem with Ibanez and other guitar manufacturers.

Mike

 

[ajkula66]

Really, maple is the ONLY wood to use on an electric guitar or bass neck.

You DO realize that both Gibson and Epiphone used maple necks on a bunch of models over the past 70+ years, right ?

BTW, UPS managed so snap a "huge" 3-piece maple neck on an U.S. Peavey Dyna 5 bass I sold on Reverb a few years ago. Forklifts don't make distinction between maple, mahagony and wenge when a box with an instrument ends up under them...

I’ve often wondered why Gibson doesn’t use volutes on their necks.

They have, for a number years starting around 1973. Players hated them with a passion and Gibson eventually reverted back on most - but not all - models. My 2013 EB5 had a hefty volute.

Do volutes bother me ? No. Do I prefer a neck with no volute ? Yes.

In closing, I went through hundreds of Gibson guitars and several dozen basses over the past ~45 years. While I've owned - and still do - specimens with repaired headstocks I personally never allowed an instrument to fall and snap the headstock. We're supposed to take basic care of our gear, IMO.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I've only had a few Gibson/Epiphones over the last 35 years (plus my dad's '69 12-string), but none of them have ever spontaneously exploded. Maybe I got good ones.

Not too ironically, my very first experience with a bass was a Fender P with a broken/repaired headstock when I was about 8yrs old. It had been leaned against a wall and then spontaneity ensued and the headstock broke. No, I did not lean it against the wall, nor did I entice the spontaneity to occur, but I got to play with it after.

As for my JC, it's been a great bass over the last 7-8 years that I've had it. Plays great, stays in tune, hardly ever needs tweaking. And hasn't spontaneously exploded. Every time I think I might sell it, I use it on a session or gig and quickly recant and repent.

 

[RichTexan]

Hi, I found serious issue with missing centre block piece. See this 20 seconds Youtube-video:



I returned it for a warranty. I still like this bass a LOT, so I've ordered a new one through our local store.

I have a theory how this happened, but I won't open it here. I hope the factory will learn from this case.

 

[Skipslade]

I own 10 of them ( yes Ten ) , ( including the fretless version ) I bought the first one 20 years ago , never had any problem of any sort ( I have bought one that had a different PU ( old Guild humbucker ) and some issues with electronics due to bad wiring and stuff, I knew what I was buying and took everything apart , now it works like a charm and sound just great ) ,And do not intend to ever sell them.