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Sire warranty issue

mdogs

mdogs

Supporting Member
Apr 13, 2010
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Where would you like me to be?
#1
Who all has had to deal with Sire on a warranty issue? I have been trading emails with them for a week with them finally telling me last night that I should take it to a shop of my choice and they will pay for the repairs.

The issue is that the neck has a twist in it. So, I would have liked for them to just give me a new neck, I can handle the replacement no problem. I understand why they may not want to do this, but the closest repair shop that I feel comfortable with is almost 90 miles away.

This repair is going to cost them at least double what sending me a neck would cost and no, I am not including my time and gas in that. Again, I understand why they don't want to do this. Has anyone else had a situation like this?
 
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#2
I've dealt with them several times on minor things successfully, but never something big like this. I agree with you, correcting a twisted neck is no small undertaking, requires a seasoned skilled luthier, not just a guitar tech. Replacing should be cheaper.
 
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#4
The service people are probably just following a script that assumes most neck issues are solvable by simple things like truss rod adjustments. Twists are well beyond that point. Maybe they want a luthier to make that call, rather than the customer? Just guessing.

But yeah, disappointing.
 
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#5
bholder said:
The service people are probably just following a script that assumes most neck issues are solvable by simple things like truss rod adjustments. Twists are well beyond that point. Maybe they want a luthier to make that call, rather than the customer? Just guessing.

But yeah, disappointing.
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This is what it sounds like to me and I understand why they might want that. It is a P5, so I am weighing how much time and effort it is worth to me.
 
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#6
Is there perhaps a closer repair shop you would trust enough not to do the actual repair, but just to verify it's twisted? Like ask for a repair estimate, stating the problem and cost to repair? Then send that in to Sire - that might just be enough to cause Sire service to come around...
 
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#7
I'd reach out to their customer service. Best of luck!

Edit: i misread, sorry! I would take them up on that I guess or if it's a 4 string V or P, you could use a fender neck if they'd pay for a replacement
 
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#8
bholder said:
Is there perhaps a closer repair shop you would trust enough not to do the actual repair, but just to verify it's twisted? Like ask for a repair estimate, stating the problem and cost to repair? Then send that in to Sire - that might just be enough to cause Sire service to come around...
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That is a good question. There is a Guitar Center about 45 miles from me, but it is the worst and I am not at all a GC hater.
 
#10
Not Sire per se' but Thomann where I bought my 4 string fretless V7...a bit of the fingerboard finish was delaminating and they paid to have it repaired at a local luthier who did a great job. Perhaps they had to get permission from Sire to give me the go ahead. I am located in south central Missouri and for me, the closest luthier to repair it was 90 miles away. It was worth it to me (and Thomann I'm sure). They are in Germany and I am not.

Where are you located?
 
#11
timmus said:
Not Sire per se' but Thomann where I bought my 4 string fretless V7...a bit of the fingerboard finish was delaminating and they paid to have it repaired at a local luthier who did a great job. Perhaps they had to get permission from Sire to give me the go ahead. I am located in south central Missouri and for me, the closest luthier to repair it was 90 miles away. It was worth it to me (and Thomann I'm sure). They are in Germany and I am not.

Where are you located?
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Hey, my daughter is a senior at Mizzou! But I am about 90 miles north of Milwaukee.
 
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#12
bholder said:
Is there perhaps a closer repair shop you would trust enough not to do the actual repair, but just to verify it's twisted? Like ask for a repair estimate, stating the problem and cost to repair? Then send that in to Sire - that might just be enough to cause Sire service to come around...
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This, above.

No insult to anyone, but necks that are thought to be twisted, aren't always twisted. I say this actually in protection of the OP. If the neck really isn't twisted and requires some other lesser adjustment that preserves the factory neck, it's much less PITA, and the neck and the instrument stay together as originally intended and there's lots of benefit to that for not only the current OP/owner, but less explaining to do downstream to savvy future potential buyer if the instrument ever goes up for sale.
 
#13
LowEndLobster said:
I'd reach out to their customer service. Best of luck!

Edit: i misread, sorry! I would take them up on that I guess or if it's a 4 string V or P, you could use a fender neck if they'd pay for a replacement
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I was wondering if a Fender neck would fit the pocket. I was thinking about it last night, but I wasn't really in a mood to take any basses apart to find out.
 
#16
Never dealt with Sire, but almost 20 years ago I bought a Lakland Skyline 44-01 new, which ended up having (or developing) a minor twist in the neck. I called the shop in Chicago and they said they'd be happy to swap out the neck, no questions asked. I shipped them the defective one, they shipped me a new one. It should really be that easy.
 
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#17
I really think that part of the problem with your warranty or neck swapping is due to the fact that those instruments are not produced here in the United States. Any stock they would have is warehoused over here. They'd be complete instruments rather than individual parts. So, from a warranty standpoint it is probably far cheaper for them just to refer you to a local shop and have the shop work with them and they would pay the shop directly.

As others have said sometimes a twisted neck isn't really twisted it could be an uneven fret board or some other thing. If it has a dual action truss rod I have seen it where those get misadjusted and it appears that the neck is twisted when in reality the Truss rod which can move in either direction has caused the neck to flex, Since the rod is dual action it can usually smooth it out or at least get it close enough where a qualified luthier can level the frets where it will play alright.

That said. If the neck did indeed twist there is a high possibility that even if you are able to adjust it out and a luthier can level the frets accordingly to make it where it will play well. The chances of the neck remaining stable are questionable. If it twisted that would lead me to believe it is a poor or improperly cured piece of wood. If so it will continue to twist. Have you asked Sire if they have an authorized warranty station near you? Maybe a factory authorized warranty station can get you just a neck.

BTW This is not the first time I have heard of someone who had a problem with the neck on a Sire bass. I personally know two players who bought five strings and had problems with the neck bowing warping or twisting. That was quite some time ago when they first came out so hopefully they have everything more squared away now. But wood is wood and it is subject to changes if not properly cut and cured so things like this are bound to occasionally happen. I hope you get it taken care of to your satisfaction.
 
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#18
60bass said:
I really think that part of the problem with your warranty or neck swapping is due to the fact that those instruments are not produced here in the United States. Any stock they would have warehoused over here would be complete instruments rather than individual parts. So, from a warranty standpoint it is probably far cheaper for them just to refer you to a local shop and have the shop work with them and they would pay the shop directly.

As others have said sometimes a twisted neck isn't really twisted it could be an uneven fret board or some other thing. If it has a dual action truss rod I have seen it where those get misadjusted and it appears that the neck is twisted when in reality the Truss rod which can move in either direction has caused the neck to flex, Since the rod is dual action it can usually smooth it out or at least get it close enough where a qualified luthier can level the frets where it will play alright.

That said.
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Well, if they don't have parts available in the US than it doesn't matter in the least who does the work. The neck absolutely has a twist in it and I have zero interest in a tech "leveling" the frets to compensate for the twist. I bought this bass in July and I expect a satisfactory replacement.
 
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#19
mdogs said:
Well, if they don't have parts available in the US than it doesn't matter in the least who does the work. The neck absolutely has a twist in it and I have zero interest in a tech "leveling" the frets to compensate for the twist. I bought this bass in July and I expect a satisfactory replacement.
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Agreed. There is no way to 'level out' a twist in a neck that could ever be guaranteed to be stable or without recurrence down the road. Sometimes, even with a twist, the bass might still play alright (like my Lakland did) but the twist is unacceptable for you to deal with in a new instrument.
 
#20
mdogs said:
Well, if they don't have parts available in the US than it doesn't matter in the least who does the work. The neck absolutely has a twist in it and I have zero interest in a tech "leveling" the frets to compensate for the twist. I bought this bass in July and I expect a satisfactory replacement.
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I can fully relate to what you are saying and in fact I have been through a very similar situation myself one time. That was on a USA fender 62 reissue. The neck twisted Fender did not want to just replace the neck Nor did they offer to Have me take it to a local shop. Their customer service was very poor and their attitude was like they could care less. I asked them for the name of the closest Fender warranty station to where I lived. Luckily there was one right in my town. I took the instrument to them and look at it and instantly confirmed what I already knew that the neck was twisted so bad that it was causing buzzing on the D and G strings down low.

When I mentioned to them about my poor experience trying to deal with Fender customer service the owner of the shop said I have heard that before from other people. He said I don't know why Fender just doesn't direct people to the closest warranty station to begin with and save having to cop an attitude with people. End of the story is since the shop had a good working relationship with Fender they were able to get them to ship a new neck directly to them and install it on my bass and do a full set up. All done at no charge to me, all I was out was my time. IDK What happened to the Old Neck But my guess is it was returned to fender and probably cut in half and tossed in the dumpster. So, in my case it worked out alright. But you know there's always another side to every story. When I got the replacement neck even though the shop had put it back together and did a set up on it it did not play or sound as good as it did before. Some of the vibe and resonance which were the main things I liked about it to begin with had all but disappeared. Sometimes would doesn't like other wood and I think that was the case this time I ended up having to sell the bass.

Since Sire states that they have a limited lifetime warranty. surely a twisted neck would qualify as a factory defect. They should be able to direct you to a warranty station and ship you a replacement of the whole instrument under the terms of their warranty. After all you did pay for something and it is obviously not right. So, it's up to them to make it right. I hope you get some satisfaction from them.
 
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