zon customer service - not happy

[Akami]

Usually abreviated as MOT and was derived from the term "Mother of Pearl"(although I don't know who Pearl was).

Pearl was a name Janis Joplin called herself, hence the name of her last album.

However it would be difficult to say who the mother of Pearl was since there has been very little written about her.

 

[Mongo Slade]

It is my understanding that the relative stiffness of graphite necks is based on the ratio of graphite rods to phenolic resin.
A neck that was said to be "resin heavy" would have a lower tensile strength and be more subject to warping and relief issues. I have had mixed results from both Zon and Modulus.
Overall, I have found necks made by Modulus Graphite, not Modulus Guitars to be of a better quality. In my opinion, Geoff Gould ran a tighter ship QC-wise, but there also might be a supplier change.
I have had four Zon basses and only two of them had a problem with neck stiffness. My 83 Legacy needed and got a new neck, and it only cost shipping expenses to me. I had a Sonus 4 that actually developed a back bow, which I subsequently sold. Twenty years later the Legacy is still straight and true, and I have never had a neck problem with my 8-String and 10-String Sonus's(Sonii?).
Like many small luthiers, it is hard for Joe and company to keep up with new orders as well as handle CS on their vast existing customer base. I have been frustrated in this area as well, and have found that persistance is rewarded. It's not that they don't care- they truly do; it's just that they're a bit overwhelmed at times.
I hope that people who are interested in a particular bass will do their homework and research all the factors themselves; usually there are several sides to one story.

Peace

 

[Angus]

It is my understanding that the relative stiffness of graphite necks is based on the ratio of graphite rods to phenolic resin.

Graphite rods? In general, this statement isn't correct, because there are a lot more variables in the construction of a graphite or carbon neck than just those two...but there also aren't any graphite rods in either Modulus or Zon necks.

 

[rockstarbassist]

Graphite rods? In general, this statement isn't correct, because there are a lot more variables in the construction of a graphite or carbon neck than just those two...but there also aren't any graphite rods in either Modulus or Zon necks.

How I understood it, unless he means "rods in the graphite"?

All-wood necks have graphite rods for stability, like Spector and others, but I don't believe Zon or Mod uses graphite within it's graphite.

 

[Mongo Slade]

Graphite rods? In general, this statement isn't correct, because there are a lot more variables in the construction of a graphite or carbon neck than just those two...but there also aren't any graphite rods in either Modulus or Zon necks.

I'm not referring to the graphite bars that many luthiers use in their wood-necked designs. I'm talking about dozens of very thin rods of the graphite material laid into a mold and held together with an epoxy/phenolic resin. The more graphite- the less resin= stiffer neck, and usually a lighter weight one.

Of course, it goes without saying that I could be wrong.
It has happened before.
(I did start my post with "It is my understanding... " which is a universal disclaimer)

Peace

 

[rockstarbassist]

I'm not referring to the graphite bars that many luthiers use in their wood-necked designs. I'm talking about dozens of very thin rods of the graphite material laid into a mold and held together with an epoxy/phenolic resin. The more graphite- the less resin= stiffer neck, and usually a lighter weight one.

Of course, it goes without saying that I could be wrong.
It has happened before.
(I did start my post with "It is my understanding... " which is a universal disclaimer)

Peace

Wrong or right, that makes more sense.

I'm interested to see how my new custom Q5's neck matches up to my solid 94 and 97 Q5's, which are both perfect.

 

[Angus]

Well, it still has absolutely nothing to do with the construction of either neck because neither material are rods.

 

[dumbdrum]

replace the word "rod" with fiber and i think it makes sense

 

[Angus]

Yeah, but it still isn't really correct, because the layering, orientation, and construction of the fibers is vitally important, not just the mass vs. mass of resin.

Besides, "stiffness" itself isn't only 1 quantity relative to the material- there are a number of types of stiffnesses and with CF/graphite construction they are very different depending on which way and what you're looking at.

In the case here, he mentioned that a "resin heavy" neck had "lower tensile stress making it more prone to warp"...tensile stress is the wrong loading type. Bending stress is going to be far, far more pertinent, as would compressive stress on the fretboard side (where most of the loading is actually seen, especially if warping).

Any tensile stress figures incurred in this kind of application is going to be so small relative to yield strength that it really doesn't figure in. If it did, you wouldn't see warpage...you'd see cracks in the material.

Resin heavy isn't really something that happens often with these, anyway, since the method of construction in all these applications would rid the object of excess fluid. It'll take what it requires and the rest will get sopped away. To not do this would just make for an excessively heavy end result.

Giving it a less than desired amount of resin will inhibit functionality- it will make it weaker, not stronger. Excess doesn't make it weaker, either, it just makes it heavier. This is assuming, of course, that pressure is applied during the cure stages, which they are for all companies discussed.

 

[Mental Octopus]

So it's been more than a month since I've left off with this. I got an email a month ago apologizing for the delay, and they said it would be completed the following week. Yeah I didn't hold my breath on that one, after giving them two weeks I called and they apologized again and said it would be ready to ship next week, and that if it wasn't ready to ship and something came up I would get a phone call explaining why it was taking longer. Week later, no phone call.

I think I've been pretty patient until now. Now I'm just straight up pi**ed off.

 

[6stringbassist]

I think that the reason why you seldom hear about graphite necks warping is because it rarely happens.
Certainly a hell of a lot less often than with wooden necks anyway.

 

[mike_v_s]

So it's been more than a month since I've left off with this. I got an email a month ago apologizing for the delay, and they said it would be completed the following week. Yeah I didn't hold my breath on that one, after giving them two weeks I called and they apologized again and said it would be ready to ship next week, and that if it wasn't ready to ship and something came up I would get a phone call explaining why it was taking longer. Week later, no phone call.

I think I've been pretty patient until now. Now I'm just straight up pi**ed off.

That's some pretty crappy customer service.

Mike