EMMON D10 ON EBAY

[Ken Byng]

Well the saga comes to and end - for me anyway. I drove up to Harlesden to check out the guitar, and it was a disappointment to say the least. It was a Ron Lashley reject, with the metal neck on E9 just full of large pit holes in one place. The pedal bar was scratched and the pickup selector switch had been held in the centre position with superglue. Mike did that accidentally when he tried to glue the top hat on the switch. The back apron had the mica held on with 4 screws. I asked him who did that and he said it was Mr Snowball. I can't believe Eric would do that. I very politely declined to go through with the sale as it would cost far too much to bring it up to pristine condition. The eBay advert was very misleading, and the description was not correct. It was not in 'new' condition.

It was worth checking out, but there was just too much wrong with it. Certainly some of the flak that Ron Lashley gets from the USA forum seems to be merited. When Mike Watson's sister rang to complain about the length of time is was taking to get the guitar completed, Mr Lashley was very rude to her. When Mike complained about the badly pitted neck, he was told that it was cast, and there are always pits with cast ally. He seems to send second rate castings to buyers outside of the States, as an Italian guy got the same treatment last year with a pedal bar on a brand new Emmons bought from the factory.

I did the right thing by not paying for the guitar in advance. I took some photos with my phone, and will try to download them onto this site when I get time.

[Dave Nutt]

A wasted journey Ken, such a pity,it sounds like the poor guy was well and trully ripped on that one.
Prob is,what does the guy do with it now?
What a good job you didnt pay in advance.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

A very sad tale Ken,
I am happy that You are not too much out of pocket.
I am also saddened by the apparant bad deal from Lashley.
Billy

[Ken Byng]

Dave
He either keeps it and sends it to Australia to his brother to store it for him, or he pays someone to do it up for him. He is a bit disillusioned as both people he has entrusted with this guitar have seen him off big time. If anyone wants to offer to have a go at the guitar for him, I can provide his details. He will pay for the work. I suggested that he start by becoming a member both of this forum and the USA one.

It has made me appreciate both of my Emmons guitars, as they are pristine compared to his. One interesting point. The guitar had the counterforce installed on both necks to elliminate body flex or cabinet drop. I checked out the plain 6th string when pressing pedal A. Believe me it is hype. I could hear that string detune as much as any of my guitars. That is another claim that has gone out of the window.

Billy
I didn't mind being out of pocket because its always a gamble when buying a S/H guitar without viewing it first. One thing that eBay sellers should do is to point out all flaws and show them in photos if possible. I've now got £1500 burning a hole in my pocket - might walk round to my local club tonight and make my pocket lighter.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Ken,
Buy the Missus a nice bunch of flowers.

[Ken Byng]

Billy - our lounge looks like a florist shop. I'm going to get her broomstick MOT'd nextweek.

[Dave Nutt]

Makes one feel sorry for the guy, so easy to get caught out,especially when folks dont know a lot about what they are buying.
Certainly does throw a sad light on Lashley, at least in the light of that sale.
Ken- I know you and I have chatted about my recently aquired D10 Le Grande, this was also a special, ordered by a UK guy,built to a spec drawn up for him by someone else back in 1990s. However in this case its a cracker all round, a real piece of Emmons craftmanship.
Such a pity when we hear about a duff one.

[bob adams]

Ken If he wants it reconsiled here give him my details....... no better still wait until you've seen your Bud.... It is a Stunner!

[Ken Byng]

Bob - I did mention your name to him as a repairer par excellence, but I wasn't sure if you would want to take on a basket case or not. He is going to ring me in a couple of weeks, and I will give him your contact details. Probably a weeks work for you. He doesn't have a car, but I think you make trips to London on occasion and might be able to collect it. I have listed all the work with him that needs doing to get it up to a decent standard.

As far as the Bud is concerned, I can't wait to see her in all her refinery. You will make a few people drool when you show the finished article.

Ken

[Alan Cook]

Bought the Emmons off Mike today. I'm in the process of putting it back together again. Its a nice guitar or it will be when its back up and running.

Alan