Zeppelinguy85
All Access/Backstage Pass
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2002
- Messages
- 428
Snarky comments by others aside, the VOS guitars are aimed to look like the sort of guitar that was bought new in 58-60, played sparingly but mostly was kept in it's case. Yes the metal parts should be tarnished and have slight surface rust. It will also have slight swirling in the finish because they skip the final buffing on the guitar. This is aimed to look like a guitar that has lots of car guys call "love swirls" essentially you polish it enough that it creates tiny swirl marks from say a flannel polishing cloth.
That said, the scratches next to the pickguard bracket are damage and are unacceptable for a new guitar and you have every right to refuse that sort of damage on a new guitar.
If you are looking for a perfect new looking guitar out of the case, the custom shop sells gloss versions of all their models. If you want the slight patina your VOS model came with (dull hardware, surface rust, swirled finish), you can find another one that doesn't have the damage. After that, you're into Murphy Lab which will have some of the damage you found on yours, plus more, but that's by design.
I would recommend, if at all possible to find one in person. You mentioned making a 5000 euro purchase, so it's save to assume you're in Europe. If you don't have any shops around, you're making the type of purchase that it might even be worth finding a shop and making a weekend out of it and make the trip to pick one out yourself. You're spending that much on the guitar, I think it would be worthwhile to make a mini vacation out of it and spend a few hundred extra making the trip yourself. Otherwise you're playing roulette with online purchasing. Good luck on your search.
