How to tell if a truss rod was replaced?

DesolationBlvd

New Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
27
In February 2022, I traded a 2014 Custom 24 30th Anniversary to someone who then claimed the truss rod was broken and demanded I reimburse him for the repair. He did not take the guitar to the PTC, he instead insisted he "had a guy". Safe to say, the PRS truss rod isn't sold to any old "I got a guy" unauthorized luthiers, right?

Fast forward to last month, I reached out to find the guitar, and was able to buy it back from the person he traded it off to - the bad trader had the guitar less than a week. The guitar was fine and had no signs of a replaced truss rod (the fingerboard looks intact), so I reached out to the bad trader, who insisted he had the repair done, refused to refund me, and became belligerent. I would like to sue him in small claims court, but the person who I got the guitar from did not want to be a witness in court. What would a truss rod from that era have looked like?

I sent a support ticket asking this (62839) a week ago, but haven't heard back.
 
Two Thoughts Here.
1) Bad Trader Was Always Full Of $h1t.
2) You Are Likely Pissing In The Wind And Getting Wet On An Attempt To Sue. A Judgement In Your Favor (If You Win) Doesn't Mean You Collect.

Sound Like A Really Unfortunate Situation But I Am Not Sure The Juice Would Be Worth The Squeeze Here Unless You Were Out a Significant Amount Of Money And You Have Money To Burn To Get The Ball Rolling. I Hate Saying This But It May Be Easier To Just Let It Be And Let The Guitar Gods (Karma, Whatever You Wish To Call It) Sort Things Out And Move On Without The Grief As This Would Likely Take Several Months To Decide. Good Luck!

Edit: Since The Court System is Already So Screwed Up, Think About If You Paid The Cash To Fight, Went Through The Mental Gymnastics And Ended Up Losing. That Would Really Suck.
 
Two Thoughts Here.
1) Bad Trader Was Always Full Of $h1t.
2) You Are Likely Pissing In The Wind And Getting Wet On An Attempt To Sue. A Judgement In Your Favor (If You Win) Doesn't Mean You Collect.

Sound Like A Really Unfortunate Situation But I Am Not Sure The Juice Would Be Worth The Squeeze Here Unless You Were Out a Significant Amount Of Money And You Have Money To Burn To Get The Ball Rolling. I Hate Saying This But It May Be Easier To Just Let It Be And Let The Guitar Gods (Karma, Whatever You Wish To Call It) Sort Things Out And Move On Without The Grief As This Would Likely Take Several Months To Decide. Good Luck!

Edit: Since The Court System is Already So Screwed Up, Think About If You Paid The Cash To Fight, Went Through The Mental Gymnastics And Ended Up Losing. That Would Really Suck.
I was out over $1000, though still under the small claims limit. At least where I am filing this, "small claims" means attorneys are not allowed to my knowledge. The worst is that I'll be out the cost to file the case and the time in court. The best is that this will lead to criminal charges against this creep.
 
You're going to have to prove the trussrod was not replaced. Probably the only credible source would be PRS. That would require shipping it to them for inspection and whatever else . A form from your guy or you will be no different than a form from his guy or him. Even if you win youre not guaranteed payment and criminal charges are a long shot if not an impossibility.

Personally since the deal is done and the past is the past I'd leave it there. Wouldn't be worth the hassle and further expense for an outcome that could possibly be the same as you sit now except for more wasted time, energy, and money. It sucks you got scammed but these sort of questions were better off resolved years ago.
 
It sucks you got scammed but these sort of questions were better off resolved years ago.
The problem was that I was over the moon with the guitar he traded me, it was my dream guitar model. Though now that I have the Cu24 back, I can say the Cu24 was a better made instrument than that other one.
 
You May Want To Check Statute Of Limitations As Well. I Feel You Have A Real Uphill Battle Here. This Allegedly Sounds Almost Like One Of Those Vigilante Justice Scenarios Where The Guy Buys A Ski Mask, A Louisville Slugger And Wraps It In Barb Wire And Becomes A Jehovah's Witness For An Hour Or So And Goes Door Knocking To Personally Hand Out Redemption. Again...Allegedly.
 
There won’t be any criminal charges stemming from a small claims court case. That’s just not how it works.

The referee won’t likely know much about guitars. If the other fellow has a receipt (or a fake receipt), he’d likely win. You should have asked for a receipt at the time.
 
You May Want To Check Statute Of Limitations As Well. I Feel You Have A Real Uphill Battle Here.
Where I am, it’s 3 years at least. The clock is ticking, so it’s now or never for the court case.

The referee won’t likely know much about guitars. If the other fellow has a receipt (or a fake receipt), he’d likely win. You should have asked for a receipt at the time.
In February 2022, I told the scammer to give me a receipt when he was done so we could adjust what he or I owed (back when I believed him). Asked him three months later (June 2022) and he said it was “still in the shop”. I found out that was a lie when the guy he traded it to said he got it back in February.

I asked him again for the receipt around the time I got in touch with the guy he traded it to, and he was unable to produce one, saying he doesn’t save paperwork for guitars he no longer owns. Thankfully he left the case candy when he unloaded the guitar.
 
I’ve been to small claims court. Save yourself the time, trouble and expense. You think you feel taken advantage of now? Wait until court is over! Win or loose, you loose. Say you get lucky, and spend “only” $1500 on an attorney (about 3.5 hours worth where I live). Say you get luckier, and win a judgment for $1000 plus attorney fees. With a deadbeat scammer, what do you think you will actually collect? Right you are. Bupkus. You will, however, still owe your attorney $1500.

How about a police report and charges? If the guy did scam you (I’m not clear as to whether you know he did?), that’s illegal.
 
I Feel For You Man...I Really Do But You Need About A Dozen Things To Go Perfectly Right And In Your Favor To Even Remotely Begin To Break Even. Clearly The Bad Trader Is Unwilling To Be Honest And Or Do The Right Thing After All This Time. What Makes You Think You Will Throw A Dozen Quarters Out Of An Airplane At Altitude And Have All Of Them Land On Their Sides AND Have This Guy Do The Right Thing And Step Up And Pay You If You Win? It Isn't Going To Happen Because The Bad Trader Doesn't Have The Stones And The Integrity To Do The Right Thing Or He Would Have Already Done It. I Know You Are Hurt, Frustrated And Very Rightfully So But "Winning" A Case Is Only A Small Portion Of The Battle You Are Considering On The Path To Becoming Whole In The Situation.
 
Back
Top