American performer mustang quality questions

[Ocelots]

Hey ive been a lurker for a little while. I recently just got an American performer mustang that I really like but a couple things have me concerned.

The thing most perplexing to me is the bridge on the treble side is noticeably higher than the bass side despite the bass action being noticeably higher. The neck doesn't appear warped and its quite playable for having stock 9-42s, but the bridge thing has me a little worried or at least confused. On both my jazzmasters it makes sense to me in that my treble side bridge is lower as is the treble side action accordingly.

Another minor thing is the upper fretboard has cuts into it, I'm assuming tooling marks. Its not a huge deal, but a little disappointing. I've owned over ten guitars over time, most of them being Mexican or Indonesian and I've never seen anything like it on a fretboard.

My last concern (and probably the least of a problem) is there is something loose or probably completely free-moving inside the trem cavity. The trem seems to work fine as far as I know (this is my first mustang) and can detune, bend up some, and flutter(this sounds more awesome than I imagined the mustang would sound).

[Horsefeather]

I say return it for a different one if possible. If not possible, petition Fender for some kind of compensation.

Pictures will help the bridge diagnosis. The fretboard cuts are disappointing, for sure. That's ridiculous, although it might not have left the factory that way but picked them up from the middleman somewhere. If they happen to be dents rather than actual cuts, you might find success steaming them out in a very controlled and focused process. A wet rag on that spot and a few seconds application of a hot clothes iron to expand the wood fibers back to their natural state.

[Con-Tiki!]

i recently bought a used Johnny Marr, and the treble side of the fingerboard looks like crap. It's like the rosewood was too thin to allow for all the flaws to disappear when it was radiused.
really weird on a US guitar that cost serious $.

if you can, i might swap that mustang for another.

[Ocelots]

https://ibb.co/rFXXB12
https://ibb.co/m61qpWJ
https://ibb.co/qYjzD61
https://ibb.co/N9WCqJ6
https://ibb.co/JsP2F4g
https://ibb.co/m9zhd4j

Hopefully these pictures work, still not sure how to embed in the post though. You can see the lines behind the 14th,16th,18th,20th, and 22nd fret. I tried to make it as obvious as possible but it was hard to get a good angle on the bridge. I think you can tell from the pictures the bridge is higher on the treble side despite the action being lower on that side.

[Debaser]

The fretboard is unacceptable to me on any guitar unless it was deeply discounted. I’d exchange for that reason alone. The bridge problem seems odd, but I could work with it. The vibrato is new. When I tried one out it was a little disconcerting at first—it does feel like something is amiss inside, but I like the new design overall.

[Embenny]

I would return that immediately. That fretboard is a mess. I wouldn't accept that on a Squier, let alone an American Fender.

[Ocelots]

Yeah its a shame because playability and sound wise I'm really digging the guitar. But I've literally never seen a fretboard like that before. Unfortunately its from musiciansfriend so ill have to ship it back and try my luck again.

[Embenny]

Yeah its a shame because playability and sound wise I'm really digging the guitar. But I've literally never seen a fretboard like that before. Unfortunately its from musiciansfriend so ill have to ship it back and try my luck again.

I'd call that fortunate - they have a great return policy. Would suck if you got it shipped internationally or something where a return was tough.

The good news is that the new one should play and sound just as good, but I guess you never know...

[Ocelots]

Yeah its a shame because playability and sound wise I'm really digging the guitar. But I've literally never seen a fretboard like that before. Unfortunately its from musiciansfriend so ill have to ship it back and try my luck again.

I'd call that fortunate - they have a great return policy. Would suck if you got it shipped internationally or something where a return was tough.

The good news is that the new one should play and sound just as good, but I guess you never know...

You're absolutely right, I guess I just meant unfortunate in the sense that I can't return it in person and actually see the next guitar, god forbid it have the same quality issues. Defintely grateful for a 45 day return window.

[Embenny]

Sweetwater takes photos of their actual stock, I believe. I don't have a horse in this race, but maybe you could return to MF and order a specific one from Sweetwater whose photos check out?

[Ocelots]

That's not a bad idea. I realized you can you look at where the neck meets the pickguard and see the treble side is higher. I'm guessing its the pocket is or just the way its sitting in it? It seems like it's in snug.

https://ibb.co/7r1LhnT
https://ibb.co/sW6vZtQ

[Ocelots]

Well I got an exchange and it literally has the exact same problem of the treble side being higher. No tool marks this time, but the high e and b tunings are absolute garbage. High e has about a quarter to half turn where it doesn't turn the or change the pitch, everytime you slightly tune down at all. Also the finish just looks terrible, extremely rough looking. Probably going to send them both back and be done with it. $1100 guitar but seriously I've played squiers that were immensely better and I haven't had a guitar this low of quality since 2002 when I got my first squier strat. That thing had more stable tuning keys. Pretty sad I can get two americans in a row with such poor QC, yet somehow with all the guitars I've gotten made from China, Indonesia, Korea, and Mexico have never even had as close to as many problems. Left a super bad taste in my mouth for Fender America.

[Embenny]

That's disappointing to hear.

As for the tuners not dropping the tuning for a quarter turn, that's a sign of a poorly slotted nut. The string is binding. A good test: Tune up to pitch. Turn the tuner that 1/4 turn. Check that the tuning hasn't changed. Now bend that string as far as you can. Re-check the pitch. I guarantee it will have dropped, because you pulled the slackened string through the binding at the nut.

An American Fender should absolutely come with a properly-cut nut, but that's something any half-decent tech can fix for you in no time at all (or that you can fix yourself if you've invested in a set of nut files).

[saugus]

That's a bummer. I was just praising the Performer series to my buddy yesterday. I walked in to GC and picked up a Performer Tele a few weeks ago. I was in the market for an American Original or Professional series Tele and the Performer was 100% better than the others. Setup perfect, frets perfect.... you name it. Maybe it was an anomaly

The few Performer Strats that I played seemed decent too. Maybe mine is a diamond in the rough, but I'd bet there's some decent ones out there. Obviously hard to tell when you can't put your hands on it before purchase.

[Ocelots]

I think I understand what you are saying about the nut, and I'm pretty sure its a pretty badly cut one because the low e and a strings both rattle bad playing open even with my thumb. But I can actually move the tuning peg back and forth and it doesnt change anything. I think its more the tuner itself, but I could be wrong.