Rains Guitar Owners Beware

J PARKER · From: Meridian Miss

I felt like i should let it be known that the Rains upgrade that they are doing is to fix the problem they had with poor workman ship.I have helped sell 12 guitars from they and bought more guitars than any customer that they have had. They refused to sell me the parts to fix the guitar that was there mistake. If you buy a new chevy and there workmanship goes bad they recall it and fix it for free. Not the case with Rains. Its a rip off to charge a person $225 dollars because of the factory error. The last guitar that i had was 9 months old and they refused to help me.Kept hanging up and going out of tune because you cant put regular steel on cross shafts that need to move free. All plain steel rusts and gives problems. The pins they used was solid rust and some look like had bit damaged with a grinder. I sold and fixed the last Rains but will never own another one. I can fix your guitar at a lot less price and it will play better and you dont have to pay as much for there errors.

Don Brown, Sr. · From: New Jersey

J, Had you used any lubricant on it? And if so, what was it?

Don

Tim Kowalski · From: Illinois, USA

Where are these pins located? I have a 2005 Rains and would like to know what I should be looking for. It is playing great and I don't see anything rusting. Would this problem exist in guitars that are earlier than Rains by Gary Carpenter?
Are there differences between the original Rains and Carpenter Rains?
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Charles Campbell · From: Avon,Indiana, USA

Tim, I'm guessing these are pedal hinge pins.

I just received my 2006 Rains back from Gary, sent in for the upgrade, and I can tell you this, there was a lot more work done, than changing out (4) pins. It plays great, stays in tune. I am very happy with the work that he done.
Charlie

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

This is very hard to believe. Mr. Parker's post is long on innuendo and short on actual facts. There are two sides to every story, and so far we have only half of one side.
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john buffington · From: Owasso OK - USA

I've acquired two Rains by Gary Carpenter within the last two years and both work flawlessly. Only problem I've ever had is they don't break strings like some of the other brands I've owned - hummmmm guess that is not a problem after all! I can't imagine Carp not helping out, that is just so out of character for the Rains guys! Oh Well

Just MHO.

John Buffington

J PARKER · From: Meridian Miss

Let me clarify that theses guitars was not built by Bob Rains they are by Rains by Gary Carpenter. I have parts off of several guitars that anyone can see and i feel like thats proof enough for anyone when you see the poor rusted quality of the parts. That make it hang and not function Properly. Several other owners that are not on the forum have witnessed it as well. Jim

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Mr. Parker,
I think your accusations are bordering on slander.
If you persist, I think a lawsuit is in order.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

What parts are they? This is all very vague and, I agree, may be libelous if you can't substantiate these claims. Rains players here on the Forum seem to be universal in their praise for these fine instruments.

Your picture showed nothing of interest. It's hard to tell what it's a picture of. Could be anything.
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Chris Schlotzhauer · From: Colleyville, Tx. USA

b0b I think it's the spring pins that go on the cross shafts. I don't possibly know how these could rust if they were kept lubricated, or not left out in the rain.
Also, the modification Gary performs is NOT a factory correction. It is an upgrade of a working mechanism. It gives the guitar smoother, tighter action. I had mine done although it played great. Now it plays fantastic.
Worth every penny IMO.

Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Several other owners that are not on the forum have witnessed it as well. Jim<<

Hey Jim, I suggest that each of you guys send a letter to the company describing your problems with their parts and workmanship...give them a week or two to answer and then send them another letter...if they don't fix the problem by that time you may have to seek legal means but most of the time a couple of letters solves the problem...BTW, do they answer your Emails?

James Morehead · From: Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.

I am honored to call Gary Carpenter my friend, and I have done many biz dealings with Carp, and you will find no one who will give shirt off his back as fast as Gary will, if he suspects you may need it. Strange that of all the Rains guitars going out into the steel world, this is the first gripe I have heard, and thats impressive for the fastest growing steel guitar maker on the planet. And as Chris S. already said, it's an upgrade, not a correction. Do you know the difference?? Gary does not hang up on people.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I presently own 3 Rains guitars and haven't had a

lick of trouble with any of them! Very Happy

Chris Schlotzhauer · From: Colleyville, Tx. USA

I think he meant the mechanism would hang up, not Gary.
How 'bout posting a picture of these rusty parts.

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

JP what parts do you mean? What do the pins hold? I think you could have done a better job with your post.

J PARKER · From: Meridian Miss

Bob those are steel hinge pins inside a steel crossshaft that rusted and hung and dont show the galding and etc. on theses pins. Some bushings had 2 bearings in them to make up slack that was the wrong size. When i compalined at first with a 7 month old guitar he wouldnt sell me the parts to correct there mistakes. What is a warranty for? Rather than correct his mistakes he wanted me to pay freight and $225 dollars for him to fix his error in the beginning. I had seen on earlier models that i got from Bob Rains had the brass hinge pins and right bearings in them and had no problems.

Fred Shannon · From: Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas, R.I.P.

J Parker:

Quote"I can fix your guitar at a lot less price and it will play better and you dont have to pay as much for there errors." Unquote

Are you in, or prepping to go into the steel guitar repair business, and how much do you charge to do what Gary does? I've seen several of the Rains guitars and I don't remember seeing or even hearing about this problem. Doesn't mean that it doesn't exist but just as I've stated.

I recently looked, very closely I might add, at Junior Knight's D10 after Gary and crew put him a C neck on it in less than 4 days and I certainly didn't see any rust. How 'bout some pictures of this malady?

Man, I hope this isn't a blind accusation. Legals go quickly in Texas. We've got an express lane here for just about anything.

phred
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Brad Malone · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Hey Jim Parker, Get on the phone and resolve your problem. I'm sure Rains does not want all this bad press over a few dollars worth of metal parts. The SGF is read by 1000's of people and many of these people are potential customers..so bad press can destroy potential orders...builders should not be pennywise and dollar foolish. I have a Mullen and a Williams Steel and both these builders have sent me parts and were always very helpful solving any problems that I may have had.

Jeff Hyman · From: West Virginia, USA

Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

Mine will be 4 yrs old in May and I had the upgrade done Oct of 08 and i never saw any signs of any kind of rust before then. I even had Gary to put the new style changer in it so it would have a softer pedal action. He said the changer showed some ware and was'nt being lubed very well which is my fault not his. It's a new company of about 5 or 6 yrs now so improvements is not that uncomman on a new product. I personal have nothing but good to say about Gary and his guitars.
Sorry JP you have had a bad experience and wish you the best.

joe long · From: San Antonio, Texas

I have had my SD-10 for a year and not a single problem with it. It has been updated with the new cross rods and is one of the smoothist playing steels I have ever played or owned. The workmanship is top notch.

I have found Gary Carpenter to be one of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet and above reproach as to his honesty and integrity.

Marlin Gengenbach · From: New Mexico, USA

Gary did the mod on my SD-10 a few months ago, and while the guitar functioned great before the mod, it was flawless afterwards. This is the best guitar I have ever owned and I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to buy another, or recommend Rains to anyone in the market for a high-end steel guitar.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

This thread seems odd. Gary has never been anything but perfectly forthright and honest with me or anybody else I know. Plus the man does not cut corners and is a perfectionist. I could be playing any pedalsteel there is and I play a Rains. There is nothing better.
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Bob

Tommy Shown · From: Denham Springs, La.

Ray Walker · From: Smithfield, NC, USA, R.I.P.

Well well…now haven’t we all seen this before? What do you want to bet that when this all boils down there will be something other than mechanics or workmanship involved? I can tell you all without a doubt that Gary Carpenter’s workmanship is absolute top line. Now anything is possible when making a lot of “anything”, however, my experience is that when it shows up in this form , most of the time it is the direct result of anything but the “advertised” complaint. I am not going to go into the details as to how I met Gary, but I can assure you that it was because I was extremely impressed with his work habits and ethics. As for you who think that Gary should get on here and tell his story….simply put, you are wrong. He has no reason nor any obligation to answer a false charge. I own more than one Rains….and will own a few more shortly. I also work on steels and have thoroughly gone through my guitars and have been impressed with their quality. I do use my guitars as part of my livelihood and I depend upon their reliability, however I also understand that I must keep them properly maintained. Having said all of that, anyone has a right to his or her opinion, but to take your argument to “others” in a public display without telling “everything” shows very little class at best and absolutely no class at worse. I would ask you Parker…. Is this the only Rains you have owned? How many have you owned? What did you do with them??? You will say that these things are none of my business, and perhaps you are right, but on the other hand, why try to make the rest of your nonsense our business if you are not willing to “tell it all”. You are treading on very dangerous grounds, and if I were you I would tread lightly from this point further.
Finally, folks when a man builds and sells as many guitars as Gary and maintains the highest level of honesty and integrity as he has, it is both unfair and unrealistic to even discuss or assume that he has changed for the worse based upon one man standing up and saying so. I am not only proud of Gary Carpenter and what he stands for, but, I am proud to share my good name with his. I too am proud of my products and will bend over backwards for anyone who owns anything I produce, just as Gary has. I will always be like that, however, last time I checked, God didn’t give me the “perfect status” and I may make a mistake. If I do fall short, please extend me the same courteousy that you wish to receive and give me a call so that things can be fixed. So Parker, come clean with “all” of your “real” reasons for bitchin or just step down off of your soap box and act like you have some decency.

Ray Walker
Walker Seats

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