I bought a new guitar from Music & Arts a few months ago. FWIW it was an Eastman HE422CE if that matters.

Anyway, the fellow that was the "Manager" there said that it was perfectly setup to be used as it is, but that in 3 months or so I should bring it back to him to be serviced. (And if I paid for strings, he would restring it at the time as well). He carried on to say that this was a $65 service that I was getting for free (presumably because I bought the guitar from them, or because I am such a hoopy frood.)

Anyway, I keep the guitar in the provided hard case when I am not playing it, and I keep a nice microfiber cloth with it to wife off my "finger prints" from anywhere I touched it, as well as the strings. As this fellow recommended.

So my questions are:
1. Is this guy having me on?
2. What possible "servicing" will he be doing to this guitar ($65 worth of which) that I was just told today when I called would take a week? (I doubt they will be giving me a loaner for that amount of time :D:D:D )
3. What should be normal daily care?
4. I heard in some other reviews on these guitars in general (Eastman) that the finishes are weak. Is that a thing? Is there something to be done for such a thing as that?

Feeling cynical ...

My 2 cents !!!! if your frets aren't buzzing,and your sound isn't crackling ..... Are you Happy? your good to go !!! that being said...... the first time i had my guitar (strat) set up and teck'd by a REAL pro !!! ask around... not your normal guitar shop guy!!!(they suk) he handed me back a guitar that blew my mind !!!! i couldn't believe it was the same guitar. unreal !!!! it cost me about 150$ + parts if needed!!! you made a appointment, dropped it off at 7 picked it up at 5. again couldn't have be more impressed. now a PRO player may do this a few times a year !!! but his demands are not the same :) lol for me every 2 years or so... mostly cause my jack is sloppy and my Knobs(pots) need a simple cleaning..... hope that helps :) id be curious to hear what the Pro's here have to say. Pebber? lol

Hello - I'm unfamiliar with the brand and the site/store where you got this instrument, but ...
1 - I think the "manager" IS "servicing" you.
2 - I think this "managers" best service is to slip 3 twenties and a fiver out of your wallet as quickly and painlessly as possible, and a week later he will probably return your instrument nicely wiped off with a nice microfiber cloth.
3 - Keep it clean, you are "right on target" if you wipe it down with a soft cloth after playing.
4 - The finish is what it is ... Even a light finish should last - It doesn't seem like a "thing".

I think that this "manager" guy is just hoping that he can gain access to your wallet as many times as he can ... go ahead and be cynical. There are people out there that will feed off of you.

Like Absinth said if it sounds good and youre happy I dont see the point of doing a "service". Previously i brought my guitars only to away for a service if i needed to adjust the trussrod or something or had problems with the humidity of my guitars. Nowdays i do the trussrod by myself and if i have problem i would go to a the Taylor service point in Amsterdam.

Search for a good guy sround you if you want some real service these people love guitars on the first place and just ask money because they need to eat those local guitar shops mostly want to rip you off.

grtz Ray

He is not charging me the $65 he is saying that this "servicing" is free (or at least this first one)because I bought the guitar there. He is saying that he would normally charge $65 for what he is going to do. I am curious, what specifically he can be doing? What is $65 of a guitar tech's time? Is that 1 hour, 3 hours, or 1/2 hour? Is there some thing that needs to get adjusted regularly or some magical elixir that needs to be massaged into the wood?

Obviously, if I take it to him and let him do it, I assume it will come with a pitch for a return trip (first one's free cherry-boy). I just don't want to give up on something free that has value. But I won't waste my time if it is just an excuse for a sales pitch.

The one time I made the misstake of having someone service my guitar "professionaly" he made the thing godamn unplayable...learn to adjust the bridge and what not yourself...only you know whats best for you...not some "professional"...You are going to have to have to learn all this stuff eventually anyway, so why not learn how to do it now?

if certain frets start buzzing every time you play them then get it serviced...But if you can figure it out yourself then do it that way because that will serve you best in long run...do you think guys like buckethead pay someone to restring and adjust their guitars? hellz no man, I would bet my life against it.

You have to be wary of the so called servicing done to your axe. Usually they might just raise the action and adjust the truss rod a little if the frets are buzzing and that can throw the whole guitar out of whack when it comes to playability. Sure there is no fret buzz but you can also fit your little finger under the strings! Perhaps it's a new technique they try to encourage people to learn.

I once told one of the guitar shops in town to lower the action on their ESP:s if they want the players who try them to like them. Nothing seemed to happen and it is quite disheartening to see a $2000 axe that is set up like 50 dollar acoustic. You get someone who is able to play at home to try that thing and come out baffled. Why because the exercises and runs that he/she was able to perform on his 100 bucks fretbuzzer became impossible to play on the "best thing on the planet" or however they like to advertise.