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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:40 pm 
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Koa
Koa
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Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:33 am
Posts: 1903
First name: Willard
Last Name: Guthrie
City: Cumberland
State: Maryland 21502
Zip/Postal Code: 21502
Country: United State
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
After a local luthier over in Purcellville, Virginia saw a height adjustment handle failure on one of his Hercules GS-412 stands, I checked our collection of 4-5 year old GS-414 stands (they share a common handle and height adjustment arm assembly) to see if the same deterioration of the handle was in evidence. All of ours showed some tackiness of the plastic grip material and play on the handle of one stand.

We contacted the KHS America customer service team last Friday and received our new replacement stands today via FEDEX. Besides upgraded material on the height adjustment squeeze levers, there are some other minor improvements. KHS asked us to take our old stands out of service to prevent any issues; however, we were not required to ship them back.

All of these stands were 4-5 years old, but Hercules was happy to address the issue with just a note that detailed the product, nature of the problem, original receipt (we did not have a receipt for two of ours...not a problem), and a photo of the stands. Marvelous customer service from a very good company.

If others here have one of the Hercules GS-412 or 414 stands, I'd recommend checking the squeeze-grip adjustment handle to see if the material is sticky or otherwise deteriorating, or shows excessive play of the squeeze handle. If so, consider contacting the KHS Team (US distributors) to resolve the issue.

service.usa@khsmusic.com

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower


Last edited by Woodie G on Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:10 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:36 am
Posts: 7473
Location: Southeast US
City: Lenoir City
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37772
Country: US
Focus: Repair
Hey Woodie, thanks for the heads up. I'll check mine.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:58 am 
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Koa
Koa
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Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:33 am
Posts: 1903
First name: Willard
Last Name: Guthrie
City: Cumberland
State: Maryland 21502
Zip/Postal Code: 21502
Country: United State
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
I hope your stands are fine, Mr. Smith.

In taking a closer look at ours, it appears as though even if the handle fails, a pin or bolt can be inserted to hold the height adjustment constant, so we may be able to use the defective stands in a fixed height mode. I should mention that three of the stands had just the smallest amount of tackiness to the surface of the clamp assembly, and no sign of any issue or weakness with the handle...KHS Music replaced them out of an abundance of caution.

The head assemble - what makes the stand such a useful way to keep the guitar secure, but still avoid having to undo straps, etc. to use the guitar - is not an issue...ours work perfectly. The only issue is the possible degradation of the height adjustment clamp material, and only on those stands where the assembly was sourced from a specific supplier and material batch. Again, KHS was very open about the issue, saying that it was a materials problem that took a long time to become evident, and were perfectly accommodating in addressing our concerns.

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower


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