NGD III

In an uncharacteristic chain of events for Sweetwater, the replacement had problems and I've ended up sending it back and asking for a refund. The guitar seemed in good shape externally when I received it but it had this really annoying buzz emanating from inside the hollow body. I tried to tighten all accessible hardware but nothing helped. It sounded like a small washer or screw on the inside that hadn't been tightened down enough and had come loose at some point. It was distractingly loud at certain frequencies. 

The only way I was going to get it fixed was to take it to a tech or ship it back to Sweetwater. I was fed up at this point because it had been two weeks since I originally paid for the guitar and this represented the second time I was going to have go to extra lengths just to get a playable instrument. It was sent back and arrived at Sweetwater yesterday. I'm waiting on the refund now. 

In the meantime I decided to go after a VOS ES-355 that was closer to what I wanted in the first place. These were no longer being made by Gibson, but I found one in great condition on Reverb.com being sold by a reputable brick and mortar dealer in New York. It's on the way and arriving tomorrow. I feel fairly confident that this will turn out well and this guitar is a lot closer to what I wanted all along.