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Of the 4 MONO bags I own (and use constantly) there is one that has a developed a serious issue which is clearly a case of a faulty material :
the piping around the outer edges has cracked almost completely and it was def. not caused by any outside, mechanical/physical/chemical influence.
I contacted MONO about this (having bought the bag directly from them) and sent them the photos but sadly all they had to say was that the bag looks well-loved and well-used
and that this issue is not covered by their guarantee, duhh...
When you look at the bag you will notice that there are hardly ANY signs of heavy use, no rips, no tears, no scratches - the kicker though is this :
they wanted to see a little numbers-tag that is supposedly sewn inside the front storage compartment but - surprise - there is NO TAG anywhere in or on the bag.
My guess is that this was part of a trial-run for this new design and they didn't include that batch into their serial-number system, sold it off to unsuspecting customers and now they can easily deny any claims caused by the use of faulty material. That is not a customer-friendly policy and it makes me sad - it's not like they would loose a lot of money by replacing this bag and it would really show their true and honest dedication to the working musician - their claims on their website, the way they present themselves as "one of us" is obviously a mere marketing trick ....
I caution you to look for this small tag and write down the number on it, photograph it, make a note re the date of purchase of your MONO item and check the piping regularly.
The other 3 bags I own are all A-OK, no issues with them at all and some are 6 or 7 years old, holding up better than my last Reunion Blues bag (the foam started to collapse after 5 years of moderate use).
MONO Gigbag — ImgBB
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03-01-2020 09:33 AM
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I got a mono bag for my parlor a few years ago. It has similar but darker weather stripping looking stuff on it. There is some mild latitudinal cracking on it. Parlor bags were a new product at the time. I looked inside my bag and pockets and did not see any tag, either. Perhaps we are similarly screwed?
I was eligible for a promotion they were running at the time for a free tick bag that I didn't get from Sweetwater. I contacted them and their response was "duh", "no" and
. That was the extent of their effort and I never got another response from them or my sweet water guy.
I like the bag, otherwise. Don't know what this means. Can't really afford a calton sort of case, so this is about as good at it gets for me, unless we're talking hiscox, which is not the same thing.
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How long have you had this case?
The trim around the bottom of my M80 semi-hollow case started coming apart within a year of having it. One of my friends had the same bag for many years and traveled with it daily and his was still totally intact and practically looked new. He was rather suspicious that something was defective with mine because I don't do anything unusual or rough with it and didn't take mine around nearly as much as he did with his.
I didn't bother to try to send a complaint to MONO though because what the heck, the case still worked.
Well, it's been about seven years since then and the piping has completely gone to shreds around the whole case and there are a few places where the external material on the sides is cracked and peeling off. It looks awful but the zippers still work and as far as I can tell it's not structurally falling apart so case still does what it should.
I think it will probably last a couple more years before I have to replace it so I think I've gotten a good value out of mine.
I'm not saying you don't have a legit reason to complain to MONO. I'm just sharing my experience with what seems like a similar issue with your case and what it meant to me in the long run.
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This bag is about 4 years old and was used only sparingly, in no form abused, sitting in my closet most of the time.
I went public with this because I didn't even get a "oh gosh, we're sorry !" from them after I asked them (repeatedly) for a statement or
explanation ...
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I'm glad you posted this because if nothing else, we confirmed that the piping is largely decorative and the bag is probably fine once it inevitably withers away, and that mono is sort of douchey about customer service.
Noted.
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Both straps gone on mine
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I've had four Mooradian gigbags for 20 years now!
At some point I changed the inner pocket plastic and the zippers (it cost me 10 Euros each). They still work fine, although not as fancy as modern gigbags.
I have good guitars that I paid less for than what a mono bag costs.. And I think no matter what the ambitions may be, when something is new and untried, only time will unveil the problems. Happens all the time with new gear.
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how gone?
Originally Posted by christianm77
I've never really used mine. they stay tucked away and I just carry it around like an idiot. But it weighs like five pounds and never really goes anywhere, so I'm not really pushing the limits of the thing
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Interesting, I just looked at the Mooradian web site and it says that they closed up the company as of December 31, 2019. That's too bad because I know they make (made) really good stuff. I'd have bought one when I was shopping around for my Gibson 330L but I chose the Mono because the Mooradian cases didn't seem to have much in the way of supporting the neck and protecting the headstock. I may have been wrong about that. The website says that they may still take custom orders though if you contact them so there is still hope for those who want one of them.
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My M80 has been fine except for tearing where the string ends touch the case above the headstock. I now trim the string ends really short and bend them down, which probably will help but not solve the problem. Cloth doesn't seem like such a great choice for that particular part of the bag.
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I saw that too! Last time i looked at their pricing they were about 150-200$ not 350-400$!! For that price i don't think they were competitive for what they offer, for the reasons you write and more. Reunion blues and generally most modern design gigbags seem to do better in many areas, specifically in protecting the neck, headstock string and endpin areas. Originally Posted by gggguitar
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I guess the good news is it's more cosmetic than affecting protection. But that said Mono should step up to the plate and own it's faulty choice of materials.,
I'm not sure if a full refund would be in order,but some form of discount,or at least a free Tic Pouch.
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I had the exact same issue with an Mono Dual, but my dealer offered me a 30% discount, or I could send it back. I kept it and as you said, it's mostly a cosmetic issue.
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On something this expensive I don't want to be seeing cosmetic issues. And I do want to see great customer support. My Fusion gig bag has been solid through 5 years of us. Looks new. But doesn't fit my archtops. We'll see how the Mono holds up.
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Prolly the 10 year olds were learning on the assembly line that night and got tired around midnight, made some bad bags....plus China doesn't seem to have stringent regulations when it comes to synthetic materials. Would you drink out of a plastic cup made in China??
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I own an Mono M80 and it is at least 5 years old and I have no issues with the bag.
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I would not put the blame on China. The un-intended use of faulty/compromised/inappropriate materials happens everywhere (remember Challenger ...) and apparently the MONO people have since rectified this particular problem. What irks me is the way they treat this issue and the cold shoulder they offer.... Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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I think they might be getting too big to provide good CS, except on their pet projects. They are a huge corporation dealing with many brands now.
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