Just got in a pair of necks from BYO Guitar's self-proclaimed "Custom Shop". After 3 months of rather poor communication and being misled about shipping timeframes more than once, opening a Paypal dispute finally got their attention. After that, my necks went out within just a couple of days.
Well, today they finally arrived and I have to admit...I'm not overly impressed. :/
I guess part of me was hoping to find a budget-friendly alternative to a bigger name like Warmoth, but these necks are very rough and in need of further refinement on almost every front. Definitely an example of "you get what you pay for". Mind you, I paid $650 for 2 necks, so it's not like they were truly "budget"-oriented necks!
A few things that sort of bug me out of the gate:
A few things I DO appreciate about the necks:
Basically, these are necks for guys who aren't expecting perfection out of the box, have tools and basic woodworking knowledge, and don't mind doing a variety of final finishing work on their own.
These days, I much prefer a neck that just needs a good protective finish, maybe a nut installed, and a final adjustment once it's on the guitar. These necks need a LOT more than that to make them ready to play!
At the end of the day, I don't think I will place another order with them. Furthermore, I would caution others to consider spending just a bit more to get a neck from a better known manufacturer with more reliable customer service and a better product overall.
Well, today they finally arrived and I have to admit...I'm not overly impressed. :/
I guess part of me was hoping to find a budget-friendly alternative to a bigger name like Warmoth, but these necks are very rough and in need of further refinement on almost every front. Definitely an example of "you get what you pay for". Mind you, I paid $650 for 2 necks, so it's not like they were truly "budget"-oriented necks!
A few things that sort of bug me out of the gate:
- Rough scratches and tool chatter marks throughout the binding on both necks. Just seems like the binding could have been finished better before shipping to a customer.
- Binding is not even with the back profile on one of the necks. The binding is actually a tad shallow, so there is a slight hump in the wood at the transition along half the neck's length that needs to be evened out.
- The outlines/filler of several inlays are somewhat blotchy, making them look a little "cheap" or unfinished when viewed up close. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning
- It looks like they struggled with flexing the binding where it wraps around the heel on both necks. There's blotchy filler (like some of the inlays have) on one of the necks and the other actually has a small gap that never got filled...you can stick a finger nail in it!
- The headstocks were clearly sanded to shape in a hurry and will need additional shaping/sanding to make right. They're basically 90% there, but it's kind of annoying because I can tell they rushed it.
- There are tactile machining "steps" left in the neck profile that will need additional smoothing. Small price to pay for a "custom" profile, I suppose.
- Calling one of the necks "quarter-sawn" is really pushing it. Using a digital protractor, I can tell that the grain starts off at about 60-degrees on one side and falls to 45-degrees at the opposite side, which technically makes it "rift-sawn".
A few things I DO appreciate about the necks:
- Relative price for the number of "features" you get (i.e. cost of adding binding, stainless frets, etc)
- Ability to get black binding on a neck that also features a headstock truss adjust (Warmoth won't do this combo for some reason!).
- Ability to customize neck profile/thickness, which they seem to have done a great job with for the most part.
Basically, these are necks for guys who aren't expecting perfection out of the box, have tools and basic woodworking knowledge, and don't mind doing a variety of final finishing work on their own.
These days, I much prefer a neck that just needs a good protective finish, maybe a nut installed, and a final adjustment once it's on the guitar. These necks need a LOT more than that to make them ready to play!
At the end of the day, I don't think I will place another order with them. Furthermore, I would caution others to consider spending just a bit more to get a neck from a better known manufacturer with more reliable customer service and a better product overall.
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