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Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

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  • Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

    I rarely take up repair jobs nowadays but when I do, it has to be a good one. A doosy...

    And this one takes the cake. I got in touch with someone from another forum and he had issues with his guitar so I contacted him to offer my views and perhaps repair the issues. I saw the guitar this Saturday and I took right to work. This guitar is a MESS. This is a 5000 dollar guitar and these are the things that I noticed that wouldn't fly with me.

    - The nut. It's a PLASTIC nut. Not graphtech, mind you. I work a lot with Graphtech and this nut is just plain ABS plastic or something like it. It's also glued in place incorrectly. With that I mean, the glue is on the bottom of the nut instead of on the face of the fretboard. Getting this nut out without damaging anything took me an hour hahaha. Also, the finish... WOW. It's 0.5mm thick 2K, acrylic based. It's NOT a polyurethane or even polyester. This material should be sprayed thinly and should serve as a leveling basecoat, not as a polished topcoat. Gosh, this finish gums up like crazy and is still gooyie. It was sprayed way, way too fast as clearly evidenced by all the cokes bubbles. Cokes bubbles are air bubbles in the final product and they're the result of spraying too fast between coats so air bubbles get trapped and can't diffuse out of the material. What you're seeing isn't dust. Oh no. Those are air bubbles.

    - the body/neck connection on the front face of the guitar. This is how NOT to do it. It's very difficult, granted, to get that clean and precise but this is really a textbook example how not to approach this part.

    - the electronics weren't working NOt 'hooked up improperly', they just weren't working. AT all.

    - The trussrod was glued in place. I had to use a hammer to tap the glue loose.

    - The fretwork is abysmal. The neck can't be set to a proper relief.

    - The pickups: I have a strong feeling these aren't made in the USA. Why I say that? Because they don't have normal specs. They're not regular humbucker specs, they're wider and longer. Plus a few marks at the bottom. I don't have proof for that, it's only a strong feeling.

    - the measurements of the neck are all over the place. For starters: why, WHY would you make a neck that's 45mm wide at the nut, when the customer asks for 42? WHY make the end width 59mm when the customer asks for 57?! Really, man... this is bad. Oh, not to mention the radius. 10 inch radius was asked. This is a 7.25" - 12" compound. I can't understand that. why would you ever opt to go so badly against the customer's wishes and then finish it like this?

    If the owner sees this, I don't think he'd mind these photo's. I have kept him anonymous and I did not say who made this guitar but it can be inferred.

    I have posted PLENTY guitars of my own to show how I do business and what my guitars look like.

    _____________________________________

    This is how NOT to make an electric guitar. I am not one to say bad things about colleagues in the field, I know how hard it is to make a good guitar, but stuff this bad, for this amount of money has to be called out.

    Last edited by orpheo; 07-06-2020, 03:26 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

    YEESH. That nut is disgusting.
    aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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    • #3
      Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

      Looks like it was bring your kids to work week and the QC team was on vacation.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

        I'd kick my 5 grand out of him and then some... Based on your description it sounds like the guy took the custom order and shipped a random guitar that was in stock...

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        • #5
          Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

          Wow, that’s ummm.....well.....sort of a guitar, I think.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

            Rather than fix it he should use your evaluation data to try and send it back from where it came and get his money back.

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            • #7
              Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

              Originally posted by DankStar View Post
              Rather than fix it he should use your evaluation data to try and send it back from where it came and get his money back.
              He could send it back in pieces and it wouldn't be any worse than the way they sent it to him. I would be furious if I paid 5 g for that shoddy work.

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              • #8
                Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                I wanna know the story about this guitar. 5 grand? Who is the builder, and can we shame them? How did they manage to wrangle 5 grand for that?
                Administrator of the SDUGF

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                • #9
                  Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                  glad i didnt pay 5K USD for that, (that's one yearly income for me!!) :o

                  who the heck makes these things? :/
                  If somethings important- send a PM. I might be offline for long periods. Rock on!!!

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                  • #10
                    Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                    Here's the builder:






                    There's not a thing that is on any "Master" guitar that is not carefully planned and perfectly executed. George truly is a master, as the brand name attests.
                    If you are a connoisseur of fine guitars you will immediately realize that George's instruments are in a class of masterpieces associated with names like James D'Aquisto, John D'Angelico, Robert Benedetto and John Monteleone. His designs are absolutely stunning. Buying a handmade guitar usually involves buying a little bit of the builder as well. There's no factory to stand behind a product, only the builder, his name and reputation. George definitely cares about his name and guarantees his instruments for life. The only problem is - they are made so well, that they will definitely outlive him. George's guitars surely must be made with a touch of divine inspiration. George is definitely the one of the most talented and creative luthiers in the world.
                    On the electric guitar page:

                    Only high gloss nitrocellulose lacquer used for finishes
                    Last edited by Masta' C; 07-06-2020, 01:01 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                      Originally posted by Masta' C View Post
                      Interesting. I have never played or seen one of George's guitars in person, but for somebody who has that much of an established presence in the market... I am surprised. I am glad orpheo's work is far superior to this...
                      Soundcloud

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                      • #12
                        Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                        A couple questions...

                        1) Just to clarify, are you certain the person who brought it to you is the original purchaser?

                        2) It appears the guitar may have seen some light modding, is there a chance the nut was replaced at some point?

                        3) It seems to me there's a good chance that this is a slightly older guitar, possibly 2008-2010 production? (you know...around the same age as that website, ha ha!)

                        P.S.- On the website, the builder indicates his electric guitar pickups are handwound Alnico V, so probably wouldn't be USA-made unless specifically requested.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                          I feel that that is not the builder

                          that may be the guy who orders these from Aliexpress
                          and marks them up

                          I thought about that business model once
                          but this is the very reason I never pursued it

                          too much of a crapshoot as to what they will send
                          EHD
                          Just here surfing Guitar Pron
                          RG2EX1 w/ SD hot-rodded pickups / RG4EXFM1 w/ Carvin S22j/b + FVN middle
                          SR500 / Martin 000CE-1/Epiphone Hummingbird
                          Epiphone Florentine with OEM Probuckers
                          Ehdwuld branded Blue semi hollow custom with JB/Jazz
                          Reptile Green Gibson Custom Studio / Aqua Dean Shire semi hollow with piezo
                          Carvin Belair / Laney GC80A Acoustic Amp (a gift from Guitar Player Mag)
                          GNX3000 (yea I'm a modeler)

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                          • #14
                            Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                            He is definitely a builder and you can see he had a big CNC outfit in his website photos, but I had similar suspicions about possible outsourcing of some parts

                            Looking across the internet, it appears this guitar may be even older than expected...anywhere late-'90s through late-'00s most likely

                            There was an unanswered post from earlier this year by someone on another forum asking if he was still alive! Last build I can find in a quick search claims to be from 2017, though a website posted an article last month that claims to have been in touch with him: LINK

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                            • #15
                              Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                              Guys ill reply tomorrow. The real story is a doosy.

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