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Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

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  • #16
    Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

    Originally posted by Masta' C View Post
    Here's the builder:








    On the electric guitar page:
    Yeah, well.. No. This is definitely not nitrocellulose. It doesn't smell like nitro, it doesn't sand like nitro and most importantly: it doesn't dissolve in thinner like nitro. It was my first guess. This is just 2K. Nothing wrong with 2k though. I use it as a sanding sealer/leveler before I spray nitro.

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    • #17
      Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

      Originally posted by SnakeAces 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...
      It's not up to me to tout my own trumpet but I have to agree...

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      • #18
        Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

        Originally posted by Masta' C View Post
        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
        Oh man... You are so right and so, so wrong. Can't blame yah, ofcourse, but yeah.. nop. You are absolutely correct on the HAAS CNC machine he has. That thing is amazing. But George is a t00l because almost everything is off. The radius is off, the neck specs are off etc etc. But his fit 'n finish, like his fret end dressing, is also just not up to par. It's just bad. I've seen Chinese made guitars go for 500 euro's that are better than this. But I'll reply to your other questions in a separate post. Gimme a sec.

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        • #19
          Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

          Originally posted by Masta' C View Post
          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.
          Allright, Here we go. There are so many questions to reply to here!

          The dude who brought me the guitar had it brand new. I have seen the paper trail. He ordered the guitar in 2015, got the guitar around XMas '19. Well, no. His uncle who lives in Los Angeles picked up the guitar and dropped it off to him in January 2020. So the guitar took 4 years to complete and wasn't working at all. Unplayable, electrics not functioning. Plus severe lacquer issues (forgot to highlight those in pics).

          George told the customer that he made the pickups per the customer's tonal requests. HE....MADE.... Note those words. That's no-no. Not true.

          The guitar is absolutely stock. I've seen other pics of this builder and these issues seem to be prevalent. The nut is bonestock by the way. NO BLOODY WAY that ANY respectable luthier would muck up a nut like this, man. Besides, the nut was finished over and that's very hard to do with 2K without showing a line between the new and old.

          This guitar is brand new. Just, brand spanking new. A 4 year old, brand new guitar.

          @Ehdwuld: yes I thought the same thing, buying ****ty parts off Aliexpress or whatever and make your own. However, the top is solid flamed maple, so no veneer and there are so many little intricate details that just scream 'this is someone's design' it's jus not funny. Also (credit where credit is due) the neck angle is spot on for the Hipshot Babygrand bridge. Spot on.

          Unfortunately, the piezo lead saddles have snapped off, the preamp wasn't functioning and rattled because it wasn't attached to the guitar properly, the wiring didn't work, the piezo/mag/mix toggle didn't work and I must have forgotten other details about this axe.

          The biggest problem is that our pal George decided to retire and stop production as well as the support for his guitars. I'm serious, if I ever were to release a guitar to a paying customer like this, you can nail me with my guts to a tree. Sorry, but this is unacceptable. If a guitar that's just 250 euro's from China has a better fit 'n finish than you, and all your custom bespoke features just don't work, I guess its truly time to just call it quits.

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          • #20
            Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

            Dang! Sounds like he was just trying to get the guitar out the door so he could close them! That sucks.

            Definitely seems like the quality you'd expect out of a $500 guitar from one of those mystery shops on AliExpress, not a USA-made $5K custom!

            Please keep us posted with how it turns out!

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            • #21
              Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

              "I would be damned to hell if I could find even one fault with this axe."



              xD

              EDIT: I kinda like the body shape though :o
              and I feel sorry for the buyer. :/
              Last edited by Erlend_G; 07-07-2020, 03:30 AM.
              If somethings important- send a PM. I might be offline for long periods. Rock on!!!

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              • #22
                Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                I am confused... Who is the builder now? Or lemme make it clearer: From whom do I not buy a 5K guitar?

                B
                FaceBook; SoundCloud; Barlo's Blues; Barlo Digitalized; Soundclick!;

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                • #23
                  Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                  Originally posted by dr.barlo View Post
                  I am confused... Who is the builder now? Or lemme make it clearer: From whom do I not buy a 5K guitar?

                  B
                  George.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                    George Gorodnitski the Master?

                    B
                    FaceBook; SoundCloud; Barlo's Blues; Barlo Digitalized; Soundclick!;

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                    • #25
                      Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                      Originally posted by dr.barlo View Post
                      George Gorodnitski the Master?

                      B
                      Yes. Master Guitars = George Gorodnitski!

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                      • #26
                        Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                        I'm confused.


                        Who the hell pays 5000$ for a guitar that is so obviously poorly built? These things you're describing are pretty evident when you go to play - bad nut, bad fretwork, crap relief, non-functional pickups. Just a cursory noodle would immediately make these problems evident - you don't have to have any knowledge of guitar building. Did the guy who bought this thing not know how to play? And if so, what the hell was he doing paying five grand for a guitar?
                        Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                        Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                        This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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                        • #27
                          Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                          Well, a lot of times people take chances and the internet is full of people that paid a lot of money for what they never really got. 4 years, $5k...that really hurts. And then however much you should rightly charge to get it right. I think after year 2, I might have asked for my money back. If you can, take some more pics of this museum piece.
                          Administrator of the SDUGF

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                          • #28
                            Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                            Yep the fun of internet ordering.
                            The games of ordering something that is still nothing.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                              Well, to be fair, George had a reputable presence in the market with very little to no public indication that he was ready for retirement. George should have discounted the guitar or canceled the order if he felt he was not up to the task.

                              Yes, the internet is full of people who do not get what they paid for sadly, but in this case, it was not a completely blind purchase. George's reputation probably planted some kind of confidence in the buyer's mind.

                              I order a lot of guitars without ever playing them, beginning with every single one of my beloved Warmoths. This is a slightly unusual case, but I still feel very bad for the buyer.
                              Soundcloud

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                              • #30
                                Re: Sadness: custom guitar frustrations

                                Agreed. It appears George had a longstanding reputation for delivering exceptional instruments and this order was allegedly placed several years ago. I don't blame the buyer at all.

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