#16
|
|||
|
|||
I was able to get my custom Furch at the price of a 814 Taylor. Plus the build time wait allowed me to save up the money and it was a great deal.
I thought if I'm buying a very expensive guitar, why not take some risk and spec it in a way I wouldn't be able to afford. Alpine/Cocobolo is expensive lol. |
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Bizarre question.
So, I did super quick calculation of a small number of body sizes, scale lengths, top wood choices, etc, etc,etc and I came up with 12,960,000 combinations (using only standard common choices) soooooooooooo good luck
__________________
Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" Taylor GC7, GA3-12, SB2-C, SB2-Cp...... Ibanez AVC-11MHx , AC-240 |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Well, there's the expense. And then there's the problem of it not sounding exactly what I envisioned it to sound like! That would kill me.
For me, it's been better to search for guitars in the specs I like and then play them hoping the looks and sound match up. If not, I may owe shipping back to the shop/individual, but that I deal with. scott |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
I do find it interesting to observe the number of custom builds on the used market. Especially those with personalized inlay.
This points to numerous instances in which the original owner failed to bond with their commissioned guitar. It happens, despite the luthier's best attempt to achieve a perfect match to the owner's specs. Having said that, I am considering a custom build that would require me to sell two fine guitars. Why? It would be cool to pick out the exact pieces of wood I want, watch the construction process as it proceeds, and have an instrument that was made just for me. Perhaps twice as cool as the two guitars I would need to sell. Perhaps not. It is a roll of the dice.
__________________
Neal A few nice ones, a few beaters, and a few I should probably sell... |
#20
|
||||
|
||||
Because I want exactly what I want. I’ve ordered a Custom Built guitar 5 times. It was a terrific experience each and every time. All of these guitars are outstanding. I think working with a familiar luthier makes the process pleasant and fairly certain.
Last edited by BrunoBlack; 09-19-2019 at 10:27 AM. |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
I had a custom guitar built once and it was a disappointment. I have played enough guitars to appreciate how random the business of quality is, even among high end guitars. You have to sift through a lot of them to find the true gems, and you can just never tell if a custom job is going to come out aces or not. Why take a chance? And anyway, how much more fun is it to play a lot of guitars in search for the one that rings your bell (and there is one out there that will ring your bell).
__________________
2003 Martin OM-42, K&K's 1932 National Style O, K&K's 1930 National Style 1 tricone Square-neck 1951 Rickenbacker Panda lap steel 2014 Gibson Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe Ltd, Custom Shop, K&K's 1957 Kay K-27 X-braced jumbo, K&K's 1967 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville 2014 Gold Tone WL-250, Whyte Lade banjo 2024 Mahogany Weissenborn, Jack Stepick Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Tonedexter |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Two Reasons
1. You can have it built to your exact spec's including any customization in appearance you might want.
2. You've played the makers models and like the sound and want that sound for your own.
__________________
AZ Slacker Bourgeois JOMC, MadRose/Adi Baranik, JX MadRose/German Baranik, JX Brazilian/Italian SCGC OM, Brazilian / German SCGC OMG, Brazilian / Moon Spruce Dan Roberts Troubadour, Mahogany/Adi Collings CJ35 Mahogany/German Jimmy Edmonds OM Braz/Adi Greven '1937' D18 Greven '1937' OM Braz/Adi |
#23
|
||||
|
||||
If I wanted to spend $8,000+ on a guitar, but wanted some unique looking appointments I would visit many luthiers to see what their guitars sounded and felt like. I think many people do this so I'm sort of leaning to the possibility that having a custom build isn't that much of the guessing game it might at first appear to be. I think once you get familiar with the sound of different builders guitars it's probably not much different than ordering a custom Martin or Taylor.
I've never been through the experience of a custom build, but if I wanted one I'd be sure to do my homework to minimize any surprises.
__________________
Barry Youtube! My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#25
|
|||
|
|||
That's a relaxed and measured way to view the process, but I'm not sure that, after developing that relationship, if I could mask disappointment if the end result was not what I had hoped for.
|
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Working with a luthier and designing/creating an instrument "together" (kinda) is a romantic notion and can be fulfilling, but this is not a case where the journey is the reward. If you are a musician first, then the destination - the instrument - is the reward. For the time and cost involved, it had better be a good one.
I've had a half dozen instruments built. I still own 5 of them, but none of them are my top choices today. They were all something I was fixated on at the time, not necessarily something that I'd want for all time. Of course you don't always know that until hindsight kicks in. Because they are custom made, the resale can be more challenging, and sometimes you feel a little guilty too. At this point I focus more on the classics, which have ultimately served me the best over the long haul. There are a few things I'd still consider having made, but they are oddball combinations that simply can't be found on the open market.
__________________
Pre-War Guitar Co. Model D and OM-2018 1928 Gibson L-5 |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
I've only ever ordered one custom built guitar. It's an electric. I ordered it about 12 years ago from a builder who was fairly new and who was doing some very innovative things that I just couldn't find on an off the shelf guitar. It was built to my specs but was in his style. He was pretty unknown when I ordered it so it was inexpensive. I love the guitar and it was my main electric for a few years back when I was gigging a lot. The builder is now well known and his prices are four times what I paid and when his used stuff shows up, it sells fast. There's also a 2-3 year wait for his custom builds now. The whole experience was fun and I got a guitar that I played quite a bit and that has gone up in value.
|
#28
|
|||
|
|||
I have had three custom guitars built by local builders, but two were back in the 70s because I wanted guitars "like" I'd seen in pictures - for instance a 12 string like a D12-20 which was simply not available to me at the time. (it was, sadly a failure).
Another was from the same struggling luthier who obtained some BRW and told me he was longing to use it in a build. I ordered an SJ200 style with it - the back was stunning but the guitar wasn't. The last one was a 00-twentyeight style built for me (ordered and paid for by my wife for my 50th birthday. It was a style that I'd seen Stefan Grossman playing but was impossible to find in the UK at the time. We have so much choice now that it is less necessary, but should you want something unusual, or superior to the mass produced form, why not?
__________________
Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#29
|
||||
|
||||
I’ve custom spec’d and ordered two guitars in the 8 years I’ve been playing. One a Martin, the other a Collings. Neither stuck around long. No fault of the dealer in both cases. I think grabbing a dealer custom where they spec and order multiple runs of 10 or 20 at a time is the best way to go. Maybe you don’t get every last spec you want, but you get to return the guitar if you don’t like it. Can’t do that with a one-off.
__________________
Merrill | Martin | Collings | Gibson For Sale: 2023 Collings D2H 1 3/4 Nut, Adi Bracing, NTB -- $4100 shipped |
#30
|
||||
|
||||
I wanted something different and was able to personally sit down with a local luthier and discuss wood types, etc. I also wanted something that was mine and mine alone, so I designed the inlays as well. The guitar is fabulous and is sinker redwood over walnut. I love the tone and the design.
__________________
https://www.mcmakinmusic.com |