#16
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Mr. Magill knows
The reply above from J. Magill is on the money!
I would add, if you want ergonomic, comfort, and tonal features (like I do) you will want to discuss them THROUGHLY with your builder BEFORE getting started. Make sure your builder is comfortable with your wants… The older I get, the more important the ergonomics are to me. For me, short scale, 12 fret cutaways, slim mod V carbon fiber reinforced necks, bevels, wedge, soundport, elevated fretboard extension, light weight, etc. all are worth the time and expense. One of the reasons to order custom is the ability to get all the stuff I want! Check out John Kinnard’s “Pablo Package” Of course, you may not seek any or all of these, but it is worth contemplating the options! Happy hunting, and play pretty! Paul
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3 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/Cedar Dread Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More Last edited by Guitars44me; 03-01-2023 at 01:06 PM. |
#17
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+1 on knowing YOUR specs inside and out. Some guys like V necks and/or big necks, which don't work with my hands. This might work perfectly for yours.
I ordered a Michael Kennedy acoustic a while back. I was able to play one at BIG and was keen to tell him to slim down the neck for my small hands. I almost forgot to do so when I initially ordered it. It's possible for a custom guitar to be a "dud". I feel like this term is overused because guys don't fully understand specs and what they really want. I ordered an acoustic with a redwood top and ziricote back/sides. I didn't have the luxury to try a lot of redwood or ziricote acoustics in my area. I ultimately learned I'm not a redwood, ziricote, or mahogany (back/sides) guy. Are those guitars duds? No, but they're not for me. |
#18
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I’m gonna go in an opposite direction - I doubt you will get a truly fantastic guitar, custom built, for under $4,000. I think you can get a very nice guitar, but I would leave my expectations at that level. You most certainly won’t get something thats built to the level of craftsmanship and expertise of a Santa Cruz. But you can, probably, get a very decent journeyman-level instrument - and there is nothing wrong with that. What I would recommend would be to figure out what you really want spec-wise, and play as many used instruments - both factory-shop as well as solo builder - that are very close to those specs as you can, and see if you can find a pre-built option that works well for you. Thats a good budget for an exceptional used instrument - but you’re gonna need a lot of luck to get a really good, new, custom guitar at that price -
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More than a few Santa Cruz’s, a few Sexauers, a Patterson, a Larrivee, a Cumpiano, and a Klepper!! |
#19
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It sounds like maybe you've found the guitar you really want - the Santa Cruz? I'm assuming you've actually played one, not just that you like the looks or have heard Eric playing his?
I get the idea, but I've been there multiple times when I was younger and broke :-) I knew I need a specific piece of gear, X, it had the sound and the features I needed. But it was expensive. So I bought an almost-X for half the price. Didn't quite do it, so I bought another, and another.... Pretty soon I had a half dozen pieces of gear, none of which quite did what I wanted, and collectively added up to several times what my original goal piece of gear was. Why did I do that instead of saving for what I wanted? Looking back I have no idea :-) At the time, it was just "I can't spend that much money", but I did spend that much and more, and still didn't have what I wanted.
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#20
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There are a handful of builders who will build a custom guitar for less than $5k, but there’s a reason why there’s only a handful—it’s hard to make a living building guitars and charging less than $5k for the finished product. Andy Bounsall already chimed in, and there was a builder at the Artisan Guitar Show last year—Coppertree Guitars—that also builds in that price range. I would not expect either of them to duplicate a Santa Cruz 00 Eric Skye, at least not at their price points (and not a knock on Andy or the folks at Coppertree, I doubt they could duplicate a Santa Cruz 00 Eric Skye even if they charged as much as Santa Cruz). But I’m sure they could build you a very nice 00, which, after all, as others have noted, is just a derivative of a Martin 00. As far as wait times go, there’s a reason again why better builders have long wait times—it’s a function of the builder’s productivity and the demand for their guitars. Santa Cruz makes something like 400 guitars a year (which is less than Martin makes in a week)—how many guitars a year can a solo luthier make? If an established luthier who is capable of building 10 guitars a year doesn’t have at least a handful of orders in his or her queue, that should tell you something. |
#21
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#22
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That's a good idea. I've never considered going to one of these but I'm sure it'd be a great experience. Might even come away with a new axe!
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#23
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#24
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Kinnaird Guitars |
#25
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A bit of a moot point as I think I’ve already expressed I’d have no interest in duplicating someone else’s work. If you like and want a Santa Cruz, I think you should save up your pennies and buy a Santa Cruz. Last edited by Andy Bounsall; 03-02-2023 at 10:49 PM. |
#26
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a thought
I have no idea of whether there's guitar shows available to OP; if one can be found, the visit will be a graduate course in custom builders. And maybe builders have guitars for sale at the show. No waiting, no guessing.
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#27
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Link: www.northwoodguitars.com. Here’s a link to a demonstration of a Northwood by John Fowler, a longtime guitar store owner who is known and respected on this forum. His review convinced me to buy mine, sight unseen.
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I am here to learn. |
#28
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I've commissioned numerous guitars over the years. Great experience, almost universally. My only bit of advice is to be somewhat flexible in your expectations, meaning the guitar you receive may not exactly match the guitar you envisioned, particularly in terms of spot-on sound profile; however, this doesn't mean that you've received a substandard guitar. I've always grown to appreciate the guitars I've commissioned, and actually over the years my tastes in what I like have ebbed and flowed a bit, so a guitar that I maybe wasn't completely enamored of several years ago today strikes me as quite wonderful, and perhaps vice-versa on occasion.
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#29
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It depends! Martin designs are so ubiquitous it's practically public domain at this point. No one is throwing lawsuits around for putting pyramid bridges and slotted headstocks on guitars so I'd say you're pretty safe there. There's no taboo, really. The main thing is picking a builder who enjoys making instruments in that style. We don't wanna go to Jackson Pollock to commission a marble statue.
Last edited by usb_chord; 03-08-2023 at 01:34 AM. |
#30
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Buy Local???
From my perspective as a builder I would say support local growth. If you can play a few of the builders guitars that will give you an idea of the quality of work. It also helps for resets etc...in the future if local it "should" be a quicker turn around....
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