Opinions and Advice needed- Guitar/music lovers...

[thirdlegstump]

JDub, you have any idea how much work gets put into making custom guitars like that? If he's a good builder, he can easily build something of substantial quality compared to a modern Gibson which are fairly crap guitars I should say. You're also mention it should be cheaper because it has single coils? Are you MAD? Check this out: http://solowayguitars.com/

 

[JDub02]

BTW, this is what an expensive guitar should look like: Text

And here's an expensive acoustic .. Martin HD-28

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: deathkoba
JDub, you have any idea how much work gets put into making custom guitars like that? If he's a good builder, he can easily build something of substantial quality compared to a modern Gibson which are fairly crap guitars I should say. You're also mention it should be cheaper because it has single coils? Are you MAD? Check this out: http://solowayguitars.com/

I know that it's a ton of work to build a guitar. I also know that once you have the pieces, it's not that hard to put them together.

BTW, those soloway guitars are pretty nice ... look like humbuckers to me on there.


edit: i see they also offer a single coil/dummy coil setup to kill the hum, but offer a single coil sound.

they are also semi-hollow body and range from $2000-2800


That's right in Les Paul range. I'll stick with my Les Paul though. This is the one I have .. Text

 

[CptObvious]

Interesting design. I think it might be priced too high for a bolt-on neck guitar without bindings or fancy inlays. I'm thinking only rich collectors would go for it, unless you got a famous musician to use one.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

Your dad needs to target the "cult" market that still appreciates fine hand-made crafted in the USA instruments. For instance, the Jackson community. Many people that buy Jacksons are collectors as well as players, and they HATE computerized factory-made guitars, and like the little imperfections that come with a hand-made guitar. They're especially fond of custom options, like choosing their own graphics for the finish and mixing and matching necks, bodies, headstocks, pups, tuners, and pots.

But the most important thing seems to be "made in the USA". Most of the Jackson imports (at least the made in Japan ones) are just as good as the domestic models, but they sell for up to $1000 less because they weren't made here. To foster this, Jackson (and other companies) started reserving the best pickups, trems, and neck-through (vs. bolt-on) bodies for USA models. So for instance, a MIJ Jackson comes with Duncan Designed pups, licensed Floyd Rose trem, and a bolt-on neck, while the equivalent US model comes with real USA-made Seymour Duncans, an Original Floyd Rose, and a neck-through body.

Look for resources like the Jackson-Charvel Forum (http://www.jcfonline.com/). They have sections just for advertising/buying and selling, customs and home-mades, and tech Q&A. These guys are serious collectors and luthiers who appreciate exactly the kind of thing your dad is doing. I'm sure there are others like it.

PS. There's usually a larger market for luthiers that do upgrades, customizations, and repairs than there is for a small shop making new instruments to sell. He might want to consider this; with a bit of marketing and word-of-mouth, he'd have alot more business working on existing instruments than making new ones. His best bet to sell his own work would be to find a guitar store willing to market/show them.

 

[NesuD]

Originally posted by: Raincity
Those fret markers are pretty cheesy. I don?t want to sound mean but tell your old man to go back to his day job.

A real player with an appreciation for a fine instrument won't give a rats ass about the fret markers. Pretty fretboard inlays are a dime a dozen and not that big a deal to do. I have seen and played many pretty guitars that weren't worth a sh!t. The feel is everything. I will take a quality guitar with the right feel over a pretty one that doesn't feel as good any day. Just stop for a moment and look at all the most successful guitarists. You will notice that a great number of them are playing relatively plain guitars by choice. Ever wonder about that? They can certainly afford to have the prettiest guitars available yet they go with a relatively plain jane looking piece. They do that for the feel. In otherwords feel and playability will trump looks any day of the week. Also since his guitars are custom pieces did it occur to you that maybe this one was built to order and the buyer ordered it that way? If you don't want to sound mean then shut the hell up!

 

[KerriAnn]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Raincity

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: Raincity
Those fret markers are pretty cheesy. I don't want to sound like a jackass, but I will, because I am

Fixed.

And how many quality musical instruments have you laid your hands upon?

I've used more guitars than you've probably ever seen in your lifetime. That said, it doesn't look too bad, BUT...I don't think the guitar is homemade from stratch. That body started life as a Stratocaster (I'm assuming a copy of a Strat as nobody in their right mind would chop up a real one), and he cut parts of the body off to make the shape shown. New hardware looks like it was popped on, but I agree about the fret board. The inlays look a bit tacky. Need some nice mother-of-pearl in there to finish it off.

first of all- you have no idea what you are talking about. it was made from scratch- my dad is not a rip off artist! he built his own cnc router machine, he uses it to help him cut the larger parts. he has his own shop with every imaginable machine and tool.

dwell- no whoever that guy is, that's not my dad...

"I also know that once you have the pieces, it's not that hard to put them together."
what a joke! he doesn't just buy a kit or something! he builds every piece completely from scratch. what do you use to put your guitars together? glue sticks?


I started this thread so that i could get advice on how my dad can get his stuff out there- i will just take this to a forum where people can help me out, iunstead of arguing over whther or not the frets are too tacky!
this was a custom built guitar with the customer's preferences in mind!

 

[TimMyMac]

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim

Originally posted by: Raincity

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: Raincity

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: Raincity
Those fret markers are pretty cheesy. I don't want to sound like a jackass, but I will, because I am

Fixed.

And how many quality musical instruments have you laid your hands upon?

Experience has nothing to do with being a jackass. Unless you have a lot of experience in being a jackass.

Truth hurts sometimes. The posters father should learn to improve on his craft.

I do agree, that the fret markers might look better if they were Gibson like in style. But the wording of your criticism was uncalled for, childlike, and inexperienced. I doubt you've ever laid your hands on a finely crafted guitar if all you're judging it by are fret marks.

Still, awesome looking guitar.

agreed, I'd play a neon pink guitar if it sounded good. accually, I have!

 

[thirdlegstump]

Originally posted by: KerriAnn

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Raincity

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: Raincity
Those fret markers are pretty cheesy. I don't want to sound like a jackass, but I will, because I am

Fixed.

And how many quality musical instruments have you laid your hands upon?

I've used more guitars than you've probably ever seen in your lifetime. That said, it doesn't look too bad, BUT...I don't think the guitar is homemade from stratch. That body started life as a Stratocaster (I'm assuming a copy of a Strat as nobody in their right mind would chop up a real one), and he cut parts of the body off to make the shape shown. New hardware looks like it was popped on, but I agree about the fret board. The inlays look a bit tacky. Need some nice mother-of-pearl in there to finish it off.

first of all- you have no idea what you are talking about. it was made from scratch- my dad is not a rip off artist! he built his own cnc router machine, he uses it to help him cut the larger parts. he has his own shop with every imaginable machine and tool.

dwell- no whoever that guy is, that's not my dad...

"I also know that once you have the pieces, it's not that hard to put them together."
what a joke! he doesn't just buy a kit or something! he builds every piece completely from scratch. what do you use to put your guitars together? glue sticks?


I started this thread so that i could get advice on how my dad can get his stuff out there- i will just take this to a forum where people can help me out, iunstead of arguing over whther or not the frets are too tacky!
this was a custom built guitar with the customer's preferences in mind!

Dude....

Don't bother listening to these dumbasses. Most likely they can't even play at a level to even back their asses up and think punk and metal is where it's at. $2-3K for a custom guitar is a total bargain compared to the sh*t production made guitars by Gibson and Fender. They think it's easy to just put parts together and have a beautifully singing instrument that's been handcrafted but they have no idea what goes into building such complex instruments.

 

[Fritzo]

Dude....

Don't bother listening to these dumbasses. Most likely they can't even play at a level to even back their asses up and think punk and metal is where it's at. $2-3K for a custom guitar is a total bargain compared to the sh*t production made guitars by Gibson and Fender. They think it's easy to just put parts together and have a beautifully singing instrument that's been handcrafted but they have no idea what goes into building such complex instruments.

Custom guitars are expensive, yes. Don't know how this one sounds, so I can't judge if it's worth the money or not. I've been playing 20 years, 8 of those professionally (got a real job 5 years ago though), and I know quite a bit about instrument construction. I saw the "wedge" on the end of the guitar and thought he just modified a Strat styled body, but when I looked at a strat and compared it to the picture, it was clear that the curves on the body were different (though it's heavily strat influenced, so you have to give me that).

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

Originally posted by: Raincity
Those fret markers are pretty cheesy. I don?t want to sound mean but tell your old man to go back to his day job.

Making something from scratch with your own hands is extremely rewarding. Doing it well enough to sell it, even better. Having enough confidence in your work to quit a job of 20yrs to do something that brings you enjoyment is absolutely wonderful.

While I may not personally like that SPECIFIC design, I'm sure your Dad has other designs that my be more appealing to me and others. I have nothing but respect for somebody like your Dad. If he believes in himself enough to strike out on his own, I'm sure that dumbass remarks like above won't bother him in the least.

SDC

 

[iamme]

did you take out the link to your dad's website?

i'd like to take a look