FourT6and2
Well-known member
March 18, 2025: I placed an order with a dealer for a custom guitar from a popular company. The order included the ability to hand-pick the top and body woods from the builder's stock. I chose the pickups and tuning/setup and sent the dealer photos of tops and bodies from the same builder that I liked as examples of what I wanted. The builder would then choose tops that are similar and send photos so I could pick what I wanted.
Nine months later I received a photo of TWO tops. Two. Neither of which came anywhere close to the examples I submitted. I understand it's wood. And no two pieces look the same. But I'm talking about not even in the same time zone, let alone area code. So I requested to see what other tops the builder had available to weigh my options. Simply grab the other tops of the same type of wood and take a cell phone photo. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
Well, it took 10 weeks.
The second batch of tops was even farther away from what I wanted. So I decided to stick with one of the tops from the first set. But the builder said they gave that top to someone else already.
They never communicated the fact that, by asking for photos of other tops, the first two would no longer be available. So I'm pretty upset about that. Especially since they dragged their feet for months and months to send a photo of wood blanks sitting on the floor. Alright fine... I can live with the top I ultimately chose from the second batch.
But I also requested to change the bridge pickup to a different model. I was told the builder had already ordered the original pickups I specified. I said ok fine... I'll pay for the new pickup as well. No big deal. I just don't want to have to rip a brand new, custom guitar apart to install a different pickup. The builder refused. Kind of ridiculous on a custom guitar... I literally offered to pay for both pickups.
Additionally, the builder uses an oddball string gauge set for the tuning I requested (Drop C). Nobody sells string sets in that gauge and I requested the guitar be set up with standard 11-56 for Drop C. Again... the builder refused. Saying they use the gauges they use and they won't change it. So when this guitar arrives, I'm going to have to immediately pay to have a new setup done, including cutting the nut to accommodate the new string sizes.
Ultimately it's not the end of the world to install a new pickup and get a new setup. But it's ridiculous I have to do this on a $4K+ "custom" guitar. Especially when I'm paying extra over an off-the-shelf model to hand-pick the wood and the builder didn't really let me do that. Not only that, but apparently I'm not allowed to change the pickup or string gauges, yet the builder can drag their feet for nearly 16 months and I'm supposed to put up with it.
So... Am I The Asshole here or is the builder being unreasonable?
Nine months later I received a photo of TWO tops. Two. Neither of which came anywhere close to the examples I submitted. I understand it's wood. And no two pieces look the same. But I'm talking about not even in the same time zone, let alone area code. So I requested to see what other tops the builder had available to weigh my options. Simply grab the other tops of the same type of wood and take a cell phone photo. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
Well, it took 10 weeks.
The second batch of tops was even farther away from what I wanted. So I decided to stick with one of the tops from the first set. But the builder said they gave that top to someone else already.
They never communicated the fact that, by asking for photos of other tops, the first two would no longer be available. So I'm pretty upset about that. Especially since they dragged their feet for months and months to send a photo of wood blanks sitting on the floor. Alright fine... I can live with the top I ultimately chose from the second batch.
But I also requested to change the bridge pickup to a different model. I was told the builder had already ordered the original pickups I specified. I said ok fine... I'll pay for the new pickup as well. No big deal. I just don't want to have to rip a brand new, custom guitar apart to install a different pickup. The builder refused. Kind of ridiculous on a custom guitar... I literally offered to pay for both pickups.
Additionally, the builder uses an oddball string gauge set for the tuning I requested (Drop C). Nobody sells string sets in that gauge and I requested the guitar be set up with standard 11-56 for Drop C. Again... the builder refused. Saying they use the gauges they use and they won't change it. So when this guitar arrives, I'm going to have to immediately pay to have a new setup done, including cutting the nut to accommodate the new string sizes.
Ultimately it's not the end of the world to install a new pickup and get a new setup. But it's ridiculous I have to do this on a $4K+ "custom" guitar. Especially when I'm paying extra over an off-the-shelf model to hand-pick the wood and the builder didn't really let me do that. Not only that, but apparently I'm not allowed to change the pickup or string gauges, yet the builder can drag their feet for nearly 16 months and I'm supposed to put up with it.
So... Am I The Asshole here or is the builder being unreasonable?
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