codetocontra's guitar build FAIL

[sylnau]

https://reverb.com/item/4762833-pro-ste ... rome-steel

[codetocontra]

That's cool. Thanks for the heads up. No idea if it will fit this body, I don't want to be stuck with two unusable pickguards.

[codetocontra]

Tried some weird strap button placements high on the heel (helped just a bit) and even at the neck like an SG (made it worse). Using a Couch strap. Still fighting the neck dive a bit and I noticed the weight is a bit much on my shoulder too. If you add trying to adjust to the thicker neck that makes three physical obstacles I have to deal with or overcome. Feels like an uphill battle that I am slowly losing.

I want to love this guitar, not fight it. Still have a list of reasons to be a one-guitar guy but I am more open right now to having two guitars. They would just have to be equals in my eyes, I can't prefer one over the other. Going back to my EGC feels so good in comparison.

Today I am 80% sure this guitar is not going to be finished. The biggest obstacle with giving up is dealing with the hassle of selling all the parts. I can get my money back on most of the parts and just be out the PayPal fees and shiping. Chalk up the loss of money as a learning experience. Bottom line is that I had to try to put this guitar together at some point since it had been on my mind for a long time and I had the itch. The universe came together to give me all the right signs that the time was now, but usually the universe is pretty cruel to me.

Going to give myself at least one more week with this build. Regardless of the outcome it is really all positive as I win sort of either way. At least now I know and I have an idea of what I may want out of another EGC build, if I even still want to have a 2nd guitar. Maybe a bass VI? Or I could cannonball into the dark void of modular. Buying and selling pedals has been largely unfulfilling the last few years and I have been purging my pedals recently, so it isn't like I am going to turn around and start collecting pedals again. My pedalboard has not actually been a board in a long time. But what is the point? My band is nonexistent, havien't been together to rock out for 11 months now. I need to focus on my own music and find the drive to do my own thing. I have no real good reason for owning two guitars at the moment.

Just in case this doesn't work out, InvisbleMan already called dibs and he will be the first to know, then I will post here and in the BST, Reverb, FB, etc... Not looking to start a silent auction or a list of dibs or anything.

[codetocontra]

Giving up the build. Sucks because it looks so sexy. I just can not get over the fight with the neck dive. Have a friend of a friend that is very interested in buying the neck or maybe even the whole project. Will lose some money on it, but I was glad to pursue this project to know it isn't for me, otherwise I would still be dreaming. Will continue to consider being a one-guitar guy for the moment.

[Invisible Man]

Guitar monogamy is underrated. Go for it.

Also, neck dive is unacceptable.

[codetocontra]

I admire people's guitar collections but that just isn't for me. Many virtues of only owning one guitar. Mo guitars mo problems.

[$harkToootth]

Lol. Yeah. The build didn't come together very well. I posted about it here: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=55341&hilit=egc+bolt&start=30#p1202369
The TLDR version is that the neck dive on the bolt on due to weight was too much to overcome, shooting pain up my wrist after 10 minutes. I tried. Before I ordered the bolt on I sent money for a deposit on a new build...

The new guitar was supposed to be quick. Kevin said he had the parts around. I assumed it was going to be no problem. Didn't even tell anyone for a while about it, just wanted it to show up quick and be like, hey look what I got. Nope. Over 3 years now. Paid in full. Asked for a refund at one point, received a phone call that I could get my money back minus deposit or he could finish it and sell it and pay me back in full. Don't want to misquote him, for accuracy, but the conversation led me to believe that would happen quickly and no surprise it didn't. The call was also to make sure I was doing okay, something I said must have clued him that I wasn't, so it was a nice gesture to reach out. But our relationship is based on business, I send money to get product, but this product is in production limbo. Maybe I should scream louder next time. But I just don't care anymore. Don't even really want what I ordered. Maybe I would find a use for it. Maybe I list it for sale the next day. Maybe I never even take the guitar and he sells it for me so I don't have that additional hassle.

What I really don't understand is that I am not alone in my several year wait. Several people on the aluminum Axes FB group have voiced their concerns about their own lengthy wait times. We were all in the dark until a Russian guy lost his shit about a custom 7 string build that took 5 years (though that type of guitar had never been done before). But, what, once a week a random guitar build is posted for sale on Reverb? And as of this post, he announced another batch of neck orders this past week. Cool. Make more shit for people who haven't been trying to wait patiently after giving money. Kevin stopped taking custom orders a while ago to help streamline production. Okay, sure, maybe he has less headaches trying to figure out how to make a 9 string guitar with 4 pickups and LEDs inside. Then following the FB drama, they announced a deadline where they weren't going to take money for new orders until they caught up. I don't even want to know if that is true or not, because it doesn't really even matter. I would love more transparency but it is too much to ask. Some people just don't have the ability and organization to run a business. The whole situation is just sad. Never played a better guitar than the one I have.

To reiterate some common sentiments:
DO NOT order a new EGC.
If you want an EGC, but used or from EGC's store on Reverb when they list random builds.
There are other players in the game: Robot Graves Industries, TTTides, Nude Guitars, Developing Nation Guitars, Aluminati, and Alef Guitars.

Replying here because I want people to see that last part, of your post, first thing, in that particular thread.

I admire craftsmanship and creativity in building but... waiting 3 years for a guitar... waiting 5 years for a guitar... my brother and I renovated an entire kitchen in 3 months... both working our normal full time jobs (Crack construction team! I'm not even a "handy" guy. He is though.).

What you wrote is certainly not a characteristic indicative of builders. What you are describing is an archetype though. I had not just a similar experience, but literally to the T, of the first paragraph of your post. I assumed it was going to be no problem. I know these beats... I know these pauses... You assume other people have the same work ethic as you, or even if they don't, a level of anxiety that would permeate their soul, having accepted capital. Nope. Maybe I should scream louder next time. I've yelled maybe 5 times in my entire adult life... and one of those instances was with a builder over E-mail. It really sucks but sometimes you have to suspend your being and cut through to people, give them an ultimatum.

3 years is so absurd to me. Especially for someone as resourceful and intelligent as you. You could have figured out how to build it yourself in three years I know in your line of work, scrap metal is easy to come by (I know it's not the same but... maybe it could be a new thing?).

Sorry you went through that. Fully aware this is a first world problem and not that important in the grand scheme. But seeing as we are on a gear forum... this is literally the #1 thing... to NOT DO TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. I worked retail for a decade so you can imagine I personally loathe when people pull the I'm a customer card. But this contravenes the very concept of the most basic transactions.

Ending on a positive note. 1. I think you should try the build again. 2. There are PLENTY of awesome builders who I will never tire of singing their praise (Curtis, Dminner, Doug Deeper, MASK [forgot username], CoPilot).

Oh guitar monogamy. I 1000% DO NOT relate The more the merrier. If it wasn't an issue of space... I would have like 30 guitars (It's actually not an issue of money... I am not wealthy... I just love cheap guitars ). One breaks... you have another. Need to tune down? You have another ready to go.

I apologize retroactively because it is late. I did not proofread and I'm not going to.

[codetocontra]

Lots to unpack here.

I stand behind my statements I made in the EGC thread. Furthermore, it is my belief that the EGC bolt on neck offerings are a relative easy cash grab that is helping the company stay afloat. I have no inside knowledge, just my speculation. They could have been made with more care, either to make slimmer necks or hollow out the necks with a two piece construction. Either would help alleviate weight issues that cause neck dive. Though both would require more tooling and labor. They aren't cheap as it is, but aluminum is relatively cheap and I don't see how much labor is already involved. Maybe I am just a annoyed customer with a chip on my shoulder. Or worse, I am right.

Another guitar build has been considered a number of times. I would be more likely to throw my money to Robot Graves but I would be more interested in a baritone neck. After much though I can't say I really find a good purpose for two guitars of similar scales. My current guitar has an altered tuning and it makes learning any songs a chore, but I rarely do that anyway.

Over the years I have become a bigger fan of one guitar. It always works. If I break a string, I replace it. If my volume knob is scratchy I spray Deoxit in it or replace. Loose output jack gets addressed immediately. I used to have more guitars and I would forget what was wrong with this or that and put it off to the side. My amp and pedals are dialed in precisely, no adjustments needed with different outputs from other guitars. As I get older my tactile response is much more important and I oddly have a harder time adjusting to different guitars. Even switching between Gibson and Fender was a challenge, not just for fret spacing due to scale lengths but the string spacing too. I know my one guitar inside and out. The wear and aging are real stories of our journey together.

[$harkToootth]

They aren't cheap as it is, but aluminum is relatively cheap and I don't see how much labor is already involved. Maybe I am just a annoyed customer with a chip on my shoulder. Or worse, I am right.

I have a sneaking suspicion this is the majority opinion now (Olin was the early adapter/innovator/articulator/whistleblower )

I know my one guitar inside and out. The wear and aging are real stories of our journey together.

So until I saw Derek Trucks recently, Tab Benoit was (even though I don't ever listen to his kind of music in my spare time) the best guitarist I have seen live. He takes your approach. His rig rundown episode is one of my favorites because his rig is the antithesis to the rig rundown culture . Guitar into amp. That's it. He has two guitars... that's it. They're the same. Same tunings too. One allegedly has a pickup with more bottom end. It's worth a watch. It's also great cause his voice sounds like Old Gregg (I'm only kind of kidding). Point being, I understand.

[$harkToootth]

Have you ever played a vintage Harmony? That is a great case study of 'tactile response'. OMG those necks are SO SMALL (the width) and the string spacing is so close together. It took me 10 comical minutes to get used to. I was tripping over super basic chord shapes.

[codetocontra]

Can't say I have or have not played an old Harmony. I recognize the look of one a friend has, and I know I held it, and he wanted to give it to me for free, but I didn't want it. Might have been a Harmony or something else? Good story, I know.

Tab Benoit rig rundown was interesting. Guitar > cord > amp is basically a religious experience if you have a good combination dialed in. It honestly makes me wonder why I have spent so much focus on pedals. I mean, it is obvious for me to hide behind. I will never be on Tab Benoit's level. I would feel naked without an echo and glitch/looper device at the very least.

Also, meant to mention I didn't want to debate prices of EGCs. Hard to take into account labor, additional expenses with having an employee or two, and overhead for machinery and the shop. All that has to break down somewhere. And part of me is like, yeah, get those necks sold so you can stay in business and fulfill/refund my order some day. Crossing the streams with the EGC thread.