Any advice on getting a custom built?

PolarityMan

Daigaijin said:

PolarityMan said:

Ive never had one but if I ever do it will be one of those sexy Feline LPs ...phwoar!

The purple one in the classified looks amazing and I'm not an lp fan. Not pointy enough and no trem for me to use to hide my technical inadequacy 

Hope you get one, Feline seem to be well regarded here 

You can live on only 1 kidney right? 

xDaigaijin

PolarityMan said:

Daigaijin said:

PolarityMan said:

Ive never had one but if I ever do it will be one of those sexy Feline LPs ...phwoar!

The purple one in the classified looks amazing and I'm not an lp fan. Not pointy enough and no trem for me to use to hide my technical inadequacy 

Hope you get one, Feline seem to be well regarded here 

You can live on only 1 kidney right? 

They do say, personally, I recon even that's more than necessary, for the right guitar. Plus there's obviously loads of other underutilised and redundant bits, I must look into that

xDaigaijin

There is much to be said for the 'off the shelf' solution especially as I'm an Ibanez RG fan, and I have been seriously looking for ages, in fact it was one of the reasons for joining FB.

I'm wager there are all manner of under played scrumptious morsels just a carefully worded WTB away. 

Legend has it that there are one or two individuals in the Garden of England who hold vast numbers of such treasures...

prlgmnr

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

xDaigaijin

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Pabcrane

Have you heard of Ormsby Guitars? It isn't really my area of expertise but the things you mentioned sounds like what they do, I'm sure someone here will know more about them.

xDaigaijin

Pabcrane said:

Have you heard of Ormsby Guitars? It isn't really my area of expertise but the things you mentioned sounds like what they do, I'm sure someone here will know more about them.

No I haven't come across them, I'll check them out, appreciate the nod

Pabcrane

They have off the rack and custom shop

xDaigaijin

Pabcrane said:

They have off the rack and custom shop

They seem to be based in Australia and multi scale. The geography would be a problem, the comms with the builder would be made more difficult, not to mention trusting the finished treasure to couriers (don't get me started), plus it'd be difficult to 'pop round and have a little chat' about delays and misunderstandings! Nice looking kit if a little less classic than I might choose 

PhilKing

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Did you ever look at a Black Machine?  They might fit your requirements.  I know that @FelineGuitars was making them at one time.  I can also recommend Jon, having one of his Anniversary Lions and also he refretted and scalloped a neck that I thought was beyond saving and it is amazing now.  There are some other great makers on this site too, but I am not sure that they all make any design.  I know some have specific designs that they do, rather than bespoke designs.  I probably have something like 30 custom made guitars, some of which I assembled myself and many of which came from different makers.  I a very willing to try different ideas and have several guitars which are ideas I had and was able to persuade someone to make it for me.  Sometimes they work and sometimes they were less successful.   The bast plan is to solidify your ideas but also be flexible and discuss it with the builder (s) you want to look at.

Bellycaster

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Have you checked out Ruokangas Guitars? Master Luthier Juha Ruokangas. His company is based in Finland. These are up there with the highest quality you can get, they cost though.

daisie_guitar

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Could it be a Kiesel Aries? https://www.kieselguitars.com/catalog/guitars/na6 They can be customized, I think they support most of your requirements. Quality-wise they have a good reputation and they're cheaper than most "custom shops" and probably a lot cheaper than a fully custom-built guitar...

xDaigaijin

daisie_guitar said:

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Could it be a Kiesel Aries? https://www.kieselguitars.com/catalog/guitars/na6 They can be customized, I think they support most of your requirements. Quality-wise they have a good reputation and they're cheaper than most "custom shops" and probably a lot cheaper than a fully custom-built guitar...

Good point. I did approach them about a modded version of their numbers guitar but they couldn't get the neck thin enough at the nut because it would interfere with the strengthening system, interesting chat with them very helpful. They also mention the get much less damage in the US shipping in the gig bag rather than the hard case which seemed counterintuitive 

imalrightjack

Kiesel might have a good rep for quality but they get a lot of flack for a whole range of things.  I almost went to them before somebody suggested I might be better spending my money closer to home, for which I am very grateful.

I understand advice about off-the-shelf maybe being close to what you want but, for me, getting a custom build was unparalleled experience.  I have been through so many guitars, I knew I wanted a bit of this and a bit of that, and getting to choose top woods, etc. was really exciting.  Specifying radius and neck size, etc. along with neck finish was crucial for me.  Not to mention choosing electronic config, pickups, etc.

If you're anywhere near Cumbria, give Haydn a shout: https://williamsguitars.co.uk/electrics/aura/  The blue one is actually my custom build.

I also got one of these as a custom build with a piezo: https://williamsguitars.co.uk/electrics/lil58/

timmypix

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Sounds like you want a Blackmachine or a Carillion.

xDaigaijin

timmypix said:

Daigaijin said:

prlgmnr said:

What's your exact spec, just out of interest?

I haven't got an exact spec but a laminate reinforced thru neck  with mahogany wings, h s h custom pickups, highly polished ebony board (tho ive seen some pau that look amazing), big ss frets, wide flat neck probably bound in something exotic, shaller/gotoh trem with the mother of all sustain blocks (poss titanium saddles, would take advice) matching head stock and body binding. Overall some thing heavy, thick body, lots of sustain, all about the beauty of the wood, minimal routing, exposed neck in the body. That sort of thing

Sounds like you want a Blackmachine or a Carillion.

Will add to the list, thanks

melod

imalrightjack said:

Kiesel might have a good rep for quality but they get a lot of flack for a whole range of things.  I almost went to them before somebody suggested I might be better spending my money closer to home, for which I am very grateful.

I understand advice about off-the-shelf maybe being close to what you want but, for me, getting a custom build was unparalleled experience.  I have been through so many guitars, I knew I wanted a bit of this and a bit of that, and getting to choose top woods, etc. was really exciting.  Specifying radius and neck size, etc. along with neck finish was crucial for me.  Not to mention choosing electronic config, pickups, etc.

If you're anywhere near Cumbria, give Haydn a shout: https://williamsguitars.co.uk/electrics/aura/  The blue one is actually my custom build.

I also got one of these as a custom build with a piezo: https://williamsguitars.co.uk/electrics/lil58/

Would be very interested in hearing more about the lil58. I am a fan of Martyn Booth but just a bit too much for me...

This looks something in that same style.

daisie_guitar

Not sure if feasible for you as this dude is located in Budapest/Hungary, but heard good things about his workmanship and might be (really I have no details about the pricing of his custom builds) cheaper than luthiers in western Europe: https://stageshop.hu/en/products?currency_switch=EUR&s=amarant one of the guitars in the list has a neck-through construction with mahagony sides...

daisie_guitar

Not sure if feasible for you as this dude is located in Budapest/Hungary, but heard good things about his workmanship and might be (really I have no details about the pricing of his custom builds) cheaper than luthiers in western Europe: https://stageshop.hu/en/products?currency_switch=EUR&s=amarant one of the guitars in the list has a neck-through construction with mahagony sides...

xDaigaijin

daisie_guitar said:

Not sure if feasible for you as this dude is located in Budapest/Hungary, but heard good things about his workmanship and might be (really I have no details about the pricing of his custom builds) cheaper than luthiers in western Europe: https://stageshop.hu/en/products?currency_switch=EUR&s=amarant one of the guitars in the list has a neck-through construction with mahagony sides...

I had a quick look and clearly very skilled. I think the issue would likely be communicating effectively over the distance. The seem to be several highly regarded UK builders so they would have to be first port of call.