vaultnaemsae
Inspired
Hi and thanks for all the comments. There's a lot to respond to if I were to answer each post individually and you all have very good points and/or useful ideas. Believe me, I'm kicking myself for some of the decisions I made in 2013, but when I first ordered that guitar my life circumstances were quite different to how they are now. Every delay in production has represented extra cost to me which has become a burden.
I can say that I've spoken to a local lawyer already who has collected and assembled some useful information about the builder indicating that he is alive and his business is in operation. How I'll proceed is as yet undecided on my part. I have to consider the various costs of the proceedings vs the actual value of the guitar and my investment up to this point.
I think what I had really hoped for by posting this story was that maybe somebody would offer some information about the builder and their dealings with him. I thought if any readers were in the same boat or if they knew somebody else who was that the ID of the builder would be obvious. Either that or perhaps that the 'flames' from the thread might prompt the builder to address the issue personally. I am still in a huge hole regarding verifiable information on the instrument due to the fact that I can only go on what the builder has relayed to me via numerous emails and a single long phone call. The photographs I've received do not tell much of a story.
Regarding the question on why I would trust this guy -- I had spoken to two people who played his guitars in the past but neither had exactly 'regular' customer relations with him as they are high profile players and both located in the USA; not just a pleb Aussie fusion addict like me. One is now deceased, the other had not purchased the guitar directly from the builder. Both vouched for the quality of the builder's work; one encouraged me to wait it out as he was certain the guitar would appear eventually.
There was only a reader who contacted me personally and from our discussions we determined that he had work done by this luthier on his guitars in the past when he lived in Monterey. He had nothing bad to say about the guy and in fact complimented his work. But he did say that the luthier in question was S...L...O...W! Not new info.
I'm still hoping that perhaps the luthier is actually working on the guitar and that there will be some imminent contact prior to me having to commence any legal proceedings against the guy. He has been very personable and helpful in his actual communications. He just disappears for long periods and often. Maybe he was really just having a bad patch? God only knows.
However, the fact remains, no matter how bad things may get for an individual, it pays to keep your customers in the loop and the questioning of your professional reliability out of the forums.
I'll certainly update this post should I have any further information that would be useful to the community.
Thanks All!
I can say that I've spoken to a local lawyer already who has collected and assembled some useful information about the builder indicating that he is alive and his business is in operation. How I'll proceed is as yet undecided on my part. I have to consider the various costs of the proceedings vs the actual value of the guitar and my investment up to this point.
I think what I had really hoped for by posting this story was that maybe somebody would offer some information about the builder and their dealings with him. I thought if any readers were in the same boat or if they knew somebody else who was that the ID of the builder would be obvious. Either that or perhaps that the 'flames' from the thread might prompt the builder to address the issue personally. I am still in a huge hole regarding verifiable information on the instrument due to the fact that I can only go on what the builder has relayed to me via numerous emails and a single long phone call. The photographs I've received do not tell much of a story.
Regarding the question on why I would trust this guy -- I had spoken to two people who played his guitars in the past but neither had exactly 'regular' customer relations with him as they are high profile players and both located in the USA; not just a pleb Aussie fusion addict like me. One is now deceased, the other had not purchased the guitar directly from the builder. Both vouched for the quality of the builder's work; one encouraged me to wait it out as he was certain the guitar would appear eventually.
There was only a reader who contacted me personally and from our discussions we determined that he had work done by this luthier on his guitars in the past when he lived in Monterey. He had nothing bad to say about the guy and in fact complimented his work. But he did say that the luthier in question was S...L...O...W! Not new info.
I'm still hoping that perhaps the luthier is actually working on the guitar and that there will be some imminent contact prior to me having to commence any legal proceedings against the guy. He has been very personable and helpful in his actual communications. He just disappears for long periods and often. Maybe he was really just having a bad patch? God only knows.
However, the fact remains, no matter how bad things may get for an individual, it pays to keep your customers in the loop and the questioning of your professional reliability out of the forums.
I'll certainly update this post should I have any further information that would be useful to the community.
Thanks All!
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