# warning : poor quality custom guitar



## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

This really sucks and I don't like saying what I'm about to say but i feel that its important for me to warn others that invest there money into an instrument to be warned of a bad workmanship to avoid being left like I currently am.

I decided last year that I wanted a 7 string custom guitar and that my music I record is based around a 7 string, I wanted that 27" scale for clarity and tight tensions. I did some research to see what builders where in australia and what they were like.
I decided to go with a custom E.T. Guitar because I liked the look of them, the custom options, the scale lengths, and they seemed Ibanez in style which I always used before and am comfortable with.
I ordered the guitar in mid 2013 and began the waiting process. After a while as anyone would I began to become curious as to how it was all going and what was happening etc, it took along time and many sent emails before I finally did get a response from Ernie and I was told the CNC machine had broken down and that parts were coming from Asia for it.
Now honestly I am a service manager at a decent company, I will tell you the communication sucked, I received no pictures of the build until it was painted and together minus strings, towards the end it was better, terrible for months.
Now these pictures are of what I class as faults and previous and as the guitar came.

The guitar came setup for drop G#, He asked me what Tunning it was for and I said Drop A, It has a evertune bridge so I had setup work to reset that stuff which was all new to me, I noticed that the saddles layed to one side so i took the back plate off, I found that the comb that holds all the modules of the bridge to be missing.
I contacted Ernie and he did quickly send it up to me to fit and apologised for leaving it out.
After fitting I have noticed that the saddles still sit to one side and that the strings, as they go over the pole pieces are not in align with them at all, they are to the bottom of them and not central, so I looked a bit harder and realised that the whole front plate of the evertune bridge is not mounted central to the guitar or pickup 
Not easy to fix and very important.

Setup wrong (tuning,intonation)
Evertune comb missing.
Bridge routed in wrong location.(doubt I can fix it properly)
Coil tap wires not soldered and covered in tape
The Join to the neck has a gap of 2mm.
The route for the volume pot cover is crap.
The route for the jack cover is crap.
Big Visible joint in the body wood. (should be a single piece, its 2 piece with the most unmatching and non square joint Ive ever seen!)
Plugged the tone hole and its visible in the paint. (was to be volume only)
Screws to hold tuning pegs not done up, or drilled deep enough.
White spots in the paint (I asked for red and black swirl)


















Its like someone made the body, someone else modified it and someone else made the neck.


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## japs5607 (Jan 18, 2014)

Before the mod does, I would change the thread title to lower case


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## MaCkCiTy (Jan 18, 2014)

Whoa, that sucks! What's their return/repair policy on such thing?
How do you rate it's playability (taking into account the flaws)? I actually shot them a message the other day since I thought it might be a cheaper alternative to a Halo custom!


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## s4tch (Jan 18, 2014)

Ask for a refund or a rebuild, these are not acceptable.


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## WrldEtrBenny (Jan 18, 2014)

Damn, that sucks.
now im nervous for my Katana FX7w.

i ordered mine mid last year and i havent received it yet.
emails have been rare from ernie. ive alway had to ask about it and how it was going and ive only received one picture of the body at the start of this week.
was never told about the CNC machine either.

so now i'm worried about it.


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## Viginez (Jan 18, 2014)

that looks horrible


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## arcadia fades (Jan 18, 2014)

thank you very very very, much for posting this, I once considered ordering an E.T. Katana too and so glad now I hadnt, it really is a SHAM of how many luthiers are churning out utter crap for top cash these days, its so wrong.


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## drmosh (Jan 18, 2014)

damn, those routing jobs are horrid and that bridge being misaligned is a definite reason for a refund.


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

more pics


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## Skullet (Jan 18, 2014)

I e-mailed these guys a few times n got no reply . Glad they didnt now . Sucks man hope it gets resolved


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

MaCkCiTy said:


> Whoa, that sucks! What's their return/repair policy on such thing?
> How do you rate it's playability (taking into account the flaws)? I actually shot them a message the other day since I thought it might be a cheaper alternative to a Halo custom!



Look honestly the neck plays great, the choice of wood pickup is excellent, I have had it for just over a week and played it very little due to its setup.


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

WrldEtrBenny said:


> Damn, that sucks.
> now im nervous for my Katana FX7w.
> 
> i ordered mine mid last year and i havent received it yet.
> ...


I would be worried honestly, is it black? I saw that one nearly finished the other day and mine was ordered mid last year too


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

Skullet said:


> I e-mailed these guys a few times n got no reply . Glad they didnt now . Sucks man hope it gets resolved



Oh he replies quick when he has too


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

arcadia fades said:


> thank you very very very, much for posting this, I once considered ordering an E.T. Katana too and so glad now I hadnt, it really is a SHAM of how many luthiers are churning out utter crap for top cash these days, its so wrong.



Im very dissapointed and dont like doing this, but other poeple cant by this man, its just not right, I waited to record a album with this, which held of gigs etc.
It just never should of turned up here


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

MaCkCiTy said:


> Whoa, that sucks! What's their return/repair policy on such thing?
> How do you rate it's playability (taking into account the flaws)? I actually shot them a message the other day since I thought it might be a cheaper alternative to a Halo custom!


 Oh and he has offered to refund it or send it back, either way he makes them, he knew it was like that, If I didn't say anything he would be happy.


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Jan 18, 2014)

Terrible! Sorry to hear that dude


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## WrldEtrBenny (Jan 18, 2014)

smitco said:


> I would be worried honestly, is it black? I saw that one nearly finished the other day and mine was ordered mid last year too



Nah it isn't black. 

just natural swamp ash and wenge.

but with what they have done to your custom ordered one.
i wonder if my semi-production one will be bad quality.

edit: is this the one they posted on facebook?


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

WrldEtrBenny said:


> Nah it isn't black.
> 
> just natural swamp ash and wenge.
> 
> ...



yeah, take note, no comb on the bridge


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

smitco said:


> yeah, take note, no comb on the bridge



that was the first time I saw the guitar too


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## Nag (Jan 18, 2014)

Concerning the guitar :

- I don't mind slightly messy routing on the back since it's not very visible and doesn't make it less playable. routing on the front is more important visually. but on a custom order, all routing should be flawless.

- I guess it's normal to mess up the positioning of the Evertune, it's a new system and he probably hasn't installed a lot yet. Messing it up, no problem. sending a messed up guitar without bothering to correct ? that's very unprofessional.

- Messing up the neckjoint is really dumb. it's a bolt-on guitar, the whole advantage of that design is you can unscrew and correct what doesn't fit. laziness on ET's side.

- messing up the finish is just stupid. I've seen countless amateurs doing perfect swirls on youtube. this is ridiculous.

- the setup might be a nightmare on an evertune but no guitar will come setup perfectly for you. the fact that it was in the wrong tuning isn't as important as the other flaws, but it's stupid nonetheless...

Ask for a refund. I wouldn't trust him to rebuild this. Making mistakes isn't a problem, the best builders have made lemons. The problem is that he was insolent enough to SEND this guitar.



Skullet said:


> I e-mailed these guys a few times n got no reply . Glad they didnt now . Sucks man hope it gets resolved



I see you're in Europe. From all the things I've seen concerning ET Guitars, I have the impression that his mindset is the following : he is in Australia, he builds for australians, and if you're not australian you can go fack yourself. That's really the impression he gives me.


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## capoeiraesp (Jan 18, 2014)

Hooray. Another Aussie loothier ruining it for the quality builders like ONI, Ormsby and Cilia. 
That unshielded control cavity is pretty awesome.


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## WrldEtrBenny (Jan 18, 2014)

capoeiraesp said:


> Hooray. Another Aussie loothier ruining it for the quality builders like ONI, Ormsby and Cilia.
> That unshielded control cavity is pretty awesome.



what happened with Ormsby? i was looking in to a custom from them aswell before i chose ET.


EDIT: sorry read that wrong..


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## capoeiraesp (Jan 18, 2014)

Satisfaction is what happened with Ormsby.


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## Lach Rae Dawn (Jan 18, 2014)

What the hell?

I'd say that the $99 Agile that we got my GF a few months ago, doesn't have near the flaws this one does. You can just tell its cheap. (like the fretwork)

But this is supposed to be a Custom guitar, I would ask for a rebuild, AFTER THE CNC MACHINE IS FIXED.
If that is gonna take too long, ask for a refund, and go to another Luthier, there are more now than ever!

I have to say sending the guitar to you like that (a custom at that) without trying to fix some of those mistakes is quite unprofessional!


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## noob_pwn (Jan 18, 2014)

capoeiraesp said:


> Satisfaction is what happened with Ormsby.



I've heard negative things about ormsby too, but not to do with the quality of his builds.

I'm very disappointed to see this ET build


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

Lach Rae Dawn said:


> What the hell?
> 
> I'd say that the $99 Agile that we got my GF a few months ago, doesn't have near the flaws this one does. You can just tell its cheap. (like the fretwork)
> 
> ...



Very unprofessional man


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

capoeiraesp said:


> Hooray. Another Aussie loothier ruining it for the quality builders like ONI, Ormsby and Cilia.
> That unshielded control cavity is pretty awesome.



those ornsbys are nice!


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## possumkiller (Jan 18, 2014)

Now I am definitely glad he would never answer any of my emails.


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## Splinterhead (Jan 18, 2014)

You have my sincerest condolences. You pay good, hard earned money. You get super pumped for a killer axe. Then the supreme let down due to workmanship that is apathetic and just plain no good. I say get your money back and move on.


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## Hollowway (Jan 18, 2014)

How much was it? There does seem to be a floor below which quality suffers on customs, so I'm curious if this was sub $1000, $2000, etc.


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## simonXsludge (Jan 18, 2014)

Man, that guitar looks terribly flawed. Sorry to see this. 

I got a custom neck built by Ernie/ET Guitars myself a few years back. Communication was slow and it took a very long time. No process pics ever. After all, I hapened to travel to Australia, told him about it and that's when things picked up. He finished the neck and met up with me in Sydney to give it to me. Nice dude in person and the neck seemed great. Unfortunately, it only took like two weeks back home for the neck to end up being extremely warped and completely useless. I had the suspection that he didn't even start building it until he knew I was coming to Australia. It seemed like a good job on first glance, but maybe it was rushed. I will never know, since there never were updates on the process.

Due to the long time I had to wait for the neck to begin with and the rather difficult communication (I'd only get a reply from his personal Facebook, if at all), I just gave up on the neck completely. Ernie said he would build a new one for me, but after all... who knows how that would have turned out. I simply didn't wanna go through it all over.


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## Maurobrazil (Jan 18, 2014)

I sent a rosewood blank and payd 50% for a 7 string neck in 10/2012 ... still waiting!!!


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## will_shred (Jan 18, 2014)

MaCkCiTy said:


> Whoa, that sucks! What's their return/repair policy on such thing?
> How do you rate it's playability (taking into account the flaws)? I actually shot them a message the other day since I thought it might be a cheaper alternative to a Halo custom!



I would suggest avoiding both of those companies all together.


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## Cowboyfromhell (Jan 18, 2014)

Daaaamn  ! Sorry dude i hope you find a solution to your problem , that kind of work is unacceptable.


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## kgerbick7321 (Jan 18, 2014)

Thats the risk you take by going with a builder that doesnt have enough street cred. Sorry bud


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## decreebass (Jan 18, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up; getting hard to keep track of all these luthiers to avoid lol


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## possumkiller (Jan 18, 2014)

decreebass said:


> Thanks for the heads up; getting hard to keep track of all these luthiers to avoid lol



No it's just getting a lot easier to keep track of the ones you can trust


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> How much was it? There does seem to be a floor below which quality suffers on customs, so I'm curious if this was sub $1000, $2000, etc.



$3100 with case


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## underthecurve (Jan 18, 2014)

smitco said:


> $3100 with case



Just wow. I want to buy you a beer or something.


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## SnowfaLL (Jan 18, 2014)

I was VERY close to sending money to ET, but the main obstacle was Austrailian shipping to Canada. Thank god. 

All the more reason I stick 100% with Carvin from now on. Anything less than a large company does not produce consistent quality work it seems.


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## decreebass (Jan 18, 2014)

NickCormier said:


> I was VERY close to sending money to ET, but the main obstacle was Austrailian shipping to Canada. Thank god.
> 
> All the more reason I stick 100% with Carvin from now on. Anything less than a large company does not produce consistent quality work it seems.



+1.

Also, Music Man


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## smitco (Jan 18, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> Just wow. I want to buy you a beer or something.



Haha yeah Im keen


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## Blue1970Cutlass (Jan 18, 2014)

Wow, that sucks dude,

Nagash pretty much hit it right on the head

1-2 noticeable flaws and a few minor ones -- none of which should be tolerated on a custom


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## Alcoholocaust (Jan 18, 2014)

I played a Katana here in Perth with an Evertune bridge. The high E string would pull off the fretboard and get stuck under the fret edge (there was very little space between the string and edge of the fretboard).


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## Danukenator (Jan 18, 2014)

Nagash said:


> Concerning the guitar :
> 
> - I don't mind slightly messy routing on the back since it's not very visible and doesn't make it less playable. routing on the front is more important visually. but on a custom order, all routing should be flawless.
> 
> - I guess it's normal to mess up the positioning of the Evertune, it's a new system and he probably hasn't installed a lot yet. Messing it up, no problem. sending a messed up guitar without bothering to correct ? that's very unprofessional.





Why is it that people wouldn't mind\ flaws on a guitar? I don't get it. It's this rationalizing that allows bad builders to flourish.

ET is well know for under preforming. IDK why people continue to give them money. My heart goes out to the OP. I'd demand a refund.


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## imnotnollynollynolly (Jan 18, 2014)

NickCormier said:


> All the more reason I stick 100% with Carvin from now on. Anything less than a large company does not produce consistent quality work it seems.



Seems like this may be true. I'm definitely sticking with at least very well known "custom" guys like Mayones or whatever if I ever go that route, these threads are depressing.

To the OP, sorry this happened to you. I'd be severely upset if I paid three grand for a guitar with problems like that.


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## disinformation (Jan 19, 2014)

Disappointing man, especially given what you paid and that even a production brand instrument at half the price would have less flaws. Granted, the evertune is new and he may not have had much experience with them yet, but this is still unacceptable.

Not filling me with confidence on the build I've paid for from him too. I'll definitely being super anal on my quality control when I get it and if it's anything less than perfect, it'll be going back and I'll order something else. 

Can anyone provide some links to other instances of shoddy work from ET? When doing my research for a custom build, I couldn't find anyting but glowing reviews, hence why I went for it...


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## WrldEtrBenny (Jan 19, 2014)

yeah, i'm going to try and not get stuck in the excitement stage when i get mine so i can find every little flaw and if there is anything bad ill be demanding a refund and going to a better place.


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

WrldEtrBenny said:


> yeah, i'm going to try and not get stuck in the excitement stage when i get mine so i can find every little flaw and if there is anything bad ill be demanding a refund and going to a better place.



You should see the response I get from them, pretty poor and sounds like he knew or was expecting me to say something.
I'm a tradesman, If I do shit work I expect to be told and it dosen't matter who I do the work for the quality is always the same.
My father all ways told me If your going to do a job then do it properly or don't do it all.
The little things like tuning dosent seem like much, In my book If you cant get that right it shows a big part of the organisation and procces of the builds.
If you cant route the back of the body properly it asks more questions, like how can you make such a nice neck when the bridge isn't mounted central, there's a gap in the neck join,and the cavity routes are horrid, yet its done on a CNC? Basically he has picked the wrong person to bullshit and mislead.
Now if this was me for each guitar would be a list of what was ordered with a list of parts etc including tuning. On a buisiness level he has failed badly in that way, tuned wrong, setup wrong it couldn't of been tested all the basics of that build were wrong.
Communication and quality control are key!
And when all is said and done, he put all that together, looked over it and happily sent it to me like it is and that tells me that either he didnt see it or that his eyes have some serious issues and need attention ASAP!
Now I have made major mistakes before in my trade and at times there is nothing you can do than be straight up with the customer, If you arent and you try to sneak your way out of it more than likely you are caught out.
In this day and age if you do that to someone you quickly find yourself and your company all over the net for all the wrong reasons.
I would love to go into his factory to see what he does actually have in there.
CNC's don't carve out mistakes people, and they carve what we tell them to.
And I know how quick they can pump a body out with those things, 6 months from any builder is ridiculous these day when you watch those things work, the paint would be the longest part of it all nowdays.
To make my body by plugging a ....ing tone hole is bullshit when all he had to do was press a button on CNC.
Like I say, the basics start to tell you the real story.


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## Alberto7 (Jan 19, 2014)

Dafaq that's horrid 

I guess I'll never understand this new loothier trend.


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## sikapple (Jan 19, 2014)

smitco said:


> $3100 with case



heck man! 
a thousand more then my horrid Aussie custom build. heavy.

sympathetic with ya mate.
suggestion: go for the money back soon at you can. or at least a percentage back and then take it to a real Luthier.


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

sikapple said:


> heck man!
> a thousand more then my horrid Aussie custom build. heavy.
> 
> sympathetic with ya mate.
> suggestion: go for the money back soon at you can. or at least a percentage back and then take it to a real Luthier.



I'm sending the whole lot back to get all my money back, it needs a new body that I wouldn't want him to make anyway, obviously he isn't going to do much better if that's how a custom turns out


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## jwade (Jan 19, 2014)

Like many people have said in many other threads...do NOT send back the instrument until you have the money. No matter what.


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

jwade said:


> Like many people have said in many other threads...do NOT send back the instrument until you have the money. No matter what.



really? I would prefer that but is that a legal thing, in australia? I kind of thought it cant be refunded until I sent it back


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## sikapple (Jan 19, 2014)

smitco said:


> I'm sending the whole lot back to get all my money back, it needs a new body that I wouldn't want him to make anyway, obviously he isn't going to do much better if that's how a custom turns out



yeah, good call. sounds like you're onto it. 
i think most builders would ask the customer for guitar back first - then refund. 
i'm not sure about the legalities on this one. i imagine it would be more like something you personally work out with the builder. 
and maybe get it all in writing first...then do the exchange. 

next build - who do you think you'll go with? 
don't let this one dishearten you on the Aussie builders.
i was cut and off it for a full year after mine. 
then had some good talks to Perry Ormsby and a couple on ss.org. 
really helped restore my faith.

hope it goes smooth and easy for you man.


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

sikapple said:


> yeah, good call. sounds like you're onto it.
> i think most builders would ask the customer for guitar back first - then refund.
> i'm not sure about the legalities on this one. i imagine it would be more like something you personally work out with the builder.
> and maybe get it all in writing first...then do the exchange.
> ...


next build I'm not sure, I did want to oreder a hypermachine but missed the boat .I just put a post up asking about 7's.
I feel really stuck at the moment and I don't have time to wait around for another to be built, I already put stuff of for this guitar and its just kicked me in the nuts, I brought a shit ibanez and then this and I don't know where to go now to get a off the shelf extended 7 like what I just waited 6 months for and I live in the middle of Australia so it aint easy to try new guitars first.
I did my research on these E.T's and that blew up in my face.
It sucks.


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## axxessdenied (Jan 19, 2014)

$3k... And you get that ? Refund that shit and pick up a high end production guitar IMO. If you want custom options go with carvin. Good turn around times with consistent quality. Since you're in Australia I say try to get a regius or a j custom


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## trippled (Jan 19, 2014)

smitco said:


> This really sucks and I don't like saying what I'm about to say but i feel that its important for me to warn others that invest there money into an instrument to be warned of a bad workmanship to avoid being left like I currently am.
> 
> I decided last year that I wanted a 7 string custom guitar and that my music I record is based around a 7 string, I wanted that 27" scale for clarity and tight tensions. I did some research to see what builders where in australia and what they were like.
> I decided to go with a custom E.T. Guitar because I liked the look of them, the custom options, the scale lengths, and they seemed Ibanez in style which I always used before and am comfortable with.
> ...



I feel your pain mate, it's getting harder to find luthiers that can be trusted,
though so far john dellisola does everything he possibly can to make my custom order experience as good as possible.

interesting to see what would the guys from ET have to say.


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## Nag (Jan 19, 2014)

Danukenator said:


> Why is it that people wouldn't mind\ flaws on a guitar? I don't get it. It's this rationalizing that allows bad builders to flourish.
> 
> ET is well know for under preforming. IDK why people continue to give them money. My heart goes out to the OP. I'd demand a refund.




seems like you misread what I said. I said I don't mind cosmetic details on the BACK of the guitar. I also said it's no wonder that he messed up the Evertune. And I said he shouldn't have shipped it like that.

Keep your  to yourself and stop misinterpreting what I said.


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## Yo_Wattup (Jan 19, 2014)

Nagash said:


> I said I don't mind cosmetic details on the BACK of the guitar.
> 
> Keep your  to yourself and stop misinterpreting what I said.



And he said that its that kind of rationalizing that lets these luthiers get away with this crap. Stop misinterpreting what he said.


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## arielmarx1014 (Jan 19, 2014)

Sorry to hear man, keep us posted about your refund!


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## axxessdenied (Jan 19, 2014)

Nagash said:


> seems like you misread what I said. I said I don't mind cosmetic details on the BACK of the guitar. I also said it's no wonder that he messed up the Evertune. And I said he shouldn't have shipped it like that.
> 
> Keep your  to yourself and stop misinterpreting what I said.


I don't get how the evertune would be routed incorrectly if its done on a CNC machine?


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

axxessdenied said:


> I don't get how the evertune would be routed incorrectly if its done on a CNC machine?



Exactly dude, if it was done on a CNC the evertune would of been routed correctly, the covers for the pots should of been clean cuts too, everything. That's what CNC's do. He does something fishy and it's adding up piece by piece


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

axxessdenied said:


> I don't get how the evertune would be routed incorrectly if its done on a CNC machine?



Oh and he did tell me in a email that he had to route out the prototype an extra 3mm as it wasn't working for him, yet didn't do that to mine, and the same it should all be entered into cad software for the CNC. Must use a copier or something, would explain the route faults


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

Nagash said:


> seems like you misread what I said. I said I don't mind cosmetic details on the BACK of the guitar. I also said it's no wonder that he messed up the Evertune. And I said he shouldn't have shipped it like that.
> 
> Keep your  to yourself and stop misinterpreting what I said.



He is kind of right, there should be no flaws cosmetic or structural on a custom guitar that is new, any guitar for that matter. I would agree also that if builders build crap and aren't made liable for it they grow, it takes a post like this and all these comments to pull them up, this will cost him money and save a lot of kids heartache, it's up to ET if they want to step up to delivering real custom guitars . It's going to cost him a lot of money which why I don't even like bagging people, I don't want others to get ripped off either.


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## smitco (Jan 19, 2014)

sikapple said:


> heck man!
> a thousand more then my horrid Aussie custom build. heavy.
> 
> sympathetic with ya mate.
> suggestion: go for the money back soon at you can. or at least a percentage back and then take it to a real Luthier.



What did you get?


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## vick1000 (Jan 19, 2014)

That's pretty crappy for sure. Seems like they just said F*uck it, and sent it out. I mean, you can't miss the routes. Forgetting the bridge piece, and some wiring, OK, maybe even missing the pick up route or alignment issue, but those cavity routes are just plain ugly and pathetic.


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## Charvel7string (Jan 19, 2014)

Damn dude I'm sorry get your ass a refund that is not expectable


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 19, 2014)

Since the bridge isn't aligned properly does that mean the high string is at the edge of the fretboard?

Also s**t-buzz! To many of these small company builders making guitars like this nowadays. Thankfully there are forums like this where you can warn people.


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## Katash (Jan 19, 2014)

Oh damn.... I feel with you mate.

Let us know how things turn out - good luck!


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## SpaceDock (Jan 19, 2014)

this is gettin way too common


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## MikeyLawless (Jan 19, 2014)

Sorry to hear man.

Theres a reason only a handful of luthiers stand the test of time...


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## Obstsalat (Jan 19, 2014)

As for a new custom, I would suggest Mayones or Skervesen. 
Especially Skervesen is known for being great to deal with. I've heard things about minor flaws on their finishes tho. Really small ones tho

As for this hwole incident....we can all feel ya bro


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## axxessdenied (Jan 19, 2014)

I would be wary of skervesen still....


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## MetalDaze (Jan 19, 2014)

If you are going to make a crooked route, at least make a crooked cover to fit it


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## oracles (Jan 19, 2014)

Skervesen has had their fair share of issues too, with neck pockets incorrectly routed, misaligned bridges, and finish flaws to name a few. I'd still be very weary of them at this point, still very much a flavour of the month builder.

On topic, that's absolutely appalling work for $3k. I wouldn't take anything less than a refund for that.


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## abt (Jan 19, 2014)

That sucks. I've bought two Aussie made (classicals) and they are flawless. I also ordered a custom Mayones for significantly less than this and it's pretty much perfect. I've never owned a guitar with a better setup or finish. They also sent me pics of it being built along the way.


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## mongey (Jan 20, 2014)

Wow. As one of his satisfied customers here I am really surprised he shipped that with flaws for a 3k guitar. 

Mistakes happen but bad call on his part to ship it.


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## RickSchneider (Jan 20, 2014)

Strange how some people can swear by ET's work and then stuff like this can still be released. I really don't know his workload but from what I hear he doesn't seem to rush stuff out of the door, as far as time is concerned at least...

What a shame


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

RickSchneider said:


> Strange how some people can swear by ET's work and then stuff like this can still be released. I really don't know his workload but from what I hear he doesn't seem to rush stuff out of the door, as far as time is concerned at least...
> 
> What a shame



He is an asshole you should see his reply's telling me that I'm getting upset ovet a bad body, I'll tell you he did not build these let alone inspect them by the sounds of it. He dosent seem to give a shit that I have a bad guitar and that's disappointing


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

removed to be fair


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## noise in my mind (Jan 20, 2014)

wow, what a douche. I am really really sorry this happened to you man. I was ripped off recently here by a member, so it really grinds me when this happens to people.


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## RickSchneider (Jan 20, 2014)

You did kind of send that email with a majorly aggressive and abusive tone dude, the guy ....ed up and is acknowledging that by giving you a full refund. Putting it to light in a public forum is great to spread awareness, but sending abusive personal emails isn't really required when in essence you are getting what you want - a refund. 

I'm not siding with him, but there's no need to show us that kind of stuff, especially when his response was pretty relaxed, all things considered. I understand your points and agree he needs to ensure his standards are of a higher quality.... but that post didn't really further your case at all other than beating a man down who had already lost due to his own hands


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## mongey (Jan 20, 2014)

Fair enough the guitar has faults but to his credit he is giving you a refund. 

Could he be more apologetic or concerned ? Yeah but at least your not fighting over money. He knows your not happy and is sorting it out. It could be worse. 

I'm not defending anything. if he wanted to debate it publicly I'm sure he would.


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

RickSchneider said:


> You did kind of send that email with a majorly aggressive and abusive tone dude, the guy ....ed up and is acknowledging that by giving you a full refund. Putting it to light in a public forum is great to spread awareness, but sending abusive personal emails isn't really required when in essence you are getting what you want - a refund.
> 
> I'm not siding with him, but there's no need to show us that kind of stuff, especially when his response was pretty relaxed, all things considered. I understand your points and agree he needs to ensure his standards are of a higher quality.... but that post didn't really further your case at all other than beating a man down who had already lost due to his own hands



yeah you are right, I read ya comment and your right, enough damage is done.
Just angry I cant get an answer for it.
Thanks


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## PeteLaramee (Jan 20, 2014)

I"m glad you started this thread, but I'm very sorry to hear about this. I hope things work out and you get your full refund. I paid a deposit for an ET 7 string maple neck with a maple fretboard in April of 2012. No reply to any emails since paying that deposit.


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

PeteLaramee said:


> I"m glad you started this thread, but I'm very sorry to hear about this. I hope things work out and you get your full refund. I paid a deposit for an ET 7 string maple neck with a maple fretboard in April of 2012. No reply to any emails since paying that deposit.



Dude don't let him get away with it, no wonder he is still in buisness, he takes everyone's money and gives them nothing back  or shit if it is anything.
Its not right, I feel for ya's and the other guy that ordered a body in 2012, thats wrong.


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## RickSchneider (Jan 20, 2014)

Amazing how a guitar with flaws can be delivered out when people are still waiting up to a year prior from it's ordering.. This really is all piling up on ET apparently


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## wilch (Jan 20, 2014)

Those pics speak a thousand words. Disappointing, to say the least, to see this.


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## FILTHnFEAR (Jan 20, 2014)

For 3k I would expect and accept only a flawless instrument. None of those issues would be acceptable to me on a production build let alone a custom build with that price tag. Mistakes happen and things go wrong but the fact that he actually shipped that guitar to you in that condition without contacting you up front about the issues is absolutely unprofessional. 

Sorry to hear about this. Hope you get your funds back and find a respectable company to make you an instrument.


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

FILTHnFEAR said:


> For 3k I would expect and accept only a flawless instrument. None of those issues would be acceptable to me on a production build let alone a custom build with that price tag. Mistakes happen and things go wrong but the fact that he actually shipped that guitar to you in that condition without contacting you up front about the issues is absolutely unprofessional.
> 
> Sorry to hear about this. Hope you get your funds back and find a respectable company to make you an instrument.



Man I can buy some nice guitars for $3k, shame I was going promote the shit out of that guitar, he's going loose a lot of money over it. Not nice, not nice to send that out to kids


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## Obstsalat (Jan 20, 2014)

> Skervesen has had their fair share of issues too, with neck pockets incorrectly routed, misaligned bridges, and finish flaws to name a few. I'd still be very weary of them at this point, still very much a flavour of the month builder.



i've actually heard that sometimes as well. But most people who received a skervy with flaws and contacted Skervesen got them fixed in a fairly short amount of time (from what i've read so far)

.....

Man everytime i look at the misalignment of that bridge i am more and more shocked  that looks unplayable


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## mongey (Jan 20, 2014)

I dont know man I dont think 

_"he takes everyone's money and gives them nothing back  or shit if it is anything."_


is a fair coment to make. yeah your guitar has unacceptable issues and in this thread some happy ET owners, myslef included, said it is dissapointing to see this guitar, but you want to trash the whole dudes buisness over your guitar ? he has put out many great guitars and has had a good reptuation for high quality work for a few years

you are entilited to not be happy and share your experience as a customer but to trout on that all his work is shit is not a fair call or anywhere near the truth


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## RickSchneider (Jan 20, 2014)

Sure he is capable of good work, but without consistency what's the point? I don't want to order from him if there is a very real chance I get poor communication and then a sub par product after the wait. There are so many people on here and that I've met in the past year or so that acknowledge his communication is poor, and builds such as this show he doesn't have the consistency which his business requires.


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## mongey (Jan 20, 2014)

I can only speak from my exprience and I never found his communication poor. 


something bad had happened with this body build no doubt. smitco did say the neck played great so it's not like it was all completley crap . 

I'm really not here to defend Ernie or his buisness practises.I just own 1 of his guitars . I was just stating that calling all his work shit isnt fair in my eyes .


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## FollowTheSigns (Jan 20, 2014)

I hate seeing any threads like these... One it makes me think how bummed I would be if I ordered a custom guitar and all of this happened. And two, how are luthiers these days producing such crap for so much money? Also very little/lack of communication for an order like this? Also unacceptable. 

Sad really


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

You know out of all this it's the simple things that are the worst, like the routing that was done on a CNC? Now even if you did it by hand you would have a template as a guide and if I did stuff it up it would be binned instantly. The fact it was cut, then sent to paint, then setup and sent to me is amazing. A good tradesman knows when and how to hide there mistakes, the better ones make none, he could of made 10 body's that were bad and I would never know and it wouldn't matter if what I received was nice. I told him at the start of the build I was going to record a album with this, do guitar play throughs everything, to get that tells his level on pride in workmanship is not good which means mine can't be the only guitar and from everything I have spoken to him about it appears that he didn't make it. Telling me that I have a nice peice of swamp ash and that there must be issues with it is a clear indication I'm not getting the full story, I wouldn't mind if I was told what happened, I may have even sent it back for another body if there was a reason. I just get nothing, it's like I'm talking to a distributor and not a builder. If there was more posts like this it would of been avoided, I did think I did my homework on this one, I really did


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## RickSchneider (Jan 20, 2014)

Well how's about we look to the future - what are you going to be spending the money on when you get your refund?


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## smitco (Jan 20, 2014)

RickSchneider said:


> Well how's about we look to the future - what are you going to be spending the money on when you get your refund?



I honestly don't know, I've been looking at the esp e2 baritones.
Not many choices, not keen on a custom at the moment though, just want to play music


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## possumkiller (Jan 20, 2014)

I always thought he had a pretty good reputation. I found out about him from Jemsite many many moons ago lol. Over the years I have had various Ibanez guitars and I would email him to ask about custom necks or bodies. I even asked about ordering a Katana. However, he never bothered to answer so I just gave up on ET Guitars.


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## nerdywhale (Jan 21, 2014)

This is my experience with ET Guitars:

The Swirl Saga Photos by bastardshitbastard | Photobucket

I'm Australian, and I too experienced little to no communication.

I really liked how the swirl came out, but the only time I'd consciously let a Sharpie near my guitar is if Steve Vai was going to sign it. Not for a rushed cover up.

I returned it for a re-swirl which never happened, and got a partial refund.


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## Alberto7 (Jan 21, 2014)

Wait wait, give those pictures a bit more context for me. That is the actual finished product that you received, with all the bubbled finish, the peeling paint, and the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition that I have ever seen?!

What's that about the sharpie? I can see some lines in the finish, but I can't quite make out what they are... are they attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a sharpie?! And they sent it to you like that?!?!

I hope I'm wrong about all those things and I'm just really misinterpreting things.


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## nerdywhale (Jan 21, 2014)

Alberto7 said:


> Wait wait, give those pictures a bit more context for me. That is the actual finished product that you received, with all the bubbled finish, the peeling paint, and the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition that I have ever seen?!


Those are pictures I took with my iPhone in my front yard after having the guitar sent back to me. The bubbled finish, the peeling paint, the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition you have ever seen.



Alberto7 said:


> What's that about the sharpie? I can see some lines in the finish, but I can't quite make out what they are... are they attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a sharpie?! And they sent it to you like that?!?!


They are attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a Sharpie. And they sent it to me like that. That big black spot near where the pickup selector would be? Sharpie.



Alberto7 said:


> I hope I'm wrong about all those things and I'm just really misinterpreting things.


You're actually really good at interpreting things!


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## RickSchneider (Jan 21, 2014)

What the hell....


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## ramses (Jan 21, 2014)

nerdywhale said:


> Those are pictures I took with my iPhone in my front yard after having the guitar sent back to me. The bubbled finish, the peeling paint, the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition you have ever seen.
> 
> 
> They are attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a Sharpie. And they sent it to me like that. That big black spot near where the pickup selector would be? Sharpie.
> ...



Sorry to hear that.

Why did you only get a partial refund? What was his excuse?


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## nerdywhale (Jan 21, 2014)

ramses said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Why did you only get a partial refund? What was his excuse?


I was refunded the costs of the swirl and clear coat. As it stands, I paid for the work that was done, which was removing the hardware, the original finish and shipping. I waited 9 months for a swirl, and I just wanted my guitar back and to forget the whole thing, so I didn't bother pursuing further.


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## Alberto7 (Jan 21, 2014)

nerdywhale said:


> Those are pictures I took with my iPhone in my front yard after having the guitar sent back to me. The bubbled finish, the peeling paint, the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition you have ever seen.
> 
> 
> They are attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a Sharpie. And they sent it to me like that. That big black spot near where the pickup selector would be? Sharpie.
> ...



Like... just... what the actual f-ck... I'm flabbergasted. I'm so sorry that that happened, man. I can't believe someone would do that and expect any sort of monetary compensation for it. Good to hear it's over now, but it's just that I don't think I've ever seen anyone do such a terrible job at covering such blatant mistakes and then still wanting money for it... ... just no.

Weird, too, seeing as how ET seemed to have a good reputation a few years back.


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## nerdywhale (Jan 21, 2014)

Alberto7 said:


> Like... just... what the actual f-ck... I'm flabbergasted. I'm so sorry that that happened, man. I can't believe someone would do that and expect any sort of monetary compensation for it. Good to hear it's over now, but it's just that I don't think I've ever seen anyone do such a terrible job at covering such blatant mistakes and then still wanting money for it... ... just no.
> 
> Weird, too, seeing as how ET seemed to have a good reputation a few years back.


That's why I went to ET in the first place. A friend of mine got an amazing swirl a couple of years ago, which only tooK three months. Josh got his Katana swirl with the Evertune in the time I was waiting for mine, too.

Such is life, as they say. I'm sorry to hear to OP got stung worse than I. I feel a little guilty for not posting my story sooner...


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

I keep telling this guy I want my money back and he still thinks he can fix it and supply me with another body that will be great, I don't want one, I want my money back, I waited 6months for this, been ready to record for 2months now and all he wants is to make another body so he can prove to this forum he can do it.
I don't have time to wait around for people to make something that should of been nice 
I just want my money back to buy something else, I've sent pictures of all the faults to him and still thinks he could fix it.
It's nearly to the point of going to fare trading over it.
He knows this post is here all he WANs to tell me how angry and upset he is. 
I didn't sell him a bloody guitar!  this is really not a good experience at all. Why should I feel bad for letting the public know


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

nerdywhale said:


> Those are pictures I took with my iPhone in my front yard after having the guitar sent back to me. The bubbled finish, the peeling paint, the roughest paint-to-natural neck transition you have ever seen.
> 
> 
> They are attempts at fixing the flawed swirl with a Sharpie. And they sent it to me like that. That big black spot near where the pickup selector would be? Sharpie.
> ...



Are you serious  man how can people live with ripping people off.
People really get themselves into trouble when they have a go at doing something they can't


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

nerdywhale said:


> I was refunded the costs of the swirl and clear coat. As it stands, I paid for the work that was done, which was removing the hardware, the original finish and shipping. I waited 9 months for a swirl, and I just wanted my guitar back and to forget the whole thing, so I didn't bother pursuing further.



Don't worry dude I'm standing up for all that's been shafted, I'll get all my money back, that's bullshit, really bullshit. That's just not on


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

nerdywhale said:


> This is my experience with ET Guitars:
> 
> The Swirl Saga Photos by bastardshitbastard | Photobucket
> 
> ...



Omg. I cannot comprehend waiting for that crap, that blew me away. 
I think that neck paint is to slow your shredding hand when doing big slides to the 24th. So innovative, the white undercoat sets it off


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## RedDog22 (Jan 21, 2014)

sorry to hear you waited so long and paid so much for that flawed axe. Good to hear that you two were able to reach an agreement on recompense. 

The wait-period is what kills me when customs come out bad. A guitarist will forgo doing things, they might otherwise do, for a year + only to have to start from square-one again.


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## TMatt142 (Jan 21, 2014)

I can add to the debacle as well. I'm not going to sit and shit talk Ernie, he was really nice with me throughout the entire process. Even though the process went way way way over.
So about 3 years ago I had Ernie build me a 6 string "Jem" neck. Maple fb, pyramids etc He built it spot on with his estimated time. I get the neck, frets are popping on it. So we went back and fourth about that for a bit. I fixed it myself and thought, no biggie. It is after all, a work of art (I think). Was so impressed I had him do another neck for me. A 7-string, ebony fb Universe, pyramids etc, etc, PAW neck. This one, completely different in most regards. Man, the past year and a half has been strange. First I was given a 6 month build time. That was blown by a complete year. Throughout this, sporadic e-mails. At one point I had just given up and said f-it, guess I won't be seeing my neckFinally got an email after quite some time that the neck was done with one pic. That got me excited! Neck was delivered 2-2 1/2 weeks ago, opened it up to see a chip out of the paint on the headstock. Now, the chip could have happened in transit so I thought, another "no biggie". Seriously, the neck was freakin a work of art besides the chip! fret ends perfect, ebony fb perfect, pyramids perfect. . . Oh wait.. Upon further review, the neck which was suppose to be a square heel build, was an AANJ! 
Look, In all honesty, Ernie and I have emailed back and fourth a ton! Maybe not to the degree that I sometimes expected, but hey, he's obviously busy. I think too busy! His CNC did go down as I got the same email others obviously did. I also got an email that he had lost my build sheet in a computer crash. I'm not posting this to beat Ernie down. I, like others want to let everyone know what they're getting into. Ernie was so sorry when he found out that it was the wrong neck. He quickly after asking where I wanted to go from there, refunded the entire cost of the build. I believe Ernie is a good guy but also think that he has handed some of it off to the wrong people. His fret guy for my first neck was not routing the fret channels deep enough at the edges..He remedied that. Not making excuses, but he's a business that grew way too fast. Keep that in mind if you're going to use him or anyone else. With all these forums, once word gets out that there's a new guy doing great custom work, we all flock to him for the next greatest NGD! The results from what I see, seem to be back logs from hell and cutting corners in workmanship. 
On our end. Man, we all want to chase that dream of having some sort of "custom" guitar that is everything we've ever dreamed in a guitar, swirled or exotic woods, with this and that. It's buyer beware and we all get a bit "giddy" with excitement over what we are dreaming up in our heads. We should expect perfection when we divvy up the amount of money we do for these custom projects. Seems more and more, we divvy up even more money without seeing the perfection part! 
I've considered my quest for an awesome custom guitar done and over. I have no ill will towards Ernie or any of them for that matter. It is what it is and I've learned my lesson. Hell, I'll save a ton by not doing the PAW build. 
To the OP, hope you get your money back soon and hope you've learned as I did. Besides, you don't really need some fancy one off custom to make great music, or get THAT sound.


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

TMatt142 said:


> I can add to the debacle as well. I'm not going to sit and shit talk Ernie, he was really nice with me throughout the entire process. Even though the process went way way way over.
> So about 3 years ago I had Ernie build me a 6 string "Jem" neck. Maple fb, pyramids etc He built it spot on with his estimated time. I get the neck, frets are popping on it. So we went back and fourth about that for a bit. I fixed it myself and thought, no biggie. It is after all, a work of art (I think). Was so impressed I had him do another neck for me. A 7-string, ebony fb Universe, pyramids etc, etc, PAW neck. This one, completely different in most regards. Man, the past year and a half has been strange. First I was given a 6 month build time. That was blown by a complete year. Throughout this, sporadic e-mails. At one point I had just given up and said f-it, guess I won't be seeing my neckFinally got an email after quite some time that the neck was done with one pic. That got me excited! Neck was delivered 2-2 1/2 weeks ago, opened it up to see a chip out of the paint on the headstock. Now, the chip could have happened in transit so I thought, another "no biggie". Seriously, the neck was freakin a work of art besides the chip! fret ends perfect, ebony fb perfect, pyramids perfect. . . Oh wait.. Upon further review, the neck which was suppose to be a square heel build, was an AANJ!
> Look, In all honesty, Ernie and I have emailed back and fourth a ton! Maybe not to the degree that I sometimes expected, but hey, he's obviously busy. I think too busy! His CNC did go down as I got the same email others obviously did. I also got an email that he had lost my build sheet in a computer crash. I'm not posting this to beat Ernie down. I, like others want to let everyone know what they're getting into. Ernie was so sorry when he found out that it was the wrong neck. He quickly after asking where I wanted to go from there, refunded the entire cost of the build. I believe Ernie is a good guy but also think that he has handed some of it off to the wrong people. His fret guy for my first neck was not routing the fret channels deep enough at the edges..He remedied that. Not making excuses, but he's a business that grew way too fast. Keep that in mind if you're going to use him or anyone else. With all these forums, once word gets out that there's a new guy doing great custom work, we all flock to him for the next greatest NGD! The results from what I see, seem to be back logs from hell and cutting corners in workmanship.
> On our end. Man, we all want to chase that dream of having some sort of "custom" guitar that is everything we've ever dreamed in a guitar, swirled or exotic woods, with this and that. It's buyer beware and we all get a bit "giddy" with excitement over what we are dreaming up in our heads. We should expect perfection when we divvy up the amount of money we do for these custom projects. Seems more and more, we divvy up even more money without seeing the perfection part!
> ...



100% correct man, and as you say I don't need accustom for any sound, I only purchased it because I wanted a 27" swamp ash 7 string with a evertune. I have no seven strings as the last 2 including this one were un playable, I wrote all my music with intention of using 7 strings.
Living in Central Australia I get very little chance to try any guitars and I really rely on what I research before I buy it.
I failed this time, I didn't with my axefx, shit happens .
I hope my choice in a ESP E2 baritone gets me where I want 
I really have no will to buy a another custom, maybe one day but not for a long time. thanks


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## mongey (Jan 21, 2014)

Now again I'm not making any excuses for anyone, we all agree the build has issues if your an ET fan or not 

I do think Erine is adjusting his quoted wait times to be more realsitic. when I ordered my katana almost 2 years ago now I was told he was just staring a run and it will be 6 weeks . I figured at the time" yeah right " and it ended up being 4 months, still not too bad. I contacted him late last year when I was 6 string shopping to get a rough quote on getting a 6 built and he told me he wouldnt even think about starting it for months and I got a 2nd hand Mayones instead 

I agree with Tmatt142 his buisnees has probably grown too fast. He probably needs someone just looking after the communictaion and order process so he can focus on the builds and QC but that jump can be hard to make when you figure in having to pay someone a wage for that. Dont know how many have been to Mittagong where his shop is but it aint exactly centre of the world 

Anyway OP I hope it all gets resovled .


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## smitco (Jan 21, 2014)

Ok guys this is all I'm going to say on this topic and that will be it from me.
I have been in contact with Ernie since these faults were recorded.
I will say he has apologized and made every attempt to get me to send the guitar back for a new body etc and offered to do so in a timely manner and at his cost which I will give him credit for doing.
So besides what guitar I received he has done the right thing and emailed me back ASAP every time and made as much effort as possible to correct the situation prior to me sending it back.
I personally don't want to wait and was unhappy with what I received the first time. I have chosen a full refund which he has agreed to pay me once the item is returned. He didn't have to do this at all.
As I said the guitar had the potential, had the good stuff on it, it just wasn't all right and a mistake on his part that he was happy to acknowledge.
So thanks Ernie for clearing the situation up promptly and I hope you can make the guitars again that you had the reputation for when I ordered mine.
they have the potential to great guitars. I mean that.


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## smitco (Jan 22, 2014)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Since the bridge isn't aligned properly does that mean the high string is at the edge of the fretboard?
> 
> Also s**t-buzz! To many of these small company builders making guitars like this nowadays. Thankfully there are forums like this where you can warn people.



Yes at the edge if fretboard and aligns over the very edge of the pole piece


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## Boogyman69 (Jan 23, 2014)

The guitar looks good but such a pity that it's faulty, you should ask for a rebuild!


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## Cavanation (Jan 30, 2014)

I think I'm in the same boat as you. I went with ET as the reviews I found were really positive and some were from musicians/bands that have a decent fan base i.e Northlane. I ordered my ET katana about a few weeks before the ET facebook page released photo's of smitco's ICB model. Ernie had stated that I will hear from him in late January and should receive the guitar in February. So far I have not heard from him, I sent him an email a few days ago and still nothing. I feeling pretty disappointed by what has transpired with smitco's model and the lack of communication. I'll be analysing the shit out of my guitar when I receive for any flaws. I've tried looking for other poor reviews on ET and found this. 
MELBAND


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