# Laguna LE924 Greg Howe signature on sale at GC, $400 NEW



## edsped (Jun 12, 2015)

Laguna LE924 Electric Guitar | GuitarCenter

I've been waiting for GC to blow these out since Greg jumped to Carvin earlier this year. Or was it last year? I can't remember. But it looks like it's finally happening. They've been marked down from $1000 to $400 all day at GC. I figured someone other than myself might be interested. This is a total steal if you don't mind the questionable headstock shape, you don't see too many trans orange + maple fretboard guitars on the market.


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## MoshJosh (Jun 12, 2015)

FEEEEECK I want one so bad and am SO BROKE! someone buy one and sell it to me when you're sick of it


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## bloc (Jun 13, 2015)

Wow that is a damn steal


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## Fathand (Jun 13, 2015)

Damn, just in time for me not to have any dough to spare. Life priorities suck sometimes.


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## yellowv (Jun 13, 2015)

That price almost makes up for the headstock.


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## Omzig (Jun 13, 2015)

Thanks for the heads up edsped  been waiting for these to drop (or for one to pop up here in the UK) for a while now,so i just pulled the trigger and ordered one to be shipped express DHL over the pond.

I payed the tax/duty upfront so no processing/HMRC delays (i fecking hope not anyway) will NGD once it arrives,pretty sure it will get a black (real) floyd/hardware replacement if its a keeper


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## big_aug (Jun 14, 2015)

I have no need for another guitar but im seriously thinking of picking up one of these. The resale/trade value would probably suck when I decide to get rid of it.


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## Omzig (Jun 14, 2015)

big_aug said:


> I have no need for another guitar but im seriously thinking of picking up one of these. The resale/trade value would probably suck when I decide to get rid of it.



Its Strange but the resale value of this for myself (if its not a keeper) might end up being higher than what i payed for it (inc shipping/taxes) just because they rarely turn up outside the USA,the only one i can find listed around these parts is in Ireland @ 750/$845 !


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## jclogston (Jun 14, 2015)

hmm this or an used ibanez rg550?


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## Cloudy (Jun 14, 2015)

jclogston said:


> hmm this or an used ibanez rg550?



reissue or 80/90s?


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## yellowv (Jun 14, 2015)

550. All day every day.


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## jclogston (Jun 14, 2015)

Cloudy said:


> reissue or 80/90s?



1997 actually...


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## MaxOfMetal (Jun 14, 2015)

jclogston said:


> 1997 actually...



Super Wizard equipped RG550 for sure.


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## big_aug (Jun 14, 2015)

$400 for an rg550 is a pretty good buy


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## sojourner (Jun 14, 2015)

Headstock reminds me of a shark


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## bloc (Jun 15, 2015)

sojourner said:


> Headstock reminds me of a shark



But sharks are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet


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## Fathand (Jun 15, 2015)

bloc said:


> But sharks are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet



This made me laugh. But come on, it isn't that bad. 

I've also noticed that I really am a total GASaholic, because I'm still thinking of jumping on this deal. Looks cool, specs pretty much add up to what I like in superstrats with a trem, GH sig.. but I don't really need it, no matter how I try to convince myself. Still, firmly on the fence.

Oh lawd, help me that this isn't available anymore when payday arrives.. that would pretty much seal the deal


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## s4tch (Jun 15, 2015)

jclogston said:


> hmm this or an used ibanez rg550?



a 550 in great shape must be a better instrument overall, but for a new guitar originally around the $1k mark, that laguna is still ridiculously cheap. if you want the warranty, the smell of a new guitar and all that jazz, you won't be disappointed.


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## edsped (Jun 15, 2015)

Aaaand it's back up to $999.99. Very interesting.


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## Fathand (Jun 15, 2015)

edsped said:


> Aaaand it's back up to $999.99. Very interesting.





 List EUR 1,327.03
 *Savings EUR 379.15 (28%)*
 New Price EUR 947.88
...wasn't that the sale price? I sense this could be a case of website update typo? 

And now they're calling it a top seller. Not with that higher price it ain't. 

Thanks, GC. You saved me some money this time. 

EDIT: The price I see on the site is for Finland, so if your in the US / Elsewhere in Europe it's most likely different.
EDIT2: The price was still lower on the front page ad, website update mistake looks more likely:

Was: EUR 947.88
*Now: EUR 379.14*
Save EUR 947.89 Off List

...cheers to those who got it at the lower price!


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## Omzig (Jun 15, 2015)

Wow back upto $999 ! well i hope they don't can my order,i got the final 

"We are pleased to inform you that your order has been successfully received by GuitarCenter.com is now being processed" 

email so now i just gotta wait for it to be dispatched i guess....stand by


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## marcwormjim (Jun 15, 2015)

My order was cancelled on GC's end for the $399 price. They told me to re-place the order now that it's up to a grand again.


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## edsped (Jun 15, 2015)

Damn, I guess it was just a website error after all, a pretty big one if that's the case. I got tracking info for mine on Saturday and it shows that it's currently en route so I guess I lucked out.


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## yellowv (Jun 15, 2015)

marcwormjim said:


> My order was cancelled on GC's end for the $399 price. They told me to re-place the order now that it's up to a grand again.



Did you get the confirmation and all at $399? If so they need to honor the price they advertised. By law.


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## Omzig (Jun 15, 2015)

Fired GC a quick mail to ask them for a status update and im glad to say mines gone out 

"We have received the order and it has been shipped out - snip" Sincerely,
Jeffery Fullmer - Guitar Center Customer Service"

Just have to wait for boderfree (outside USA shipping partners) to send me some tracking info.

Sucks that they canned your order marcwormjim,i dont think this was a pricing error on GC's behalf as they would have just killed every order dead just like 99% of other online retailers do with pricing errors,maybe they just want to get some stock out there as a lose leader to generate some interest.....who knows ???

Anyhows will pop back with a NGD link once she arrives.


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## ace_operations (Jun 15, 2015)

yellowv said:


> Did you get the confirmation and all at $399? If so they need to honor the price they advertised. By law.



It would have helped to take a screenshot of the online guitar price as advertised. Helps in the negotiation I guess.


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## marcwormjim (Jun 16, 2015)

yellowv said:


> Did you get the confirmation and all at $399? If so they need to honor the price they advertised. By law.



Nah - It was an impulse-buy; and I'm happy to avoid the $435 blow to my guitar budget. Those funds will go toward a nicer one in a week or two.


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## electriceye (Jun 16, 2015)

Fark! For $400 I would have snagged one in a second!

BTW, Greg Howe didn't "jump" from Laguna to Carvin. Laguna went out of business a year or two ago. His new Carvin sig is AWESOME and I really want one.


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## tjrlogan (Jun 17, 2015)

Ordered mine on Saturday, arrived at store yesterday, picked up today.

Nice guitar. Worth the $400 but not sure about $1K. Frets need a little polishing and needs a setup, but quality is good. I'll probably keep it...

Also noticed that the back says "Designed in USA, Handcrafted in Indonesia". Some of the pics online from earlier models says "Designed and Assembled in USA". I'm wondering if this means they stopped assembling in the USA at some point. Can't seem to find any info online.


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## edsped (Jun 18, 2015)

I'd be surprised if they were ever made in the US. 

Mine came in today too, overall I'm pleasantly surprised. The frets on mine need polishing too, but the actual fretwork seems pretty good. No sharp edges or buzzy spots. Pickups sound good. The neck is super flat with really prominent shoulders, none of my other guitars feel like it. Not really a good or bad thing for me, just different. Floyd seems good but the bar mine came with is pretty crappy. The sustain block is black so I'm not sure what it's made of, but the guitar is very resonant and sustains well so I don't care. It's also very light. And it looks AWESOME, the orange is nice and bright and looks great.


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## electriceye (Jun 18, 2015)

Ooh, see here I thought they were USA only. Companies that use the "designed in the USA" bullsh*t really annoy me. I would have been peeved if I paid a grand for it to find out the unexpected.


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## Omzig (Jun 18, 2015)

Just got a tracking update for mine and it just leaving the US heading to the UK,so im hoping monday/tuesday lastest 

Thanks for the feedback guys its nice to hear from ppl who have them at hand & are playing them (read so many BS posts about these guitars from pppl who never even tried one) 

Sounds like i'll be ordering a replacement floyd and tunners (sooner than expected) i perf the look of black hardware with the orange anyway (just like when greg played these) not to shocked to hear the arm sucks on these OEM's,the arm on the SanDimas MiM i had was just the same,it got replaced with a schaller drop in and was so much better for it.


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## big_aug (Jun 25, 2015)

Musician's Friend has this for $399 new right now. However, its backordered and the shop date says December.

Laguna LE924 Electric Guitar Awesome Orange Transparent | Musician&#39;s Friend


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## electriceye (Jun 26, 2015)

big_aug said:


> Musician's Friend has this for $399 new right now. However, its backordered and the shop date says December.
> 
> Laguna LE924 Electric Guitar Awesome Orange Transparent | Musician's Friend



Which means don't bother, since the company is out of business. They'll never get more stock.


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## Omzig (Jun 26, 2015)

So mine came monday just gone...8 days from ordering to arrival,so GG GuitarCenter/Boderfree/DHL (you could have double boxed it though!)





​
Pretty nice for the sale $/£ that it was on offer for,like others have said no way is it a $1400/$1000 guitar,but its as well made as any upper mid range ibby/charvel ect ect

Zero issues with the fret work on mine all smooth both tops and edges,neck needed a slight tweak (it has crossed the Atlantic after all!)
strings that came in it were like cheese wire so now its sporting 9-46 nickel wound.

Floyd stays in tune & locks down well but is pretty tight and doesn't do full dives or flutters very well,no trouble it will get a black Schaller at some point ,its not the first "Floyd Rose" ive had to replace even on guitars x2 x3 the price....

anyhows mine has an inspection sticker from march 19th 2015 so if they've gone bump it not been very long ago.

Few more pics HERE & thanks again to edsped for the heads up on the discounted offer


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## New_World (Jun 29, 2015)

I bought the last one from MF.
for the money its not bad but thought it would have said assembled in USA on it.
Nope.
its got dimarzios and seems worth it enough to keep it though.
its comes with dunlop strap locks installed which is great b/c I would have done that anyways.
no case but knew that going into it.

frets need polished for sure, otherwise frets look good...none sticking out the edges of the FB either.
its cool that its discontinued so no one else can get one. =p

i will prob leave all the hardware stock.
the heads don't really matter as its a Floyd style trem but they seem fine.
no way I would ever pay $1000 for this guitar...ever.

haven't put new strings on it so I can't really comment on the tremolo.


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## marcwormjim (Aug 28, 2015)

Bump. Did anyone here return theirs? Musiciansfriend has a "blemished" model for $360, plus state-appropriate tax.

Laguna LE924 Electric Guitar | Musician&#39;s Friend


I was saving up to buy a Strandberg OS6 when the Laguna was originally on clearance, then had a $400 guitar stolen last month. Being a typical guitarist, I made the most of it by telling myself I now had an excuse to replace the stolen one, but wished I'd gotten the Laguna. Last night, I googled the model to see if anyone was selling it in the classifieds for the clearance price, and that Musiciansfriend page came up. 

It shipped two hours ago. I'll bump with an unnecessary review and photos next week.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 3, 2015)

Guitar wasn't delivered until after I left for work:























First impressions:

Guitar is chunkier than expected, in several respects: It's heavy, the neck is boxy, and the bridge pickup crunches with fat teeth.

It's unique-sounding, I'll give it that. The Air Norton S is fuzzy with its coils in series, and like a neck-middle strat combo in parallel. The GH5 is like putting an active boost on a PAF, and it's EQ'd on the fat/warm side; with little in the way of twang, due to a huge drop-off in the treble frequencies.

The pickup combination seems pretty unbalanced - The GH5 sounds like it has twice the output of the Air Norton S; and so the combinations sound more like 30/70 than 50/50. The switch position combining the split coils would seem intended to give you a Tele sound, but it's more like combined P90s.

The Schaller Floyd seems to hold tuning; with the main benefit being the replaceable knife-edges. The bar has the usual problem with not wanting to stay taut.

It arrived needing a setup, but I was pleasantly surprised to not need the crowning files I had out - The fret ends could use some sanding, but they're all level and polished.

The neck shape is like a D that's really flat on the bottom - I've never owned one like it. The jury will be out on it for a few days. I really love that the maple neck and fingerboard are oiled - The satin poly finishes on my Wizard necks gloss too easily, and I could never get the satin varnish on my old Shawn Lane to feel the way it did before it glossed.

My only real problem is with the weight - The heft reminded me of the JTV-89F I tried out in 2014, and that guitar had the excuse of how much was under the hood.

The guitar was a Level 2 B-stock return to Musiciansfriend. The flaws it has are purely cosmetic: The neck-mounting holes were done carelessly, and the swamp ash has some character-adding flaws in its grain.

For only $360, the Schaller Floyd and pups alone make this a hell of a deal. But whether it'll end up being resold in the next two weeks will depend on how it competes with the RG3xxV I plan on getting next week.


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## jclogston (Sep 3, 2015)

marcwormjim said:


> Guitar wasn't delivered until after I left for work - I'll add daylight photos to this post tomorrow.
> 
> First impressions:
> 
> ...



interested in hearing your comparison to the RG3XXV!


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## marcwormjim (Sep 4, 2015)

I had five people try the LE924 today, and the reactions were unanimous: "Wow...this is really heavy....What......um....WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH GREG HOWE'S HANDS?!" The neck has shoulders, and I don't know if I'll be able to get used to them.

8.3lbs (A bit over 4kg) is less than most basses or Les Pauls weigh, but the fact that all the weight is in the body makes it feel like a sledgehammer. It seriously felt heavier than my student's Les Paul, all due to how unbalanced it is. 

I used it in lessons all day, and the B went flat during the first lesson. The fine-tuner did the trick, but the B alone continued to detune from bends. I haven't bothered restringing it with my preferred set of 9-46 Elixer Nanowebs, yet, to see how much of the detuning is due to the strings installed in Indonesia.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 4, 2015)

I just spent a few hours tweaking some things and getting my fingers black from noodling on its crummy strings. 

I'm getting used to the neck, but it still seems beefy in the wrong places. 

My earlier comment about the GH5 sounding like a boosted PAF holds true: It's louder and has roughly 40% more gain than the Carvin H22 I'm accustomed to. Every patch I had made with the Holdsworth pickup was noisy, ugly, and harsh all at the same time with the GH5 - Unless I lowered the amp gain by 40%. Then the honeymoon period with this pickup officially started; because I was in love with how much sustain and clarity an Alnico 5 was feeding me, without sounding like a Seymour Duncan JB. Considering Howe's new signature Carvin Parallax humbucker has the PAF-appropriate 8.4K DC resistance (compared to the GH5's 17.4), I wonder how much character they have in common.


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## Yeah_man (Sep 4, 2015)

marcwormjim said:


> Guitar wasn't delivered until after I left for work:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Nice honest review

I would keep the parts and say for that price its a steal


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## edsped (Sep 8, 2015)

The weight of these things apparently must vary widely because mine is one of my lightest guitars. I still feel the same way about the neck as I did initially, it's a really weird shape that I don't like but it doesn't outright bother me either.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 9, 2015)

I'm used to the neck, now. It's just the weight that's a dealbreaker - The last time I had such a case of Les Paul Shoulder was when I played Les Pauls.


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## tjrlogan (Sep 10, 2015)

I returned mine. Not because it's a bad guitar, but I was expecting a little bit more. Seems to be a standard run of the mill low-mid priced guitar.


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 10, 2015)

tjrlogan said:


> I returned mine. Not because it's a bad guitar, but I was expecting a little bit more. Seems to be a standard run of the mill low-mid priced guitar.



Which is crazy, because they were originally charging like $999 for these.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 11, 2015)

Yeah - They really pale compared to Ibanez or other brands at that price-point. I'm gigging with mine on Saturday, then returning it. I haven't put in enough time with the RG3xxv to post a detailed review, yet - But it's an easy winner. I would keep the Laguna, if it wasn't for the obscene weight.


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## gclef (Sep 13, 2015)

marcwormjim said:


> Yeah - They really pale compared to Ibanez or other brands at that price-point. I'm gigging with mine on Saturday, then returning it. I haven't put in enough time with the RG3xxv to post a detailed review, yet - But it's an easy winner. I would keep the Laguna, if it wasn't for the obscene weight.



I have an rg3xxv. It is almost 8lbs. Though far lighter than my mahogany rg520(9+lbs! Never had a pickup sou d bad in it though), it is heavier than my rg921, which is just over 7lbs. 

I am interested to hear your take/review on it. ZPS in or out? What color?

I love the neck profile! I also like the dactivator/air Norton s combo.
I may get another to mod.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 13, 2015)

The Ibanez is Laser Blue. 

As I said in an above post, the Laguna is just unbalanced; and feels much heavier than it is. My 6-string bass is much heavier, but is balanced for comfort. The RG3xxV - And probably most mid-range Ibanezes - Outclasses it, in most respects. Again I say, though, that for the price-point I got it at, the LE924 is still a great value.

I'm keeping the Zero Point in, for now - I'm still on the fence about it. My favorite Ibanez trem is the ZR, but I'd be just as happy putting in a Schaller, with its replaceable knife-edges - That's one spec Laguna/Howe got right.

Being as I prefer low-output pickups, I'll likely replace the Air Norton S/Deactivator combo with a Satch-Track and Kiesel Holdsworth. I'm also undecided as to whether I prefer the sound of the neck pup split or in parallel - I may end up replacing the 5-way to achieve the Laguna's switching.


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## gclef (Sep 14, 2015)

marcwormjim said:


> The Ibanez is Laser Blue.
> 
> As I said in an above post, the Laguna is just unbalanced; and feels much heavier than it is. My 6-string bass is much heavier, but is balanced for comfort. The RG3xxV - And probably most mid-range Ibanezes - Outclasses it, in most respects. Again I say, though, that for the price-point I got it at, the LE924 is still a great value.
> 
> ...




Kissel Holdsworth? Color me interested! I have a set of regular h22s in my Holdsworth that I love. I had them in my rg520qs as well. They kicked much ass there too.
I am toying with putting a true single coil (or stacked noiseless) with a lower output bridge bucker in it. 

The ibanez already has the same switching as the laguna howe. No need to modify.


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## marcwormjim (Sep 29, 2015)

This seems like the best thread for venting:

On September 15th, I returned the guitar to Musiciansfriend. Considering it was double-boxed, I emailed them asking if they wanted 100% the original double-boxing. They said yes; and so I paid the $37.50 to USPS their enormous box to Kansas City, with the RAN written on the return label they provided.

Two weeks later, and no refund. I emailed Musiciansfriend last night, and was told that they never received it. Because I'm in the process of moving cross-country, I've been mailing a lot of stuff. I looked through my USPS receipts and, of course, the only one missing is for the Laguna.

So I went to the post office and explained the situation, to which the clerk sadly informed me that they keep ZERO records - Your receipt is the only proof of transaction, and the only source of the shipping info. I was told that, if Musiciansfriend says they don't have it, there's no way I can prove otherwise, unless I find that receipt.

I don't know what USPS or Musiciansfriend did to lose the package, but I'm basically out $393, unless that receipt happens to turn up before I fly out on Saturday.

Just two months ago, the post office one town over scanned my package and left it on the service counter all night, with the doors unlocked, and the camera off. That's how I lost my Steinberger. I think I'm swearing off the US Postal Service.


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## yellowv (Oct 1, 2015)

I would never ship a guitar USPS. They are horrible. Even if you had tracking and it was missing they would just tell you to wait longer.


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## marcwormjim (Oct 2, 2015)

That's what it amounted to - Musiciansfriend just notified me of the refund. This means they actually had the guitar at the time they claimed they didn't.


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## yellowv (Oct 4, 2015)

Yeah they pretty much suck as well. I bought a Loomis from them years ago and they had no idea if they shipped it or not. Then it just showed up at my house.


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