# RIP strictly7?



## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

Was in contact with one of the workers at Strictly7. Apparently everone has left Jim and the company and he is now all alone. 

Im nervous right now cause I have an order which I have paid the full amount on (have waited 2.5 years now). 

Has anyone of you guys heard anything?
Is there some way for me to get my money back? Im from Sweden and feel very powerless right now. He's not answering mails or fb-messages either...


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> Was in contact with one of the workers at Strictly7. Apparently everone has left Jim and the company and he is now all alone.
> 
> Im nervous right now cause I have an order which I have paid the full amount on (have waited 2.5 years now).
> 
> ...



Well, in this case, if you paid with a credit card, contact the cc company and file a complaint.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 1, 2014)

Wow, sad to hear this. But this is proof in point that a business owner should never be so foolish as to take to Youtube videos to vent his anger and bash customers. Very poor decision there. I know that's not the whole story of course, and I'm aware of many other varying issues/situations, but I think those videos were a huge part in business suicide. Again, very sad to hear another luthier possibly going down. No official word yet however so he might pull through.


Rev.


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## technomancer (Apr 1, 2014)

Gee wouldn't it have been nice if he had built the guitar you paid for instead of the 10 or so he took to NAMM to sell 

That said Jim has been on his own for months, he was raving about being by himself in a video quite a while ago.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 1, 2014)

It doesn't matter if there's no final word, if that fvcking guy was on a literal sinking ship he'd try to sell you a spot on it. Glad to see that "company" finally going down if it is, "unethical" doesn't even graze the depth of bullshit they created. I really hope you get your money back man, I'm sure you're not alone either. Someone should organize a group of people to press charges if they haven't got their money back yet and really throw some gasoline in the fire.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

I paid via Paypal  paypal withdrew money from my creditcard. Can I still contact the cc company and file a complaint?


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> I paid via Paypal  paypal withdrew money from my creditcard. Can I still contact the cc company and file a complaint?



If nothing else you can try. Paypal and your credit card company should have a record of it. Despite it being past the usual 90 day...thing they do, I think 2.5 years without the product and evidence of never getting the product warrants an investigation/refund. Just be reasonable and if the person you're speaking to isn't helpful, ask for the next person up until you get someone willing to try. Definitely do not bury your head in the sand on this one, the more proactive you are, the better


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

Geez wonder how many members on here who is in my situation too. Is there a way to highlight my topic or something so everybody on here with a S7 guitar on order sees it?


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## SpaceDock (Apr 1, 2014)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> Well, in this case, if you paid with a credit card, contact the cc company and file a complaint.



Nope, I went through this with the BRJ bs, you only get a few months from the first date of purchase. 2.5 years is far too long. You can file civil suit or try to work it out with S7. You are SOL with the CC, bank, and paypal; I know from first hand experience. I was on the phone for well over a dozen hours with all sorts of bankers and managers trying to assess my options.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

technomancer said:


> Gee wouldn't it have been nice if he had built the guitar you paid for instead of the 10 or so he took to NAMM to sell
> 
> That said Jim has been on his own for months, he was raving about being by himself in a video quite a while ago.



Where can I find this video?


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> Nope, I went through this with the BRJ bs, you only get a few months from the first date of purchase. 2.5 years is far too long. You can file civil suit or try to work it out with S7. You are SOL with the CC, bank, and paypal; I know from first hand experience. I was on the phone for well over a dozen hours with all sorts of bankers and managers trying to assess my options.



You never got your money back?


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## Jonathan20022 (Apr 1, 2014)

Call your credit card company and give it a shot, there's no use in giving up. And even if your Paypal denies it, the funds were taken from your Credit Card it's not on them to decide since they didn't supply the funds.

And every credit card company and bank is different, they can at least investigate. And in the case of not received, you should receive your money back.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 1, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> Nope, I went through this with the BRJ bs, you only get a few months from the first date of purchase. 2.5 years is far too long. You can file civil suit or try to work it out with S7. You are SOL with the CC, bank, and paypal; I know from first hand experience. I was on the phone for well over a dozen hours with all sorts of bankers and managers trying to assess my options.



I really don't see how that is legal... Your money may be in binary format but it still has value and you can't just say "derp, you never got the product you were promised but the time frame has been too long, sorry!" It's literally lying. Now I completely get its not PP/the bank's fault, but they have a record of you sending X dollars to Jackass McGee and you have literally nothing to show for it. If nothing else they should be able to contact his bank/PP and attempt to get the money back.

I suppose your best bet is to get into contact with someone already pressing charges and see if you can piggy-back onto that. Just because you're not in the US doesn't mean you should be ....ed over, that's absolute bullshit. Keep us informed of how its going, because like I said, I almost guarantee you aren't alone


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## Charvel7string (Apr 1, 2014)

Get your money back bro it's sad to see them go but it's time. What model were you getting? Have you thought about what you might get once you get your money back? I really hope you get it back 2.5 years is stupid


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## GiveUpGuitar (Apr 1, 2014)

2.5 years is mindblowing. How does this dude not care about his reputation as a builder after all of the shit he's been given for it? I can't wrap my head around that at all... its practically offensive to me. Hopefully you get every penny wasted back, because the guitar gods owe you some justice.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

Charvel7string said:


> Get your money back bro it's sad to see them go but it's time. What model were you getting? Have you thought about what you might get once you get your money back? I really hope you get it back 2.5 years is stupid



Well its easy to say "get the money back". I dont think I will ever see that money again. God knows how many hours of working overtime I did to fund the guitar in first place. Im so depressed right now. 

I ordered the solar7 model. 

If I get the money back I will order another Skervesen.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

GiveUpGuitar said:


> 2.5 years is mindblowing. How does this dude not care about his reputation as a builder after all of the shit he's been given for it? I can't wrap my head around that at all... its practically offensive to me. Hopefully you get every penny wasted back, because the guitar gods owe you some justice.



Yeah my guitar has been ready for paint at least a year now or so lol. Mindblowing to say the least.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> You never got your money back?



you get 9 months or so to file a claim, after that it is outside of the Visa timeframe for reimbursement. You can easily find these laws if you google "chargeback." 

If you sue, you need to hire a claims company to actually get your money taken out of their paychecks if they have a normal job. With BRJ, he is bankrupt is it was a no go. You might have better luck with Jim.

Paypal only gives people 90 days, so I have learned to be very careful with them. Visa was willing to help me figure everything out, Paypal told me to shove off and kept routing me to india; worst CS ever.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 1, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> I really don't see how that is legal... Your money may be in binary format but it still has value and you can't just say "derp, you never got the product you were promised but the time frame has been too long, sorry!"



Actually they _can_ say just that. You clearly haven't followed the BRJ Black Friday thread. I don't know of a single person in there that was able to get their money back from their credit card or bank after waiting 2+ years. There are time limits to dispute transactions and those policies are listed in the document you sign when you create the account. It's not the bank or credit cards fault a luthier hasn't provided a product in 2+ years time and getting one's money back is NOT a straight forward and simple process. One typically needs to take it to small claims court and even then collecting the judgement, should you win, isn't an easy task either. Usually it's just not worth it for a few grand as it can cost more in time, money, and stress. 


Rev.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 1, 2014)

I really have to tell you guys, I will never pay for a guitar from a private luthier if it is not finished and ready to ship. Ever.

This could happen with any shop, no matter how nice the owner is. Any of these boutique shops could have the owner killed in an accident or fall ill or flake out and you are SOL. This situation is becoming very common and is unavoidable with a shop that doesnt have multiple experience luthiers. 

Be careful with your money guys.


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## Xaios (Apr 1, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> I really don't see how that is legal... Your money may be in binary format but it still has value and you can't just say "derp, you never got the product you were promised but the time frame has been too long, sorry!" It's literally lying. Now I completely get its not PP/the bank's fault, but they have a record of you sending X dollars to Jackass McGee and you have literally nothing to show for it. If nothing else they should be able to contact his bank/PP and attempt to get the money back.
> 
> I suppose your best bet is to get into contact with someone already pressing charges and see if you can piggy-back onto that. Just because you're not in the US doesn't mean you should be ....ed over, that's absolute bullshit. Keep us informed of how its going, because like I said, I almost guarantee you aren't alone



While I agree in principal, there is a statute of limitations on these things as well. Now I don't know how long that time is, whether or not it would be based on the laws from where Jim operates or the OP lives, or if it would be some combination of the OP's resident laws as interpreted through American jurisprudence, so it's still worth researching. The fact is though, there is a time limit in order for the OP to file suit.


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## canuck brian (Apr 1, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> I really have to tell you guys, I will never pay for a guitar from a private luthier if it is not finished and ready to ship. Ever.
> 
> This could happen with any shop, no matter how nice the owner is. Any of these boutique shops could have the owner killed in an accident or fall ill or flake out and you are SOL. This situation is becoming very common and is unavoidable with a shop that doesnt have multiple experience luthiers.
> 
> Be careful with your money guys.



I dont' actually take the rest of the full payment until the guitar is complete and ready to put in a case. Other than that, small deposit.

I'm still really floored by S7G. They really had a gem of an opportunity with the Strandberg guitars and they just didn't deliver a great product. It's weird hearing that Jim's on his own now considering how many people i saw in the videos with his walkaround.

edit - i looked at the videos by Curran - i'm guessing he's working with Jim still and it sounds like they're still hammering forward with this.


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## Ale (Apr 1, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> I really have to tell you guys, I will never pay for a guitar from a private luthier if it is not finished and ready to ship. Ever.
> 
> This could happen with any shop, no matter how nice the owner is. Any of these boutique shops could have the owner killed in an accident or fall ill or flake out and you are SOL. This situation is becoming very common and is unavoidable with a shop that doesnt have multiple experience luthiers.
> 
> Be careful with your money guys.



I really have to agree.
If I see the guitar finished before me then have my money and I'll have the guitar but it's even harder these days when everything happens in the internet and you may never get to meet the person. When talking about thousands of euros or dollars...well.
BTW I always heard about those videos where Jim bash his customers..what exactly happened?


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## SpaceDock (Apr 1, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> I dont' actually take the rest of the full payment until the guitar is complete and ready to put in a case. Other than that, small deposit.
> 
> I'm still really floored by S7G. They really had a gem of an opportunity with the Strandberg guitars and they just didn't deliver a great product. It's weird hearing that Jim's on his own now considering how many people i saw in the videos with his walkaround.
> 
> edit - i looked at the videos by Curran - i'm guessing he's working with Jim still and it sounds like they're still hammering forward with this.



What sucked for me is that I paid the deposit and two years later he says "alright ready to finish up and ship, pay me the rest" I did and then nothing...


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## wespaul (Apr 1, 2014)

PayPal only gives you 45 days to open a dispute (I'm not sure where the 90 days thing is coming from). 2 and a half years is long past what they will do for you, so it's up to whatever your credit card will do for you. There's no harm in finding out what your options are --call them! 

Good luck, man. You're in a terrible position right now without much hope. I feel sick just thinking about what you're going through.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> I dont' actually take the rest of the full payment until the guitar is complete and ready to put in a case. Other than that, small deposit.
> 
> I'm still really floored by S7G. They really had a gem of an opportunity with the Strandberg guitars and they just didn't deliver a great product. It's weird hearing that Jim's on his own now considering how many people i saw in the videos with his walkaround.
> 
> edit - i looked at the videos by Curran - i'm guessing he's working with Jim still and it sounds like they're still hammering forward with this.



Nope it was Curran I talked with today via facebook. He and all the other guys have left S7. He also stated the reason but not sure if I should write that here.


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## ramses (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> Nope it was Curran I talked with today via facebook. He and all the other guys have left S7. He also stated the reason but not sure if I should write that here.



If Curran is the one who told you that, then it is definitely overhe would be the last person to leave S7G.


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## thrsher (Apr 1, 2014)

paypal now gives 180 days for all international transactions


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

ramses said:


> If Curran is the one who told you that, then it is definitely overhe would be the last person to leave S7G.



Yeah that was what I was thinking. So f*cking depressed right now


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## Nonservium (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> Yeah that was what I was thinking. So f*cking depressed right now




That sucks sir, I'm very sorry you ended up in this situation. 

The writing has been on the wall for a while now. I'm honestly surprised it's taken this long.


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## goherpsNderp (Apr 1, 2014)

oath5 said:


> Yeah that was what I was thinking. So f*cking depressed right now



i'd go ahead and call PayPal and explain the situation. JUST IN CASE someone can actually help you resolve it.

DO NOT contact your CC company or bank first. if you do that, PayPal will be unable to ever investigate the issue with the seller. this happened to me a while back because some money was taken from my PP account which was tied to my checking account. i called Chase first instead of PayPal, and after they put in the charge back i called PayPal who told me that because i went to the bank FIRST, they were at that point blocked from being able to investigate how the money was stolen to begin with.


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## maximummetal288 (Apr 1, 2014)

I'm freaking out now. I was one of the people who made a down payment on a Boden 7 back in September 2012. I think there's maybe 4 of us from what I've gathered reading S7 threads since May of this year. Jim contact me in August about a refund after the whole Strandberg fiasco in May, and he said I'd have it in 90 days. Sure enough, I still haven't gotten the refund. I've been emailing since then and he even suggested that he'd pay me back in installments or send a Cobra 7 as collateral. I was ok with just taking a Cobra 7 since I'd get SOMETHING for the money of mine he's had for 18 months now... but now I don't know what's going to happen.


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 1, 2014)

Fyfan.


Didn't some of the BRJR guys get their money back by going through their banks or am I wrong? I feel you man, I remeber Jim saying that everyone who orderd a Solar before Englund left was going to get one, I guess this just shows how bad thing can get if you don't take your business seriously. I have a feeling (I think we all do, and it's more than a feeling really) that there is something weird going on behind the scenes with that Jim guy, first Keiths poorly built guitars, the worm-hole boden, both Ola's leaving and now everyone else leaving.


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## ElRay (Apr 1, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> What sucked for me is that I paid the deposit and two years later he says "alright ready to finish up and ship, pay me the rest" I did and then nothing...



I would have done a charge-back way sooner if he had said it was done and took the final payment.

Doesn't ease your pain (sorry), but a lesson for the next guy.

Ray


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## ArtDecade (Apr 1, 2014)

Geez. That sucks, mate. I hope it works out for you.

This just reaffirms why I will never pay a small company in advance - just upon delivery.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 1, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> Didn't some of the BRJR guys get their money back by going through their banks or am I wrong?



From what I vaguely recall the one or two that did get their money back from a bank or credit card filed a dispute within one year of the transaction, and I think they were European customers/bank institutions. I'm fairly certain the vast majority of banks and CC companies will tell you there's nothing they can do if you try to file a dispute 2+ years later. And here in the States I don't even think they'd help you one year in.


Rev.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Apr 1, 2014)

Strictly shit.


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## SoItGoesRVA (Apr 1, 2014)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> Strictly shit.



This coupled with your avatar is pure gold


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 1, 2014)

Sorry to hear this. There could be about 50-100 people waiting on S7 guitars from what I've seen. The worse thing is he had the nerve to have a booth at NAMM with stock guitars. One being a 9 string which would have taken a lot of time to build. A complete waste of money, energy and time.

This is getting way to common nowadays.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 1, 2014)

I never really noticed luthiers and companies like this until I stumbled onto this site. Ever since I'd been made aware of strictly 7, I've had a stick up my ass about them. They've been sketched out for a good long while now it seems, and it bums me the .... out seeing people lie, cheat, and steal other peoples hard earned money. I can honestly say, if a place doesn't have a reliable and fast (1-6 months seems decent) turn around time, they won't get my money ever. Hell, after it's paid in full, if the ....ing thing isn't shipped out within 2-3 business days, I'd probably throw a fit. I hope you get your money back, but because of the nature of these things, it looks like it'd have to come from a lawsuit and not relying on banks/paypal, since they do have fairly short limits. (Limits that get exceeded even by people who use your money properly.)


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## MetalDaze (Apr 1, 2014)

It sucks that ss.org has become the place where people learn the hard way about money and banking. I speak as a member of BBCA (bankrupt builder customer anonymous).

It also sucks that all my life I've actually been really good with making purchase decisions but somehow fell for empty promises. 

I attribute ss.org to educating me on a vast array of instruments I might not have known about. I curse those that try and take advantage of us. Best of luck to all navigating these murky waters.


BTW: I'm about to order a Suhr Modern. No worries about delivery there


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## Xaios (Apr 1, 2014)

MetalDaze said:


> BTW: I'm about to order a Suhr Modern. No worries about delivery there



Dude, now you've jinxed it.


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## Overtone (Apr 1, 2014)

strictly 7 guitars?
more like strictly 1 employee


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## AfroSamurai (Apr 1, 2014)

I have not posted in a while, but I still check ss.org frequently. 

I'm one of the guys that bought a Strandberg on Septermber 2012 from S7 and I'm still waiting on a refund. At this point I'm pretty sure we are screwed, but if you guys have any news please share them.


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## emroth (Apr 1, 2014)

Only buy Suhrs. 

No but seriously this is bullshit. They stole your money.


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## Svava (Apr 1, 2014)

I hope everyone that's been affected by this gets their situation sorted out. I really hate seeing people suffer due to lack of integrity and poor work ethic.

Good riddance to this company seriously....


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## MetalDaze (Apr 1, 2014)

emroth said:


> Only buy Suhrs.


 
...or Jackson or Ibanez or whatever is an actual company. 

It took me a while to come to this conclusion, but I'm not that special. I can find what I need from the big name guys, perhaps with some small modification.


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## BucketheadRules (Apr 1, 2014)

Jesus, what a f*cking cowboy. He and his company (or what's left of it) can piss right off.

I really hope you guys all get sorted out... surely there must be a way.


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## UltraParanoia (Apr 1, 2014)

Was there any kind of lead time given when you placed the order?

I dont know good ole' America works, but in Australia you never DONT have an option. You could go to consumer affairs etc etc.
I would definitely be speaking to your bank, you havent gotten the goods you ordered in any way shape or form so they should be able to action something on your behalf. 
I would also be emailing Strictly7 & threating further action (legal) if he doesnt either give you a full refund immediately or send you your ....ing guitar


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## BucketheadRules (Apr 1, 2014)

UltraParanoia said:


> I would also be emailing Strictly7 & threating further action (legal) if he doesnt either give you a full refund immediately or send you your ....ing guitar



Genuine question - if there are so many people being kept waiting (and it seems like there are LOTS) what are the chances the guitar actually exists in any recognisable form? And if he's bankrupt a refund seems unlikely...


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## drgordonfreeman (Apr 1, 2014)

MetalDaze said:


> ...or Jackson or Ibanez or whatever is an actual company.


 

I rebuff you on the Jackson part there...


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## Rev2010 (Apr 1, 2014)

MetalDaze said:


> ...or Jackson or Ibanez or whatever is an actual company.


 
While Jackson won't go under and keep your deposit that still can happen with an authorized dealer which is what you have to go through. But yeah they're much more stable and safe. If you can wait the times (I'm currently at 2 years and 2 months) and be willing to pay upper echelon prices that is. 


Rev.


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## maximummetal288 (Apr 1, 2014)

I messaged Curran on Facebook and he confirmed it. He was sick of not getting paid. I don't have much hope for S7 now that he's gone. It sounded like Jim was out of the shop working a second job to do what he could to pay his bills and his employees while Curran was the one in the shop doing most of the work.


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## oath5 (Apr 1, 2014)

UltraParanoia said:


> Was there any kind of lead time given when you placed the order?
> 
> I dont know good ole' America works, but in Australia you never DONT have an option. You could go to consumer affairs etc etc.
> I would definitely be speaking to your bank, you havent gotten the goods you ordered in any way shape or form so they should be able to action something on your behalf.
> I would also be emailing Strictly7 & threating further action (legal) if he doesnt either give you a full refund immediately or send you your ....ing guitar



When I placed the order they said the buildtime was 3 months. Yes thats MONTHS. 

Everytime I mailed I got bad excuses. So last fall they asked us customers via facebook to pay the final deposit. Those who did that would have their guitars built first based upon when the order was placed etc. 

Paid it late september and got weekly updates on facebook/youtube for a while. But since newyear or something everything went quiet. I tried to email and so on without any respond. 

Today I felt really annoyed so I contacted Curran on facebook and he told me the news.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 1, 2014)

You guys dont want to send this guy your money?


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 1, 2014)

Someone should post that to every possible thing that he may see. "I don't screw my customers." HAHAHAHA


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## Necris (Apr 1, 2014)

Out with a whimper, and a customers money.


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## canuck brian (Apr 1, 2014)

Where is Strictly 7 located?

nm: did a whois against strictly7.com to see it. Ohio..


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 1, 2014)

I like how he took an hour to rant about "windbag trolls" and wasn't doing... You know... Guitar work. I also like how he paints himself to be infallible, yet everyone under his employ has jumped ship.


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Apr 1, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> Where is Strictly 7 located?
> 
> nm: did a whois against strictly7.com to see it. Ohio..


You got a problem with Ohio Brian!?


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## thrsher (Apr 1, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> You guys dont want to send this guy your money?




i never actually watched any of these videos till now, what a joke this guy is. im ashamed to say that i have purchased from him


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## ElysianGuitars (Apr 1, 2014)

It's not much of a surprise... He came into the business with virtually no mass production experience, and tried to go hard and force growth. It's obvious to me when I look at pictures of his work and see glaring flaws... I'm by no means perfect, but when I got in over my head I scaled back, not up, and it worked for the best for me. This is a tough business, and you can't go into it completely green because you know how to program a CNC... It takes paying your dues, plain and simple.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Apr 1, 2014)

He is so tired of spending all that time on the internet reading crap.

He cannot physically keep up with email.

So many logic.


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## flexkill (Apr 1, 2014)

As soon as Ola Englund left that company I knew there was a major problem. Ola is cool as fvck and if he felt like he had to leave....shit must be bad.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 1, 2014)

That video is painful.


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## Church2224 (Apr 1, 2014)

I knew there was a problem when the first page of his website stated how other companies had so many quality control issues, when his guitars have issues that are significantly worse...

Also what a dick. He says "I check every guitar I never let anything sub par out of the factory." Bull, he has sent many defected guitars out and we have seen them first hand.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 1, 2014)

Church2224 said:


> I knew there was a problem when the first page of his website stated how other companies had so many quality control issues, when his guitars have issues that are significantly worse...
> 
> Also what a dick. He says "I check every guitar I never let anything sub par out of the factory." Bull, he has sent many defected guitars out and we have seen them first hand.



More interestingly he said he checks every guitar, then proceeds to say he actually didn't, trusting his employees, then blames them when shit slips through


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## TraE (Apr 1, 2014)

Sigh. This thread is depressing. It's so sad to see people that spent their hard earned money on a custom guitar they thought would be the end-all, only to receive nothing but bullshit. To the OP, I really hope you get your money back, if not then I hope you'll get the guitar you already paid for. I remember looking at S7 guitars a year or so back and thinking "how cool!" Now I know the company is nothing but a sham... the world we live in.


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## flexkill (Apr 1, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> More interestingly he said he checks every guitar, then proceeds to say he actually didn't, trusting his employees, then blames them when shit slips through



His employees??? He throws his own Dad under the bus!


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## MetalDaze (Apr 1, 2014)

drgordonfreeman said:


> I rebuff you on the Jackson part there...


 
Well, it's true that there have been some Custom Shop nightmares, but I believe in all cases the end result was either a refund or a rebuild. It does take forever, but I haven't heard of anyone just getting fvcked.



Rev2010 said:


> While Jackson won't go under and keep your deposit that still can happen with an authorized dealer which is what you have to go through. But yeah they're much more stable and safe. If you can wait the times (I'm currently at 2 years and 2 months) and be willing to pay upper echelon prices that is.
> 
> 
> Rev.



Didn't think of the dealer angle, which I suppose could happen given how long the build times are, but based on my recent experience with their customer support, I believe they would have your back if you showed a receipt of your deposit. 

I can't think of any recent stories where a dealer went under and a person got screwed. It's just these (several) small builders.


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## downburst82 (Apr 1, 2014)

*B*ernie Rico Jr and *S*trictly 7 should form a new company....



*BS* Guitars

Seriously though this just sucks for all


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## op1e (Apr 1, 2014)

Finish your orders before lapping the asses of internet youtube celebrities and giving them sigs. Too bad that this happened. I met up with him at one of my gigs and demo'd one live back in early 09. Coulda had a partial endorsement deal and got a production model for around $550 (this was before the Cobra was even out). Turned it down cause I knew my band was off the rails and doomed. He was cool back then and seemed solid... Before he went all "There Will Be Blood" on the world. Baby steps, baby steps.


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## petervindel (Apr 2, 2014)

I feel really sorry for everyone affected by this. 
I ordered my custom 8 string 30.2" cobra summer of '12 and was told there was a 4-6 month build time. After 7 months I freaked out and started sending Jim e-mails every day. After 8-9 months I finally got my guitar. 

Sad thing is they actually build(t) great guitars. I am aware that there are people who have received lemons from them, but my guitar is actually a great build. 

The worst part about this is that people are turned off getting custom gear. DAR Amps, Bernie Rico Jr., S7G... I am going to think long and hard before I order a custom anything again. 

Hope you get your money back man, I will keep my fingers crossed for you!


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 2, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> What sucked for me is that I paid the deposit and two years later he says "alright ready to finish up and ship, pay me the rest" I did and then nothing...


 
Yeah that's a downright hustle on his part . That goes beyond just being a failed owner or an overextended screwball.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 2, 2014)

RIP wood with "character."


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## teamSKDM (Apr 2, 2014)

There needs to be a company that doesnt do custom orders, but just makes super exotic guitars and sells them and works on them in their own timethat doesnt sound so bad right? As long as the builder has nice tastes and thinks out the box.


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 2, 2014)

^Blackmachine. Doug builds in his free time but thats usually just to make guitars for himself and then sells later on when he needs money or builds another.

Its crazy how unprotected we are from scammers and cheats in the guitar world.


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## pylyo (Apr 2, 2014)

downburst82 said:


> *B*ernie Rico Jr and *S*trictly 7 should form a new company....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## ElRay (Apr 2, 2014)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Yeah that's a downright hustle on his part . That goes beyond just being a failed owner or an overextended screwball.



Actually, now that I think about this more, this might constitute fraud. The instrument wasn't complete, but he said it was to elicit payment and then didn't ship the item. Too bad the payment wasn't mailed, then it would definitely be mail fraud and you could sick the Post Office on him too.

*SpaceDock: Check with law enforcement, it really sounds like your guitar has crossed the line into outright fraud.*

Ray


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## ElRay (Apr 2, 2014)

Anybody told that your guitar was complete, made the final payment, but never received the guitar? Call law enforcement, that's almost certainly crossed the line into abject fraud.

Anybody actually snail-mail a payment? That would open-up the possibility for mail fraud. Check with the post office.

Ray


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## petervindel (Apr 2, 2014)

After reading the whole tread I have to agree with ElRay here. 
He obviously tried to get some final $ from you, with no intention of ever shipping your guitar. 
At least you should be able to get the last part of your payment back, allthough I guess it'll be hard to get the money you payed upfront almost 3 years ago... 

I really feel for you man. I remember how freaked out I was when my build was only 2 months past deadline


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## HighGain510 (Apr 2, 2014)

ElRay said:


> Anybody told that your guitar was complete, made the final payment, but never received the guitar? Call law enforcement, that's almost certainly crossed the line into abject fraud.
> 
> Anybody actually snail-mail a payment? That would open-up the possibility for mail fraud. Check with the post office.
> 
> Ray



Yep, believe if anyone had done that it falls under committing mail fraud (which is a federal offense), doesn't it? Sadly with credit cards and PayPal becoming more and more the norm, I doubt most folks paid him with checks. That being said, if anyone DID pay with a check in the mail, it would be in their best interest to get that information to law enforcement immediately.  They should probably do it before S7 shutters up completely and Jim moves on to making meth in the workshop


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## drmosh (Apr 2, 2014)

I just watched that video for the first time. Holy ...., what a petulant, condescending person.


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## hairychris (Apr 2, 2014)

HighGain510 said:


> They should probably do it before S7 shutters up completely and Jim moves on to making meth in the workshop



If he does that there's at least a small possibility of folks getting their money back. 

Seriously, though, this is a shitty situation. Not sure what passes as a consumer protection agency in the US, but hope folks get at least some of the bucks back.


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## capoeiraesp (Apr 2, 2014)

drmosh said:


> I just watched that video for the first time. Holy ...., what a petulant, condescending person.



Dude, I felt sick watching most of it. This guy deserves every ounce of the negativity he's put out coming back.


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## will_shred (Apr 2, 2014)

I kind of feel bad for Jim, but I don't really know what ya'll expected. I listened to an interview with him where he stated he started S7G by taking warmoth necks and building bodies for them. He thought that because he built himself a warmoth bass, he had the luthier knowhow to start a whole company. I mean, he didn't even go to Luthier school, the dude was/is a message therapist. Does this add up to anything that can end well? I don't think so.


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## canuck brian (Apr 2, 2014)

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> You got a problem with Ohio Brian!?



Nope, seeing how far it is away from Toronto in case Jim takes my offer to help out for a weekend to get guitars out the door.

Will - I never did luthiery courses.


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## will_shred (Apr 2, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> Nope, seeing how far it is away from Toronto in case Jim takes my offer to help out for a weekend to get guitars out the door.
> 
> Will - I never did luthiery courses.


 

ah point taken, but my point was that he literally started the company re-selling warmoth guitars and slapping that logo on them. He wasn't even a self taught builder (of course, we know there are many on here who do amazing work) the dude was totally green to the industry, and for a while the team did make decent guitars until they got in wayyyyy over their head and the build team who was making decent guitars all left a long time ago.


I made a warmoth guitar to, I think it's pretty cool. However I don't think I'm qualified to go start a guitar company.


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## underthecurve (Apr 2, 2014)

As a customer waiting for a Strandberg s7, this is horrible news. I was in the original run of boden 8s, and actually received the guitar, but it had a few qc issues. It was sent back for a rebuild. This was about 6mo ago. When I originally heard about strandberg and s7 producing models together, I was weary from s7's reputation, but felt that with Ola on board things would be taken care of.


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## Tom Drinkwater (Apr 2, 2014)

What's wrong with using parts from another manufacturer on your guitars? Is using a Warmoth neck some sort of sin but using a bridge from Hipshot is ok? Is it wrong to use Dimarzio pickups when I could just wind my own? Is there an sso approved list from which builders can select their part manufacturers from? Jim should go back to using Warmoth necks, clearly spending the time to build his own didn't pay off. Heck, if I were in his shoes I'd give up on the extended range market and just make strats and teles and sell to the other 99.9% of the guitar playing public where people will pay ridiculous amounts for parts guitars built at factories and rebranded by business men with marketing skills. 



> There needs to be a company that doesnt do custom orders, but just makes super exotic guitars and sells them and works on them in their own timethat doesnt sound so bad right? As long as the builder has nice tastes and thinks out the box.



That isn't a company, that is an extremely expensive hobby you're talking about right there. If your business model was the standard one for small shop guitar builders then only about 1/1000 of the demand would be met and you'd see a NGD about ever 10 years. 

There is high demand for this type of instrument so you are going to have companies stepping up to make them. The problem is that people apparently don't want the guitars enough to pay a realistic amount for them so some of the companies try to increase volume at the expense of quality and customer service. As the consumers you guys should know that you completely control this stuff. If you want better guitars and better customer service from small builders then pay the builders more for the instruments. That will make it possible to take less orders and spend more time on both the guitars builds and customer service. Until you're ready to do that then unfortunately you'll get more of the same. 

Does anyone see a pattern here? Every couple of years a whole new batch of builders is here and then they start disappearing, walking away or going out of business? The builders come and go but the community remains and clearly it doesn't work.


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## ElysianGuitars (Apr 2, 2014)

teamSKDM said:


> There needs to be a company that doesnt do custom orders, but just makes super exotic guitars and sells them and works on them in their own timethat doesnt sound so bad right? As long as the builder has nice tastes and thinks out the box.



This is actually something I want to do, have wanted to for some time. There may come a point where I can afford to start doing it.


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## ElysianGuitars (Apr 2, 2014)

Tom Drinkwater said:


> What's wrong with using parts from another manufacturer on your guitars? Is using a Warmoth neck some sort of sin but using a bridge from Hipshot is ok? Is it wrong to use Dimarzio pickups when I could just wind my own? Is there an sso approved list from which builders can select their part manufacturers from? Jim should go back to using Warmoth necks, clearly spending the time to build his own didn't pay off. Heck, if I were in his shoes I'd give up on the extended range market and just make strats and teles and sell to the other 99.9% of the guitar playing public where people will pay ridiculous amounts for parts guitars built at factories and rebranded by business men with marketing skills.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Making a neck is far different from making a bridge. The neck basically IS the guitar, it's what you interact with the most, and a bad neck completely tanks a guitar. You aren't going to be a successful builder by using other peoples necks, IMO.

On your second part, there may be no current demand, but there certainly is a market. People don't always know what they want until they see it.


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## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

Didn't Ola Strandberg say he would take care of all the folks who ordered Bodens from S7 and got the shaft? From reading this thread, it seems there are many who are still in limbo.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 2, 2014)

Irrelevant of all that, the QC issues are/were so obvious, calling S7G a place of skilled luthiers is an insult to luthiers. As far as I'm concerned, if you're a small team of dudes handmaking guitars, 3-5% fail rate is still unacceptable. You have the guitars that YOU designed in your hands start to finish. You are the constant. And while materials can fail, that's fair enough, you should be able to recognize those failures. And I do get some long term stuff can happen (neck warping for example), but the sheer number of problems in the short term from the Strandberg runs was absolutely ridiculous. This isn't some Ibanez Premium factory where a bunch of random people are given a certain number of jobs to do and occasionally issues arise - as a small scale builder, there is little to no excuse outside of your own incompetence for the number of botched guitars that S7G produced. And to boot, these guitars weren't $500, they were over $2000. People should be able to expect top notch quality for the product at that point. 

If you claim to be able to build high end guitars and it turns out you can't, don't bitch and moan. Get better. Making excuses just makes you look like a prick, and at this point its borderline criminal.


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## Tom Drinkwater (Apr 2, 2014)

On my second part I said "high demand" not "no demand". Also, having a neck made by a North American OEM doesn't automatically mean that the neck is bad. Most OEM's build to their professional customers specs and can do so faster and with more consistency than can be achieved in a small shop with hand tools. Who do you think that these OEM's build for when only a small part of their sales come from the public? As a side note don't bother asking an OEM to make a multiscale neck, not gonna happen. 

If you think $2000 gets you into the high end North American made guitar range you're kidding yourself. And price comparing a $500 import against a $2000 guitar made in a small shop in North America is pretty much proving my point. Just due to the cost of living difference and labor rates that $500 import would cost $2000 if it was made in an American factory. Fender, PRS and Gibson are all demonstrating that very clearly. What does that say about the Ibanez Premium costing up to $1000 if those have occasional quality issues? Why do you find that acceptable? Take an average north american made factory guitar and ask a luthier to replicate it and I guarantee it will cost 2x more at a minimum if that builder is trying to make a living while being everything from the builder to the bookkeeper of his own business.


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## underthecurve (Apr 2, 2014)

Suho said:


> Didn't Ola Strandberg say he would take care of all the folks who ordered Bodens from S7 and got the shaft? From reading this thread, it seems there are many who are still in limbo.



Ya know, he did:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-i-got-my-strictly-7-boden-9.html#post3576937

Which was an extremely generous gesture. From there I was put in contact with Paul, and things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.


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## Estilo (Apr 2, 2014)

UltraParanoia said:


> Was there any kind of lead time given when you placed the order?
> 
> I dont know good ole' America works, but in Australia you never DONT have an option. You could go to consumer affairs etc etc.



This is one of the awesomest things about Aussie-land. Those in power really do care about the masses, the 99% especially, and they strive to make everyone comfortable. 

Hope something works out for the OP and all affected and may you all get your rightful settlement.


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## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> Ya know, he did:
> http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-i-got-my-strictly-7-boden-9.html#post3576937
> 
> Which was an extremely generous gesture. From there I was put in contact with Paul, and things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.



Funny, I somehow missed that update. Did he say anymore on the subject? I'll withhold commenting on that until you or someone else provide a bit more, but that really sucks.


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## maximummetal288 (Apr 2, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> Ya know, he did:
> http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-i-got-my-strictly-7-boden-9.html#post3576937
> 
> Which was an extremely generous gesture. From there I was put in contact with Paul, and things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.



I contacted Ola about mine after I saw his post in that thread. The same happened to me, I was in contact with Ola, Paul added me on Facebook and it looked like everything would be ok. I was disappointed when I got a message from Jim saying that he would be taking care of the guitars/refund and then not hearing anything final from Ola or Paul on the matter. 

Has anyone with an outstanding order tried calling Jim?


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## lurgar (Apr 2, 2014)

Tom Drinkwater said:


> If you think $2000 gets you into the high end North American made guitar range you're kidding yourself.



Would Carvins count as a high end guitar? If so, then you can get a really damned good instrument for $2000 from them.


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## MetalDaze (Apr 2, 2014)

lurgar said:


> Would Carvins count as a high end guitar? If so, then you can get a really damned good instrument for $2000 from them.


 
Carvin is certainly the exception to the rule, but they've been doing this since 1946 and made big investments in production line equipment and processes.

They also limit options, which helps (although they still have a boat load of configurations).


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## Jlang (Apr 2, 2014)

lurgar said:


> Would Carvins count as a high end guitar? If so, then you can get a really damned good instrument for $2000 from them.



Carvins are fantastic ; are they in the same tier as say Jackson CS or Parker not quite. I think that is what he was referring to high end North American made. 

As for what it sounds like ola bailing when he initially said he would make the customers happy with the original s7 issues is quite concerning / odd. 
What happened there ?


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 2, 2014)

lurgar said:


> Would Carvins count as a high end guitar? If so, then you can get a really damned good instrument for $2000 from them.



They're a VERY different business model. No "pure customs," all CNC, very diverse product range, relatively large shop, no dealers.


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## Kammo1 (Apr 2, 2014)

Wow just read this post and have to say I'm gobsmacked. I contacted them a year ago as possibly working for them and was planning of relocating rom the UK to the US but sort of got a very cold shouldered reply more to the point where they have got a few luthiers working for them and wouldn't be taking anymore on  Well bad business ethics normally lands you in shit like this I guess..........


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## SpaceDock (Apr 2, 2014)

I can't help but think of the thread where Chris Letchford was talking about how S7 would make these guitars just as good as Ola since "slapping together cnc parts is something anyone can do."


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## Drew (Apr 2, 2014)

Considering this thread was started the morning of April 1st...


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## Philligan (Apr 2, 2014)

Drew said:


> Considering this thread was started the morning of April 1st...



Then it's still sad how it's believable.


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## Randy (Apr 2, 2014)

lurgar said:


> Would Carvins count as a high end guitar? If so, then you can get a really damned good instrument for $2000 from them.



Not really. Between hit-and-miss QC issues and people getting guitars with wrong specs (which are innumerable), I wouldn't consider Carvin 'high end'.

Carvin is more or less a 'made in America', build to order guitar company that offer a handful of more expensive features. If 'high end' just refers to the pricetag being above most of the guitars on the Guitar Center floor, then yes, Carvin would be 'high end' but their pricepoint is mostly due to the MIA factor and the 'built to order' factor. 

Traditionally, 'high end' (in other industries) would refer to processes and materials used in production that ARE NOT used in 'non-high end' versions. If you've seen a Carvin factory tour, the machinery, the attention to detail and processes are similar to what you'd see in a normal production facility.

I think for the purpose of this thread, "high end" is meant mostly to refer to either expertly crafted instruments (ie: handbuilt by persons with very advanced experience) or instruments that require advanced (read: above average) equipment/materials to construct them. Pretty by definition, 'high end' refers to a price tag but also, it's expected that price tag is justified by expense (whether financial or with regard to experience/labor) required to make that item.


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## oath5 (Apr 2, 2014)

Drew said:


> Considering this thread was started the morning of April 1st...



I wished it was a 1 april joke, but I assure you its not


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## oath5 (Apr 2, 2014)

Been in contact with my bank/cc now. They told me to file a complaint. So lets see what happens. Im not too hopeful though...


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 2, 2014)

Jlang said:


> As for what it sounds like ola bailing when he initially said he would make the customers happy with the original s7 issues is quite concerning / odd. What happened there ?



I'm guessing S7 couldn't refund/send people's money to Astral so they could then takeover building their guitars. Without people's original deposits Ola wouldn't have been able to do much.


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## jmeezle (Apr 2, 2014)

I live 5 mins away from the shop and I'd be happy to do any (legal) investigative journalism.


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## technomancer (Apr 2, 2014)

Jlang said:


> As for what it sounds like ola bailing when he initially said he would make the customers happy with the original s7 issues is quite concerning / odd.
> What happened there ?



At a guess, given Jim's ranting that it was a breach of contract in one of his videos for Ola to do that, I would guess Jim happened (that may have been one of the videos he pulled). Since he was basically all but threatening legal action over it in a video I can't see any way Ola would have risked following through.


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## underthecurve (Apr 2, 2014)

technomancer said:


> At a guess, given Jim's ranting that it was a breach of contract in one of his videos for Ola to do that, I would guess Jim happened (that may have been one of the videos he pulled). Since he was basically all but threatening legal action over it in a video I can't see any way Ola would have risked following through.



I don't think this is so much the case.... One thing that can be said is that there are legal considerations that we aren't privy to. After the meltdown videos, I think Jim was fully ready to have Ola handle the rebuilds. As a matter of fact, all the materials to do the rebuilds/complete the guitars were sent to Ola. As lorcan pointed out though, Ola wasn't going to do it for free and s7 was out of money. At that point all materials were sent back to s7. I understand Ola wanting to s7 to live up to their contractual obligation, but now s7 doesn't exist, what are we to do? 

Legalese aside I feel like those who bought the first production strandbergs were customers of Ola's more so than s7, and now we're all screwed. I found out about the production models through Ola's website, emailed a strandberg address when talking to Paul about the guitar, and the guitar itself was build by Allan. Another way to think about it is if I bought a PRS SE, and it had an issue, I would go to PRS, not the Korean World Musical Instrument Company. As I said previous, there are probably many legal and fiscal issues we're not aware of but this, all feels wrong.


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## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

technomancer said:


> At a guess, given Jim's ranting that it was a breach of contract in one of his videos for Ola to do that, I would guess Jim happened (that may have been one of the videos he pulled). Since he was basically all but threatening legal action over it in a video I can't see any way Ola would have risked following through.



I didn't see that. It seems ridiculous, but mostly it's just unfortunate for those still waiting. I wonder if any of the guitars sold at NAMM were "coincidentally" of the same specs as any of the guitars people are waiting for? 

Ola certainly has legal options of his own, but he would just be spending more money to win a pissing contest at that point. I wonder if he will reconsider his decision now that Jim's threats are totally hollow (seems there's no way he would ever have the money to file his own lawsuit at this point).


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## oath5 (Apr 2, 2014)

jmeezle said:


> I live 5 mins away from the shop and I'd be happy to do any (legal) investigative journalism.



Yes please that would be awsome!


----------



## Rev2010 (Apr 2, 2014)

Randy said:


> Not really. Between hit-and-miss QC issues and people getting guitars with wrong specs (which are innumerable), I wouldn't consider Carvin 'high end'.



Do you then still consider Jackson high end? Cause if so there are several instances of guitars that recently came out of the custom shop with majorly wrong specs/issues. Like that Kelly with 23 frets and drunken side dots alignment, or F1Filter's which he waited 3 years for since his order relied on a Pablo cut and he just PM'd me yesterday to say they completely messed up his order. And I quote, "They didn't do a top carve, wrong binding, and they didn't follow my instructions per volume knob placement and headstock lettering.". 



Randy said:


> Traditionally, 'high end' (in other industries) would refer to processes and materials used in production that ARE NOT used in 'non-high end' versions.



I've only ever owned one Carvin, a DC800, so I'm by no means a Carvin fanboy, and I actually sold it off due to not liking how bright it sounded. But I will say it was the best playing instrument I've ever owned and their wood quality is spectacular. You also can ask about one piece neck warping and get nothing but responses on their forum from people with Carvin's over 20 years old with no twisting or warping. I dunno but I think they are in the "league" of high end builders, just with much less options.

For one, they won't do any custom body shapes, they won't do any custom scale lengths outside of what they offer, they don't offer many common custom woods... ummm like Buckeye Burl, we all get the point. So while they aren't really in the full "custom" realm of builders IMO they still are definitely high end. 


Rev.


----------



## AfroSamurai (Apr 2, 2014)

oath5 said:


> jmeezle said:
> 
> 
> > I live 5 mins away from the shop and I'd be happy to do any (legal) investigative journalism.
> > Yes please that would be awsome!


That would be great!

By the way, Ola did bail on us. I thought he was a man of his word, but I was wrong.


----------



## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

AfroSamurai said:


> That would be great!
> 
> By the way, Ola did bail on us. I thought he was a man of his word, but I was wrong.



Hmmm, it was because of the way he stepped up that impressed me I signed up for his made-to-order waiting list. Figured I'd have the money by the time he actually got to me. I'm reconsidering that now.


----------



## Randy (Apr 2, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> Do you then still consider Jackson high end?



No, which should probably answer the rest of your post.

EDIT: Think to yourself what comes to mind when somebody says 'high end car company' and see if there's a distinction between that and, say, a Chevy/Ford/Dodge. All of the latter are very capable cars, some with more expensive models and options than others but does that categorically make them a 'high end car company'? I'd say no but I guess that's up to you. 

The fact that Carvin have ~$700 guitar that come off the same line as $2000 ones leads me to believe the price-point is completely dependent on options and just because they offer several models in the low to medium range, which you can just 'supe up' to get it up to > $1500 doesn't make it a 'high end' brand.

Anyway, I don't mean this to shit on Carvin. They make great guitars and I'd be very happy with owning one, but I just don't consider to be in the same class (regarding 'high' 'medium' 'low' end brands) as, say, Pensa or Collings or Vigier or something.


----------



## maximummetal288 (Apr 2, 2014)

I am frustrated that Ola left us high and dry. When everything blew up last May I got that horrible sinking feeling in stomach that I was out my $1300 deposit. I felt very reassured when Ola emailed all of us Boden customers telling us not to worry and to be patient. I was pretty disappointed when 2 months later it was Jim telling me I could either get a refund or the guitar built by S7. I had put my faith in Ola that he would be able to resolve this issue and get me the guitar I ordered and I was pretty upset that Ola didn't communicate ANYTHING saying what happened or why he couldn't take over the orders.
&#8203;


jmeezle said:


> I live 5 mins away from the shop and I'd be happy to do any (legal) investigative journalism.



If you can stop there that would be much appreciated.


----------



## Adventrooster (Apr 2, 2014)

I see that many are saying pursue the credit card refund, which is valid. I haven't read through ALL of the comments, but I did see that you mentioned he told you that your guitar just needs to be painted. Have you pursued the avenue of getting your unfinished product? If he doesn't respond to that, I'd follow small claims court. Sorry man.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 2, 2014)

Suho said:


> I'm reconsidering that now.



I remember when Ola posted and also being so impressed at how admirable it was that he'd take on the responsibility of fulfilling outstanding orders. He was lauded for how generous and admirable it was to be willing to help customers with existing orders in good faith. It's not going to bode well for his persona to just wash his hands of all it now.

BUT - I guess the real question though is did the current people with orders decide to stay with S7 instead of opting to switch over to having it done in Sweden? Ola's post was from 05-30-2013 which is close to a year ago, 10 months to be exact. If one still has their order in with S7 and didn't take up Ola on that offer to change over then I guess I can see him saying, "Well you had the time to make the choice and didn't take it so..."


Rev.


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## littledoc (Apr 2, 2014)

Randy said:


> Not really. Between hit-and-miss QC issues and people getting guitars with wrong specs (which are innumerable), I wouldn't consider Carvin 'high end'.



Garbage. There's not a lick of evidence that Carvin has any worse QC than any other American guitar manufacturer, and Carvin's well-known for bending over backwards for their customers when things go awry which, since all guitar companies will produce some lemons, is the real test of a company's merit. The overwhelming majority of Carvin's customers are satisfied and loyal. 

I've owned seven Carvins, every one of which has been immaculate. I would not hesitate to hold them in the same esteem as PRS and high-end MIJ Ibanez and ESPs. And after that thread about the Blackmachine with misaligned tuners, I'm not really sure that "high-end" is anything more than just a word people say when they've spent a lot of money.


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## thrsher (Apr 2, 2014)

if what jim say about allan being the only one trained to build the strandberg line true, Ola/washburn should have taken over ALL orders knowing that whoever was left as S7G to build the line did not have formal/professional training to build his product


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## oath5 (Apr 2, 2014)

Adventrooster said:


> I see that many are saying pursue the credit card refund, which is valid. I haven't read through ALL of the comments, but I did see that you mentioned he told you that your guitar just needs to be painted. Have you pursued the avenue of getting your unfinished product? If he doesn't respond to that, I'd follow small claims court. Sorry man.



Paint and assembly. Thats whats left if i havnt been bullshitted


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## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

Rev2010 said:


> I remember when Ola posted and also being so impressed at how admirable it was that he'd take on the responsibility of fulfilling outstanding orders. He was lauded for how generous and admirable it was to be willing to help customers with existing orders in good faith. It's not going to bode well for his persona to just wash his hands of all it now.Rev.



This. 
Frankly, if Ola had done nothing 10 months ago it would be a very different situation. If he did nothing, while perhaps S7 customers would not be happy with the situation (especially those who said they ordered through Strandberg's website and email addresses), Ola's only blameworthy personal actions boiled down to picking crappy business partners. I'm not saying there was no moral duty, but he was fairly free of blame. 

However, once he stepped up and made a point that he personally would take care of everything, and then for whatever reason he reneged and sent everyone back to good ol' Jim- WOW! What a stupid thing to do to all the good will and reputation that he personally still retained. I don't know his reasons specifically, but tactically it was just dumb.


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## Rev2010 (Apr 2, 2014)

Randy said:


> EDIT: Think to yourself what comes to mind when somebody says 'high end car company' and see if there's a distinction between that and, say, a Chevy/Ford/Dodge.



Grrr, why do all guitarists resort to car analogies?? 



Randy said:


> The fact that Carvin have ~$700 guitar that come off the same line as $2000 ones leads me to believe the price-point is completely dependent on options



Same can be said about many high end car companies. A lot of the upper echelon of pricing is determined by options. But even that aside, quoting a base price of $250,000 doesn't mean a car is physically worth $250,000 or that it's xxx amount of times better than another car at a fraction of the cost. People can put whatever price they want on whatever level of product they have, it doesn't somehow make it superior. Many factors such as marketing, word of mouth, rep, etc all go into making a product. Sometimes a company starts out great, develops a great rapport, then goes south all the while still commanding high prices until their reputation starts to sour.

As was mentioned by LittleDoc, Carvin does have a very strong base of satisfied customers. That should count for something.


Rev.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 2, 2014)

That post by Ola simply said that anyone with issues with S7 could contact him and have their order handled by him in Sweden if they wanted? Im not so sure that most could have afforded that option regardless, so most just kept quiet and waited in hopes for Jim to get them their guitar while he apparently went under instead. Jim is the one who screwed everyone over, not Ola. How many actually tried to go that route of contacting Ola? If nobody contacted him then he cant do anything about it. I dont think people contacted him and got no response or anything like that. I do agree that ultimately its his name, but its probably really difficult for him to offer any type of refunds since the deposit payments were not sent to him or astral, which wasnt even a company at the time, but sent to Jim directly. Its sort of like Jim was subcontracting the Strandberg name but it was ultimately his product. The S7G Bodens were really S7 guitars. They werent purchased from Strandberg, but from S7G. Thats where it gets really tricky. Ola assuming responsibility is really an honest good gesture on his part, not a true legal obligation?


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 2, 2014)

There is very little Ola could have done unless he got either the deposits or the hardware/wood for the builds sent to Astral to be completed. He could hardly take it all out of his own pocket.


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## Suho (Apr 2, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> The S7G Bodens were really S7 guitars. They werent purchased from Strandberg, but from S7G. Thats where it gets really tricky. Ola assuming responsibility is really an honest good gesture on his part, not a true legal obligation?


My point is that as a PR/Goodwill/Customer Service matter, stepping up and then stepping down was a dumb thing to do, not to mention getting people's hopes up. I'm not really commenting on the legal aspect of it.




Lorcan Ward said:


> There is very little Ola could have done unless he got either the deposits or the hardware/wood for the builds sent to Astral to be completed. He could hardly take it all out of his own pocket.



Well, according to Underthecurve, the materials were sent to Ola. They were just sent back when the money didn't follow. If it was only about the extra money then he probably never should have stepped up in the first place. What made it commendable was not only that he didn't contractually have the obligation to fulfill the orders, but that he assumed responsibility publicly and didn't say it was contingent upon receiving money. Then he silently sent the customers back to S7, for all the good it did them. 

The below quotes seem to represent that at least several people were dealing with Ola and still ended up with the shaft. That is the crappy part.



underthecurve said:


> At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.





maximummetal288 said:


> I felt very reassured when Ola emailed all of us Boden customers telling us not to worry and to be patient. I was pretty disappointed when 2 months later it was Jim telling me I could either get a refund or the guitar built by S7. I had put my faith in Ola that he would be able to resolve this issue and get me the guitar I ordered and I was pretty upset that Ola didn't communicate ANYTHING saying what happened or why he couldn't take over the orders.


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 2, 2014)

I think its easy to blame Ola and I'm not saying that what he did was right, but I think if anyone got screwed in this whole S7G and Strandberg thing it's Ola, it must have been nervewracking for him to be in Sweden and not really know what the hell Jim is doing in US with guitars that bares his name, but he tursted Jim in the first place sooo...

I don't know really, all I know is that Jim surely burned every bridge here. 

I can't afford guitar like these at the moment so I can't *really* relate to how all of you must be feeling, but it's f-ing crazy how risky it has become to buy a custom guitar, you're buying a musical instrument, not a sex slave or drugs god dammit!


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## Church2224 (Apr 2, 2014)

Tom Drinkwater said:


> On my second part I said "high demand" not "no demand". Also, having a neck made by a North American OEM doesn't automatically mean that the neck is bad. Most OEM's build to their professional customers specs and can do so faster and with more consistency than can be achieved in a small shop with hand tools. Who do you think that these OEM's build for when only a small part of their sales come from the public? As a side note don't bother asking an OEM to make a multiscale neck, not gonna happen.
> 
> If you think $2000 gets you into the high end North American made guitar range you're kidding yourself. And price comparing a $500 import against a $2000 guitar made in a small shop in North America is pretty much proving my point. Just due to the cost of living difference and labor rates that $500 import would cost $2000 if it was made in an American factory. Fender, PRS and Gibson are all demonstrating that very clearly. What does that say about the Ibanez Premium costing up to $1000 if those have occasional quality issues? Why do you find that acceptable? Take an average north american made factory guitar and ask a luthier to replicate it and I guarantee it will cost 2x more at a minimum if that builder is trying to make a living while being everything from the builder to the bookkeeper of his own business.




Well, some of the USA Fenders, G&Ls, EBMM Petruccis and Silhouettes, Certain GIbsons, Certain USA Schecters like the Classic and PT and even certain GJ2 Models are less than 2k, and IMHO those are pretty damn good guitars for the money. Hell I played a Fender American Deluxe Strat and an American Standard Strat today at GC and they were very good guitars. Suhr Modern Satins and Grosh EJ and RC Standards are right at or slightly above the 2k mark and are just as good as their custom counter parts. This tends to be the more "Bare Bones" price range, not many fancy woods and specs but a good workhorse guitar for musicians. 

Also it does not have to be North American to be high end, the Japanese production Ibanez Prestiges and ESP E-IIs are usually 1-2k now, and from the ones I have played and initial reviews I have seen they are pretty damn good for what they are. 

I will also agree Carvin is not that high end. They are better than most production Schecter Diamond Series and ESP LTDs, but not as good as say MIJ ESPs and Ibbies, USA Fenders Gibsons PRS, ect. 

But damn, I hope everyone gets some restitution for the guitars not being delivered to them.


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## narad (Apr 2, 2014)

Jeez, he said he was going to make strictly 7 guitars, and I think all those have been accounted for. What's the problem?

Joking aside, my sympathies to the guys with deposits and payments wrapped up in all of this. Didn't realize it was this bad - an hour long video rant instead of just an hour of digging yourself out of the hole. Ridiculous. Hopefully the damage is on small enough scale that you guys wind up with Astrals or something in compensation.


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## ayaotd (Apr 2, 2014)

This guy must of said he didn't have time for that fifty five times. Sorry to all the dudes who are currently in limbo/out of money :S


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## HaloHat (Apr 2, 2014)

To the OP and other S7G customers. I just watched the video posted for the first time. I didn't even get past 3 minutes before thinking Jim has totally lost his mind. That is not the same person I did business with in 2010 [with Allen's assistance of course]. I am so sorry this happened to you guys. I don't know if he's high as fu(k or fairly deep into mental illness but the guy in that video is insane.

Carvin is great, but if you don't know already, then you don't know Carvin as a company. I'll just leave it at this... they are decades ahead of everyone with their direct to the customer way of doing things, others are going to follow or try, like Fender is doing now. And if there is a company you can count on to build what you paid for in about 8 weeks with thousand of option combinations and you know your money is safe it's Carvin. Don't like the guitar? Money back within 10 days of delivery to you as long as not an op50. No questions asked, no bullshit. Paying a lot does not equal high end [not saying that is what the other post meant] and value for your money is relavent at any price. 

Lots of good guitar companies out there today. Schecter, ESP/LTD, Fender, Ibanez, any many more. F Jim. F S7G. I am so sorry this is happening.

canuck brian at Bowen Guitar, that is pretty awesome of you to try and help like that.


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## Edge_Man (Apr 2, 2014)

Have to say I'm surprised but I'm not surprised.... So pissed right now. I will never order another custom guitar. F Paypal F S7 and a BIG F to Jim, such scum. I'm taking his ass to court.


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## Dooky (Apr 2, 2014)

Wow... That S7G Ranting video is bad!
Unbelieveable that he would take the time (almost an hour) to film himself ranting, bitching and waving his contract around and then think to himself: "Yes, I think I'll upload that to YouTube". He had so much time to stop and think: "Hmm, no, maybe it's not such a good idea to upload this." What a Tard


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## ElysianGuitars (Apr 2, 2014)

Edge_Man said:


> Have to say I'm surprised but I'm not surprised.... So pissed right now. I will never order another custom guitar. F Paypal F S7 and a BIG F to Jim, such scum. I'm taking his ass to court.



And this is a huge problem for honest shops. Bad builders hurt everyone.


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## flexkill (Apr 2, 2014)

ElysianGuitars said:


> And this is a huge problem for honest shops. Bad builders hurt everyone.



S7G started off as honest I'm sure. Then like so many others he got over his head very quickly, spent customer money, and now has no money and no employees. This will happen over and over again.

So I would say stupid/bad decisions hurt everyone.


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## Edge_Man (Apr 2, 2014)

Jim just sent an email to all the people waiting.... I wish he had sent this sooner... Check your inboxes for the update!


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## maximummetal288 (Apr 2, 2014)

Edge_Man said:


> Jim just sent an email to all the people waiting.... I wish he had sent this sooner... Check your inboxes for the update!



I don't see anything from Jim


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## Edge_Man (Apr 2, 2014)

From Jim's Email

Hello Gentlemen:
It is with a heavy heart I write this letter

If you are receiving this e-mail that means you are still waiting for your custom shop guitar, or a signature model that was customized with a custom inlay, or a signature model that was discontinued because that artist left during production. Some of you have been waiting an absurd length of time and have been in previous communication with me. Im aware many of you have been trying to get in touch with me with no luck; which causes high anxiety I knowfor that I do apologize. Some nasty chatter has been brought to my attention from a customer who knows Im an honest man and directed me to a well known forum so I could read the slander and defaming words for myself, all I can do is shake my head. The only piece of truth in any of the inane, uninformed bloviating is that I am alone in the shop now. My employees have quit as of 2 weeks ago yesterday. As you can imagine, I have been trying to figure out a solution to this situation. Im not just going to throw in the towel and throw all my hard work in the trash. No way. 

Please do not panic! You are not going to get screwed; Im just communicating the current situation and my plans to fulfill my obligations. The comparisons between me and other builders/luthiers are unfair and will be proven incorrect. Most of you are familiar with the difficulties I/S7G had last year w/the headlessfanned fret debacle; a very unfortunate set of circumstances and contract violations that put me in a serious financial hole, which I am still not out of; hence the continued delays on your guitars. And the VAST MAJORITY of you all have been incredibly understanding of the delays and for that I am thankful, so please do not read any hostility in this message.

Im not asking for money, many of you graciously sent money previously which really helped move things forward (hard to believe on your end Im sure). I am simply laying out the current plan.

Bottom line, I am shutting down the custom shop side of S7G until further notice. This means, unless I already have the programming to do a build, it will not be agreed upon to build. I will be focusing on finishing the current Custom Shop orders and my production lines for my Dealers, period. 

I tried to do everything people wanted with their guitars, even allowed changes mid-way through the process, some of these changes have caused the delays those of you who requested changes are experiencing. Doesnt matter either way. I have said this before, many times, but people just dont seem to believe me; Im not out drinking and doing cocaine with your deposit money. I spent it on materials, parts, labor, and shop/equipment rent/payments and money has run out because orders have slowed down while overhead hasnt. Why have sales slowedwho knows? The biggest complaint with S7G product is NOT THE PRODUCT; it is the stupid wait times. I cant change that now; all I can do is finish what I have left, so here is my plan

I have attached an Excel file with the list of what guitars are still left to complete. The oldest orders that are paid in full will be completed first, in order. 
Then, guitars that are the oldest but have outstanding balances will be completed oldest to newest. If you have a different amount due than I show here, please e-mail me the credit card receipt, wire transfer, or Paypal receipt.

I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored. If you dont want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I dont waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone. Several people with whom I have communicated this information agreed they would rather have the guitar than nothing, despite the wait time. I have tied up ALL the money in the guitars, parts, and overhead as explained above. I have paid myself a total of $5,000 over the past 3 years, so the money isn't paying my bills, just ask my mortgage company and student loan people. That leaves me with this final thought

If you would prefer to receive a production model piece, or some other custom model I have in the shop; I can re-calculate the costs and let you know the difference. I will be taking pictures of what pieces I have that are in near completion levels that I can send on request after this weekend.
Money situation has sucked badly for about the past year-18 months; Im not going to cry about it, those who maliciously set out to cause me this problem will answer to karma in the end. Right now, you all are the unfortunate collateral damage of this BS and for that I truly am sorry. My employees all quit because they had been working for FREE the past 2 ½ months to help get product done and caught up in the hopes things would get betterbut that hasnt happened. This means I am doing it all by myself like I did when I first started out; funny how life comes full circle sometimes. Curran and Eric have said they will help me with final assembly when I get things to that point which will help move things along quicker; but until that point of the build process, I am on my own. I still have to work my day job so I get to work on guitars in the evenings and weekends; but focusing only on 1-2 at a time until completed.

I will do my best to check e-mails several times a week, but please know I am not going to answer e-mails that are requesting refunds or cancellations as I said above. My other option is to just file for bankruptcy and forget all of it; no one wins if it comes to that. I am not a quitter, simple. Im a man of my word and I/we/S7G build a superior product and I want you all to have one of my guitars. I dont screw people. Honesty and integrity are all I have to fall back on in the end. When I meet my Maker, I will know I did right by people. I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this business. Cost me 2 serious relationships and a couple of friends along the way as well. Many of you know this to be true. People have witnessed my blatant honesty, intensity, and love for this product on my many YouTube videos. Again, doesnt change the fact you are still waiting for your guitar(s). They will be done.

Thanks for everything over these past 2 years, I do appreciate the support. I wish I could have done things better, faster, or differently to not be typing this letter; but I didnt.


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## downburst82 (Apr 2, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> I can't help but think of the thread where Chris Letchford was talking about how S7 would make these guitars just as good as Ola since "slapping together cnc parts is something anyone can do."




Chris still feels the same way..I mentioned it on facebook(2 days ago) and his response didn't really make it seem like he had changed his perspective at all..

*edit* just saw the post (email)above..not sure what to make of it....but I really respect alot of what Jim said


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## ElysianGuitars (Apr 2, 2014)

Edge_Man said:


> I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored. * If you don&#8217;t want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I don&#8217;t waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone.*



Can't figure out how this is legal, unless the people who gave money to him signed some kind of agreement that their money was non-refundable...


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## Xaios (Apr 2, 2014)

I love how he puts "forum" in quotation marks, as if to question SSO's legitimacy.

Spoken like a true "luthier."


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## axxessdenied (Apr 2, 2014)

not surprised


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 2, 2014)

ElysianGuitars said:


> Can't figure out how this is legal, unless the people who gave money to him signed some kind of agreement that their money was non-refundable...



Deposits are generally non-refundable. If I'm not mistaken it's to cover parts/materials. Edit: you can probably sue for the remainder, but a dude with no money to give will get you no money.

Anyway, what a lame email... Guy sounds like a total knob. I'd get more into it if I weren't so damn sleepy, but it sounds like he's apologizing that his customers (you know, the people receiving the email) are too demanding and windbaggy shit heads. Like worm holes, sharp frets that fall out, and shitty gluing are totally fine on $2k+ guitars.

Yeah, .... you bro. You get no sympathy from me. The customers who got nothing and/or a poorly built guitar at insane prices get my sympathy, not the whiny shit who poorly invested the money he was given for a specific task.


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## flexkill (Apr 2, 2014)

I have a bad feeling many people have made "Donations" of charity to Jim unknowingly.

He needs to understand that people didn't send him their hard earned money on a gamble that he would succeed in doing what was promised. He isn't the stock market. He has basically spent other peoples money on his own risk taking.....and failed. So far anyway.


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## technomancer (Apr 2, 2014)

ElysianGuitars said:


> And this is a huge problem for honest shops. Bad builders hurt everyone.



Yep the backlash from BRJ, Sherman, and S7 has been going around here for quite a while and it definitely not helpful to honest guys trying to earn a living at it.


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## flexkill (Apr 2, 2014)

technomancer said:


> Yep the backlash from BRJ, Sherman, and S7 has been going around here for quite a while and it definitely not helpful to honest guys trying to earn a living at it.



But do you think this was his plans all along??? I really do not. I don't think he is dishonest per say....just a real bad decision maker and businessman.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 2, 2014)

Edge_Man said:


> From Jim's Email
> 
> Hello Gentlemen:
> It is with a heavy heart I write this letter&#8230;
> ...




Time works in his favor so just continue waiting patiently for your guitars. He has a full time job and no employees, and a history of putting out nothing even when he had employees and a bunch of free time. Just let the statute of limitations run out, let more time go by, no big deal. No need to take action or get frustrated now cause he's gonna come through eventually.

This is how I wasted the 45 day ebay policy on filing a dispute. Jim said guitar is done please send payment. I send payment. Jim ships guitar when? 30 days later!! while not replying, updating, or filling me in on anything. I get guitar 30 days later. I send email. No response. I email again. No response. I waste two weeks waiting for a reply. 45 days gone like that. 

Its because of this that Im pretty sure he knows that buying time works in his favor.

Also worth noting is that S7 didnt have one of the small tiny booths down in the basement at NAMM that only cost a couple of grand, he had a good sized booth upstairs in a great location. As far as I know, those booths cost more than $10,000 and he also had 15 guitars on display easy! This was around 2 months ago that he was at NAMM with that killer booth.

Also, it kind of seems like his email was only in response to this thread. If this thread didnt exist would he have emailed?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Apr 2, 2014)

Yeah, it sucks when luthiers work on NAMM guitars instead of completing outstanding orders.


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## Suho (Apr 3, 2014)

I was surprised to hear he went to NAMM. I guess all those charitable donors, a/k/a customers, were pretty generous!


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## leonardo7 (Apr 3, 2014)

Suho said:


> I was surprised to hear he went to NAMM. I guess all those charitable donors, a/k/a customers, were pretty generous!



Apparently employees too! This isn't some one man show luthier, this guy supposedly had a team of guys and still couldn't get good guitars out the door. Payment that went to him went to Strictly 7 Guitars LLC, according to my paypal receipts. Its a company, not a luthier.


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 3, 2014)

Sorry, but when a customer sends deposit/finishing cash it is NOT supposed to be used for general shop/material upkeep. 
Deposit money should be basically kept/secured in escrow, unless it's used for that customers special requirements on his/her specific guitar.

He ran his cash out because he was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
It's very obvious from his tone that it was not his intention to screw anyone, but failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

He would have been much better IMO to dock the ship when it started taking on water, instead of steering into deeper water and requiring more and more help/luck to stay afloat.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Apr 3, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> ...
> 
> Also worth noting is that S7 didnt have one of the small tiny booths down in the basement at NAMM that only cost a couple of grand, he had a good sized booth upstairs in a great location. As far as I know, those booths cost more than $10,000 and he also had 15 guitars on display easy! This was around 2 months ago that he was at NAMM with that killer booth.
> ...



Well, I found these, from NAMM 2014, which was like 2 months ago:


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## Necris (Apr 3, 2014)

Jim at Strictly 7 said:


> Money situation has sucked badly for about the past year-18 months; I&#8217;m not going to cry about it, *those who maliciously set out to cause me this problem will answer to karma in the end. Right now, you all are the unfortunate &#8220;collateral damage&#8221; of this BS and for that I truly am sorry.*


Yeah, just take no personal responsibility for the failings of your own business; that's always the sign of a real winner. Seriously, what the hell?


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## Jonathan20022 (Apr 3, 2014)

So he CAN basically file for bankruptcy in a few months and be done with his company and anything he owes his customers? But he's choosing to brave it and get as much done as possible by himself while supporting his own family by working a day job?

When have you guys heard this before?  If you want to wait for this to really .... up to an even worse extent, by all means. But If I were any of you involved I would be doing anything I can to pressure this guy, sorry you can't just "ignore" people who have already paid for something that they won't receive unless they sit around wait this company's already inevitable doom. Pretty sure you can use his own words against him, your money isn't lost if you don't want to be taken on a ride, if you buy into his words then I don't know what to tell you.


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## Captain Butterscotch (Apr 3, 2014)

Eh, usually when someone says "Don't panic!", that's just about the time you should start panicking.


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## oath5 (Apr 3, 2014)

After talking with Curran further I'm even more worried tbf...We're screwed


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## cwhitey2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Is it me or does Jim have the BIGGEST balls in the world?

NAMM...really?


Take care of past customers before you get new ones guy.


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## Jlang (Apr 3, 2014)

Captain Butterscotch said:


> Eh, usually when someone says "Don't panic!", that's just about the time you should start panicking.



My sentiments exactly, grab whatever you can , and makeway for the door.


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 3, 2014)

I never see luthiers step up and take responsibility for their poor business decisions and time keeping. They always try to blame everyone else but themselves. But I do have to hand it to him for stepping up and coming out with a statement even if there is a lot in it that customers so not want to here. At least he has come out with something instead of leaving people in limbo like BRJ or Invictus. 



leonardo7 said:


> Also worth noting is that S7 didnt have one of the small tiny booths down in the basement at NAMM that only cost a couple of grand, he had a good sized booth upstairs in a great location. As far as I know, those booths cost more than $10,000 and he also had 15 guitars on display easy! This was around 2 months ago that he was at NAMM with that killer booth.



So he can't pay his workers and doesn't have the time to finish guitars yet he spent a ton of money on a NAMM booth and all his time on show guitars despite knowing paying customers having been waiting months to years for guitars. 

The purpose of a booth is to attract artists and future customers but he already has way more than he can handle. Thats just a terrible business decision and a complete waste of money. Finishing of the Bodens and a ton of NGDs on here + Facebook will do a lot more for your business than a trade show.

This is getting way to common nowadays and the worst part is how unprotected we are as customers since the window to dispute is so small.


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## Nonservium (Apr 3, 2014)

If you are one of those who have been left swaying in the breeze while being fleeced I would, at the very least, speak with a lawyer to explore any and all courses of action you can take from here. Given the tone of his rants in the past and the letter he just posted on facebook (as well as Curran's post on it!) I wouldn't be surprised if the course of action he's laid out never comes to fruition. In fact, I'd bet on it at this point. You should probably look into protecting yourself as far as you can.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 3, 2014)

From Jim's Email said:


> Hello Gentlemen:
> It is with a heavy heart I write this letter&#8230;
> 
> If you are receiving this e-mail that means you are still waiting for your custom shop guitar, or a signature model that was &#8220;customized&#8221; with a custom inlay, or a signature model that was discontinued because that artist left during production. Some of you have been waiting an absurd length of time and have been in previous communication with me. I&#8217;m aware many of you have been trying to get in touch with me with no luck; which causes high anxiety I know&#8230;for that I do apologize. Some nasty chatter has been brought to my attention from a customer who knows I&#8217;m an honest man and directed me to a well known &#8220;forum&#8221; so I could read the slander and defaming words for myself, all I can do is shake my head. The only piece of truth in any of the inane, uninformed bloviating is that I am alone in the shop now. My employees have quit as of 2 weeks ago yesterday. As you can imagine, I have been trying to figure out a solution to this situation. I&#8217;m not just going to throw in the towel and throw all my hard work in the trash. No way.
> ...



That note is just utterly laced with bullshit.  I'll point out a few of the items that were the most ridiculous:



Jim said:


> Bottom line, I am shutting down the custom shop side of S7G until further notice. *This means, unless I already have the programming to do a build, it will not be agreed upon to build.* I will be focusing on finishing the current Custom Shop orders and my production lines for my Dealers, period.



So it's totally cool to keep taking orders as long as you have the body style programmed? That doesn't seem like bullshit to me, not one bit&#8230;  



Jim said:


> I have said this before, many times, but people just don&#8217;t seem to believe me; I&#8217;m not out drinking and doing cocaine with your deposit money. I spent it on materials, parts, labor, and shop/equipment rent/payments and *money has run out because orders have slowed down while overhead hasn&#8217;t. Why have sales slowed&#8230;who knows?*



See, THIS is where Jim ....ed up. He based running his business on EXPECTING new orders to come in to allow him to actually complete the ones he took the full payment for already. How are you going to run a business that way? Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the ponzi scheme that so many other small builders have pulled, which is ironic since he specifically said the comparison to other luthiers who did that is unfair&#8230; but what he's doing is EXACTLY what those guys were doing too!  Spent the money they got up front and couldn't finish the builds because they ran out of cash and when they couldn't get deposits from other guys to cover finishing old builds, they just went bankrupt or stopped replying to their previous order customers. "Why have the sales slowed&#8230; who knows?" Really Jim? WHO KNOWS?! Maybe because after the word gets out on public forums (or via yourself in your idiotic YouTube rants&#8230; nothing makes a builder look crazy like posting an online RANT VIDEO talking shit on current customers&#8230; ) and folks see builders not delivering after 1-2 years with zero proof of progress on outstanding orders, plus ignoring those guys who were out $1-2K+ with nothing to show for it, people get a little turned off and become unwilling to send people like you money anymore.  Honestly, rightfully-so too. 



Jim said:


> The biggest complaint with S7G product is NOT THE PRODUCT; it is the stupid wait times.



Hmm I dunno about that&#8230; all the threads with pictures showing flaws with the S7 guitars you've actually shipped might lead one to believe the contrary. 




Jim said:


> *I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored.* If you don&#8217;t want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I don&#8217;t waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone.



Shit like this always cracks me up. "I spent your money, so don't bother contacting me because I'll just ignore you, ESPECIALLY if you want a refund 2 years later." Awesome attitude right there!  So your options are 1) Get nothing for the money you already gave him or 2) Wait an undetermined amount of time for a guitar that may or may not ever show up. #WINNING  DAT BUSINESS PLAN! Also you might want to save HIS valuable time by letting him know up front that you just donated that money to S7G so he doesn't "waste his time finishing it"&#8230;. or maybe starting it perhaps? 




Jim said:


> People have witnessed my blatant honesty, intensity, and love for this product on my many YouTube videos.



Yeah&#8230; that's what that was&#8230; not the ranting of a crazed person&#8230; just "honesty, intensity and love for this product." Nevermind the name-calling and finger-pointing BS in all the vids he posted (some of which were removed, of course&#8230, that's just that honesty and intensity coming at you!  


I think this was the best part:



Jim said:


> I am not a quitter, simple. I&#8217;m a man of my word and I/we/S7G build a superior product and I want you all to have one of my guitars. I don&#8217;t screw people. Honesty and integrity are all I have to fall back on in the end.



Which was preceded IMMEDIATELY by this line:



Jim said:


> My other option is to just file for bankruptcy and forget all of it; no one wins if it comes to that.



Yeah, he says that's an option for where things are going... but he's no quitter, gosh-darnit!  Those sound like the words of a guy who refuses to give up...  There's really nothing keeping him from filing for bankruptcy which honestly seems to be where this is going to head (especially now that he's brought it up publicly), if he couldn't build any of these guitars with a shop full of employees, do you think he's seriously going to build anything when he only has a handful of hours each week AFTER he works a full day at his day job?  He doesn't want people to draw comparisons to folks like BRJ and the like, but this is EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THERE! Countdown to shutdown in 3&#8230;2..1&#8230;


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## underthecurve (Apr 3, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> That post by Ola simply said that anyone with issues with S7 could contact him and have their order handled by him in Sweden if they wanted? Im not so sure that most could have afforded that option regardless, so most just kept quiet and waited in hopes for Jim to get them their guitar while he apparently went under instead.



You have it wrong my friend. I contacted Ola, Paul, about 0.0005 seconds after that post was make. Why wouldn't anybody with an outstanding order not contact him? 



leonardo7 said:


> Jim is the one who screwed everyone over, not Ola. How many actually tried to go that route of contacting Ola? If nobody contacted him then he cant do anything about it. I dont think people contacted him and got no response or anything like that. I do agree that ultimately its his name, but its probably really difficult for him to offer any type of refunds since the deposit payments were not sent to him or astral, which wasnt even a company at the time, but sent to Jim directly. Its sort of like Jim was subcontracting the Strandberg name but it was ultimately his product. The S7G Bodens were really S7 guitars. They werent purchased from Strandberg, but from S7G. Thats where it gets really tricky. Ola assuming responsibility is really an honest good gesture on his part, not a true legal obligation?



This is tricky, and I'm pretty sure only a lawyer can answer, and I'm sure even then, if you asked more than one you would get different answers. Without looking at the partnership agreement between S7 and strandberg, we are even more in the dark. You say Jim subcontracted the Strandberg name, but I say Ola subcontracted Jim's manufacturing.


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## MetalHeadMat (Apr 3, 2014)

Wow, those V's and Explorer's look very nice. That sucks.


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## mountainjam (Apr 3, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> Ya know, he did:
> http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-i-got-my-strictly-7-boden-9.html#post3576937
> 
> Which was an extremely generous gesture. From there I was put in contact with Paul, and things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.



Yeah, mother fucck Ola Strandberg. He told us to put our faith in s7, which I did, and then I received probably the biggest Boden lemon they built. I saw Ola's public statement about helping us, contacted him, and was told by Ola he would fix the situation. Like you said, he eventually told me there was nothing he could do and passed me off to s7, which did nothing at all for me or anyone.


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## Suho (Apr 3, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> This is tricky, and I'm pretty sure only a lawyer can answer, and I'm sure even then, if you asked more than one you would get different answers. Without looking at the partnership agreement between S7 and strandberg, we are even more in the dark. You say Jim subcontracted the Strandberg name, but I say Ola subcontracted Jim's manufacturing.



I highly doubt it was a partnership. My guess is, S7 had a licensing agreement to use Ola's designs and hardware and name. On paper, anyway. It gets a little murkier when you account for Ola's direct role in referring customers to S7. 

Frankly, I am an attorney, but this is one of those situations where you as an individual who got screwed will likely spend at least as much on a lawyer as you already spent on the guitar. This makes pursuing the lawsuit option somewhat unpractical for multiple reasons. There may be ways to share the legal costs if you team up with others, and you may end up with a judgment against S7 or even Jim, but still not collect any money. There may be other ways, but the more creative your theory of recovery is the more your legal fees will rack up. 

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THE ABOVE AS LEGAL ADVICE IN ANY WAY. [I kind of have to say that for my protection, even though it is obvious.]


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## stevexc (Apr 3, 2014)

I will give him some credit, "bloviate" is a good word.

That's all the credit though.


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## Krucifixtion (Apr 3, 2014)

I can sort of understand his frustration with dealing with certain types of people and some of what he is saying makes good sense, but if your whole video is about people that want to bash you and not directly contact you personally then you probably shouldn't post an hour long video bashing people yourself. I don't have any experience with S7, so it's hard to comment, but I just dislike when companies are so quick to take your money if you place an order online and they seem to answer emails very quickly when it comes to starting something, but then all the sudden they don't have time to answer emails when it comes to something you personally paid for??? I can understand not dealing with just answering tons of generic questions about stuff for people who aren't buying or ordering stuff, but man give your customers some more respect than that. 

I learned my lesson from DAR and I was one of the lucky few who actually got their deposit back. This is why I stick with production guitars and amps that are already produced and sold by dealers. Just way less hassle. 

I kind of feel sorry for him in terms of some of the BS he had to deal with, but man no big successful company would actually post a video like this demeaning your customers regardless of how much of an asshole some of them might be.


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## RustInPeace (Apr 3, 2014)

If I were a customer waiting on my build, Id be at least slightly relieved after seeing that email. Seems like he's adamant on resolving this without giving up.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 3, 2014)

TL;DR version:

"Hey I heard you guys heard that the shit hit the fan. Don't panic! I'll make sure you wait just long enough for me to close shop and GTFO with absolutely no repercussions for being an absolutely incompetent businessman!!"


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## stevexc (Apr 3, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> TL;DR version:
> 
> "Hey I heard you guys heard that the shit hit the fan. Don't panic! I'll make sure you wait just long enough for me to close shop and GTFO with absolutely no repercussions for being an absolutely incompetent businessman!!"



"PS: Now you can't compare me to BRJ, I actually sent out an email on my own!"


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## technomancer (Apr 3, 2014)

flexkill said:


> But do you think this was his plans all along??? I really do not. I don't think he is dishonest per say....just a real bad decision maker and businessman.



Does it matter? I don't think most of these guys start with some diabolical plan to rip people off or deliver bad products, but if that is the end result what difference does it make? As the saying goes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Do you think the guys out thousands of dollars to BRJ care if he intended to rip them off or not?

I honestly hope Jim turns it around and delivers the guitars everybody is waiting for


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## Henry Terry (Apr 3, 2014)

You should contact the office of the state's Attorney General. I do not know where Strictly 7 is located, but the Attorneys General in some states have "consumer protection" divisions. The people there may be able to offer you some advice. There are statutes of limitations for filing lawsuits, but they vary from state to state, and there are different ones for different types of lawsuits.

Sometimes, the Attorney General's office will become involved in a complaint like this, especially if there are many people with the same complaint.

Good luck!


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## SpaceDock (Apr 3, 2014)

If I were you guys, I would get my unfinished guitar NOW. BRJ did the same b.s. with calling people and saying "it's all good, just wait a bit longer" then he fell off the planet.

If Jim is still willing to communicate, you have a chance to get something. Do not wait!!! Learn from my mistake.


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## AfroSamurai (Apr 3, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> That post by Ola simply said that anyone with issues with S7 could contact him and have their order handled by him in Sweden if they wanted? Im not so sure that most could have afforded that option regardless, so most just kept quiet and waited in hopes for Jim to get them their guitar while he apparently went under instead.



I was in contact with Ola from before that post and he basically said the same. He told me to send the guitar back to Jim to get either a refund or rebuild by Astral...... If I knew he was going to bail like that I would have kept the Boden and sent it locally for a repair. 

Now, that mail from Jim is something else. Like someone else said, he has some balls to post that publicly. What pisses me off the most is that I know he sold the Boden I sent back, so he should be able to refund me. 

I think I'm going to take a lesson here and do like Krucifixtion does, buy shit from the shelf and be done with it.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 3, 2014)

RustInPeace said:


> If I were a customer waiting on my build, Id be at least slightly relieved after seeing that email. Seems like he's adamant on resolving this without giving up.



Not at all, actually. He's been making the same claims for over a year (again, including some of his now-deleted YT vids) telling people "things are rough, hang tight guys, I'll take care of you because I'm an honest person!", except now it's even so dire that his own employees have left him because it's been 2 months without pay (honestly shocked any if then stayed and worked for free for the jerk on promises of payment... ). That's usually not a position people are able to recover from, official "downward spiral to death of the business" has begun.  He's already ignoring a large part of his customer base, that's step 1, add him publicly stating that he's broke and won't give any refunds - step 2, and finally even his own employees have ALL quit, including the ones who had stayed with him for years. 

Sorry man, a long-winded email making promises that he plans to make good on all those orders means nothing, just like it didn't mean a thing when he made them months ago. Seriously, this is like "final nail in the coffin" bad for customers still waiting for guitars, unfortunately.


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## Randy (Apr 3, 2014)

Any estimates on how many orders we're talking? I'm assuming the Excel file mentioned in the email should be a clue?


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## cwhitey2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Randy said:


> Any estimates on how many orders we're talking? I'm assuming the Excel file mentioned in the email should be a clue?





I'm curious as well.


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## AfroSamurai (Apr 3, 2014)

I didn't get the email, so if someone can pm the file would be great (want to check whether I'm listed or not).


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## SeanSan (Apr 3, 2014)

So I watched that video of his.

If he really was a "Nice" guy or whatever it was he was saying to bring himself up, I think he should have spent more time trying to fix all of his problems than making these videos trying to bring himself "up" again and try to make himself "valid" or something. (I can't find the right terms/expressions right now).

That being said, I'm interested in how many orders are left too! I hope all this goes well for those still waiting, and I kinda hope Jim can turn things around and make S7G work again in the long run, but that seems very unlikely now.


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## gunch (Apr 3, 2014)

They're dumb RG copies with ugly head-stocks and amateur-hour branding and design. The guitars always looked like China wholesale guitars you could get off ebay for 100 bucks.

I mean sorry to guys that gave this scheister money but I've been sitting here the whole time like, why would you want a S7 in the first place?


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## RustInPeace (Apr 3, 2014)

HighGain510 said:


> Not at all, actually. He's been making the same claims for over a year (again, including some of his now-deleted YT vids) telling people "things are rough, hang tight guys, I'll take care of you because I'm an honest person!", except now it's even so dire that his own employees have left him because it's been 2 months without pay (honestly shocked any if then stayed and worked for free for the jerk on promises of payment... ). That's usually not a position people are able to recover from, official "downward spiral to death of the business" has begun.  He's already ignoring a large part of his customer base, that's step 1, add him publicly stating that he's broke and won't give any refunds - step 2, and finally even his own employees have ALL quit, including the ones who had stayed with him for years.
> 
> Sorry man, a long-winded email making promises that he plans to make good on all those orders means nothing, just like it didn't mean a thing when he made them months ago. Seriously, this is like "final nail in the coffin" bad for customers still waiting for guitars, unfortunately.



Dang  I feel bad for you guys who are SOL. Between this and hearing horrors about even the Jackson CS, dealing with someone more reputable and consistent like Carvin makes much more sense.


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## canuck brian (Apr 3, 2014)

silverabyss said:


> I mean sorry to guys that gave this scheister money but I've been sitting here the whole time like, why would you want a S7 in the first place?



Probably due to the people/musicians that were "endorsed" by them talking them up. 

And then there's the production strandberg thing, which i'm guessing had a LOT of interested people.


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## gunch (Apr 3, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> Probably due to the people/musicians that were "endorsed" by them talking them up.
> 
> And then there's the production strandberg thing, which i'm guessing had a LOT of interested people.



Which only drives the point home that you should research and get as much information possible before putting money down on something, not because someone looks cool on stage or on promos holding (x) guitar

Or learn to just build your own damn guitars like I'm sure you did 

angry broke hipster rant over


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 3, 2014)

I don't think anyone can deny that they made some really cool-looking guitars, RG rip-offs or not.


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## Edge_Man (Apr 3, 2014)

AfroSamurai said:


> I didn't get the email, so if someone can pm the file would be great (want to check whether I'm listed or not).




Afro, I'm not going to send the spread sheet as it has customer names and other info. If you are missing a guitar contact Jim at his email address...


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## brutalwizard (Apr 3, 2014)

"I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored. If you don&#8217;t want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I don&#8217;t waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone."

Now taking bets as to when this jim dude is admitted to a mental hospital. I would go insane too if I was so far into debt with my home, unable to pay student loans for my tv college massage therapy classes (someone mentioned that was his job before so i just assume), and owed 500-4000$ to about 30-70 people.

The whole Namm thing kills me.

I almost want to fake trying to place an order to see if he would accept my money.


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## AfroSamurai (Apr 3, 2014)

No worries, I'll pm with a quick question.


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## AxeHappy (Apr 3, 2014)

He keeps saying he is honest and full of intergity, but what has he done to show that? How do we know that Jim. Because it seems a lot of customers don't know it.


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## Convictional (Apr 3, 2014)

Reading this thread is depressing. Every once in a while you see these new luthieries pop up that get in over their head and a bunch of people get screwed. The problem is that it will keep happening in the future and there is always someone who will get burned.

It's really discouraging to people who are thinking of ordering customs.  It feels like you can do next to nothing to prevent yourself from being screwed so it requires way more trust than should be given to a stranger imo 

It seems like the best option is to just move to Australia


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 3, 2014)

Convictional said:


> Reading this thread is depressing. Every once in a while you see these new luthieries pop up that get in over their head and a bunch of people get screwed. The problem is that it will keep happening in the future and there is always someone who will get burned.
> 
> It's really discouraging to people who are thinking of ordering customs.  It feels like you can do next to nothing to prevent yourself from being screwed so it requires way more trust than should be given to a stranger imo
> 
> It seems like the best option is to just move to Australia



Atleast youd have Orsmby down there, they seem pretty awesome


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 3, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> I don't think anyone can deny that they made some really cool-looking guitars, RG rip-offs or not.



Sure, if you like pointier RGs, which aren't my thing. I like rounder guitars. Otherwise, as said before, they were just standard RG clones, with fatter KxK headstocks.


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## narad (Apr 3, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> I don't think anyone can deny that they made some really cool-looking guitars, RG rip-offs or not.



You know who does some really sick RG stuff though? Ibanez. And they don't document their descent into madness on youtube!


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 3, 2014)

^ Sure but they don't have a public custom shop either so customization is pretty limited.


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## narad (Apr 3, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> ^ Sure but they don't have a public custom shop either so customization is pretty limited.



You can drill your own wormholes. What other customizations did S7 offer?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 3, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> ^ Sure but they don't have a public custom shop either so customization is pretty limited.



I'll take a reasonable priced guitar with reasonable flaws and fixed specs over an overpriced custom guitar with pretty major flaws.


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## flexkill (Apr 3, 2014)

I couldn't find a good pic of the white one with black binding(which I prefer)....but this guitar was fvcking hot. IDGAF what anyone says.










Shame it didn't work out. It is hard to feel sorry for Jim when he had the golden goose and dropped the ball. He could have made a lot of money if he would have just been smarter in his actions it seems.


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 3, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'll take a reasonable priced guitar with reasonable flaws and fixed specs over an overpriced custom guitar with pretty major flaws.



I never said that the guitars were good, just that they looked cool. Good eye-candy I guess.


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## crg123 (Apr 3, 2014)

technomancer said:


> I honestly hope Jim turns it around and delivers the guitars everybody is waiting for



This is exactly how I feel. I mean we can talk about this all day but in the end we're all just hoping this doesn't become another BRJ debacle where no one wins. 

The Strictly 7+1 I played (owned by AnarchyDivine88) was a pretty awesome looking instrument with a myrtlewood top. I hated the headstock though like a lot of people haha. The neck was really strange on it, very flat almost 2x4 like. I loved the BKP warpigs in it though (eventually got some for myself!) I'm not sure what other people's experiences have been with S7 but it makes a lot more sense now after hearing he started as a warmoth guitar modder who took on to much to chew. I did love the look solar and tesseract models though (Almost bought one haha) I was hoping the neck would be better. Also it was a much less hideous headstock then the cobra.

I'm not sure why Jim is so long winded in every argument he makes (those hour long videos were obscene and make him look a bit unhinged). This is more of a critique if he's listening. I think the more he says the more people view it as ranting. Plus he says a lot of things that people interpret (As they should) and I'm sure he regrets saying it. I think if he means business he should avoid talking about "the haters" and show people he can pull through. All this makes less customers trust him in a situation like this. I think its ridiculous that he spent customer money on other builds instead of completing what they had paid for.

I wish everyone involved the best of luck and hope that Jim can figure something out that works out for all of you.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 3, 2014)

If the past 1-2 years have taught us anything, its that there can be no success for S7G without Allan Marcus overseeing the building and final assembly and Paul De Maio handling the PR and customer service. Its been over for a while now. There is no indication that the business has run correctly in any way since those guys left the company. It would take over qualified people who cant get hired somewhere else to turn the company around. Curran tried, it didnt happen. Jim doesnt even play guitar.


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## thrsher (Apr 3, 2014)

leonardo7 said:


> If the past 1-2 years have taught us anything, its that there can be no success for S7G without Allan Marcus overseeing the building and final assembly and Paul De Maio handling the PR and customer service. Its been over for a while now. There is no indication that the business has run correctly in any way since those guys left the company. It would take over qualified people who cant get hired somewhere else to turn the company around. Curran tried, it didnt happen. Jim doesnt even play guitar.



business wasn't running correctly either when paul/allan was around as my second build was during their era, just an FYI. those guys get to much praise


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## canuck brian (Apr 3, 2014)

Jim - since you've mentioned in your email that you're reading this, please PLEASE read the email I sent you.

It should come from [email protected].


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## underthecurve (Apr 3, 2014)

Suho said:


> I highly doubt it was a partnership. My guess is, S7 had a licensing agreement to use Ola's designs and hardware and name. On paper, anyway. It gets a little murkier when you account for Ola's direct role in referring customers to S7.



It probably wasn't a "partnership" in the legal definition. Speaking of legal definitions, I am not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure regardless of how the agreement is written, how it's executed is important. You can call it X all you want but if you treat it like Y than legally it is Y. As you point out though this gets expensive to prove. 

I took a little trip in the internet way back machine when these were first introduced. Stock Model Production | Strandberg Guitarworks Though it didn't speak to specifics of partnership or license details, it's an interesting albeit sad read considering recent events.


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## simonXsludge (Apr 3, 2014)

Jim's e-mail is pretty ridiculous. HighGain's conclusions made a lot of sense to me.

For Jim to say he's gonna continue to build production models for those who want them is the icing on the cake. It's just feeding to the vicious cycle S7G has been in for a long time: Trying to get some new money in to pay for issues from the past, which will just turn into the same future issues, since the money is gonna be long gone once he has caught up with his schedule.

I'm glad I always found these guitars fugly, but it saddens me to see how much hard earned money has been wasted on this unfortunate attempt of building a business in this industry.


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## Suho (Apr 3, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> It probably wasn't a "partnership" in the legal definition. Speaking of legal definitions, I am not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure regardless of how the agreement is written, how it's executed is important. You can call it X all you want but if you treat it like Y than legally it is Y. As you point out though this gets expensive to prove.
> 
> I took a little trip in the internet way back machine when these were first introduced. Stock Model Production | Strandberg Guitarworks Though it didn't speak to specifics of partnership or license details, it's an interesting albeit sad read considering recent events.



I think you are correct in your observations. That blog post or whatever it was is kind of damning for Ola. In my personal opinion, calling them stock model production guitars and "100% Strandberg" is really misleading. You don't see Fender rave about any of the licensed aftermarket neck manufacturers out there (although to be fair that's not entirely a fair comparison).


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## will_shred (Apr 3, 2014)

[I redact my statement]


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## Xaios (Apr 3, 2014)

will_shred said:


> I can't quite confirm this as fact but I've heard that they just take the neck blanks and basically sand off the corners, they don't really shape the neck much at all. That's why the necks feel like a 2x4.



We really shouldn't be tossing around heresay like this. There's plenty of things that we can say about how the operation was run that can be confirmed as fact, let's not pile on with rumours that may or may not be true. As much as Jim has made the bed he now lies in, let's not allow the urge to fabricate more slights overcome us, if for no other reason than to do so gives credence to his arguments.


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## walrusaur (Apr 3, 2014)

I'm also another waiting Boden customer. If there are any other waiting Boden customers out there, please feel free to shoot me a PM. I've already been in touch with a few others and would love to get in touch with you to see if we could work together and figure out a solution. Cheers.


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## Adventrooster (Apr 3, 2014)

ElysianGuitars said:


> Can't figure out how this is legal, unless the people who gave money to him signed some kind of agreement that their money was non-refundable...


 
Simply because it's his business, and that's how he unfortunately chose to run it.


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## crg123 (Apr 3, 2014)

will_shred said:


> I can't quite confirm this as fact but I've heard that they just take the neck blanks and basically sand off the corners, they don't really shape the neck much at all. That's why the necks feel like a 2x4.



 it was bad but I don't think it was THAT bad haha. Just felt like the guy didn't know what would feel nice in a guitarist hands especially in an 8 string situation. The shape was just really off for playing for a long time and overly flat. That would be hilariously negligent if true. Market it as a unique style  Zero f...s given


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## MetalDaze (Apr 3, 2014)

> I don't screw people....well, unless you are looking for money, then screw you!


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## ara_ (Apr 3, 2014)

I'm so lucky that I actually got my S7 Boden 7 and it doesn't even have serious flaws... I took it for granted when I got the guitar, but now I realize how lucky I was


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## Necris (Apr 3, 2014)

stevexc said:


> I will give him some credit, "bloviate" is a good word.
> 
> That's all the credit though.



Bloviate
Definition: to talk at length, esp. in an inflated or empty way.

Example, Jims youtube videos.


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## decoy205 (Apr 3, 2014)

From an outside perspective these videos and emails are passive aggressive and rather insulting.

I don't think people give two shits about your problems or excuses they want the product that they paid for in a timely way. When I order a sandwich I don't need a speech on how the rolls were made.


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## Hollowway (Apr 4, 2014)

I don't mean to pile on, because I talked to Jim a couple of years ago, and he and I had a couple of good talks about guitars, but I also agree that what an individual is going through isn't really relevant. We hear this from luthiers all the time - I've been really sick for the last year, I'm working alone, I have a lot of debt, etc, etc. But I don't get to call these luthiers and tell them I had a big bill, so I want my $3000 guitar for only $2000. Or that my guitar is ready, but I don't have the money, so they should ship it and il pay them if/when I get the money. There is zero risk of the luthier not getting paid, because payment is due initially. All of the risk is on the customer. That's different from a lot of businesses. Which means that failure of the business is due almost exclusively to the luthier, NOT the clients. Yet, the blame is always put on the clients -the people that gave the luthier money and got nothing. How do you take money from someone, give them nothing, and STILL fail? That's just bad decision making.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 4, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> I don't mean to pile on, because I talked to Jim a couple of years ago, and he and I had a couple of good talks about guitars, but I also agree that what an individual is going through isn't really relevant. We hear this from luthiers all the time - I've been really sick for the last year, I'm working alone, I have a lot of debt, etc, etc. But I don't get to call these luthiers and tell them I had a big bill, so I want my $3000 guitar for only $2000. Or that my guitar is ready, but I don't have the money, so they should ship it and il pay them if/when I get the money. There is zero risk of the luthier not getting paid, because payment is due initially. All of the risk is on the customer. That's different from a lot of businesses. Which means that failure of the business is due almost exclusively to the luthier, NOT the clients. Yet, the blame is always put on the clients -the people that gave the luthier money and got nothing. How do you take money from someone, give them nothing, and STILL fail? That's just bad decision making.




This!

Really, this is a fairly good breakdown of the situation. Also, when you give a luthier a deposit, it's supposed to pay for materials. This way, the luthier doesn't lose out if a customer flakes. You can still complete and sell the guitar as stock, or move on to the next paying customer. It's when you start tying that money up in other things that you start losing money. (Even if it's to "further" the company by buying tools and stuff.) Furthering the company is what you use profits on, not material money. If you take money before you have a profit, you no longer have profit. If you have no profit, each dollar you spend digs the hole a bit deeper. The company clearly wasn't ready for the big time. Dude needed a small workshop, very few workers, and a drastically reduced work load. There needed to be some sort of cap on the amount of people he worked with. Certainly not taking deposits from 30 people all at once when they can only physically handle 6 or whatever. The whole thing is just ....ed, and I think it's appalling that he had a namm booth. Instead of trying to pile more work on top of what they already couldn't handle, they should have decreased work load by finishing what they had. (And spending the namm invested money into that.)


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## littledoc (Apr 5, 2014)

I'm no expert on how to run a lutherie, but it seems to me that lots of these big downfalls can be traced to one thing: builders continuing to take orders when they're already backlogged.

Far better to learn from Blackmachine: stop taking orders when you can't handle any more, and then the rarity of your guitars will send their value through the roof.


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## Andromalia (Apr 5, 2014)

Well, value on the resale market isn't a lot of help for a luthier. I think the main problem is they want to get big too fast. It took Ran 10 years to issue their first "production" model, and it's a pretty simple guitar too.


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## ramses (Apr 7, 2014)

I would like to know how things turn out for people that ordered Solar/Cobra's. Please, keep us updated.


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## SeanSan (Apr 9, 2014)

Any update guys?


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## leonardo7 (Apr 9, 2014)

SeanSan said:


> Any update guys?


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## stevexc (Apr 9, 2014)

SeanSan said:


> Any update guys?




I heard they were scheduled to be delivered a week after those BRJs? 

don't hurt me i'm sorry


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## lewstherin006 (Apr 9, 2014)

I actually emailed jim about buying one of Ola's sig guitars a long time ago. It took him like 3 months to respond and then he started talking about NAMM and stuff. He said he was doing a price increase at the start of 2014 and I had to send him 50% deposit to be added to the build list. He claimed he was finally catching up on his back log. SOOO glad he took forever to respond. By the time he responded I had already bought a Carvin and a Sterling. I really feel for everyone.


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## Uladyne (Apr 18, 2014)

This is some rough news indeed, and I feel bad for anyone who has been waiting a really long time for an s7.

I think the talk about Jim intentionally trying to screw anyone is off base though. I've hung out with him in person on multiple occasions, and he is a genuine dude. I own a strictly 7 and I ....ing love it more than any other guitar I've ever had. Obviously working nights and weekends will slow things down quite a bit, but knowing Jim he'll do whatever it takes to fulfill all the orders on hand. 

The delivery on the youtube videos may have been a questionable decision, but no one should try to paint a picture of someone's personality based on a few youtube videos that were made during a time of frustration. 

Jim has always been a busy guy, and there have been a few times when communication has been a bit slow, but he always got back to me and answered any questions I had in full. He's even helped me through some recent health problems with his background as a physical therapist. 

My Strictly 7 is still the best guitar I've ever played hands down. I know that one positive impression will do little against all of the negative comments here, but I can't sit back and read all of these comments talking about Jim as a person, when they seem to mostly come from people who have never met him. 

If Jim has a fault in this business it's trying to please too many people at a time. Maybe he needs to scale back and offer less options if he continues with custom orders. Let's face it, we guitar players are a picky bunch, and we'll change our minds about different options right up to the last minute. I know that was the case with my guitar, but Jim never complained whenever I wanted to change something. 

Jim is definitely not a scam artist. It's very unfortunate that so many people have been waiting so long for guitar, and will likely need to wait longer given the circumstances, but I guarantee you Jim will do everything he can to get the orders fulfilled.


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## Hollowway (Apr 18, 2014)

Uladyne said:


> I guarantee you Jim will do everything he can to get the orders fulfilled.



What is your guarantee? Like, what are you willing to give the customers if they don't get their guitars?




I agree that Jim is not a scam artist, and will try to dig himself out of this hole, but don't go making statements about what Jim will or will not do, unless you're prepared to back it up in some way.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 18, 2014)

You created an account to defend a guy who took people's money with the inability to maintain the work? 

He doesn't need defending, it doesn't matter if every guitar he made up to this point was flawless (and they weren't,) he needs to complete the guitars or refund the money. Not create videos where he's shit talking paying customers. Nice guy or not makes no difference if he's got thousands upon thousands of paying customers dollars locked up in other shit and no guitars to show for it. 

Seriously, don't be such a kiss ass, the man deserves no sympathy regarding the hole he's dug himself. If all it was was him having a ton of work he's trying to keep up with, that's one thing, but the guy took people's money, spent it on stuff that wasn't their guitars, and ran out of money as a result. That's his own doing, and no amount of good will or shit talking previous customers will fix that.


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## Captain Butterscotch (Apr 18, 2014)

EDIT Irrelevant post.


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## asher (Apr 18, 2014)

Señor Voorhees;4007357 said:


> You created an account to defend a guy who took people's money with the inability to maintain the work?
> 
> He doesn't need defending, it doesn't matter if every guitar he made up to this point was flawless (and they weren't,) he needs to complete the guitars or refund the money. Not create videos where he's shit talking paying customers. Nice guy or not makes no difference if he's got thousands upon thousands of paying customers dollars locked up in other shit and no guitars to show for it.
> 
> Seriously, don't be such a kiss ass, the man deserves no sympathy regarding the hole he's dug himself. If all it was was him having a ton of work he's trying to keep up with, that's one thing, but the guy took people's money, spent it on stuff that wasn't their guitars, and ran out of money as a result. That's his own doing, and no amount of good will or shit talking previous customers will fix that.



I was going to point that out... but unless he's forged the Join Date, the account is from 07.

So unless it's a long-dormant shill plant account... 

Curious first post though after 7 years.


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## SpaceDock (Apr 18, 2014)

^ the site definitely has a ton of lurkers


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## Danukenator (Apr 18, 2014)

Uladyne said:


> This is some rough news indeed, and I feel bad for anyone who has been waiting a really long time for an s7.
> 
> I think the talk about Jim intentionally trying to screw anyone is off base though. I've hung out with him in person on multiple occasions, and he is a genuine dude. I own a strictly 7 and I ....ing love it more than any other guitar I've ever had. Obviously working nights and weekends will slow things down quite a bit, but knowing Jim he'll do whatever it takes to fulfill all the orders on hand.
> 
> ...



It's posts like this that cause people to go "Well, maybe if I wait just a BIT longer..."

People need to understand that:

1. Jim has acted very unprofessional in his interactions

2. Appears to be going under

3. Has put out horrible product. I get there are NGD's with a description like "ZOMG no flaws" yet there are flaws obvious in the pictures.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 18, 2014)

asher said:


> I was going to point that out... but unless he's forged the Join Date, the account is from 07.
> 
> So unless it's a long-dormant shill plant account...
> 
> Curious first post though after 7 years.



Oh shit, I didn't even notice. Strange that it's the first post, but even more so that it's in a relatively old topic. I'm assuming they don't lurk often since this thread isn't exactly new, and it was frequently bumped for a while.


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## JoeyBTL (Apr 18, 2014)

Everybody say hi to Jim!


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## Metal-Box (Apr 18, 2014)

Uladyne said:


> This is some rough news indeed, and I feel bad for anyone who has been waiting a really long time for an s7.
> 
> I think the talk about Jim intentionally trying to screw anyone is off base though. I've hung out with him in person on multiple occasions, and he is a genuine dude. I own a strictly 7 and I ....ing love it more than any other guitar I've ever had. Obviously working nights and weekends will slow things down quite a bit, but knowing Jim he'll do whatever it takes to fulfill all the orders on hand.
> 
> ...



Nice try, Jim.


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## Uladyne (Apr 19, 2014)

Haha I assure you I'm not Jim. A lurker, perhaps, but I definitely didn't create an account here for the sole purpose of defending s7. I'm actually surprised that that was my first post here. I'm not trying to say that no one has a reason to be upset, I'm just trying to share my experience in dealing with Jim and strictly 7, which hasn't been unpleasant in the slightest. As I said in my previous post, one positive comment will do little to quell all of the negative comments here, so I'm not looking to change anyone's positions on anything they feel so strongly about, but I felt like I had to at least share my experience with Strictly 7, for whatever that's worth.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 19, 2014)

But there's also other people here that had less than pleasing experiences, such as Leonardo with his Boden 7.


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## Hollowway (Apr 19, 2014)

Yeah, I'll also go on record as saying that Jim is a nice guy, and I had good dealings with him. But unfortunately that doesn't help the guys waiting for guitars, and that's the pickle. I would love to see him save his business and get everything back on track.


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## 7stg (Apr 19, 2014)

I have always had high hopes for Strictly7, they had some nice options. It undoubtedly has been a rocky ride with some mess-ups, wood issues, and financial troubles. Maybe Jim can pull it off and turn things around. Hope so, for those with money on the line.


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## C-PIG (Apr 20, 2014)

Uladyne said:


> Haha I assure you I'm not Jim. A lurker, perhaps, but I definitely didn't create an account here for the sole purpose of defending s7. I'm actually surprised that that was my first post here. I'm not trying to say that no one has a reason to be upset, I'm just trying to share my experience in dealing with Jim and strictly 7, which hasn't been unpleasant in the slightest. As I said in my previous post, one positive comment will do little to quell all of the negative comments here, so I'm not looking to change anyone's positions on anything they feel so strongly about, but I felt like I had to at least share my experience with Strictly 7, for whatever that's worth.



Hi Jim


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## Jlang (Apr 20, 2014)

Jim posted this on his facebook this morning with the following

"Happy Easter! Got in the shop bright and early to sand, yay. Now the arduous task of taping off binding and touch up work. Only gonna work til 3 today, sorry. Peace, Jim"


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 20, 2014)

One thing I will say, is at least he's still making an attempt at fixing things. Not that it excuses any of the bullshit, but it's better then vanishing. (And who knows, maybe that's the next step.)


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## SpaceDock (Apr 20, 2014)

I can't tell you how many times I've seen piles of guitars like this from luthiers, the problem is that rough guitar work goes fast. It is all of the fine detail work that takes a really long time and is the true test of craftsmanship. 

They always post these pics to show how much work they have done, to me I see all the work they have yet to do.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 20, 2014)

SpaceDock said:


> I can't tell you how many times I've seen piles of guitars like this from luthiers, the problem is that rough guitar work goes fast. It is all of the fine detail work that takes a really long time and is the true test of craftsmanship.
> 
> They always post these pics to show how much work they have done, to me I see all the work they have yet to do.



This is more or less why I didn't full on praise it. For all we know, all of that stuff was already done before the shit hit the fan. I won't actually give a pat on the back until he starts shipping quality stuff out.


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## MaxOfMetal (Apr 20, 2014)

Low post folks coming in with "amazing" and "flawless" guitars. 

It's now official, S7G is done. GET OUT FINANCIALLY AS FAST AS YOU FU_C_KING CAN!!! Call the credit card companies, banks, you name it. This is a sign if there ever was one.


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## Rap Hat (Apr 20, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Low post folks coming in with "amazing" and "flawless" guitars.
> 
> It's now official, S7G is done. GET OUT FINANCIALLY AS FAST AS YOU FU_C_KING CAN!!! Call the credit card companies, banks, you name it. This is a sign if there ever was one.



I don't have a dog in this specific fight, but I was one of the people screwed over by Bernie Rico Jr. Listen to Max and don't be an idiot/accept promises from Strictly7 that could invalidate your chances for financial resolution.

There are very strict time limits on filing claims with card companies/paypal/banks, and they're usually not willing to bend them, even if you can prove that so-and-so promised in writing that it would be done on such-and-such date. If you've paid your final deposit and have nothing after 90 days, consider your money gone for good. That's generally the cutoff. Sometimes the bank may even say the date of the deposit was the start of the "timer", so even if you show them that the guitar wasn't expected to be done for six months and you haven't paid the final payment, they could tell you to pound sand (because in their eyes, the deposit is payment for the item, and as a customer you should have contacted them because you didn't receive it in that time frame, as irrelevant as that is to the custom guitar world).


tl;dr: Don't expect banks to understand the concept of a deposit, build-time, final payment, delays due to health, etc. Unless you have enough extra money and time lying around for a lawyer/lawsuit (and in the case of a civil suit enough money to fly out to wherever they're located), Get things in motion now.

Sure, you may tell yourself, "Oh, they've promised me they'll finish it and I don't want to be a dick because what if they're working on it/it's done but I sicced my bank on them and now _I'm_ the asshole who couldn't be patient", but that's just rationalization as to why you let yourself get screwed.


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## ElRay (Apr 20, 2014)

Rap Hat said:


> tl;dr: Don't expect banks to understand the concept of a deposit, build-time, final payment, delays due to health, etc. Unless you have enough extra money and time lying around for a lawyer/lawsuit (and in the case of a civil suit enough money to fly out to wherever they're located), Get things in motion now.



ESPECIALLY if you were told your guitar was done, to send final payment, and it would ship. If you haven't received you instrument, that's fraud. File a police complaint and anything else you legally can. With the police complaint, you might be able to get a response from the CC companies.

Ray


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## RevelGTR (Apr 20, 2014)

Did anyone else see Jim post that finished guitar on Facebook? It's being touted as a new sig model, for the guy from Lillian Axe.


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## Pikka Bird (Apr 21, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> Did anyone else see Jim post that finished guitar on Facebook? It's being touted as a new sig model, for the guy from Lillian Axe.



Yeah, the Orange one with a few too many logos on it? There have been a few updates from him recently that have caught me by surprise. I'll believe the "good" news when the NGD threads start painting a new picture.


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## RevelGTR (Apr 21, 2014)

^I don't take it as a good sign, I take it to mean that Jim's priorities are still not in order.


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## flexkill (Apr 21, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> Did anyone else see Jim post that finished guitar on Facebook? It's being touted as a new sig model, for the guy from Lillian Axe.



Stevie Blaze???


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## Necris (Apr 21, 2014)

That's just what you need when you're this deep in the hole, to release yet another "signature" model.


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## flexkill (Apr 21, 2014)

Necris said:


> That's just what you need when you're this deep in the hole, to release yet another "signature" model.



I know Blaze, if it's him, I wonder what thats all about. Time for a phone call


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## Jake (Apr 21, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Low post folks coming in with "amazing" and "flawless" guitars.
> 
> It's now official, S7G is done. GET OUT FINANCIALLY AS FAST AS YOU FU_C_KING CAN!!! Call the credit card companies, banks, you name it. This is a sign if there ever was one.


I've only been here for three years but I can tell you all that you need to listen to this post right here.

I saw the BRJ situation die before my eyes and I can say that this is starting to look more and more like what happened there.

The more time you waste the less of a chance you have of getting ANYTHING


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## Captain Butterscotch (Apr 21, 2014)

Gise, Bernie really means it this time, so don't make the bank mans mad at him plox.


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## simonXsludge (Apr 21, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> Did anyone else see Jim post that finished guitar on Facebook? It's being touted as a new sig model, for the guy from Lillian Axe.


Haha, this blows my mind in so many ways. Quick, get your orders in for this rando's Strictly7 sig!


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## stevexc (Apr 22, 2014)

shitsøn;4011069 said:


> Haha, this blows my mind in so many ways. Quick, get your orders in for this rando's Strictly7 sig!



Don't diss Lillian Axe! They were huge! In Japan! 20+ years ago...!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 22, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> Did anyone else see Jim post that finished guitar on Facebook? It's being touted as a new sig model, for the guy from Lillian Axe.


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 22, 2014)

stevexc said:


> Don't diss Lillian Axe! They were huge! In Japan! 20+ years ago...!


 
I'm sure they'll sell like hot soy cakes .


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## canuck brian (Apr 22, 2014)

I still haven't heard back from Jim on my offer to go and help out for a weekend. :\


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## lewstherin006 (Apr 22, 2014)

Guys, can we at least celebrate the fact that he finished a guitar?


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 22, 2014)

lewstherin006 said:


> Guys, can we at least celebrate the fact that he finished a guitar?



Normally I would, but it'd kind of be shitting all over the people who paid good money for one. Jim needs to get his priorities straight and instead of working on the sig models, he needs to start working on other folks'.

Seriously. Sigs are there so people will be like "holy shit, I like that artist and I want to play what he plays." In this case, they'd hopefully find out about the shitstorm that is s7g and avoid it.


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## Philligan (Apr 22, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> I still haven't heard back from Jim on my offer to go and help out for a weekend. :\



Maybe he's scared people will actually like the ones you build and flood him with more orders.


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## ElRay (Apr 22, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> ^I don't take it as a good sign, I take it to mean that Jim's priorities are still not in order.



QFT.

I can understand some folks cutting Jim some slack a while, but when he lies on video to slag people, slags people making legitimate complaints about poor workmanship, takes final payments for guitars that aren't ready to ship, builds off-the-shelf retail guitars instead of completing overdue customs, etc. etc., etc., he deserves no respect.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: *Anybody that make their final payment because they were told their guitar was ready to ship and hasn't received the guitar needs to file a criminal fraud complaint.*​
Ray


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## stevexc (Apr 22, 2014)

lewstherin006 said:


> Guys, can we at least celebrate the fact that he finished a guitar?



"Good job, Jim, you did literally the absolute bare minimum you could possibly do to be considered a luthier!"


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## Pikka Bird (Apr 23, 2014)

ElRay said:


> I've said it before, and I'll say it again: *Anybody that make their final payment because they were told their guitar was ready to ship and hasn't received the guitar needs to file a criminal fraud complaint.*​



I do think this is pretty important. You were duped into paying the final amont for something that just doesn't exist. That's fraud, no way around it.


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## Andromalia (Apr 23, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Low post folks coming in with "amazing" and "flawless" guitars.
> 
> It's now official, S7G is done. GET OUT FINANCIALLY AS FAST AS YOU FU_C_KING CAN!!! Call the credit card companies, banks, you name it. This is a sign if there ever was one.



Just one more thing to add... and do it NOW. Not in three weeks or "tomorrow". The time is running against you.


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## MaxOfMetal (Apr 23, 2014)

inb4 Strictly 7 Black Friday Sale


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## lewstherin006 (Apr 23, 2014)

MaxOfMetal said:


> inb4 Strictly 7 Black Friday Sale



S7 is in so much red not even a Black Friday Sale can help them


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## BlackStar7 (Apr 23, 2014)

What is it with custom builders and their tendency to do absolutely anything BUT fulfill their actual custom orders? It's like Vik telling people his years-overdue, fully paid outstanding custom orders "aren't his priority." Isn't that kind of the entire point of your business? 

If any other business in the world took your money and didn't deliver for YEARS on end, they'd be history. But somehow with custom guitars these scams just limp on forever, sucking more and more money into what is - let's face it - a pyramid scheme. 

How do some customers STILL cut these people so much slack? It's like some kind of weird Stockholm Syndrome: "Jim/Bernie/etc. is my friend and he loves me even though he's holding my money hostage and is a borderline criminal, so I better give him the benefit of the doubt."


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## Ludo95 (Apr 25, 2014)

Look at these photos I got from "Guitar Porn" fb page..:










(dat neck joint....)










and THAT.. look at the maple top about the locking nut... ì.





The guy sent an email to GuitarPorn page which says:
"I didn't take a pic of the worst shot, the bridge didn't intonate.
Pups were supposed to be Invaders. Clearly one of them isn't. The guitar didn't play past the 12th fret because "the pole pieces of the Invaders were too high". Instead of correcting the route they sent it out as is, after two and a half years of waiting. Plus, the neck was supposed to be a 5 piece..."

2,5 years for this kind of work? no thanks


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## Fenceclimber (Apr 25, 2014)

I take back everything good I've said about S7G, that is horrible! I'd be so pissed, my 400$ Jackson is built better than that!


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## WillDfx (Apr 25, 2014)

I haven't lol'd in a while. This makes me lol.




Lol


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## Yimmj (Apr 25, 2014)

These horrible nightmare luthier scenarios make me scared to order a custom from a lutheir


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## stevexc (Apr 25, 2014)

Yimmj said:


> These horrible nightmare luthier scenarios make me scared to order a custom from a lutheir



Do your research beforehand, don't buy into ridiculous untested hype, and avoid unestablished luthiers and you'll be fine. For instance, ordering from Daemoness, Bowes, Searls, Ormsby, etc. would all be safe bets - they've all proven they consistently make good guitars. If any of them all of a sudden offered a crazy ridiculous sale (ie too good to be true - in the vein of Blackest Friday), that may be a sign to look elsewhere.


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## 7stg (Apr 25, 2014)

Fenceclimber said:


> I take back everything good I've said about S7G, that is horrible! I'd be so pissed, my 400$ Jackson is built better than that!



The First Act guitars at Target/ Wal-Mart are built better than that...


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## Elelac (Apr 28, 2014)

*mod edit: way to hype what you're trying to sell*


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## HurrDurr (Apr 28, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> I still haven't heard back from Jim on my offer to go and help out for a weekend. :\



I'm down to go help out. I just wanna see what exactly goes on back there.


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## leonardo7 (Apr 28, 2014)

HurrDurr said:


> I'm down to go help out. I just wanna see what exactly goes on back there.



You wanna pay to travel there, put yourself up in a motel, and work for free?


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## crg123 (Apr 28, 2014)

Wow. You'd think he'd at least try. I wish you guys who have guitars on order the best. Its sad to see things like this happen. I played the myrtlewood strictly 7+1 and I wasn't a huge fan of the neck profile or the design but at least it was built correctly. Jeez.


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 28, 2014)

He is uploading pictures on Facebook regularly so hopefully they are current pics and he gets your guitars out.


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