# Guerilla guitars, anyone?



## jcpwn (Jan 23, 2017)

Hey guys, 
this is my first thread on this site. Anyone ever owned/played/heard of Guerilla guitars? Looks like it's a small brand so it's kinda hard to find any real review on one of these. Sucks that I can't even find one to try  Pros/cons, feel comparison to other models such as Ibanez, built quality reviews would be really appreciated. 
Cheers!


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## KnightBrolaire (Jan 23, 2017)

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=274181
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=174316
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=267836
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=284858
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=269738
read the last page : http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=136359&page=3
quality seems to be a lot better in the last couple of years, though most people on here hate the aesthetics of the guitars.


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## Hollowway (Jan 23, 2017)

I asked the owner of one of the shops that caters to us metal/erg players, because I also couldn't find any recent reviews about them. He said steer clear, because the owner is an ass and kind of scammy, so you don't have much recourse if you don't like what you get.


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## vick1000 (Jan 23, 2017)

I think they are one of those name changer companies, you know the ones that rip a bunch of people off, then change their name and do it all over again. I'm not positive though, just off the top of my head.


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## P-Ride (Jan 23, 2017)

Any guitar gear that has WAR and VIOLENCE branding feels depressingly juvenile.


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## Bearitone (Jan 23, 2017)

P-Ride said:


> Any guitar gear that has WAR and VIOLENCE branding feels depressingly juvenile.



This ^^^


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## AxeHappy (Jan 23, 2017)

When I was a teacher a co-worker had one. 

Nothing particularly wrong with them, but nothing special either. They've been around a while so I don't think they're a name changing brand. 

A solid, "Meh."


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## stevexc (Jan 23, 2017)

The shop I used to teach at carried them for a brief moment. From what I remember they felt really blocky and chunky, and very heavy, but I didn't spend too much time with them.


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## AxeHappy (Jan 23, 2017)

Yeah, very squarish necks.


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## oracles (Jan 23, 2017)

I'd pass. I checked one out about two years ago, the neck was fairly big and really just felt like someone had spent a few minutes trying to round the edges of a 2x4 and gave up. It wasn't anything special quality wise.


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## jcpwn (Jan 24, 2017)

as most people said the brand owner doesn't seem to be a nice guy to deal with, unfortunately... according to the links KnightBrolaire posted, the guitar themselves look pretty awesome and well-built, maybe a little pricey for the specs tho


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## Ibanezsam4 (Jan 25, 2017)

I've played a few and they are good guitars, just a little pricey. 

you have to like the aesthetic to dig these instruments because they are pretty big bodies things. 

if you like Dean you'll like these


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## Xaios (Jan 26, 2017)

vick1000 said:


> I think they are one of those name changer companies, you know the ones that rip a bunch of people off, then change their name and do it all over again. I'm not positive though, just off the top of my head.



While I don't like them personally and aware of issues surrounding their quality (although I didn't know that the owner was apparently a bit of a tool), they've been around for a number of years now, so I don't think that's true. It's been at least 7 years since I first heard of them.


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## Vostre Roy (Jan 26, 2017)

Local guitar shop had 2 guitars from them, many issues that Guerilla didn't wanted to fix so they had to sell them at loss. We're not talking about a Guitar Center or Steve Music franchise, but a little "Mom N Pop" so they we're not really happy to see them hanging there for almost 5 years.

As much as I'd like them to be good seeing how little guitar company Quebec has to offer (obviously beside Godin), I can't recommend them at all.


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## Cam-Poe (Jan 27, 2020)

Update from 2020 on Guerilla Guitars:

- Pretty much everything that has been said here about them is still currently relevant.
- My own personal experience with them has uncovered identical issues (and owner responses) to those listed here and on other forums, dating back to 2012!
- They're great when taking your money for an order but the customer experience rapidly degrades as soon as your order gets started.
- And by "they", I mean the owner/operator who does everything out of his home garage.
- Forget about getting properly updated during your build and definitely forget trying to get anything properly fixed by them when you receive your guitar. Oh, and don't even think about getting a refund. Out of the question.

Brass tax:
If you got $2500 USD to spend on the shitshow experience of getting a guitar made by Guerrila, go elsewhere. Trust me. 

Rainbows & Sunshine:
Guerilla Guitars that are well-built play rather nicely. I had one. There's nothing inherently wrong with the guitars themselves. It's just so hit or miss that the juice isn't worth the squeeze, especially when the person in charge will rip you off if there's something wrong with your build. My first Guerilla was mint. I bought it from someone local who needed to get rid of it. Scraped up some cash and decided to go forward with a custom build from them. Needless to say, everything about my experience with them last year was pure garbage.

Buy a discounted one off someone online if you really dig them. Don't buy through the company.


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## Guerilla (Sep 8, 2020)

Hello,

I avoid this site due to the fact I get fed up having to answer to all these ridiculous and stupid claims about me or my company. But when I see this type of BS I feel obliged to answer.

The fact that people call me a tool or difficult is absolutely ridiculous I treat everyone with respect and try to help them out as best as possible. I am actually a pretty nice dude and have many good friends in the industry and have been around since 2005, I am a musician and a guitar player and started this company out of a passion for music and not money but apart from that let's get to the meat of the subject so we can silence some keyboard warriors.

I enjoy doing custom builds but have been on the fence about continuing them since the last one I did which I think if I'm correct is the Cam-Poe dude.
Customers who are disgruntled like to come on this site and paint a horrible picture of me and the process of building the guitar which is not the case and they don't tell the whole story and try and defame us in any which way possible.

The guitar was ordered in Aug 2019 and delivered in Oct 2019. yes you see that 3 months yet I didn't take pictures of the build or offer updates I delivered the customer his guitar in 3 months flat yet it was difficult for him because I wasn't emailing every little detail. I understand you guys want to be involved but my main goal is to finish the guitar.

To make a long story short the customer took it to his tech to get it adjusted for his style of playing and this is when it all went haywire. The guitar is a 6 string 25.5 scale he wanted to tune to low B and put in .59's. Already we are starting to mod stuff to get this to work. The bridge needed to be moved back to get it to work properly. I took it back and fixed it to get it to work. Then magically the guitar does not stay in tune I've built hundreds of guitars and this never happens with Sperzel locking tuners but yet with this guitar it suddenly became an Issue.

But Yet he comes on this forum and states and lies:

"Forget about getting properly updated during your build and definitely forget trying to get anything properly fixed by them when you receive your guitar. Oh, and don't even think about getting a refund. Out of the question." and all the keyboard warriors unite "yeah screw them stay away etc etc"...

After this the customer decides he wants a refund and I should give him his money back, so all the time I built making him a custom paint job which was unique for him and ordering him bareknuckles which I don't use on production guitars. 

On my site it states *no cancellations on custom orders* period!! but because he wasn't satisfied I had to return his money.

Even after all this I wanted to try and solve the situation so he sends the guitar to me, I receive it I do a complete refinish (take off all parts repaint and reinstall) on the guitar because I Installed a Brand new bridge on the guitar that was better suited for his tuning. So now I'm out of pocket for the old bridge as well as the repainting and repairing. 

He mailed me the guitar overnight express at a cost of over $400 he lives 2 hours away. Shipping could have cost $50 yet I have to be on the hook for everything.

I went above and beyond to help this customer yet I'm an asshole. So there is always two sides to the story.

I respect every customer and am extremely grateful that they decided to build a guitar with me, I do try and make the customer experience as enjoyable as possible but some customers can't be pleased with anything you do for them. As for this customer I apologize but we did the best we could to solve the situation.

We continue to build new guitars! We are moving into our new industrial location, we have a ton of new models coming out and we continue to grow. This doesn't occur to companies that build crap products or don't respect their customers.

Kosta


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 8, 2020)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what's called the "Streisand Effect".


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## technomancer (Sep 8, 2020)

Well that answers that one guy that had a bad experience in 2019, but not the numerous others that played sub-par instruments in stores or bought one with the same deal. The threads should still be on here if anybody wants to search.

If you've improved build quality / cs that's great, but let's not pretend you have a stellar long term rep and one guy had problems.

At the end of the day I have no dog in this fight, and all I'll say to perspective buyers is do your research and make an informed decision.


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## narad (Sep 8, 2020)

Guerilla said:


> He mailed me the guitar overnight express at a cost of over $400 he lives 2 hours away. Shipping could have cost $50 yet I have to be on the hook for everything.



It's hard to find the truth in these situations where much of it is not in concrete things (where did the guitar go wrong? it's "he said / she said"). But this part is very concrete -- would love to hear the other side of the story on why someone would overnight ship something and rack up a $400 charge to the builder, presumably without getting the builder's approval first?


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 8, 2020)

inb4: Everyone listing every $300 guitar they've gotten to work at B at 25.5" using a .059".


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 8, 2020)

narad said:


> It's hard to find the truth in these situations where much of it is not in concrete things (where did the guitar go wrong? it's "he said / she said"). But this part is very concrete -- would love to hear the other side of the story on why someone would overnight ship something and rack up a $400 charge to the builder, presumably without getting the builder's approval first?



To be a dick.

Next question!


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## Guerilla (Sep 8, 2020)

technomancer said:


> Well that answers that one guy that had a bad experience in 2019, but not the numerous others that played sub-par instruments in stores or bought one with the same deal. The threads should still be on here if anybody wants to search.
> 
> If you've improved build quality / cs that's great, but let's not pretend you have a stellar long term rep and one guy had problems.
> 
> At the end of the day I have no dog in this fight, and all I'll say to perspective buyers is do your research and make an informed decision.



I'm not pretending anything, I know every build there is because I built them, and I never build anything subpar they are all built the same way, the process never changes so to say that I build one shit guitar and the next one is good is completely ridiculous.


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## MaxOfMetal (Sep 8, 2020)




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## Fred the Shred (Sep 8, 2020)

I remember having a go at a couple at the Musikmesse ages ago and those were pretty nice. Evidently that won't speak anything pertaining consistency, potential customer woes and whatnot. 

I had a rather strange episode back when I was still working with Jaden Rose years ago and had a post up on my page with one of my favourite builds from him (which I still own to this day), and a very kind bloke opted to, as opposed to emailing me or using whatever private messaging, hop on that very post and announce himself as working as AR for Guerilla (the veracity of this is really irrelevant) and proceed to offer me an endorsement deal right there. It was one of the most awkward moments in terms of gear stuff I've been through.


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## btbg (Sep 8, 2020)

I own serial 027, (Which I did buy second hand) a 7-string M-SR. An older model, of course - The frets were barely crowned if at all, and they weren't just worn down from play wear, and there was overspray not on the body, but on the finishing of the headstock. The 12th fret side dots were misaligned, and there's a decent bit of finish bleeding from the neck into the binding. It is however a very comfortable guitar to handle, and sorting the crowning issue an absolute delight to play.

All things I wouldn't bat a lash at if it was made in Indonesia, but paying top dollar for a Canadian build with flaws as silly as this can be kind of disheartening.

That said - I've spoken to Kosta several times and he's been nothing but friendly and kind to me. Happy to help and answer questions. I can't see him being an asshole to someone unprovoked for no reason (but again, this is just my opinion on the matter)


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## Guerilla (Sep 8, 2020)

btbg said:


> I own serial 027, (Which I did buy second hand) a 7-string M-SR. An older model, of course - The frets were barely crowned if at all, and they weren't just worn down from play wear, and there was overspray not on the body, but on the finishing of the headstock. The 12th fret side dots were misaligned, and there's a decent bit of finish bleeding from the neck into the binding. It is however a very comfortable guitar to handle, and sorting the crowning issue an absolute delight to play.
> 
> All things I wouldn't bat a lash at if it was made in Indonesia, but paying top dollar for a Canadian build with flaws as silly as this can be kind of disheartening.
> 
> That said - I've spoken to Kosta several times and he's been nothing but friendly and kind to me. Happy to help and answer questions. I can't see him being an asshole to someone unprovoked for no reason (but again, this is just my opinion on the matter)



Thanks for the mention we did have some issues with frets very early on, # 027 was built at least 7 years ago were at 147 now, these issues have been solved a long time ago and all the guitars frets are properly leveled and crowned and polished before shipping. 

This year we have redesigned all our models from the ground up, improving our precision and efficiency in building.


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## Merrekof (Sep 8, 2020)

Guerilla said:


> Thanks for the mention we did have some issues with frets very early on, # 027 was built at least 7 years ago were at 147 now, these issues have been solved a long time ago and all the guitars frets are properly leveled and crowned and polished before shipping.
> 
> This year we have redesigned all our models from the ground up, improving our precision and efficiency in building.


I have no horse in the race but I really love how you guys are handling this. Not throwing shit at each other but giving well described examples of flaws and civil responses. This what customer and builder both benefit the most from.

Throwing shit at each other is a lot more entertaining for me though!


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## Guerilla (Sep 8, 2020)

You guys can check out something recent. 



Thanks 
Kosta


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## SDMFVan (Sep 8, 2020)




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## dr_game0ver (Sep 8, 2020)

Next you are going to ask about October guitar...


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## redkombat (Sep 23, 2020)

they just kinda don't look that nice to me tbh


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## Chris Bowsman (Sep 27, 2020)

The finish on the guitar in the video is pretty sweet.


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## cip 123 (Sep 27, 2020)

Looked kinda cool but i can see in that video the low string is already bottomed out on intonation at the bridge, which just doesn't seem like a great start


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## Najka (Oct 6, 2020)

The brand has stuck around and persevered while a lot of others have actually screwed people over. I think discrediting this brand is a disservice to the metal/luthier/music scene. I bought one of these when they were relatively new.
It did offer something truly new and fresh at the time. I mean to attack someone's character that you never met is just ignorant. If the company stole money from customers it would not be around this long.

I bought it off their website, and received it about a week later.. no problems at all.

The build quality was on par with any other high end guitar I've owned. Sure it was different, but this is what made it unique. Some people see the differences as quirks and somehow bad. You know.. "it just doesn't jel with their playing style". 


It was heavy
it felt very solid
it had a Floyd with all the quirks that floyds have
The fretboard was very flat
the neck was thin
the edges of the fretboard where more square than round
very low action, no fretbuzz- I'm also not helpless and set up my own guitars.
Finish was awesome
unique take on a super strat
It felt like a lot of guitar for the money. At the time the Sentient and Nazgul had just came out and this had them. It's a cool guitar, andif certain muscians had indorsed it


The fact that the guy complaining can't set up a guitar for drop tuning and brings it to a tech who suggests the bridge needs to be moved? I get setting it up when you buy it from a notable music store, or it's a floating bridge and you don't have an hour or two.. but if you believe you are at a level of buying 2,500 instruments setups are a pretty basic skill. (Probably just offended a lot of people).






10255725_10202489246211068_8758737361677911027_o by Dan Schuch, on Flickr




10271367_10202435182339505_7498917833044603873_o by Dan Schuch, on Flickr




If you have trouble viewing pic can also see here:
https://flic.kr/p/2jQc9EQ
https://flic.kr/p/2jQaQWV


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## Najka (Oct 6, 2020)

cip 123 said:


> Looked kinda cool but i can see in that video the low string is already bottomed out on intonation at the bridge, which just doesn't seem like a great start



The guitar just shipped and straight out of the box.. 

When it ships, especially cross country it may get bounced around in transit. It goes through weather changes. If it is winter, the temperature changes can be extreme. It was in a truck that could have been really hot or cold for who knows how long. This all contributes to parts moving on the guitar. 

There is no winning the battle of appeasing people with guitar setups.

What one guy thinks is great, the next will say it sucks.


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## Fred the Shred (Oct 7, 2020)

It's not a matter of setup, it's an actually easy fix with using a short saddle. I get you really like the brand and, personally, I completely understand why, but it's not a "setup issue", but rather a "should have anticipated this with a short saddle there" case, which isn't game breaking at all, but still a consideration.


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## Najka (Oct 7, 2020)

Fred the Shred said:


> It's not a matter of setup, it's an actually easy fix with using a short saddle. I get you really like the brand and, personally, I completely understand why, but it's not a "setup issue", but rather a "should have anticipated this with a short saddle there" case, which isn't game breaking at all, but still a consideration.





MaxOfMetal said:


> inb4: Everyone listing every $300 guitar they've gotten to work at B at 25.5" using a .059".



I see setup as a function of scale length, hardware and string gauge.

A short saddle may fix it in it's current state however -


We don't even know if that is intonated properly. It may need to be backed off
The guitar appears 2 years old at the point he received it we don't know it's backstory.
The guitar is all out of tune when he starts playing it
Sounds like someone down tuned it a lot and moved the saddle to compensate
He tunes it way up to drop D, I bet the saddle needs to be backed off now.
What does the neck look like now that it's tuned?
How do we know at standard tuning that it sits at the appropriate position?

It should have been looked over prior to shipping, but this isn't a production guitar that goes through the normal process, was bought direct and it's not new.


I'm just defending the principle and keeping the integrity of this forum, not because I'm a fanboy. Some comments made were unwarranted by people with no skin in the game, and shouldn't be taken at face value. I ended up selling mine, but I tend to cycle through gear to try different things.


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## Fred the Shred (Oct 8, 2020)

Well, in that case you do agree that with a great many factors doing the rounds the option here is to simply assume these are but opinions, good / bad / anything in between, and that in the end of the day, placing them here as "facts" is not really justified.

I am all for brands improving. If the maxed out saddle is the consequence of a pretty extreme setup change, like going down to G on a 25.5" scale axe or something like that, then max I can say is that it would be courteous but definitely not mandatory to include an extra short saddle. If it's an objective issue with the instrument deriving from bridge placement, learn from the mistake and do whatever you can to ensure future builds won't require you to bother with the saddle sizes.

All in all, the point is really summarised easily when you say "It should have been looked over prior to shipping".


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## TruanMagan (Oct 14, 2020)

Cam-Poe said:


> Update from 2020 on Guerilla Guitars:
> 
> - Pretty much everything that has been said here about them is still currently relevant.
> - My own personal experience with them has uncovered identical issues (and owner responses) to those listed here and on other forums, dating back to 2012!
> ...







I was about to buy one of these guitars as I liked them a lot since I saw the videos of Erock playing with one. They are simply fascinating in the pictures. But at that time I didn't have the money to buy one. Some time ago I finally decided to fulfill a mini dream that I had of having one of these (those who know me know that I always talk about how much I like the designs of this brand) so I decided to go for one of the MS-8 of their website. I decided to write first to check the availability of the guitar although that and several others are available on the page. I wrote to them through their website one Thursday and I didn't get an answer. I wrote to them via their e-mail on Friday and received no response. I wrote to their facebook page on Saturday and finally someone answered. When I asked him about the guitar, he told me that it was no longer available, not even that one, nor the two others that I asked about (Why does he have something posted as available if that is not available? Someone can just buy it and never get anything). At the end he tells me that he has two specific models left and so I decide to buy one of those. I ask him if he will send it with the hard case and he tells me that the guitar comes with a gigbag for 950$ but on the page the price says that the 950$ is for the guitar with the hard case. In spite of all that, I tell him that it is ok, that I will buy it and that please tell me the price with the shipment to Spain (they are supposed to provide this service). Since I already noticed that the guy was very sharp and did not seem interested in answering my questions, I asked him if it was a good moment or if I could write him on Monday to which the guy asked me my address to calculate the final price with the shipment, he told me that he would come back to me in a "bit" and well, he still does not come back with the price.

I can't say anything bad about the guitars, they look incredible in the pictures, and their specifications are those of an incredible guitar, but the illusion I had of buying one disappeared because of the lousy service they offer to their potential customers.

I will not ask for this brand again and I will stop following their updates.


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## Najka (Oct 16, 2020)

TruanMagan said:


> I was about to buy one of these guitars as I liked them a lot since I saw the videos of Erock playing with one. They are simply fascinating in the pictures. But at that time I didn't have the money to buy one. Some time ago I finally decided to fulfill a mini dream that I had of having one of these (those who know me know that I always talk about how much I like the designs of this brand) so I decided to go for one of the MS-8 of their website. I decided to write first to check the availability of the guitar although that and several others are available on the page. I wrote to them through their website one Thursday and I didn't get an answer. I wrote to them via their e-mail on Friday and received no response. I wrote to their facebook page on Saturday and finally someone answered. When I asked him about the guitar, he told me that it was no longer available, not even that one, nor the two others that I asked about (Why does he have something posted as available if that is not available? Someone can just buy it and never get anything). At the end he tells me that he has two specific models left and so I decide to buy one of those. I ask him if he will send it with the hard case and he tells me that the guitar comes with a gigbag for 950$ but on the page the price says that the 950$ is for the guitar with the hard case. In spite of all that, I tell him that it is ok, that I will buy it and that please tell me the price with the shipment to Spain (they are supposed to provide this service). Since I already noticed that the guy was very sharp and did not seem interested in answering my questions, I asked him if it was a good moment or if I could write him on Monday to which the guy asked me my address to calculate the final price with the shipment, he told me that he would come back to me in a "bit" and well, he still does not come back with the price.
> 
> I can't say anything bad about the guitars, they look incredible in the pictures, and their specifications are those of an incredible guitar, but the illusion I had of buying one disappeared because of the lousy service they offer to their potential customers.
> 
> I will not ask for this brand again and I will stop following their updates.



That's a real shame, hopefully they can take action to satisfy more customers. This is a bad site to avoid since it's literally thier target customer base.


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