Aristides Guitars

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Wish they didn't want 600$ to just not do inays. I'd really like to get a H07.

I wouldn't get too frustrated, I did once before about how much they charge for custom pickup wiring, things that u or your tech could do quite cheaply, for them means they have to fit it in their highly optimized workflow/pipeline and that cost them a lot more than if u or your tech just do it after the fact.

I love Aristides for what they are, and it's kind of difficult sometimes to understand these pricing decisions I agree, but it's a free market and they are completely transparent and forthcoming about it. Long story short, ask them for exactly what you want, then maybe skip any expensive mods that you (or your tech) could do later. Hope this helps.

 

[c7spheres]

Yea. Either allow it or don't, out of principle. Don't put some stupid exorbitant upcharge on it.

That's like an Ed Roman up charge. He only charged $500 for a no logo. Just sayin. lol
-. I think with Aristides charging for it it's kind of dumb because it's not like anyone who sees the guitar won't know it's an Aristides. I;ve never seen a counterfiet one. Depnding on their processes though I could see where it may take some extra time or special attention to not do an inlay, disrupting workflow, but really there should be no excuse, just always have some blanks laying around, imo. If I ever got one I know I'd want no inlay so this affects things. I would expect to see a $600 up charge if I wanted a special inaly, not no inlay especially with Aristides being so unique and hard to counterfeit.

 

[narad]

That's like an Ed Roman up charge. He only charged $500 for a no logo. Just sayin. lol
-. I think with Aristides charging for it it's kind of dumb because it's not like anyone who sees the guitar won't know it's an Aristides. I;ve never seen a counterfiet one. Depnding on their processes though I could see where it may take some extra time or special attention to not do an inlay, disrupting workflow, but really there should be no excuse, just always have some blanks laying around, imo. If I ever got one I know I'd want no inlay so this affects things. I would expect to see a $600 up charge if I wanted a special inaly, not no inlay especially with Aristides being so unique and hard to counterfeit.

I literally bought a used 060s from a guy in the US, to whom I asked, "it's no inlay, right?" "yea, no inlay". It arrived in Japan... guess what it had. Yes, an inlay! Even though it was that ghosted black epoxy one, I still was irritated by the whole thing and wound up selling the thing at a $300-400 loss. Though it did get me enough hands-on time with one to know they don't really sound that good for what I like to play.

But yea, I'm with you -- if I was ordering a headless I would want a blank board and certainly wouldn't be willing to fork over $600 for the privilege!

 

[c7spheres]

I literally bought a used 060s from a guy in the US, to whom I asked, "it's no inlay, right?" "yea, no inlay". It arrived in Japan... guess what it had. Yes, an inlay! Even though it was that ghosted black epoxy one, I still was irritated by the whole thing and wound up selling the thing at a $300-400 loss. Though it did get me enough hands-on time with one to know they don't really sound that good for what I like to play.

But yea, I'm with you -- if I was ordering a headless I would want a blank board and certainly wouldn't be willing to fork over $600 for the privilege!

Curious what in the sound wasn't working for you. I noticed they all seem to have a sort of mid rangey/hollow thing happening in the vids I've seen, plus the one I play unplugged even had it. I figured it would be workable but was concerened it might be a bit to mids heavy too. I'd like to see them make Ibanez replacemnt necks without inlays lol.

 

[narad]

Curious what in the sound wasn't working for you. I noticed they all seem to have a sort of mid rangey/hollow thing happening in the vids I've seen, plus the one I play unplugged even had it. I figured it would be workable but was concerened it might be a bit to mids heavy too. I'd like to see them make Ibanez replacemnt necks without inlays lol.

I have a really hard time putting it into words but I think they lack a lot of character and richness in the upper mids/ maybe highs, so a sort of "roundness" comes out in a lower mid emphasis. Basically what I really have a hard time imagining an aristides doing is a great classic les paul sort of tone. For proggy lead line stuff, the stuff a lot of endorsers play, I think they're pretty good.

 

[webs]

I have a really hard time putting it into words but I think they lack a lot of character and richness in the upper mids/ maybe highs, so a sort of "roundness" comes out in a lower mid emphasis. Basically what I really have a hard time imagining an aristides doing is a great classic les paul sort of tone. For proggy lead line stuff, the stuff a lot of endorsers play, I think they're pretty good.

That's a good way of putting it. I love my H/08 and my Les Paul, but despite having very similar pickups (inasmuch as an 8 and a 6 string can) they are completely different tonally. The LP has a blur/smear in the treble and a billowy bass that make it warm and rich. The Aristides is clear and articulate with tons of harmonics. Different flavors for sure, both terrific.

The Aristides tone/feel is something I associate with composite instruments. My hunch is that the way that these instruments react to the amount of input energy is a lot more neat and tidy than a wooden instrument. They can be designed to respond to a heavy and light vibration with the same output, just louder or quieter. That's completely backwards from wood where the different compression/damping is all over the map and you get a lot of different timbres with different response across different frequencies. I have a carbon fiber violin and acoustic guitar that do the same thing. Wooden violins that are lively and sensitive usually choke out in some way, somewhere on the fingerboard, particularly with heavy bowing. Carbon fiber doesn't. It sounds consonant - all the timbres match, and that consistency makes for a very nice, ringing clarity, plus it can take a hugely heavy bow stroke (or pick) and not complain or get weird. The tradeoff is that the jumbly, incoherent kind of resonance imparts a lot of what we tend to associate with warmth and character. What's the Tolstoy - "All happy families are alike, all unhappy ones are unhappy in their own way" - like that, but for weird unpredictable vibrations. And both types are fun and fantastic and musical.

 

[jwade]

Anyone here in BC that might let me try one of these out? I'll never walk into a store and find one, and I'm interested in an 070 or 070s. I'm on Vancouver Island but come over to Vancouver occasionally for concerts (like Spiritbox next week 🤘🏻).

 

[JimF]

Aristides used to have a loan guitar they would send out if you were interested. Not sure if thats still a thing now.

 

[baptizedinblood]

Met the Aristides team at NAMM this year, played and immediately bought the Anthracite 060sr they had available.

I am in love. Time to place an order for a 7!

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Met the Aristides team at NAMM this year, played and immediately bought the Anthracite 060sr they had available.

I am in love. Time to place an order for a 7!

I remember the 1st time I played my 070R, totally different feel/experience than any other guitar I played b4. Beware of this itch, I'm on my 3rd tidis, my wallet does hate me .

 

[ian540s]

I also played an H/07R at NAMM, I've never played an Aristides or anything multiscale before that and was blown away.
It was so easy to play compared to anything I've played before. Legato licks were effortless. I got home and remembered the almost-4k entry price and got sad haha.
That being said, I only talked to Brandon (I believe that was his name? Sorry!) and he was super cool and helpful, although I was admittedly pretty nervous for some reason. He even dialed the amp in for me. I'm sure not everyone playing these guitars is a high profile doctor or lawyer, so I'm sure I could make it happen if I wanted to, but that would be a big mental hurdle to drop that much cash at my current skill level.

 

[StoobyDoo]

Hey, new here.

Can I chime in and ask everyone how long they had to wait for their Aristides to be delivered? Timelines for progress of their instruments?

I placed an 070sr order in March and an 070s a couple of weeks ago. I've used strandbergs almost exclusively since about 2015 but I'm switching over to Aristides and I'm really looking forward to receiving them - I think I'm getting impatient already!

 

[Avedas]

Hey, new here.

Can I chime in and ask everyone how long they had to wait for their Aristides to be delivered? Timelines for progress of their instruments?

I placed an 070sr order in March and an 070s a couple of weeks ago. I've used strandbergs almost exclusively since about 2015 but I'm switching over to Aristides and I'm really looking forward to receiving them - I think I'm getting impatient already!

My H/07 was almost exactly 1 year. I didn't get the first picture (just the fretboard) until 7-8 months in.

 

[StoobyDoo]

My H/07 was almost exactly 1 year. I didn't get the first picture (just the fretboard) until 7-8 months in.

Ok cool. Ever the optimist I was hoping that their production methods get ever more streamlined as they grow as a business and the wait times are reduced 😆

 

[Kyle Jordan]

It's dependent on finish in part. The Raw series are usually done quicker. My 080R was right at 6 months, and I'm currently 3 1/2 months in to an H/08R build I expect to get the final payment request for in the next few weeks judging by past experience and feedback from others.

The more elaborate finishes and options take longer.

 

[StoobyDoo]

It's dependent on finish in part. The Raw series are usually done quicker. My 080R was right at 6 months, and I'm currently 3 1/2 months in to an H/08R build I expect to get the final payment request for in the next few weeks judging by past experience and feedback from others.

The more elaborate finishes and options take longer.

Thanks. If a raw series took closer to 6 months rather than 9 months then that's a bit more hopeful. 😆

 

[eddyrox]

meet them at NAMM this weekend - reaction: WOW!
need to do some more research, but the options and the price (vs others including one USA company) cannot be beat!
super cool people btw...

 

[TheCanadianNews]

I wouldn't get too frustrated, I did once before about how much they charge for custom pickup wiring, things that u or your tech could do quite cheaply, for them means they have to fit it in their highly optimized workflow/pipeline and that cost them a lot more than if u or your tech just do it after the fact.

I love Aristides for what they are, and it's kind of difficult sometimes to understand these pricing decisions I agree, but it's a free market and they are completely transparent and forthcoming about it. Long story short, ask them for exactly what you want, then maybe skip any expensive mods that you (or your tech) could do later. Hope this helps.

It's more that they are probably producing multiple fretboards a day, according to expected demand. They aren't making 1 per order coming in, I bet.

No inlay means, to your point, they are literally pulling one out of the line to modify it and associate to a particular order.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

@TheCanadianNews I'll raise you , I once asked if I could pay a little extra for them to choose a brighter shade (less cardboard-y looking) for a light Richlite frettboard, was not possible. They have no control over that from the vendor, but IMHO the variance in the light fretboards can be high. That's why all my Aristides guitars come w dark boards.

 

[jco5055]

one of my light boards was like a birdseye maple copy, it was actually pretty sick but I'm sure I just got lucky