Ultimate Rhoads

dannyahansen wrote:I will only state that I reject that Ephiphones being built today are better than the Gibsons being built today.

I'd some Gibsons are good and some are not. I've got a Chinese knockoff Les Paul that was made in the Epi factory which is just as good as the Gibsons I've owned. I changed the pickups, but I dido that with most guitars anyway.

I'd never pay $1000 for any guitar, personally. That price is for the name, not the quality in my opinion.

Paul Wolfe wrote:

RRFan4Ever wrote:Why should anyone take the word of someone they've never met, on the internet- that a skilled luthier handcrafted the guitar and the parts were built by highly reputable businesses? I certainly wouldn't. Especially for a couple grand-

An intelligent buyer will ask questions and a legitimate seller will answer all the questions.

dont see what big deal is i would just like to see pix of the build or the process of the concord that is being offered

Ok guys I will admit I jumped on a few of you guys for some decent questions that yes people would want to know. Solo when you asked about hardware and pickups and then stated the guitar is coming from another country that right off the bat implies and makes people think that I am importing from Asia. There was no need for that. You could have asked your questions without making it look like I was hiding something because I was not. Simply asked are these made in China would have been proper. The lead time is what it takes to make a guitar not because I am shipping it in from somewhere. A guitar can't be made in 2 weeks unless you’re doing it yourself and have all the parts ready. But even paint takes time to paint and dry and sand. Not an easy project. Then when you think you have to put out at least 6 for a month or in 6 weeks. You have to have a set program to do this. I am not making one guitar like some of others here. Now I already new that I would have to make some changes. And I knew you guys would let me know that. The whole point here was to do these so many can buy it with out having to spend $9,000 or more. I am sure there are cheaper ones elsewhere then $9,000 but there not going to be cheaper then what I am selling. I have these made in the states and then they are shipped to me were we do the painting and install everything. As far as hardware many like to change out there stuff. But there is good hardware out there that is very well made with no name. The tuners on the guitar are from Korea and made very well and lock from the top. Many big companies also have there tuners made in the same company. Sometimes it does not matter where you get something it is the quality of it. In order to make this affordable you have to find ways to cut costs. The back plate is solid Brass and was not cheap. Same with others parts. If I went through Jackson and bought everything the guitar would be $4,000. The only main hardware that will change a guitar is the tuners and pickups. The rest of it does not matter because if you put brass or metal frames around the pickups there really isn’t a big difference between companies as far as quality because they all are the same thickness and are just for cosmetic looks. The switch plate for the 3 way switch we cut by hand because I could not find any. I may think about selling these blank were you guys can just install your own electronics and hardware. I will just make and paint and others can do the rest. This way you can put on what you like. I am looking this thought over to see where I would be on price. I personally don't think it is going to make a huge difference. But that’s allot of parts and labor that does not have to be done. No I am thinking the guitar may be an inch thinner then the original. I asked many for measurement before I started but n one had any. I think the wing from point to point might be 18 inches across. If it is mine is off an inch and I will fix that. It also cuts in to much at the curve but I need to take a look because it could be pictures. I may even think about buying a stripped one from a place and use that to make them but I don't even know if there’s correct. All in all I want to make these right as cheap as possible so if anyone can help then thanks I will work on it right away. Solo sorry for jumping on you did not mean to but after all this work I felt you I did not deserve the way you asked your question. But I am not a grudge holder and I never hate anyone so except my apologies. And as credibility goes guys I have sold many many polksdots and never had a problem other then competition trying to put me out and take over . When I started the polkadot on eBay I was the only one at a decent price. Then they copied it which is easy as the template is widely available. Now I see 3 and 4 different people making them. And to make matters worse there selling orange and other colors to. It's ok if you like that but I sure would not put it in the Randy Rhoads series of polkadots. Now does any know if there is a templete to paint the stripes on the guitar?

Could you answer my question, Basicswatch?

Are you talking about the wood? I had a choice of wood to choose but the mayple i wanted is not available. The mayple available today from what I was told when doing this is alot lighter and not that great a tone especially for sustain. The best wood to go with after some research was mohagaony. The cost is just about the same because todays mayple is cheaper then the old days when it from Canada. Now it is imported from somewhere else. Is this your question. now I plan to keep looking so who knows what will happen.

basicswatch wrote:Are you talking about the wood? I had a choice of wood to choose but the mayple i wanted is not available. The mayple available today from what I was told when doing this is alot lighter and not that great a tone especially for sustain. The best wood to go with after some research was mohagaony. The cost is just about the same because todays mayple is cheaper then the old days when it from Canada. Now it is imported from somewhere else. Is this your question. now I plan to keep looking so who knows what will happen.

My question was why the price is still the same, if you're using different woods.

You claimed that you were using maple wood, and THAT'S why the price was going to be so much higher than the PDV you sell. Now you've changed the wood (If I recall, it's the same wood you use on the PDVs you make), yet the price remains the same.

I'm asking why that is.

The price in the wood from maple to mahogony is only a few dollars different. The maple wood is acually lighter then the mahogony. Mahonoy has better tone. We are acually using a better mahogony wood then the PDVs. Now the other thing is this guitar is made here. I have a much better deal with the PDVs from my maker in canada but in order for him to do this guitar he needs certain setup and parts and other things. I wanted the guitar made here so I can oversee whats going on with it. Also any changes I can do right away instead of having to explain them were I can't just pop in there and look things over. The polkadots were a lot of work in the at first especially making changes. Also theres shipping involved. So if I need to send one back I have to now pay double shipping. I cannot inspect the finished product either. So haveing them made here is a big deal for me. But the cost is alot more. Don't forget cost on everthing has gone up. Nobody is spending money today so that drives cost up on everthing from labor to products. You have shipping involved in every product you by. There are many things you need to have to make and paint a guitar. We had to buy a special table saw just to cut switch plates, then extra blades. Painting? We used the best paint you can buy. I will garranty that not even Jackson used the quality paint we did. then theres the time consumming process of stripping and taping off. Installing everything. You have to understand that we are not making one guitar where we have a luthier making it for us completely. If we did that the price would be crazy and not woth doing. i am working on ways to bring down the price as I want ed these to be at $1,200 to $1,500 tops and the higher number was sure not my goal. I am checking on other places to produce these but it will take time. The ones I have despite the very small differences is awesome and looks and places awesome. You can feel the quality when you play it. I look at it everyday here and think what an bad ass looking guitar. So all in all I will make changes in the body and will work on price and even the wood. So like the polkadots that takes time. we learn as we go along.

A mahogany body blank from Warmoth is $88, just for reference.

Yeah but they don't sell maple blanks atleast i don't see it i will call them. but remmeber this is good for making one guitar not many. we need alot of this stuff. I can't buy one piece at a time. I have already come up with ideas to lower the price. my quest is to find good maple and they may have it but it depends on price. they are not showing it anywhere. also i need exact measurements on the guitat body wing.

I honestly don't think I've ever seen (or heard of) a guitar with a maple body. Isn't maple usually just used as a cap for Les Pauls and PRS guitars? I know maple is used extensively for necks...

That curly maple or some others for tops. hard maple is for bodys also.

I don't know if these are hard maple, but they are maple guitar blanks:

http://www.exoticwoods.com/product.php? ... =75&page=1

http://www.exoticwoods.com/product.php? ... =94&page=1

http://www.exoticwoods.com/product.php? ... =93&page=1



I'm not too sure what the difference is between them, besides the flame-grain stuff, but the price increases on them. I would assume that the first link would be okay, considering it's rather cheap (Compared to the others) and I don't think you'd be looking for the quality of the flames (Unless that says something about the quality of the wood, tone-wise) since you're just going to paint over them anyways.


There's also this:

http://www.hibdonhardwood.com/guitarbody.htm

Paul Wolfe wrote:I honestly don't think I've ever seen (or heard of) a guitar with a maple body.

George Lynch sure likes them
The Sandoval-built tiger and the Kamikaze ... all maple bodies

Stiltzkin wrote:

Paul Wolfe wrote:I honestly don't think I've ever seen (or heard of) a guitar with a maple body.

George Lynch sure likes them
The Sandoval-built tiger and the Kamikaze ... all maple bodies

this....also randys concorde was all maple as we probably all know

I have 2 all maple guitars.....they have so much bite it is fantastic

basicswatch wrote:Mahonoy has better tone. We are acually using a better mahogony wood then the PDVs.

what sort of mahogany are you using???? because that would dictate what "better" tone means

My Jackal was all maple and my Carvin is all maple. Well my Carvin is more all maple than my Jackal was. Carvin body is maple neck is maple and fret board is maple.

It sounds good. Nice and bright.