My first instinct is to complain, but....

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I ordered a neck yesterday: Superwide w/Fatback (mahogany, pau ferro, no inlays, 6130s) and wanted to get a Firebird headstock on it.  According to the prices on the neck builder, I was thinking it would be $258 ($213 for Superwide + $45 upcharge for different headstock), and had sorta planned my budgeting around that amount.  When I called, Jason the sales guy had to ask in the shop if it was possible to get a Firebird headstock on a superwide neck.  He called back & said it was possible, but the neck would be $348 - because it's a Firebird, which uses a different process.

For a moment, I thought "OMG THIS SUX IT SHOULD ONLY BE $45!" - and then I realized, waittaminnit - I'm getting exactly what I asked for, at a price that - yes, is more than I expected it to be based on the online pricing - but still pretty damn reasonable for the quality of workmanship that goes into these things.   And that money is going to American craftsmen being paid something close to a living wage (not sure what they make, but it's better than an Asian sweatshop).  And when it's all put together for right around $700, I'm still getting a fantastic deal for a totally custom instrument.  :icon_thumright:

So thanks Warmoth, I'm glad to have a company I can go to & get exactly what I'd like.  I'll be very excited to be getting my new neck after an agonizing eternity of waiting (at least, that's what the 4 - 6 weeks will feel like). :toothy10:

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Right on.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Well stated - American crafts-people!

 

[Cagey]

It certainly is a joy to get what you want for what you pay rather than have to eat what somebody else decides to put on your plate.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I think OP just said something profound.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Well put OP. Places like Warmoth--where you can get exactly what you want, how you want it--are increasingly rare. Case in point: my girlfriend and I are in the process of buying a new car, and for some reason, we can't get the car we want in the colour we want with the accessories we want (namely a sunroof). The dealer can't find one. Seems to me that if I'm about to plunk down $20k on something, it had damn well better be exactly how I want it. Or am I being delusional?

 

[Cagey]

Well put OP. Places like Warmoth--where you can get exactly what you want, how you want it--are increasingly rare. Case in point: my girlfriend and I are in the process of buying a new car, and for some reason, we can't get the car we want in the colour we want with the accessories we want (namely a sunroof). The dealer can't find one. Seems to me that if I'm about to plunk down $20k on something, it had damn well better be exactly how I want it. Or am I being delusional?

No, not delusional at all. It's quite likely the dealers are just dragging their feet. They're loathe to sell anything outside of inventory right now, since the economy is causing it to sit still and cost them money. This puts you at an advantage, should you like to press it, as they'd almost rather take a loss on something in stock that they're paying interest on than order a vehicle new from the factory.

Most people don't know it, but car dealers aren't a part of the company(s) they represent. That is, a Ford or Pontiac dealer is not part of FoMoCo or Government Motors. They have to buy those cars into stock in order to sell them, and they do that with a line of credit from their bank. If those cars sit on the lot and collect dust, they lose money paying interest on the loan used to buy them. The name of the game with dealerships is service work and cash flow. They've got to spin that inventory in order to make money. Ordering a factory special does nothing to help their inventory except bring in some profit to pay the interest on it.

 

[mayfly]

Well put OP. Places like Warmoth--where you can get exactly what you want, how you want it--are increasingly rare. Case in point: my girlfriend and I are in the process of buying a new car, and for some reason, we can't get the car we want in the colour we want with the accessories we want (namely a sunroof). The dealer can't find one. Seems to me that if I'm about to plunk down $20k on something, it had damn well better be exactly how I want it. Or am I being delusional?

No, not delusional at all. It's quite likely the dealers are just dragging their feet. They're loathe to sell anything outside of inventory right now, since the economy is causing it to sit still and cost them money. This puts you at an advantage, should you like to press it, as they'd almost rather take a loss on something in stock that they're paying interest on than order a vehicle new from the factory.

Most people don't know it, but car dealers aren't a part of the company(s) they represent. That is, a Ford or Pontiac dealer is not part of FoMoCo or Government Motors. They have to buy those cars into stock in order to sell them, and they do that with a line of credit from their bank. If those cars sit on the lot and collect dust, they lose money paying interest on the loan used to buy them. The name of the game with dealerships is service work and cash flow. They've got to spin that inventory in order to make money. Ordering a factory special does nothing to help their inventory except bring in some profit to pay the interest on it.

+1.  You can get exactly the car you want.  On the other side of the coin, if you deal fairly well, you can get a discount for talking a car off the lot that's "Not exactly the color I was thinking of".

I think for my next car I'm just going to use a Car Broker. 

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

With cars, the economics of it make sense why it's tough to get exactly what you want - that doesn't make it any less frustrating to the consumer, though.  Lots of consumer products, actually - there's lots of items out there where you can get any color/texture/flavor/feature/etc you want . . . as long as it's what they offer/what they have in stock.

It's nice that musicians are such a particular bunch that such a business that revolves around specialized work is actually sustainable.  :laughing7:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Well the thing seems to be that there just aren't any like we want out there. That's a little hard to believe. That said, I just got a call from the dealership saying that they're willing to install--free of charge and under warranty--a sunroof in a car they have that is exactly what we're looking for except for the fact that it doesn't currently have a sunroof. Any thoughts?

I should also point out that this dealership has an excellent reputation and has been really great to us--very up-front, transparent and accomodating. Props for good service thus far. Now if only we could get the damn car!  :laughing7:

 

[Superlizard]

Never give your trust to a car salesman - make him earn his keep and always
retain control of the discussion.  Be wary of their promises and hold him to them.

They're no different than politicians.

Remember, you hold the upper hand, because you have something they want:  your $$$.

 

[Cagey]

Well the thing seems to be that there just aren't any like we want out there. That's a little hard to believe. That said, I just got a call from the dealership saying that they're willing to install--free of charge and under warranty--a sunroof in a car they have that is exactly what we're looking for except for the fact that it doesn't currently have a sunroof. Any thoughts?

I should also point out that this dealership has an excellent reputation and has been really great to us--very up-front, transparent and accomodating. Props for good service thus far. Now if only we could get the damn car!  :laughing7:

Aftermarket sunroofs can be done well, but it depends a bit on the car. Too often, the aftermarket units are somewhat generalized to fit a number of different vehicles, so it may be obvious that it's not an OEM part. It won't follow the lines of the roof as cleanly as an OEM part will, so it looks a bit half-assed. If it was me, I'd want to see that exact unit installed on the exact car you're looking at before I signed anything.

That said, unless it's a retracting roof, most sunroofs are aftermarket units installed at the dealer. I've spent a lot of time in automotive plants, and I know that installing a sunroof isn't something that fits into the grand scheme of things with assembly line automation unless it's a fairly standard feature. Some of the procedures are just too lengthy to fit in the time frame allowed, so it would have to be an off-line operation which makes it prohibitively expensive. So, check it out. Having had a couple cars with sunroofs, I wouldn't want to go without one if I could help it.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Cagey - I keep wanting to translate your car metaphors into guitars:

Aftermarket Floyds can be done well, but it depends a bit on the guitar. Too often, the aftermarket units are somewhat generalized to fit a number of different instruments, so it may be obvious that it's not an OEM part. It won't follow the lines of the body as cleanly as an OEM part will, so it looks a bit half-assed. If it was me, I'd want to see that exact unit installed on the exact guitar you're looking at before I signed anything.

That said, unless it's a floating trem, most Floyds are aftermarket units installed at the shop. I've spent a lot of time in guitar factories, and I know that installing a Floyd Rose isn't something that fits into the grand scheme of things with assembly line automation unless it's a fairly standard feature. Some of the procedures are just too lengthy to fit in the time frame allowed, so it would have to be an off-line operation which makes it prohibitively expensive. So, check it out. Having had a couple guitars with Floyds, I wouldn't want to go without one if I could help it.

:icon_jokercolor:

 

[Velcro]

You're right, that wasn't profound.

 

[Cagey]

Cagey - I keep wanting to translate your car metaphors into guitars:

Good job. Not sure I see the point of it, but what the hell? <grin>

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Well, this is a forum of folks talking about guitar building - it's hard not to have that on the brain when browsing here.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I ordered a neck yesterday: Superwide w/Fatback (mahogany, pau ferro, no inlays, 6130s) and wanted to get a Firebird headstock on it.  According to the prices on the neck builder, I was thinking it would be $258 ($213 for Superwide + $45 upcharge for different headstock), and had sorta planned my budgeting around that amount.  When I called, Jason the sales guy had to ask in the shop if it was possible to get a Firebird headstock on a superwide neck.  He called back & said it was possible, but the neck would be $348 - because it's a Firebird, which uses a different process.

For a moment, I thought "OMG THIS SUX IT SHOULD ONLY BE $45!" - and then I realized, waittaminnit - I'm getting exactly what I asked for, at a price that - yes, is more than I expected it to be based on the online pricing - but still pretty damn reasonable for the quality of workmanship that goes into these things.   And that money is going to American craftsmen being paid something close to a living wage (not sure what they make, but it's better than an Asian sweatshop).  And when it's all put together for right around $700, I'm still getting a fantastic deal for a totally custom instrument.  :icon_thumright:

So thanks Warmoth, I'm glad to have a company I can go to & get exactly what I'd like.  I'll be very excited to be getting my new neck after an agonizing eternity of waiting (at least, that's what the 4 - 6 weeks will feel like). :toothy10:

Just don't let'em paint the body of your guitar.  For $245, my expectations fell way short.  When I called to ask about it, the rude employee just shut me down, and didn't wanna hear any of my concern, and it wasn't like I was unprofessional like I know some people can be.  I guess it didn't matter that I'd just forked over $1000 for a neck and a body, plus some hardware.  :icon_scratch:  I've mentioned this before on the site, and according to a share of other sources, my experience with a poor finish has been in the minority.  I'm not so bent about the crappy paint as I am about the way I was treated.  All I know is that I'll never deal with this particular person again at Warmoth, and I'm surprised he still has a job with them.

My finished Warmoth neck is amongst the most gorgeous necks I've ever seen, but I could have done a better job on the body myself.  In the end, I got what I wanted from Warmoth in terms of a great playing instrument, and while I will probably do another Warmoth build, they certainly won't be getting my money for a paint job.