If you had $2kUSD for a custom 8 string, what would you get?

[Awaiting Oblivion]

I

Dang that looks incredible, especially for that kind of money!

~2 years from deposit to guitar in hand is not particularly bad of a wait time for a full custom, especially considering ~1 year of that time was during a hot war involving the country of origin.

I was super skeptical of this builder at first, since they were advertising everywhere on facebook and in forums, but had zero actual customers and everything else sounded too good to be true. Honestly, some of this still sounds too good to be true, but now that there are a handful of happy customers, hopefully this turns into a successful business that can keep up with demand!

When I found out about this builder I contacted them about a build (this was within the past few months) and build time now is quoted around 3-4 months.

 

[DoctorStoner]

Up until about a year ago $2k in Kiesel money got you a lot. They had like 5 price increases in the past 2 years, which happens, so they're a little harder to get after now, but you can still get a really nice build. You get the same quality instrument if you get the base alder or something upgraded. Used models are pulling more than new ones if you include tax and shipping, so why not get one of your own.

 

[bostjan]

I

When I found out about this builder I contacted them about a build (this was within the past few months) and build time now is quoted around 3-4 months.

Usually when people are quoted 6 months by builders, in general, they end up waiting an average of 18 months, so 4 months in quote time is possibly 12 months in real time.

I think a big part of this is that some luthiers used to quote based on "this is how long it takes me to build your guitar if everything falls into place," but then nothing ever fell into place. The CNC machine needs a new geared belt, the luthier's family dog gets sick, the wood you wanted gets banned by CITES, a global pandemic shuts down commerce worldwide, extra terrestrials invade from planet Skyron and steal all of the world's 1/4" jacks, the luthier suddenly takes up smoking crack, an earthquake destroys the luthier's workshop, a fire destroys the factory that makes the fretwire you wanted, etc. etc. etc.

But that's not even the problem in 2022 - it's that small shops are competing with each other's quote times, not the actual delivery schedules. So, if shop A quotes 6 months, even though they've been averaging 18 months, shop B will have to quote 5 months, whether they tend to deliver one month faster than shop A or not. So the entire system is kind of fucked.

I've been around here long enough to see tons and tons of these stories. Even some really well respected shops popular here have taken people's money and then just disappeared. Hell, some of the most well-renowned big shops have delivered guitars with the wrong number of frets, and not even like a typical number, but 23 frets or 25 frets, when those weren't stipulated. We've seen smaller eastern European shops deliver brand new custom built guitars with the truss rod poking out of the back of the neck, or guitars where the frets were at different angles, but the guitar was not multiscale, or big shops that deliver a guitar with the bridge installed wrong or deliver a guitar that is quite obviously the wrong colour.

I've personally ordered a bunch of custom guitars. For sure not as many as a lot of people here, but IIRC, 6 that I have and 2 that I never saw. One, that's right one out of eight custom orders, I received without a notable delay. Four were through builders who were super communicative with me, and, despite some delays, I couldn't have been any happier with how those turned out. One took for flippin' ever, with zero communication from the builder, but I miraculously received it and the end product was great, although by the time I got it, my tastes had drifted and now I rarely ever touch the guitar. One I ordered and then the luthier literally vanished with no communication. After I started to panic, I learned that the luthier had suddenly died and his daughter didn't have any money from the estate to refund me, so I wrote it off. The other custom I had ordered, I was quoted the shortest turnaround time, 6 weeks, and, for about 8 weeks, I received regular updates about how the progress was going, then got ghosted for several months, then progress started going backwards somehow, and I started to suspect I was getting scammed. After roughly 3 years, I did finally get my deposit back from that shop, but it took me consulting with a lawyer and pestering the hell out of the builder to get to that point.

And I think that my experience of ~12% never getting a guitar is pretty typical for anyone who puts a fair amount of effort into trying not to get scammed. And, I think, very few shops actually set out to scam people. I think a lot of the time, the shops are small and simply something unexpected happens that the shop just cannot manage around. Many of those stories are recorded here on ss.o - builder has a panic attack or the workshop gets burned or a critical supplier stops supplying a critical supply or the luthier gets sick or whatever.

So, to whomever is reading this, just be careful. Don't spend any more on a custom build than you could afford to lose gambling.

 

[ToRNOuTLaW]

@bostjan Some of the things you are telling sound quite familiar, and this was my first custom order.
At least concerning guitars, ordered a hunting bow by a german builder once and had an overall mixed experience there.

Quote time for delivery when I ordered the Valraven was November, so about 9-10 months. Got contacted in September, that the birdeye maple for the fretboard wasn't in stock, if I 'd be willing to go for an alternative, otherwise they could order new material.
Opted to wait. Then in November they started to build, but it got delayed and then some more, because someone got ill/injured. Then the build continued early 2022 and the war broke out. Of course operations came to a stop for a while. Bombings even in western ukraine, black outs and a lot of horrible stuff that is still going on, no need to say more. Finally they found a new shop, acquired parts and were able to continue production and taking on new builds.

In short: Nobody can predict what happens, especially in the current circumstances. I am optimistic that they can churn out more guitars now, but anyone should be aware that patience is in order and there being a risk of not receiving anything, guitar or deposit.
But I have not heard any bad stories about Valraven, regarding scams or dishonest practices. I am very happy with my guitar and wish them well.

 

[Awaiting Oblivion]

Definitely some good advice here weather the guitar is $2k or $10k. I personally go for used gear more often than not but if I do ever order a custom build I think I’d expect about a year to get it which doesn’t seem that crazy.

It makes sense that delays can happen since these are real people making the guitars but I y guess if you go into it knowing it’s not an instant gratification setup you’re probably okay.

I think Valravn probably offers the most bang for the buck for a NEW $2k custom or semi custom if that’s what people want to call it.

 

[denofgators]

I know an absolutely fantastic builder named Kyle, his company is called WKM Custom Guitars.
Phenomenal builder and human.

He’s currently wrapping up a custom 8 string for me that I can not wait to arrive.

If you shoot him a message he can provide his build sheet that is really easy to follow and get estimates from.

 

[ironbeast]

Just pulled the trigger on a beautiful Valravn 7 on Reverb. Been following them on the socials and here on SS so thought it’s worth a punt. I’ll post again once I receive the beast!

 

[ironbeast]

I know an absolutely fantastic builder named Kyle, his company is called WKM Custom Guitars.
Phenomenal builder and human.

He’s currently wrapping up a custom 8 string for me that I can not wait to arrive.

If you shoot him a message he can provide his build sheet that is really easy to follow and get estimates from.

Do post photos of your new acquisition once you get your hands on it.
Kyle’s work looks unreal!!

 

[denofgators]

Do post photos of your new acquisition once you get your hands on it.
Kyle’s work looks unreal!!

I’ll pass the compliment along, of course I will! Already made a post with a couple of its photos.

 

[ironbeast]

That’s my new Valravn Munnin 7. Absolutely love how it looks and plays!

 

[ToRNOuTLaW]

Absolutely beautiful! I wonder if one could hear the difference between the set-neck and neck-through designs.
Would you share your impressions (or even audio/video) of the Dirtthaller(?) PUs?

I had decided against them, because the one audio sample I could find wasn't sounding particularly awesome to me
and I knew I 'd like the Fishmans. But I 'd like to learn more.

 

[MaxAidingAres]

Valvravns look pretty unique but id say get a kiesel and go basic as hell. Unless you care about the aesthetics, wood doesnt matter. If you do go custom or go with fancier options. Figure out what the guitar is for and spec accordingly. If you plan to play live. Thick maple tops with wenge neck will break your back!

 

[bostjan]

That’s my new Valravn Munnin 7. Absolutely love how it looks and plays!
View attachment 120156

Absolutely gorgeous.

And, damn, that was fast!

 

[Pietjepieter]

That’s my new Valravn Munnin 7. Absolutely love how it looks and plays!
View attachment 120156

Looks super cool!! HNGD

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

That’s my new Valravn Munnin 7. Absolutely love how it looks and plays!
View attachment 120156

LOVE IT!

 

[ironbeast]

Absolutely beautiful! I wonder if one could hear the difference between the set-neck and neck-through designs.
Would you share your impressions (or even audio/video) of the Dirtthaller(?) PUs?

I had decided against them, because the one audio sample I could find wasn't sounding particularly awesome to me
and I knew I 'd like the Fishmans. But I 'd like to learn more.

Never played Fishmans myself and I’m not a fan of actives in general. I can compare them against Seymour Duncans, Dimarzios, Kiesel Lithiums (that’s what I have on my other axes).
They have great clarity through all strings and all positions. Excellent sustain and they support pinch harmonics superbly! May be not quite as much gain/crunch as the Dimarzios on my EBMM Majesty but you can easily add that with your amp settings. To my ears they sound ever so slightly different to all my other pickups…in a good way. Which I love, because it’s a bit more variety.
I’ve mostly got neck through guitars. Only set necks ones are this one and a artist signsture series Kiesel. Honestly can’t tell if there is any difference in sustain.

 

[ironbeast]

Valvravns look pretty unique but id say get a kiesel and go basic as hell. Unless you care about the aesthetics, wood doesnt matter. If you do go custom or go with fancier options. Figure out what the guitar is for and spec accordingly. If you plan to play live. Thick maple tops with wenge neck will break your back!

Yeah, I don’t play live but I wouldn’t use this live just because I don’t want any sweat or damage on it. Having said that, it’s black limba and lighter than any of my guitars, including the tiny Steinberger (I’m not kidding)

 

[ironbeast]

Absolutely gorgeous.

And, damn, that was fast!

Well, this one was already made and was advertised on Reverb. I took one look and pulled the trigger after haggling a bit on the price

 

[Halowords]

That’s my new Valravn Munnin 7. Absolutely love how it looks and plays!
View attachment 120156

Awesome! I have a Valravn custom 8-string coming this summer. Neck-through with a Black Limba body and a Buckeye Burl top, and a few other differences. But I'm really looking forward to getting to play the thing in a few months.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Love my Valravn 6. Thinking about ordering a 7 or one of their newer shapes. They just messaged me the other day and shared pics of someone who ordered the same specs but it in a 7 and it looked killer. Here's mine:



Only complaint is it's a pretty dark guitar, much more so than my others. I'm guessing adjusting the pickup height might help, though. Otherwise, fit and finish are easily on-par with my Kiesel that would cost at least twice as much, as well as my Bernie Rico Jr.