Christopher Woods? - Page 17

petersfieldpete · #**241** 01-13-2007, 05:44 PM

We are BAMBAM, we are!

Jaden · #**242** 01-13-2007, 05:47 PM

if you are relying on the luthiers expertise, as you state.
why buy the timber yourself ?
Im a carpenter/joiner and would never allow the customer to purchase the wood for a project - especially if they had never seen it themselves - i.e bought it online. Personally I think he was generous in letting you do that !
you dont deny that you moved the goalposts many times during this project, to be honest, im amazed that Chris didnt lose patience and cut you loose earlier down the line...

Then there is this thing with refusing to communicate by any means other than your brother.....

then there is the thing where you come to this forum and straight out flame Chris, saying that you are taking him to court !

I reckon if you read this entire thread, there may be some grumbling about timing but in all other respects Chris Woods seems to be getting a big 'Yes' vote from most of his customers.... - including me !

Chris was late with my order but he kept in contact and explained why, he was willing to go the extra mile to make sure that I was a happy customer and he helped me out with another project that I had going and needed advice on !

in summary, I would not hesitate to use Chris Woods again and im also located in the UK....

happy new year to you also..

petersfieldpete · #**243** 01-13-2007, 05:49 PM

Just want to say this site is great for getting stuff out your system. And I know where the guy who has the original passion and warfare cover guitar keeps it; in his loft in the UK, and he'd forgotten about it! Awesome!

Jaden · #**244** 01-13-2007, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petersfieldpete

Just want to say this site is great for getting stuff out your system. And I know where the guy who has the original passion and warfare cover guitar keeps it; in his loft in the UK, and he'd forgotten about it! Awesome!

+1 - true

its a great community and ibanez / guitar resource !

enjoy !

PatrickSimsCustomShopUSA · #**245** 01-13-2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petersfieldpete

Subsequently we never got the guitars or the parts I sent him, or our money, $2700 back

Quote:

Originally Posted by petersfieldpete

It's not cool also to hold someones money and gear to ransom($4735)

How about getting your story staright 1st before you come on here and start making accusations. Is it $2700 or $4735?? Trying to charge interest on the value of your guitar and hardware while refusing to receive a refund in the original amount is about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

eelblack2 · #**246** 01-13-2007, 08:29 PM

Nothing but props from me for Chris. His work is excellent, and I will keep coming back to him time and time again. Chris goes out of his way to help people - thats been proven over and over again.

Next CW project for me is a 5 piece neck, 7 string, maple fingerboard heavily quilted. (no inlays ala PC1) - Oh yes, please.

Lee White

Martallica · #**247** 01-13-2007, 09:24 PM

Dang Lee your 4 places above me being here since September, be worth the wait!

Paul Secondino · #**248** 01-13-2007, 10:35 PM

INteresting thread. And a big one. I am a customer of Chris's. AND the body and neck we spec'd out was worked on before Chris upgraded to CNC machining.

Basically, I ordered a Alder body Ibanez RG clone with a neck to fit it. Unfortunately, the geometry of the neck pocket and bridge cavity was off.The neck also had a severe forward bow and with the truss rod maxed, the neck still had alot of relief.More than normal manufacturer specs.Unfortunately, the instrument was unplayable My luthier here in Connecticut is a master level luthier and put in between 10 and 12 hours to compensate for the neck pocket, a hump in the nut shelf from the truss rod, and a forward bowed neck. Obviously, some of that 10 to 12 hours consisted of normal things like fret level and polish, electronics installation, pickup installation and wiring. So maybe 2 hours of the time was spent on things that needed to be done to any guitar.

Anyway,my feeling on Christopher WOods instruments is that he began his instrument making without making enough calculations.Things like neck pocket depth and width aren't rocket science. And neck heel thickness and width are also easy. Just measure an Ibanez Rg and there you go.

What impressed me about Chris is that he located the pickup cavities correctly.And the 22 fret neck intonated correctly which also impressed me. I find those calculations much more complex. IF you screw them up, your guitar is basically done with little chance of being corrected. So I got the impression that Chris actually had some true lutherie abilities and wasn't just a wood worker/ hobbyist looking for quick cash.

Also, Chris didn't charge alot. And was generally easy to talk to. I provided him with pics of everything that had to be corrected.And he was as humble about it as could be expected. I know I wouldn't be pleased to hear that my work had major flaws.So this showed some maturity and responsibility on Chris's part.

Anyway, I had sent my final payment to Chris on March 24, 2005. Received the parts and gone through all of the above. Chris offered to make a replacement neck since the first one was bowed past what the truss rod could compensate for. So here we are in January of 2007 and I am still waiting for my replacement neck. I do hope I actually get it.

So the moral of my tale is that CHris is a decent person who unfortunately bit off alot in the beginning of his company/ guitar production. And even though I have been bummed by never having completely received what I paid for, I also realize that CHris made very little money on the work. So he is no Ed Roman for sure.

I do hope that Chris's new CNC work is 100% precise. If it is, I would continue to place orders with him. I mean, who out there is making Ibanez replacement bodies and necks ? Hardly anyone and certainly not in large numbers.Anyone that wants to do business with Chris probably should. But get a warranty promise in writing via email or whatever makes you comfortable. I assume that new customers will not have to wait 1 1/2 years to complete a project with Chris like I have.Hopefully, this new phase of his building will streamline his schedule and production

ChristopherWoods · #**249** 01-14-2007, 12:49 AM

I thought that I might bust out some photos so that you all can see what we are talking about here with the petersfieldpete situation. I have posted photos at this link:
http://homepage.mac.com/bigvelvetdog/artists/pr.html

These show the guitar top with all of its flaws.... can you see them? Well I never got any direct communication about what he thought the flaws are but one would only be able to assume that he meant the 2 dots on either side of the tremolo cavity (7 string body). Now the very last photo on this page of the Wolfgang guitar body is one that he sent to me as a reference to how he wanted it painted. I was never asked... but I would have said that I believe that this type of paint job would have blended those marks out. For sure it would have on the 6 string body because the marks are where the burst would be. On the 7 string body where the marks are on either side of the tremolo cavity, I still believe that they would have belnded in with the dark stain. Any second opinions on this?...

ChristopherWoods · #**250** 01-14-2007, 01:45 AM

I thought that I might bust out some photos so that you all can see what we are talking about here with the petersfieldpete situation. I have posted photos at this link:
http://homepage.mac.com/bigvelvetdog/artists/pr.html

These show the guitar top with all of its flaws.... can you see them? Well I never got any direct communication about what he thought the flaws are but one would only be able to assume that he meant the 2 dots on either side of the tremolo cavity (7 string body). Now the very last photo on this page of the Wolfgang guitar body is one that he sent to me as a reference to how he wanted it painted. I was never asked... but I would have said that I believe that this type of paint job would have blended those marks out. For sure it would have on the 6 string body because the marks are where the burst would be. On the 7 string body where the marks are on either side of the tremolo cavity, I still believe that they would have belnded in with the dark stain. Any second opinions on this?...

ChristopherWoods · #**251** 01-14-2007, 01:49 AM

dang it! I just made a big reply to all of the other comments here and it didn't post. I was working on that for the last 20 minutes!

Koss · #**252** 01-14-2007, 03:29 AM

Chris, I couldn't help but notice that about half of the names on your Current Orders list are gone. What's the word on that?

ChristopherWoods · #**253** 01-14-2007, 05:16 AM

Hey Koss, I've been chipping away at that list. But I also moved some of the names to sub columns (ready2ship) (on deck) & (rough estimate). All are on the Current Orders page. Sometimes it helps to prioritize in columns like this and take a group and say that is what I have to get done in the next few days. and just focus on that. I am down to 40 jobs now. By Tuesday I'll be down to about 30. By the end of this month hopefully only 10 more to go.... Until the new orders start. But I am going to stay under 15 jobs at one time from now on.

Koss · #**254** 01-14-2007, 05:37 AM

Cool. So when will the new columns be filled? The only name I saw was for the 1/11 shipment. I look forward to seeing where my order falls.

ChristopherWoods · #**255** 01-14-2007, 06:19 AM

Koss, Sorry I don't recginize you by your jemsite name. I'd know you by your email or real name... Let me take a guess, Kevin? Swamp Ash body? If that is you then it is ready to go. Didn't make it out on the 11th but ready for Monday. If I am right on this... email me. I have photos for you.