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Post by creolian on Jul 23, 2018 12:08:31 GMT
On the local Craigslist is an ad for "savoie" reso guitar, made in the same factory as republics.
This elder I pad won't letchoppy ply a simple web link... But on the plus side, it's got spelkorreckt!
Have mixed feelings about this... Can't hurt to have a local resource and interest. I think I might still rather walk 3k miles for an MM;)
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 23, 2018 13:07:56 GMT
This "made in the same factory as Republic Guitars" might be true, but I doubt it. What they are actually saying is "made by the Shanghai network of resonator guitar makers", of which there are now numerous one and two man businesses buying components and selling guitars to the West. BE CAREFUL! These are not Republic or MM guitars, they are just buying bodies from the same body manufacturer. I know of a few people that have really been bitten hard by this myth. I won't say any names, but a while ago I was contacted by a really good guy in Eastern Europe that had just taken delivery of a dozen or so guitars that were virtually useless. He was asking for my help and how I manage to buy from these people. My answer was that I don't buy from these people, I buy my guitars from the same people as I have been working with for ten years now.
One European dealer started his business off by selling the guitars that I had returned because they were not up to my standards, in fact they were terrible.
There is a lot more to the business of selling Shanghai built resonator guitars than sending a few dollars to a Chinese bank account.
A few photos and emails to gullible Western opportunists can be lucrative for a couple of chancers in Shanghai. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ....and I am not joking.
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by creolian on Jul 23, 2018 14:44:11 GMT
Heck Michael, I have a genuine "republic" and it needed some fixing as well as setup... Removing metal shavings from the tuners works wonders.
Nice guitar all said and done but a real disservice to sell these at any price without a going over. Imo, Crud guitars put people off who don't know better.
Thanks to this here forum, I know under slinging strings is not a "fix"...
I was messing around with designs for red and green LED marine signaling around the turn of the century. I used to get a couple of emails a day from Chinese mfgs... Some er ahem "interesting" English and an overbearing willingness that was suspect at best. Caveat Emptor, Fo Sho!
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 23, 2018 14:57:35 GMT
Hi Creolian,
I pay my manufacturer more than any of their other customers, so that I get more time spent on each guitar. Then in the UK I put every guitar through the hands of a master resonator luthier that spends at least an hour on each one. Sometimes that can be two or three hours. Then when I prepare the guitars for my customers they get another hour in my hands before they get packed. My guitars have my name on the headstock and that is not something I take lightly. I have been working for 40+ years to establish and maintain my reputation.
Most of the companies selling this stuff are just box shifters.
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jul 23, 2018 15:11:18 GMT
Sorry Michael, couldn't resist it.......
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 23, 2018 15:20:58 GMT
PD, I love that recording! It was produced by Brian Epstein and features Jimmy Page.
Shine On
Michael
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