Aristides Guitars

[jephjacques]

Got my 080sr today and it's perfect. A lot of 28" 8s I've tried have a weird honky tone going on the mids that I can't get along with, but this one doesn't. Could be the pickups, since this is my first one with M8s. Also, it's even more blue in person.

 

[Briz]

Got my 080sr today and it's perfect. A lot of 28" 8s I've tried have a weird honky tone going on the mids that I can't get along with, but this one doesn't. Could be the pickups, since this is my first one with M8s. Also, it's even more blue in person.

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Nice! How long was the wait? I'm almost a month in for the 6-9 month stated period for an 070r.

 

[jephjacques]

About 2 weeks, since I bought it from Northerner Guitars up here lol.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

Got my 080sr today and it's perfect. A lot of 28" 8s I've tried have a weird honky tone going on the mids that I can't get along with, but this one doesn't. Could be the pickups, since this is my first one with M8s. Also, it's even more blue in person.

View attachment 139257

I think I know what you’re talking about with the midrange. The guitars are overall quite different, and I think the bridges are the main differentiation, but while my 080r has a great, strong tone, my H/08r projects like a damn cannon. Using the same brand strings evened them out slightly, but still a noticeable difference. No idea if it’s the bridge or the scale or the different vibration/filtering of the different shape, but it still comes though the pickups.

I think the lows are some of the higher highs are either louder or more of the fundamental comes through. Makes it sound like the mid is evened out to my ears. It’s something different from other guitars whatever it is.

And your post is making me think that I should just go for broke and get a 080sr with the Evertune to complete the trinity.

 

[SalsaWood]

I haven't been in this thread much so forgive me, but why in the wide wide world of sports is gloss finish a 400$ upcharge from satin? There is no way they're burning hundreds of dollars on buffing wheels and compound for each gloss.

 

[jco5055]

I haven't been in this thread much so forgive me, but why in the wide wide world of sports is gloss finish a 400$ upcharge from satin? There is no way they're burning hundreds of dollars on buffing wheels and compound for each gloss.

could be an issue that the gloss finishes take a lot longer (they do seem like the most complex are gloss) so they are trying to prevent a bigger backlog

 

[SalsaWood]

they are trying to prevent a bigger backlog

They're definitely losing customers with that tactic whether they are trying to or not.

 

[jco5055]

They're definitely losing customers with that tactic whether they are trying to or not.

i think "luckily" for them they seem to almost have too much business, gone are the days of a build in like 6 months for a painted, 3 for raw.

 

[Jake]

i think "luckily" for them they seem to almost have too much business, gone are the days of a build in like 6 months for a painted, 3 for raw.

Mine just took 16 months....for matte

 

[jephjacques]

They're definitely losing customers with that tactic whether they are trying to or not.

They literally can't build guitars fast enough so I doubt they see that as a problem.

 

[jephjacques]

And your post is making me think that I should just go for broke and get a 080sr with the Evertune to complete the trinity.

I wish I got along with evertunes because they solve my one complaint with these guitars, which is that you* have to retune them once they warm up because the Arium contracts. But I own five of the damn things so obviously it doesn't bother me THAT much.

*or at least I do. Possibly because my house is 150 years old and drafty as fuck lol

 

[SalsaWood]

They literally can't build guitars fast enough so I doubt they see that as a problem.

It's inviting a problem they want to have now, but down the road as they grow it will be just a problem. Growing your customer base as quickly as possible should be their goal for the longevity of the brand. Shuffling around pricing because of a hard limit on production is well known to be two steps forward with one step back now, and two steps back down the road.

I'm sure they make quality guitars and are concentrating on that primarily, which is good. On the other hand if nobody except high-order brand loyalists get to play them you're leaving a fuckton of money on the table.

 

[jephjacques]

Considering how many small builders we've seen go under because they expanded too fast, i strongly disagree. They're not trying to be Fender or ESP. Their operation is more akin to Suhr or Tom Anderson, who have never prioritized "growing their customer base as fast as possible" and are doing just fine.

If we're being honest, the solution to not being able to keep up with demand would be to introduce a mass-produced import line. But since they're made of a proprietary material, you can't just send some CAD files to WMI like traditional builders do.

 

[narad]

Gloss finishes were a $400 upcharge long before they had any problem with backlog. I think it's just a relatively expensive procedure for them to carry out.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

It's not like these are $2k builds, that upcharge is really something like <10% of overall build cost even if you go basic with everything else.

If it's too much, you probably either don't really want one or shouldn't be throwing the money at it. If it's on principle, boutique custom guitars is a weird hill to die on. I don't think there's a builder out there not one foot in the grave that isn't arbitrarily pricing some options for better profit.

Finishing is one of the few things you can customize on an Aristides, so it's not surprising that, regardless of real cost, they find a way to build in some margin. It's not like a Suhr or Anderson that you can double the ticket on woods.

I wish I got along with evertunes because they solve my one complaint with these guitars, which is that you* have to retune them once they warm up because the Arium contracts. But I own five of the damn things so obviously it doesn't bother me THAT much.

*or at least I do. Possibly because my house is 150 years old and drafty as fuck lol

Arium is just the foam core. It's probably the fiberglass shell that expands and contracts more than what folks are used to with all wood guitars.

On the flip side, going with a resin that readily expands and contracts is probably going to limit the likelihood of cracking and shattering, which happens with stuff that cures like stone.

 

[nightsprinter]

I wish I got along with evertunes because they solve my one complaint with these guitars, which is that you* have to retune them once they warm up because the Arium contracts. But I own five of the damn things so obviously it doesn't bother me THAT much.

*or at least I do. Possibly because my house is 150 years old and drafty as fuck lol

Huh. And here I thought an Aristides would solve all the climate-related adjustments I have to make constantly from living in a structure with the environmental regulation of a lean-to. That's disappointing to hear.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Huh. And here I thought an Aristides would solve all the climate-related adjustments I have to make constantly from living in a structure with the environmental regulation of a lean-to. That's disappointing to hear.

it's generally pretty minor fluctuations ime. Mine moves a few cents once it warms up.

 

[SalsaWood]

Considering how many small builders we've seen go under because they expanded too fast, i strongly disagree.

Honest question, who? I mean, I've seen lots of them go under for many other reasons such as overbooking, being a general curmudgeon, or sacrificing on quality, but that's not what I am saying they should do. I'm implying if they need to turn down business then simply do that. I'm saying don't manipulate the pricing of certain aspects of a build for the window lickers and tire kickers who, at best, glance every once in awhile at niche boutique custom guitars- now only to walk away with a lingering bad taste in their mouths due to what appears to be completely asinine pricing logic to them. 400$ to buff a finish is basically saying if you're desperate enough we'll take you to town, not like saying we only put our names on top quality instruments and run a tight ship.

One shows a pedigree of profit maximization at the compromise of equity rendered to the customer. This is not a good way to be seen as business, and it's not the right way to handle rising demand. The other is some guy building a ton of popular instruments he can be proud to put his name on. There is a ton of overlap, but one extreme is perfectly fine to demonstrate while the other is going to drag your business down.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Honest question, who? I mean, I've seen lots of them go under for many other reasons such as overbooking, being a general curmudgeon, or sacrificing on quality, but that's not what I am saying they should do. I'm implying if they need to turn down business then simply do that. I'm saying don't manipulate the pricing of certain aspects of a build for the window lickers and tire kickers who, at best, glance every once in awhile at niche boutique custom guitars- now only to walk away with a lingering bad taste in their mouths due to what appears to be completely asinine pricing logic to them. 400$ to buff a finish is basically saying if you're desperate enough we'll take you to town, not like saying we only put our names on top quality instruments and run a tight ship. They aren't mutually exclusive.

One shows a pedigree of profit maximization at the compromise of equity rendered to the customer. This is not a good way to be seen as business, and it's not the right way to handle rising demand. The other is some guy building a ton of popular instruments he can be proud to put his name on. There is a ton of overlap, but one extreme is perfectly fine to demonstrate while the other is going to drag your business down.

This is going to drive you crazy, but it's actually a $750 upcharge.

 

[jephjacques]

it's generally pretty minor fluctuations ime. Mine moves a few cents once it warms up.

yeah it's not a HUGE amount, just something to be aware of when recording.