Custom Bernie Rico Jr. Hesperian Slant Top

[Emperoff]

Bernie hit me up via e-mail last week giving me on of the best news of the year! "Your guitar is ready to be shipped! Two days after that e-mail I receive another one saying there was san "Issue" with the new and it would have to be re-built from scratch.... I can not find words for my disappointment... I'm not sure how long it will take to have my custom Bernie in my hands now....

What? Didn't he explained anything about the issue?

 

[mikernaut]

ugh , I wonder what happened. heartbreaking news

 

[SirMyghin]

Yup! I have heard that some people wait a very long time and I was afraid of that. I just made sure to contact him every week or so asking for an update and some progress photos!

Bet that makes you a real joy to work with

Looks alright, hope you plan to get more than an oil finish on a spalt top though, seeing as they are in need of a bit more protection. Seems like you got a lot of 'progress' over the course of 2 months, especially from Bernie time line standards. I too would like to know more about this 'issue' as I have my suspicions.

 

[NeoG]

Right, so a guy who seems to not be an endorsee, makes a deposit and 2 months later the guitar is already at that stage while others wait months with no progress pics...

smells fishy....

I myself made a deposit 1 month and half ago, wrote an email 2 weeks ago just to know if he even started to work on it, and the guy who works on replying emails didnt take time to even answer.

I dont care waiting as i was expecting it to take a year for him to build it, judging from what i see around here, however communication could be better...

 

[Konfyouzd]

There's been a ridiculous amount of sexy spalted maple going around lately. I think I need another guitar w/ a spalted cap.

Fine guitar choice, sir...

 

[7StringedBeast]

Shit...spalted-flamed maple?

Win.

 

[Hollowway]

Bummer, man! The rebuild shouldn't take too long, though. Mine was in production for just over a year before it had to be rebuilt, and 4 months after that is already got the paint and clearcoat on, so it's coming along fast now. You could potentially ask him if it's a cosmetic issue if he'd let you use it until the new one is done. He did that with that red and white 7 on here (who's owner I can't remember right now).

 

[mikernaut]

Well he had already shipped mine to me and I discovered the inlay error upon opening the case. We talked about just putting it up for sale but then I'd be out of having a 7 string until the correct one is finished so Bernie just said hang on to it and play it for now.

Shame about the errors and mishaps lately.

 

[noob_pwn]

Will Putney is currently mixing/mastering my band's cd.
The guitar looks fantastic

 

[IB-studjent-]

Right, so a guy who seems to not be an endorsee, makes a deposit and 2 months later the guitar is already at that stage while others wait months with no progress pics...

smells fishy....

I myself made a deposit 1 month and half ago, wrote an email 2 weeks ago just to know if he even started to work on it, and the guy who works on replying emails didnt take time to even answer.

I dont care waiting as i was expecting it to take a year for him to build it, judging from what i see around here, however communication could be better...

Don't know about that but I always get a quick responses.

 

[orakle]

slant top is so much more confortable than archtop

great choice mate ;D

 

[travis bickle]

im in serious drool mode, that instrument is perfect. can't wait for my hesperian 7!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ZombiAdam]

Well I haven't updated about the status of my guitar in quite a few months. Main reason being that I have not heard much from Bernie himself besides that there was a neck "issue" and then a wrong inlay position "issue". I have gotten some new pictures but as far as having a finish date in the near future... I don't see it happening. All I can do is wait maybe another 6 months and hope?

 

[SpaceDock]

Nice, it looks like he moved the zombi hand to the 12th fret and the Adam to the 17th frets. They were in the 13th and 18th in you're older photo.

 

[Hollowway]

Whoa, that's a drag. Glad it's going again, though. Truth be told, if you got that before I got mine (which is a year older than yours) I might have had to come kill you, so this really worked out to your advantage. Mine had to be rebuilt twice, so I'm hoping it won't be long now myself. Good news is that this definitely looks like a nicer build than the last one.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Nice, it looks like he moved the zombi hand to the 12th fret and the Adam to the 17th frets. They were in the 13th and 18th in you're older photo.

Is that why it had to be re-built?

 

[Pikka Bird]

slant top is so much more confortable than archtop

great choice mate ;D

I'm not well-versed in BRJ lore, so explain- is the slanted top something like a bent top? It looks a little like that to me, not having had the full first hand 3D experience.

 

[IkarusOnFire]

How "slanted" is the top? Is it flat in the middle and slants more on the wings? I really dig the design and the idea - Decibel do something similar. So in short - what's the radius of the top on your bernie?

 

[Speculum Speculorum]

Hey man, that spalt is looking mighty fine! At least you've got that going for you!

Yes, these wait times are a bit of a drag. But as MAJ pointed out - it's become kind of the standard for most luthiers. Like I've said many times though - once these puppies are finally in our hands (I've been waiting over a year for mine too) we will be screaming like little giddy girls over the awesomeness. I assure you.

 

[Isan]

My same sentiments... when people have been apparently waiting for a long time to get their guitars from him.

And there we have the reason I sold my slot