Etherial Guitars

[thesnowdog]

It's all a bit strange. You'd think it must be terribly demoralising for the builder too.

 

[QuantumSoundLab]

I think they endorse a few artists, some techy core band had two guitars built, one for each guitarist and the people in Rings of Saturn use them.

Not anymore. Lucas Mann of Rings Of Saturn had a signature model with them, then he left to go to Schecter. There was also a dark red signature model called ANN ROSO (who's guitar this was, I am unsure) and a crazy blue/white/black swirl model for another guy. Since late last year, all those artists have left, and their sig models are no longer available.

 

[Mathemagician]

So "shit" is still the general consensus? Fuck me. I was really hoping for a success story after the 70 pages I read to get here.

So, his wooden guitars are said to be worth their weight in shit, yeah? I remember hearing how easily they warped and how bad the finish was. How about his Carbon Fiber (Zatha) builds and whatever the Azwen is made out of? Those are solid, yeah? Not just wrapped in something? I'm really trying to like this brand. I really want to believe that these horror stories are only a select few, but you guys are nothing if not honest.

To be clear, I've read all the nitpicking in this thread. A slightly slanted nut, a dusty trem, little imperfections, I can generally look past as long as it does not affect the playability or aesthetic (not looking under a microscope).

Also, not sure if this has been pointed out yet, it seems they currently have no signature models and endorse zero artists. Take from that what you will.

Not even going to sugar coat it. The designs can be cool. But this guy can’t build a guitar to save his fucking life.

People keep ordering because they don’t do any research and his prices are relatively low for a “custom” guitar, which gets people who are first venturing into custom builds all excited as though they’ve found some secret no one knows about yet.

When they read horror stories they compartmentalize and say that “it’s a one-off problem”. Over and over.

Would be great if it wasn’t true, but it is.

 

[Alberto7]

I don't quite understand why he keeps building guitars. Unless he actually has an unfortunate passion for building instruments, (in which case I'd feel awful for him and I'd tell him to completely change his approach) there's gotta be like a zillion easier ways to make money out there.

So "shit" is still the general consensus? Fuck me. I was really hoping for a success story after the 70 pages I read to get here.

So, his wooden guitars are said to be worth their weight in shit, yeah? I remember hearing how easily they warped and how bad the finish was. How about his Carbon Fiber (Zatha) builds and whatever the Azwen is made out of? Those are solid, yeah? Not just wrapped in something? I'm really trying to like this brand. I really want to believe that these horror stories are only a select few, but you guys are nothing if not honest.

To be clear, I've read all the nitpicking in this thread. A slightly slanted nut, a dusty trem, little imperfections, I can generally look past as long as it does not affect the playability or aesthetic (not looking under a microscope).

Also, not sure if this has been pointed out yet, it seems they currently have no signature models and endorse zero artists. Take from that what you will.

His non-wood guitars are, indeed, solid, as opposed to hollow. As posted a couple of pages back, he seems to be using XPS foam (extruded polystyrene) as his core material, coated in carbon fiber. The material may or may not negatively affect the sound of these guitars. I think it's likely detrimental to the overall acoustic resonance of an instrument. (Though I'm late to that part of the discussion.)

I can't even try to like this brand anymore. How many chances is someone supposed to give them? Every single one of his guitars here has been crossed off as garbage, (and there is pretty clear photographic evidence behind these claims) and I think I'd see a lot more positive posts about them if they were any good. (We all like to brag about our new awesome guitars, after all!)

Also, I totally get what you were trying to say about the nitpicking, but I felt the need to... ahem... nitpick.. your statement and say that a slanted nut IS a pretty big deal. Nuts have to be some of the most precisely manufactured parts in a build, as far as I understand, and will hugely affect playability. (String buzz + intonation.)

I think they endorse a few artists, some techy core band had two guitars built, one for each guitarist and the people in Rings of Saturn use them.

Quality of builds aside, this guy makes some fantastic designs. Perhaps his best bet would be to merge with another company that can actually help with the fine tuning. I mean look at this build, If I was filthy ritch I'd order a few builds just to hang on the wall.

I can see why some people like the designs - I know I did for some time. I still do at first glance; for about the first 10 seconds. Then I look a little bit closer, and I realize that most of the lines don't really make much sense and/or match with one another. Some lines do look beautiful (like the contour of the body of the guitar in your post), but most other lines it's like he gave a print of the CAD drawing plus a crayon to his child and told him to go nuts. (i.e. the aluminum plates on the back of the guitar... I get what he tried to do, but he done fucked up.)

 

[feraledge]

It's all a bit strange. You'd think it must be terribly demoralising for the builder too.

In this case, and I could be reading it wrong here, but it sounds like the builder was 100% off the hook. Dude sold the guitar, didn't hold the builder accountable, as I believe should have been the case. Whole other can of worms for the ethics of shilling a bunk-as-fuck guitar to the local shop, but a considerable part of the question as to how this builder, or any for that matter, gets away with it? Well, he got paid. Bass was sold. The only person who could have held him accountable seemingly didn't. Now another shit instrument is just out there.

 

[Mr_Mar10]

How long do u reckon before we see this guitar in the classified section?

guitars like these tend to ‘do the rounds’

 

[@zwen]

Hello everyone! I own an 8 string Etherial Azwen and would like to give some of my own input.

In short, I am in love with my guitar, and I think it sounds and plays amazing. It also is extremely gratifying whenever I pull it out of its case and people audibly gasp when they see it because it’s such a radical design. It definitely stands out among the flock of Kiesels and Aristides.

It did have some minor flaws when it came to me, and that was frustrating because I spent $2000 on this, but I believe that Etherial is a staff of three people who do every build. I think there are times when they are simply overwhelmed, and this might be an issue for the company, because they are growing.


There is a yellow splotch right next to the 2nd fret. I am also disappointed that my fret markers don’t hold their purple glow for too long.

While it is not visible in the picture, the 2nd fret also had a scrape on it under the F# string. There is slight friction when you bend it.


The headstock as well had some black marks on it as well.


There is a small dollop of purple paint inside the cuts on the upper horn. The fret markers are hand painted and the 27th fret markers are uneven and right next to this black smear. Speaking of the 27th fret, I feel like its measurements are just a hair off. It certainly doesn't affect the playability, but it is something I used to notice a lot. The neck pickup slightly rocks back and forth too, but only when I put pressure on it; it doesn’t rattle. The routings cold also probably be tighter, but I prefer the work he did on my guitar as opposed to the gaping and uneven designs he used to do.

There is absolutely a conversation to be had about how Matthew Brown specs out his instruments. I feel that he places the artistic aesthetic above all else, and this, combined with his willingness to try out new experimental things sometimes makes him produce guitars that are...questionable, or even horrific. However, I truly believe he has some brilliant ideas, such as building an battery powered LED fretmarkers into his carbon fiber necks.

As far as my guitar is concerned, I am
ultimately happy with it. I actually enjoy how the indented neck “tessellates” my thumb. I think it’s super comfortable for an 8, and it took almost no time to adjust to coming from an RG2228. The carbon fiber is lovely to look at. The only thing I can say in regards to the Wizard-Tac bass is that the neck design obviously does not work on a bigger instrument. Again, Matt’s experimental nature can lead to beautiful outcomes or utter disappointment.

The tone of my Azwen is very sharp and articulate. The aluminum body does lend this subtle bell-like chime and resonance to the notes that I can’t quite explain, other than this guitar sounds clearer than my old Siggery. It’s like the strings cut more and have an overtly metallic feel to them. The cleans on this guitar sound AMAZING, as do the distorted tones.

Obviously this is a company with a checkered past. I’m not going to make excuses for the examples documented here. All I can say is that Matthew Brown is truly a polite individual and he loves the guitar as an instrument. The overall quality of Etherial has improved dramatically since he stopped using cheap wood and went over to metal/carbon fiber. His designs are an acquired taste, but I love how truly alien his guitars are, especially to audience members who see it for the first time.

If you want an Etherial, know exactly what specs you want and get one. If you’re afraid that you’ll get a lemon, go with another brand that people generally trust, like Ormsby or Kiesel. At the end of the day, I am happy to own this guitar, and you should feel happy about yours too, whatever you choose to play.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

smells like shill in here

 

[@zwen]

I’m simply giving my honest opinion and detailing my experience with the company. C:

 

[KnightBrolaire]

>necrobumps etherial thread
>has etherial related username
>leaves relatively positive review of etherial guitar...
yeah you're definitely not a shill

 

[@zwen]

This is an epic thread that still gets views and has been on going for years. I simply wanted to interject my opinion. I made an account so I could do just that.

As for your accusations of me being a “shill,” you simply didn’t read my comment. I spend paragraphs detailing the flaws on my instrument in the most accurate way I can. To say that I was being entirely positive is just an outright lie. :/

 

[@zwen]

>necrobumps etherial thread
>has etherial related username
>leaves relatively positive review of etherial guitar...
yeah you're definitely not a shill

I have to apologize, I overlooked the “relatively” part. Yes, I am happy with my guitar, but I still would like to point out that I detail all the issues with my guitar, and I even end it by saying that people should look elsewhere if they want to buy something with confidence. I am new to this website, but I am interacting in other threads as well, and they have nothing to do with Etherial.

 

[Winspear]

Plenty of users here name themselves after their guitar Excellent and detailed review, thanks for sharing

 

[@zwen]

Plenty of users here name themselves after their guitar Excellent and detailed review, thanks for sharing

Thanks, Mr. Winspear. If there is a product line I will shill for, it’d be your excellent plectrums, strings, and cables.

 

[Fred the Shred]

In all fairness, the sheer amount of incredibly amateurish mistakes on those pics alone would make me go "nah..." considering the price point isn't in firm "dirt cheap" territory. Usually, when I see stuff like that it means that there is a) an obvious inability to perform the tasks necessary to implement a clean look (which does overlap with playability in quite a few key points) and b) a notoriously bad QC process in place, which only furthers the previous point: if you can't implement steps A or B in the building process, they will certainly go through QC and nothing will be corrected before you get yourself a shiny, alien looking lemon.

I don't doubt the man is very passionate about guitars. I honestly find that quite sad, because this means he has both the passion and the vision to create something unique in the market, but he isn't a luthier in the slightest. Not having enough clearance for the pickups' adjustment is absurd, for example, and it certainly doesn't stem from anything pertaining form over function: it's ignorance. Same thing for some of the features like the almost reversed fan he had out at one time - who on Earth picked up an ERG and thought "oh man, if only barring was made impossible and I could have random waves on the fretboard that serve no functional purpose other than destroying playability?". Nobody. He saw Oni's curved frets and didn't get the logic, so he "kinda sorta went for it". There's no artsy statement here, the original was done that way for a reason, and his knowledge clearly was not enough to begin to understand WHY it had been designed that way.

tl;dr - he is the luthiery equivalent of that kid that LOVES guitar and metal and hops on stage to play Dream Theater songs without having even played his first barre properly and is super dismissive of it sounding like shit, so he does it again the next week.

 

[@zwen]

Yeah, the banana frets are fucking ridiculous. While I am happy with the guitar, that still doesn’t mean I ignore the issues it has. I feel like Etherial is starting to attract more and more customers, and it will only benefit Matt to hire more people because he spreads himself really thin. I foresee even worse issues with QC as the workload increases. I also know that this would take an incredibly large slice of humble pie, but he should bring in more luthiers and professionals to help refine his designs. He’s got a mind for engineering, and that is his strength, I just think he needs some more help.

 

[diagrammatiks]

In all fairness, the sheer amount of incredibly amateurish mistakes on those pics alone would make me go "nah..." considering the price point isn't in firm "dirt cheap" territory. Usually, when I see stuff like that it means that there is a) an obvious inability to perform the tasks necessary to implement a clean look (which does overlap with playability in quite a few key points) and b) a notoriously bad QC process in place, which only furthers the previous point: if you can't implement steps A or B in the building process, they will certainly go through QC and nothing will be corrected before you get yourself a shiny, alien looking lemon.

I don't doubt the man is very passionate about guitars. I honestly find that quite sad, because this means he has both the passion and the vision to create something unique in the market, but he isn't a luthier in the slightest. Not having enough clearance for the pickups' adjustment is absurd, for example, and it certainly doesn't stem from anything pertaining form over function: it's ignorance. Same thing for some of the features like the almost reversed fan he had out at one time - who on Earth picked up an ERG and thought "oh man, if only barring was made impossible and I could have random waves on the fretboard that serve no functional purpose other than destroying playability?". Nobody. He saw Oni's curved frets and didn't get the logic, so he "kinda sorta went for it". There's no artsy statement here, the original was done that way for a reason, and his knowledge clearly was not enough to begin to understand WHY it had been designed that way.

tl;dr - he is the luthiery equivalent of that kid that LOVES guitar and metal and hops on stage to play Dream Theater songs without having even played his first barre properly and is super dismissive of it sounding like shit, so he does it again the next week.

The man is clearly an idiot. That being said he's got an aesthetic that attracts customers so who knows. maybe he's a genius.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

He was offered a lot of help from knowledgeable builders but turned it down. He also ignored years worth of advice to correct design flaws and errors in his builds. I guess thats the difference between someone who will strive to make the highest quality guitar possible and someone who never corrects their flawed designs.

 

[Fred the Shred]

Problem here is actually a common one, further complicated by lack of know-how from the man himself, namely that of product cost not accounting for the cost of the company's growth, should it happen, and as such it's too low. Increasing the size of the operation to cope with demand costs money. Acquiring know-how to correct mistakes costs money. This is what ultimately completely fucked S7G - everything was too cheap for the company to be able to withstand the cost expanding it to efficiently tackle the amount of business they attracted in one fell swoop, and as such shit hit the fan at record speeds.

There's another thing here that does stand out, judging from Lorcan's post, namely one that can't be solved by money, since no known surgery is capable of pulling one's head out of his ass, and that is a problem which can only be corrected by the afflicted person. Artistic integrity is a valid point, except when your "art" is often a massive turd because you completely ignored the "functional" bit in what is, whether one acknowledges it or not, functional art.

 

[@zwen]

I will protest at the guitars being categorized as completely non-functional. They are fine. Do they justify the price? That’s debatable, and I am saying this as a customer who DOES like his guitar.