Experience with Killer Guitar Components?

[BrutalRob]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone of you delt with KGC in the past and could share their experience?

Searching through the net, I found a couple of....less favorable comments, saying KGC would not react to mails or care to answer for weeks once they got the money for ordered product.

Anyone who can agree or disagree with this?

 

[Emperoff]

I'm exactly in the same boat as you. Their parts look very high quality and nicely machined compared to the competition, but I've heard mixed stuff...

 

[cardinal]

I've had a few of their blocks. They are slow and don't respond well to email and such. But they do eventually deliver. I'm not sure I could recommend ordering from them unless you can stomach being without your money or part for several months, but I do think that they will provide whatever it is you order.

And their blocks are nicely done.

 

[BrutalRob]

Waiting for weeks would still be tolerable as long as you got updated every now and then. But months without responding to mails?! Thanks, but no....
I mean, I contacted them recently. Took some time till I got a response, which was ok since i was told in a polite way that they got a lot to do. Got the answers to following questions really fast. And that´s what is bothering me and what I also red: they would treat you nicely and responde fast until you place the order and made the payment....
I mean i don´t expect daily updates. But basically being left alone all the time without nowing when or if you get your stuff.....reading about these kinda experiences more than once, that´s not very trustworthy to me.


But still, let me hear what you got to say about dealing with them.

 

[RPKGC]

Hey @BrutalRob @Emperoff @cardinal and everyone else. My name is Rick and I am one of the owners at KGC. I just want to clarify to you all about anything you have read that may have put things in a negative light for you. I will be the first to tell you that we are not Amazon or AllParts or one of these big companies that has a bunch of mass produced products in bins and has people that just toss them in a package and ship them out within hours of ordering. Of the people online who have complained about the time it took to get their parts - many of them requested custom jobs and there were times when things have taken longer than anticipated because of any of a number of possible issues..You simply can't please everyone.
We are a father and son team. 2 of us - nobody else. We make every part under the KGC brand. We take GREAT pride in the quality of our parts. We machine each part from solid billet material of the highest quality - and hand finish them ourselves. We refuse to reduce quality for production time. All that said, we have also had some speed bumps along the way. My father has dealt with some serious health issues over the years (including a kidney transplant) as well as a serious injury to his hand last year. All of that is behind us and we are pushing ahead better than ever at this point. We just purchased another new CNC machine (we have 2 of us running 3 machines) and are cranking out parts to build up inventory as best as we can. Almost all the most common parts Strat parts, Floyd parts, Tele parts, etc - are now in inventory and ready to ship with the exception of some quick finish work before shipping.
Also, see our Reverb store if you don't feel comfortable ordering from our website. Each Reverb order is shipped almost immediately and all the parts listed there are in stock, ready to go. See our feedback there - 100% positive. The craftsmanship of these parts is unlike anything else on earth. I personally promise you will love your KGC experience overall. You may have to wait a few days - in some cases maybe even a few weeks for certain parts - but every single time I always hear back from the customer saying it was absolutely worth every penny and every minute.
Beyond all this, I have spent the past almost year working on a new website and new product designs - one of which will be launching in the next couple weeks - that many of our artists are dying to tell everyone about!
Guys, we are 2 honest guys with a great passion for what we do. We are not always available immediately because we are making, polishing, shipping parts as well. All these other companies subcontract machine shops to make the parts for them and just toss them in a box - we do it all right here oursleves in Gloucester, MA, USA - and can do special things because we are not just guiotar guys - we are engineers and machinists!
Any of you can contact me any time with questions, concerns or whatever rick@killerguitar (wouldnt let me post link yet) 978-526-0186 (shop phone) - and now you can also message me here. I am as available as I can be almost 24/7 (although I do sleep now and then - some people don't think I should haha)
Hope you guys "get it" - If anyone ever has an issue I am always happy to address it.
Rock On!
Rick @ KGC

 

[BrutalRob]

Hi Rick,

thanks for chiming in on this and commenting on this topic. I think this underlines that you take this matter serious.
I totally get that it´s just you and your dad doing all the stuff and you are not Amazon. Hence i said i would not expect answers 24/7.
I think you understand, though, that this kind of negative feedback rises suspicion at first. But again, I think it is great that you are here to discuss this matter, I appreciate this.

 

[Silence2-38554]

I’ve worked with the KGC guys a good amount in the past & will absolutely do so again!

 

[RPKGC]

Hi Rick,

thanks for chiming in on this and commenting on this topic. I think this underlines that you take this matter serious.
I totally get that it´s just you and your dad doing all the stuff and you are not Amazon. Hence i said i would not expect answers 24/7.
I think you understand, though, that this kind of negative feedback rises suspicion at first. But again, I think it is great that you are here to discuss this matter, I appreciate this.

I’ve worked with the KGC guys a good amount in the past & will absolutely do so again!

@BrutalRob Absolutely we take it seriously. We are 2 guys that have dedicated our entire lives to creating the best guitar parts we are capable of making. Haveing these comments out there can be very bad for our reputation - which, overall, I believe is very good. Unfortunately, the 99.9% of satisfied customers are far less likely to post online than the ones that have an issue. Now you can all see that I am available as much as humanly possible for answering any questions or providing info on orders, parts, fit to a guitar, etc. You won't find anyone that will know more about tremolos and bridges and their parts and we are always happy to help however we can. As a matter of fact, I would love to get one or more of the guys from this board that might be interested in doing some kind of before/after install review on some KGC gear. If that is of any interest to anyone on here, please contact me either here, on email or phone. Thanks to all of you for listening - I am sure that you will love your KGC gear - the love, blood, sweat, tears and craftsmanship really shows through in the parts. Rock on, guys! - RIck

 

[cardinal]

What I love from KGC is the really huge Floyd Block: no one else offers this as far as I know, and it's the perfect size to block the Floyd into dive-only operation. I've had three I think? All were very nicely made. I think they are made in small batches somewhat infrequently, but if you don't mind the wait they are very nice.

One thing to note if you are using these on a Lo-Pro 7: I think I've run into this twice with the KGC blocks. The Lo-Pro 7 fine-tuner tension plate curves downward. So a wider tremolo block actually doesn't fit because the curving fine-tuner tension plate doesn't allow any more room. I've just filed down that part of the block to an angle to avoid the curving tension plate, and all works out. But it is a thing that I've had to do. Not an issue that's prevented me from ordering them.

 

[RPKGC]

What I love from KGC is the really huge Floyd Block: no one else offers this as far as I know, and it's the perfect size to block the Floyd into dive-only operation. I've had three I think? All were very nicely made. I think they are made in small batches somewhat infrequently, but if you don't mind the wait they are very nice.

One thing to note if you are using these on a Lo-Pro 7: I think I've run into this twice with the KGC blocks. The Lo-Pro 7 fine-tuner tension plate curves downward. So a wider tremolo block actually doesn't fit because the curving fine-tuner tension plate doesn't allow any more room. I've just filed down that part of the block to an angle to avoid the curving tension plate, and all works out. But it is a thing that I've had to do. Not an issue that's prevented me from ordering them.

Thanks @cardinal . Appreciate your kind words and your long-term support. We aren't big enough or rich enough to advertise in the big magazines etc, so we count on you guys for word-of-mouth advertising. We believe that our products speak for themselves.

Also, just to be clear for everyone here - the more common parts we sell are almost always in stock - tremolo blocks and bridges for Strats, Hardtail bridges, Brass and Aluminum Milled Stoptail bars, blocks for Floyd Rose, Gotoh and Wilkinson, PRS, Edge (we offer the blocks for Edge Zero and Zero 2 that nobody else offers - for 7 string as well), tremolo parts like the Killer Brass Claw, Killer Brass Saddles, hardware - screws, arms, stoppers, neck plates, knobs, control plates etc etc. The stuff that may take a little longer would be the parts that we make upon ordering - a custom spec'd or uncommon tremolo block or bridge...and sometimes certain parts may have sold out, but when they do, we always do our best to get them back in stock as soon as we can - but again, we are 2 guys...we do have a limit to our output although we are working every day to find ways to make things faster but all while keeping the same quality and craftsmanship. Even if it does take a little time to make/get your part - the feedback we receive is ALWAYS one of at least positive, but even more often one of 'mind blown".

I am not trying to toot our own horn here, but the output of quality at KGC far surpasses that of any other company making similar parts. The combination of the best MATERIALS (we spend a LOT on raw material - a place where many cut corners to save $), DESIGN (Sandy has been a top prototype machinist for 40 years - spending many of them at MIT Labs in Cambridge, MA working with students on product/project designs), CRAFTSMANSHIP (we take great pride in every part we make - no sharp edges, always finished by hand to be as perfect as possible) and CUSTOMIZATION (being that we do all our own work, we are able to customize your guitar part here in our shop - whether it be to engrave your name or make a complete custom part from design to polish - we can do it) - all of this allows us to create what are, in our opinion, "The World's Finest Guitar Upgrades"

I hope nobody takes the above as an advertisement or anything - it's not meant to be. Just a clarification of what a customer should expect when dealing with KGC. A boutique, custom, high end experience - which sometimes means waiting a bit longer than you would if you ordered from Amazon, but, at the end of the day, you will have something of top quality that you could not get from anyone else, anywhere else on earth.

 

[BrutalRob]

@cardinal: which block do you mean by very huge block? 5/8 or 3/4? I thought that since the mounting holes are offset, the block won't block any movement? At least i hopr this for the 5/8 blocks

 

[RPKGC]

@cardinal: which block do you mean by very huge block? 5/8 or 3/4? I thought that since the mounting holes are offset, the block won't block any movement? At least i hopr this for the 5/8 blocks

@BrutalRob I assume he is talking about the 3/4" (which we only offer as a custom now) - the 5/8" are ecactly as you mention - the mounting is offset to allow all the extra "meat" to be on the side that has open cavity space. The 3/4' is generally more centered - we would usually work with the customer to figure the best measurement to allow the 3/4" block to fit against the inside of the cavity as closely as possible - as many Floyd cavities can cut be different. If it is off by 1/8", that would be the difference in the block completely blocking the trem or possibly being too big on one side and not fitting or forcing the bridge to pivot upward - which wouldn't work out too well. The 5/8" block is the best option for getting the most mass and still allowing for space - and if you want to block it, you can use one of our Mega-Stop to lock it in place. Hope that makes sense...

 

[cardinal]

Yeah, this is the 3/4 block. I love them.

 

[Drew]

I'll chime in as well - I'll have to go check, but I'm 99% sure the brass block in my Gotoh Wilkinson is a KGC block. I've always been a Floyd Upgrades/FUTone customer but they didn't offer a Gotoh/Wilkinson replacement block, so I looked elsewhere and I think that's where I found one - I remember their being local to me, which KGC is, and they certainly stock a Wilkinson block.

If it was them, and the location and logo certainly look right, then I'll say the block was very well made, and the only thing that jumped out at all about the transaction was that the company seemed very pleasant to deal with - friendly handwritten thank you on the receipt, etc. The order time didn't seem out of the norm, packaging was about what I'd have expected, etc. Everything seemed pretty by the book, and the product was excellent.

I'd certainly shop with them again.

 

[BrutalRob]

Are the mounting holes on the 1/2 blocks also offset?

 

[John Treon]

I will also chime in here. I have purchased some of Rick's products for multiple guitars I play. I will say the quality and attention to detail is the best I have ever used. I even had communication during the process, they sent me 2 of the same Brass Block that I ordered for a custom build that I love so much. They did not charge me twice, it was just a order duplication. Being a person that loves there products and want good service I did the right thing and sent the extra one back. But we talked on the phone for some time and worked threw things I wanted and they have always delivered on every order. The small.wait time to get a part that is made well and quality that is top notch, I will always wait for that. I will be doing business with them soon, and will always turn to this company for all my needs... Customer for life..

 

[John Rock]

I ordered two Strat blocks in Sept 2020 and have not received them after 5 plus months.
Emails are ignored and money has been in their hands since Sept.
No ETA offered, nothing...
Those better be really good blocks because at this point, I'm considering a refund and going elsewhere. My Strat already sounds killer. I was just trying to squeeze all of the tone I could out of it before recording an album.
These guys were highly recommended for quality, I will say that, but I'm not getting any younger! If time is of the essence, don't do it. I've seen many brass blocks for sale in the meantime that I've passed on thinking that some day my blocks would arrive or I'd receive an update. One was a vintage Fender made block that would have been sweet to have for resale.
At this point I've got nothing, not even a reply. Recording has commenced, so I'm thinking - their loss. Their stuff will not be on my guitar. Simple. Someone else gets credit. This awesome sounding guitar was recorded without their stuff. Didn't need it and don't need it going forward.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

I've had a few of their blocks. They are slow and don't respond well to email and such. But they do eventually deliver. I'm not sure I could recommend ordering from them unless you can stomach being without your money or part for several months, but I do think that they will provide whatever it is you order.

And their blocks are nicely done.

They do respond to sms text much better. I purchased a couple of blocks and claws from them, they sent me one w/ wrong screw placement (they're the ones who alerted me to that a few days after I received it), they sent me another one free of charge a week later. Their reverb shop items are in-stock, so they ship them quickly IME, no problem there. Non-stock or custom items will take a while (2-3 weeks), I texted them a few times and they responded just fine, emails I sent were never replied to, ymmv.

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@John Rock That's a pretty extreme situation, total bummer! I ordered one of my blocks back in Aug. 2020 so I'm not sure. I know they should respond to emails, but try to send them a text and see what they have to say.

 

[John Rock]

They do respond to sms text much better. I purchased a couple of blocks and claws from them, they sent me one w/ wrong screw placement (they're the ones who alerted me to that a few days after I received it), they sent me another one free of charge a week later. Their reverb shop items are in-stock, so they ship them quickly IME, no problem there. Non-stock or custom items will take a while (2-3 weeks), I texted them a few times and they responded just fine, emails I sent were never replied to, ymmv.

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@John Rock That's a pretty extreme situation, total bummer! I ordered one of my blocks back in Aug. 2020 so I'm not sure. I know they should respond to emails, but try to send them a text and see what they have to say.

@Stuck_in_a_dream Thanks for the tip and reply. Ya, good to hear. I totally understand that they lost Sandy this fall and that was maybe just after I ordered (?).
The real bummer is seeing Reverb orders get filled before mine. The 5 month wait is a bit much, especially with no reply or ETA. Makes ya feel like a schmuck for not ordering through Reverb. Live and learn and let others know, order through Reverb and SMS text them!

 

[BigViolin]

Your strat sounds better and more strat-like without the brass block anyway.