NGD Rusti Guitars Lotus #1 headless

[DirtyPuma]

This has been a fucking wild read, how does a thread double in length in less than 24 hours DirtyPuma, simple request can you show Rusti brushing off your initial complaints and mocking you, etc.

Like at the end of the day, all the back and forth about quality and standards and what good CS should be and that Rusti didn't provide is just regurgitated white noise.

OP's first posts were informative and insanely detailed, and he has every right to be upset about an imperfect instrument. The reason I asked for context from the conversation was that claims were being made and instead of making conjecture based on claims, I'd rather just see it for myself and inform myself of what actually happened.

1) Guitar was ordered, then finished and demo'd by a third party at the request of Rusti.
2) Delivered with a number of issues (Functional/Cosmetic/Sonic/Structural), all are valid reasons for complaint.
- The cosmetic issues fall lower on the spectrum of severity OBVIOUSLY
- The sound issue is quantified and was tied to a faulty part, the easiest of these to fix
- The other issues are entirely valid and objectionable
3) Rusti apparently mocked OP/Brushed off any sense of responsibility at first contact, I want this established.
4) After some back and forth and legal threats were made, an offer to "setup" (Implied repair) was extended
5) OP Rejected the offer due to costs of shipping, gets the guitar looked at locally instead.
6) Rusti nullifies the guitars warranty (Pickup Replacement, Fret reseating, Setup, Trem Disassembly & Reassembly)
- He offers to resell the instrument after taking the guitar in and addressing all the issues at a loss to OP
7) They go through with this and the transaction ends here.

OP is out his time and 1k+, it's not a hard statement to make that his experience was far from positive and that things could have been handled better. I can also make the statement that OP's rhetoric can make him difficult to deal with, but you could also argue that it never would have escalated to that point with a better initial response.

The complaints about the miniscule stuff doesn't invalidate the more egregious issues, but I would open with the functional/structural issues and hinge on that to get a repair/replacement/return. Not the minimal stuff that under regular tolerances, most customers commissioning HANDMADE goods ultimately will never complain about. Handmade is not production, it will never be you will absolutely find miniscule imperfections if you look for them in handmade goods.

I value that you list the stuff here more or less neutrally, however seeing you as a Rusti Guitars customer I (checked your posts) see the conflict of interest here again, same as Gango79. Then suddenly, Gango, you, Alessandro, and Claudio (Rusti Guitars) come in and try to defend something which cannot be defended.

The guitar was in seriously bad condition when looking at the price tag. Rusti Guitars does until now not acknowledge the faulty trem design. There was no way out, he was telling me to sell it. So I just did. And now the same guy tries to blame me for this? Should I have burnt that thing down to a crisp? Would that be the solution?

I do not think I need to go further into this rabbit hole of proving stuff, my posts so far (and Rusti Guitars' reaction here) are well enough proof to inform any future buyer. You could see that he told me to ship the guitar at my expense to do "setup" and all is as intended. I mean how is that not making fun of a buyer after a lengthy (for months) discussion via WhatsApp (the guy is not able to phone) and provision of many image examples.

To correct your thinking:
I started with the weird and openly incorrect things when trying to get Rusti correcting the guitar. The trem. The electronics. The cosmetic flaws were brought up when I could not take his excuses any more that "all is fine", "this is how it should function".

 

[DirtyPuma]

If there are issues with a guitar that you are aware of, you disclose them to potential buyers when you sell it. What a terribly dishonest person.

There are no issues, the guitar is fine as it was. This is what Rusti Guitars said. It is a "Rusti Guitars". These are just like this. The guitar was mint condition. Pups swapped, pins removed. Now you try to blame me for selling something off at 60 to 70 % of the price, although it was mint and still had the warranty? Rusti even checked the guitar in his workshop himself?

 

[DirtyPuma]

Damn that was a cool read....

Sick guitar, I want a Rusti now

I have a couple of custom guitars, and if I look hard enough they all have imperfections. Makes also sence since even if you pay lets say 5000 euro including taxes it is still bullshit money for something handmade.
I mean lets say 1000 euro for hardware and wood, leaves us with 4000 euro for work (I know less with taxes, but Hey I am lazy) than if we say each hour work is around 40 euro ( salary / tools / rental workshop etc.) then he can spend around 100 hours by building this instrument.... not that much compare to the level of detail of such a instrument....

I completely agree with everyone always should have a working and sick playing / sounding instrument for that kind of money. and for the price it should be well constructed, sick looking etc.
But small imperfections i think to some level you should accept with such detaild instrumets, just the inlays in the neck. I assume it is a lot of work, work time time is money. So a level of imperfection keeps this kind of instruments affordable.

Man that is such a weird statement. The guitar lacked functionality, trem is goofed up, electronics was a mess for several issues, the imperfections are not the issue here. Still, there were quite some imperfections which I never had on other custom / of the shelf guitars. Some even made "BY HAND" and not "BY CNC" (Rusti Guitars is a CNC guy, so nothing about "handmade", the inlay is CNC'ed then resin'ed, I mean there is not much work left than sanding and fretting).

I would advise to anyone looking for a well-working and quality instrument to look somewhere else.

 

[narad]

There are no issues, the guitar is fine as it was. This is what Rusti Guitars said. It is a "Rusti Guitars". These are just like this. The guitar was mint condition. Pups swapped, pins removed. Now you try to blame me for selling something off at 60 to 70 % of the price, although it was mint and still had the warranty? Rusti even checked the guitar in his workshop himself?

If that was the case, then WTF would you make this thread and incessantly trash the guitar for 13 pages? Either, the guitar was fine and this thread is bullshit. Or the guitar was not fine, and you withheld knowledge of all of these flaws from a potential buyer. Either way, the only clear conclusion from this thread is to not do business with you.

 

[DirtyPuma]

If that was the case, then WTF would you make this thread and incessantly trash the guitar for 13 pages? Either, the guitar was fine and this thread is bullshit. Or the guitar was not fine, and you withheld knowledge of all of these flaws from a potential buyer. Either way, the only clear conclusion from this thread is to not do business with you.

The guitar was mint. Check your vocabulary. This is a Rusti Guitars. They come like this. The condition was like new. There was nothing to disclose. I disliked the guitar, but all was good acc. to Rusti Guitars and warranty still valid. Ask the MAKER Rusti Guitars why he kept telling me that the guitar is fine. Then we see who in here is dishonest.

 

[narad]

The guitar was mint. Check your vocabulary. This is a Rusti Guitars. They come like this. The condition was like new. There was nothing to disclose. I disliked the guitar, but all was good acc. to Rusti Guitars and warranty still valid. Ask the MAKER Rusti Guitars why he kept telling me that the guitar is fine. Then we see who in here is dishonest.

Well maybe I'll get that Nature paper after all. It seems I have discovered the Schrödinger's Karen, who exists in a superposition of everything-is-perfect and this-is-fucking-trash, and collapses into one of the two outcomes depending on whether he's writing a for sale ad or a product review.

 

[DirtyPuma]

Well maybe I'll get that Nature paper after all. It seems I have discovered the Schrödinger's Karen, who exists in a superposition of everything-is-perfect and this-is-fucking-trash, and collapses into one of the two outcomes depending on whether he's writing a for sale ad or a product review.

Riciculous post. Sale price was agreed to be 3 500 €. For a mint guitar, some months old, full warranty, and totally fine acc. to Rusti Guitars. You see the funny thing here? Acc. to the builder, the guitar is indeed fine. But I review it to be bad. Something being bad and something being in bad condition are two totally different things. A sales add is not about review. I want to see you adding reviews to the gear you sell.

Please get back to topic, which is the quality of the guitars which are built and delivered by Rusti Guitars, custom shop in Italy.

If that was the case, then WTF would you make this thread and incessantly trash the guitar for 13 pages? Either, the guitar was fine and this thread is bullshit. Or the guitar was not fine, and you withheld knowledge of all of these flaws from a potential buyer. Either way, the only clear conclusion from this thread is to not do business with you.

Furthermore, I provided a detailed review and pointed out all issues, this is all well documented at the start of the thread. This is not "trashing" for no reason. Then Rusti Guitars came in and talked these issues down, although they are indeed serious. The minor cosmetic flaws is not what this thread is about. But they are part of the bigger problem here, which is the bad build quality of that shop.

 

[StevenC]

The guitar was mint. Check your vocabulary. This is a Rusti Guitars. They come like this. The condition was like new. There was nothing to disclose. I disliked the guitar, but all was good acc. to Rusti Guitars and warranty still valid. Ask the MAKER Rusti Guitars why he kept telling me that the guitar is fine. Then we see who in here is dishonest.

No but there's a difference here. Your ad doesn't mention anything "according to Rusti" and presents it as a new functional guitar with a warranty.

Your thread doesn't present this as a guitar you didn't like but as a nonfunctional guitar. And selling a nonfunctional guitar without disclosing that is incredibly dishonest.

Like if I list a Skervesen for sale as brand new for Skervesen, you buy it and receive a typical Skervesen. But then complain to me that I sold you a nonfunctional guitar and I say you should have expected as much from a Skervesen, then all its fine?

I'm sorry, but either this thread is all a lie or you're a con artist.

 

[DirtyPuma]

No but there's a difference here. Your ad doesn't mention anything "according to Rusti" and presents it as a new functional guitar with a warranty.

Your thread doesn't present this as a guitar you didn't like but as a nonfunctional guitar. And selling a nonfunctional guitar without disclosing that is incredibly dishonest.

Like if I list a Skervesen for sale as brand new for Skervesen, you buy it and receive a typical Skervesen. But then complain to me that I sold you a nonfunctional guitar and I say you should have expected as much from a Skervesen, then all its fine?

I'm sorry, but either this thread is all a lie or you're a con artist.

Again, this is taking things out of context. Rusti Guitars wanted me to sell the guitar and told me a "reasonable price". I asked him what I should answer to the people "why I am selling that guitar". He told me that the guitar "is fine" acc. to him and nothing wrong with it. And that is how I sold it. I wanted HIM to sell it under HIS name, but he did not comply at all. Since he presented this option we had two ways:

Settle this as he proposed.
Bring this to court.

Which way do you prefer? Only for your info: Rusti had the guy who bought this even check the guitar himself, so there was nothing wrong with it in the end. I never heard back, no complaint nothing. I would have handled it differently than Rusti Guitars, I can tell you.

Just leaving this here ("It is not working as you wish, which is different"):

 

[StevenC]

Again, this is taking things out of context.

Not really. According to this thread:

Did you sell the guitar? Yes.
Did you think the guitar had objective issues that made it unplayable? Yes.
Did you disclose these objective issues in the ad? No.

Scammer.

 

[xzacx]

Sorry, but a guitar that’s had multiple repairs that aren’t disclosed and a trem that still has issues, and is also listed as “mint,” just doesn’t work. You can’t hide behind “but Rusti said it’s fine” when you’re the one selling it and saying otherwise.

 

[A.JohnHayes]

This thread is getting me through a rough patch of very little sleep; this is squabbling at its juiciest. Thank you all.

The highest tier of guitar I experienced prior to getting my Mayones was Ibanez Prestige. I lucked out on getting an amazingly-specced Duvell for just over €3,000, and I cannot imagine spending more on an instrument. That thing is just sublime; I can't conceive of a guitar being better. However, I only bought the Duvell after going a bit nuts after breaking up with my fiancée; there's no way I'd have ever been able to justify that much on a guitar in my right mind.

 

[DirtyPuma]

This thread is getting me through a rough patch of very little sleep; this is squabbling at its juiciest. Thank you all.

The highest tier of guitar I experienced prior to getting my Mayones was Ibanez Prestige. I lucked out on getting an amazingly-specced Duvell for just over €3,000, and I cannot imagine spending more on an instrument. That thing is just sublime; I can't conceive of a guitar being better. However, I only bought the Duvell after going a bit nuts after breaking up with my fiancée; there's no way I'd have ever been able to justify that much on a guitar in my right mind.

This is wise. Some people have the money and still buy these guitars. However, one would still expect craftmanship on a high-level. This was not the case here. This was my point from the beginning. Now we are not even discussing the bad quality of the guitar and only talking about the issues which arose from it and the bad interaction with the builder…

Sorry, but a guitar that’s had multiple repairs that aren’t disclosed and a trem that still has issues, and is also listed as “mint,” just doesn’t work. You can’t hide behind “but Rusti said it’s fine” when you’re the one selling it and saying otherwise.

I was able to not sell the guitar on that platform in the end, which I was very happy about. I agree with your point, but then my loss would have even be more than only the 1 500 € (plus service / etc.). Actually, all of this never should have happened to begin with. I was forced by Rusti Guitars to sell it off although I wanted HIM to buy it back at 50 % of the money. He did not agree, wanted me to sell it and quoted a price.

Also, there were no "repairs". The guitars was checked, setup at a store, pups changed. How was there any repair apart from a change of pickup selector? The body of the guitar was untouched, same for the neck. Hammering a fret in place is no neck repair or anything.

Again, all of "it is not OK to sell it like this" is just speculation about a scenario which did not happen. A guy came, checked the guitar himself at Rusti Guitars' shop and then decided to buy it for the price. No one ever returned with a guitar he thought was not OK for the price. Getting a Rusti Guitars guitar at 3 500 € with no waiting time, intact warranty, free check at Rusti Guitar factory… I mean… how closer could you get to a new Rusti Guitar? These guitars are just produced like this.

 

[Gango79]

Mate stop it. You are making a fool of yourself

 

[DirtyPuma]

Mate stop it. You are making a fool of yourself

Says the one who tries to save the name of a guitar builder putting out severely bad work at given price tag and then even defending this "quality standard" openly?

First off, you are a "loyal Rusti Guitars customer", I already pointed this out, so clear conflict of interest. In addition, you did not add any value with your statements or disprove the points made in the initial posts. Who is the fool then? Who has a business here? I am only a customer.

 

[xzacx]

OK, so now you’re saying it was just some minor setup work—do you see why it appears you’re trying to have it both ways? That still doesn’t account for not mentioning the trem not having full functionality and no mention of the plethora of cosmetic flaws you logged. The fact that it was ultimately sold in person is the best case scenario here, so that’s a good outcome, but listing it as you did doesn’t help your credibility.

 

[DirtyPuma]

OK, so now you’re saying it was just some minor setup work—do you see why it appears you’re trying to have it both ways? That still doesn’t account for not mentioning the trem not having full functionality and no mention of the plethora of cosmetic flaws you logged. The fact that it was ultimately sold in person is the best case scenario here, so that’s a good outcome, but the fact you listed it as you did doesn’t help your credibility.

Am I selling here guitars or am I reviewing a guitar? I am no salesman and did not want to sell this guitar myself. I even told Rusti Guitars about all of these thoughts that I feel shady and bad selling the guitar off to anyone... he told me that the guitar is fine to be sold and no issue, only setup required. In the end I was able to push for the option we went for.

This thread is about a guitar builder who puts out bad work at high price tag with long waiting times and then defends said work after clear images documented most flaws.

 

[Jonathan20022]

I value that you list the stuff here more or less neutrally, however seeing you as a Rusti Guitars customer I (checked your posts) see the conflict of interest here again, same as Gango79. Then suddenly, Gango, you, Alessandro, and Claudio (Rusti Guitars) come in and try to defend something which cannot be defended.

The guitar was in seriously bad condition when looking at the price tag. Rusti Guitars does until now not acknowledge the faulty trem design. There was no way out, he was telling me to sell it. So I just did. And now the same guy tries to blame me for this? Should I have burnt that thing down to a crisp? Would that be the solution?

I do not think I need to go further into this rabbit hole of proving stuff, my posts so far (and Rusti Guitars' reaction here) are well enough proof to inform any future buyer. You could see that he told me to ship the guitar at my expense to do "setup" and all is as intended. I mean how is that not making fun of a buyer after a lengthy (for months) discussion via WhatsApp (the guy is not able to phone) and provision of many image examples.

To correct your thinking:
I started with the weird and openly incorrect things when trying to get Rusti correcting the guitar. The trem. The electronics. The cosmetic flaws were brought up when I could not take his excuses any more that "all is fine", "this is how it should function".

You're operating in bad faith and I gave you quite a lot of charitability considering you paid a lot for an instrument that arrived with issues.

You've revealed however how abrasive and unreasonable you can be between your images of the conversation and your responses to people with skepticism about your situation asking for more details.

I have never purchased a guitar FROM Rusti, I bought my Paradox second hand from a friend directly. I openly mentioned this in my first response to this thread, so not sure what you found on my profile showing a conflict of interest lol.

As if that has any bearing when I've attempted to be neutral but heavily lean on your rights as a consumer.

Again I ask you for proof of Rusti mocking/shrugging off all responsibility when you made first contact about your issues like you claim. Strangely enough you've revealed A LOT besides this pretty important piece between your rambling.

Cheers! The resale ad speaks volumes as well, you were willing to pass on an instrument you had such negative feelings about undisclosed to another in good conciousness! "Mint" lost all it's meaning here LOL.

 

[DirtyPuma]

You're operating in bad faith and I gave you quite a lot of charitability considering you paid a lot for an instrument that arrived with issues.

You've revealed however how abrasive and unreasonable you can be between your images of the conversation and your responses to people with skepticism about your situation asking for more details.

I have never purchased a guitar FROM Rusti, I bought my Paradox second hand from a friend directly. I openly mentioned this in my first response to this thread, so not sure what you found on my profile showing a conflict of interest lol.

As if that has any bearing when I've attempted to be neutral but heavily lean on your rights as a consumer.

Again I ask you for proof of Rusti mocking/shrugging off all responsibility when you made first contact about your issues like you claim. Strangely enough you've revealed A LOT besides this pretty important piece between your rambling.

Cheers! The resale ad speaks volumes as well, you were willing to pass on an instrument you had such negative feelings about undisclosed to another in good conciousness! "Mint" lost all it's meaning here LOL.

Again, I do not need to provide further evidence. I provided evidence that there is no issue and the crooked trem / other issues are all OK and no reason for repair. Check my and his posts. He even defends how he build the guitar. I am not here to look good, I don't care, get it? I am upset about how Rusti Guitars deals with customers. Our conversations spanned months and the guitar took another 2 years to finish. All people drool when seeing the high-gloss images of it. And yet, here I am and telling the guitar was crap at given price tag, even provided evidence.

Also, I can report any issues at any time during warranty as long as it is obvious that they arose during manufacturing / was shipped this way. So what is the point? He said there are not issues, he even says so now. In the beginning I still trusted him, but over time when problems started to pile up and became more and more obvious I was fed up and told him that these are actually his faults and nothing you just have to deal with yourself. All of this did not happen overnight, so what about "this is all OK, where is your problem?" Is not ridiculing a customer presenting serious issues?

 

[StevenC]

I was able to not sell the guitar on that platform in the end, which I was very happy about. I agree with your point, but then my loss would have even be more than only the 1 500 € (plus service / etc.). Actually, all of this never should have happened to begin with. I was forced by Rusti Guitars to sell it off although I wanted HIM to buy it back at 50 % of the money. He did not agree, wanted me to sell it and quoted a price.

You bought something that you've now revised to say "you just didn't like" (I'll note I'm paraphrasing so you don't send a lawyer after me for a misquote). Rusti has no obligation for you to like the guitar and, in such a scenario, no obligation that you get all your money back when you resell it. This is a hobby, you lose money to hobbies, it's how hobbies work.

This is the EU we're talking about, there are loads of customer protections and you're still whining about losing out. If it was defective, Rusti needs to repair it at no cost to you. This was offered and you turned it down. You could have forced him to accept a return and refund you through the courts if you wanted, and you claim you engaged a lawyer but I really doubt that happened.

All you're doing with this thread is demonstrating you cannot be trusted, so I don't blame Rusti for wanting the guitar himself to check you hadn't done something before shelling out.