The BRJ Black Friday Thread (Only for updates for/by customers.)[Ad Free]

[Randy]

If either of you would be willing to PM the story behind this, I'd appreciate it.

The whole thing is a long story but my recollection of that specific part is that it was after BRJ had already stiffed a number of people, but some of the ERG influencers continued to get guitars from him and promote him on social media.

That's despite the fact the stories about Bernie taking money and screwing over regular folks were already out there in the same channels these dudes were promoting him on. There's also the fact none of the woodwork was being done at Bernie's shop, which would be clear as day if you were there at any point, which these guys all were.

If there's something more specific out there, I don't know off hand.

 

[MrWulf]

2.5k plus for an unfinished guitar is fucking gross. 1k maybe but 2.5k? He better sleep with the fishes

 

[MaxOfMetal]

2.5k plus for an unfinished guitar is fucking gross. 1k maybe but 2.5k? He better sleep with the fishes

Not just any unfinished guitar, one that's over a decade old at this point.

Every couple years someone finds a few of these in the closet.

 

[MrWulf]

Not just any unfinished guitar, one that's over a decade old at this point.

Every couple years someone finds a few of these in the closet.

I'd fork over money for one of the 7 or 8 strings at reasonable price but at 2.5k i might as well order a semi custom from someone that i know wont fucked me over.

Does he think that BRJ's death will make this collector's edition or some shit?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I'd fork over money for one of the 7 or 8 strings at reasonable price but at 2.5k i might as well order a semi custom from someone that i know wont fucked me over.

Does he think that BRJ's death will make this collector's edition or some shit?

Trust me, you don't want one of these. You'll spend almost as much time, energy, and money getting it remotely playable.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Yeah, it's interesting because a few weeks ago he made a post on FB about how much he hated a company (I think it was sweetwater?) because he said they screwed him over or something, and he only likes working with companies that support musicians, rather than just try to make money at their expense, or something like that. I almost commented, but I don't know that I have all the info on it to start a flame war. (As a guy who was screwed over by BRJ, I am still feeling the sting of that, though!)

A bunch of other people called him out on it at least. Even a Sweetwater guy responded to him.

 

[Hollowway]

A bunch of other people called him out on it at least. Even a Sweetwater guy responded to him.

Oh interesting. I never circled back to see what happened. It was a really weird rant to go on.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Oh interesting. I never circled back to see what happened. It was a really weird rant to go on.

Yeah when I saw it I was thinking he got shafted on the price, but in actuality it seemed like he was pissed because he didn't get an artist's discount? :lol

 

[Hollowway]

Trust me, you don't want one of these. You'll spend almost as much time, energy, and money getting it remotely playable.

Yep. I did get mine in this same contrition as these are right after the whole event. At the time, luthier Brian Bowes said that if anyone was able to get their guitar he would finish it at no charge. (Because he’s a saint, and an awesome dude. Like, no joke, he’s helped a lot of people, and luthiers, alike.). Anyway, there were loads of problems with it. It took a LOT of work to get it playable. These are not something you can just put hardware on and go. AND, mine was not sitting in a warehouse with no heat or AC for months, like these were.

 

[yotgguitar]

Looks like all those unfinished Black Friday guitars are all for sale on ebay....
Honestly I don't know if they are the lost unfinished guitars or not, but when I saw 10 half finished BRJ guitars for sale, I immediately thought of this thread lol....

I wish I had the extra to spend to get one and finish building it out...... would be peachy!!!

edit: I didn't know these guitars were already known about.....
sorry... guess i'm stuck in the past lol....

 

[eaeolian]

The saga will never end. Lol

...and I will never forget that this scam put KXK out of business because he couldn't compete withe the prices for guitars BRJ never delivered. There's just nothing good about this whole affair

 

[Alberto7]

The saga will never end. Lol

...and I will never forget that this scam put KXK out of business because he couldn't compete withe the prices for guitars BRJ never delivered. There's just nothing good about this whole affair

Oh damn, is that why Rob eventually went off the face of the Earth? What a number Bernie pulled...
Rob's back by now though, correct? I see Pyramid Guitars posting a lot of pictures of kxks for sale on social media, and I could swear they are brand new. Beautiful guitars.

 

[Hollowway]

Oh damn, is that why Rob eventually went off the face of the Earth? What a number Bernie pulled...
Rob's back by now though, correct? I see Pyramid Guitars posting a lot of pictures of kxks for sale on social media, and I could swear they are brand new. Beautiful guitars.

Yep, he’s doing new builds for Corey (Pyramid). I’m glad to see him back at it, because his stuff is crazy good.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

The saga will never end. Lol

...and I will never forget that this scam put KXK out of business because he couldn't compete withe the prices for guitars BRJ never delivered. There's just nothing good about this whole affair

Not only did this bag of dicks rip a bunch of people off, but another builder (who likely actually delivered guitars) went out of business because of it? Fucking hell.

 

[j3ps3]

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Nothing new really.

We know that tons of husks were built and later sold off by various sources (workers, associates, repo guys, etc.) but a lot were pretty much junk.

I would have trashed it, but some people just want a curse.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

I would have trashed it, but some people just want a curse.

What a horrible night to have a curse.

 

[_itsballs]

Hello,
I have at this point familiarized myself with this entire thread. I've read through every page. I'm mortified by what I now know.
I'm writing simply to ask if anyone recognizes this guitar.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Hello,
I have at this point familiarized myself with this entire thread. I've read through every page. I'm mortified by what I now know.
I'm writing simply to ask if anyone recognizes this guitar.

Yeah, that's Bill. He owes me $30 from the OTB in Bayonne back in 99'.

For real though, they shat out a couple dozen, that we know of, in that configuration. It's probably impossible to track this far out for 100% certain.

 

[_itsballs]

Yeah, that's Bill. He owes me $30 from the OTB in Bayonne back in 99'.

For real though, they shat out a couple dozen, that we know of, in that configuration. It's probably impossible to track this far out for 100% certain.

Right. I know that Bernie used photos of the same build to give updates to people. And like you say, dozens were made in the same configuration.
Written in the bridge cavity is "stock", while in the neck cavity, it appears to have someone's name written with it crossed out. I speculated that to mean that perhaps someone canceled their order because of the obscene wait times, and was then reallocated to stock.