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

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MetalDaze

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I have his cell number if anyone really needs it. Who ordered one with scalloped frets? He was just finishing the scalloping and re-freting.

You should probably not give that to anyone unless Bernie gives permission. Otherwise, he'll most likely end up having to get a new number.
 

Khoi

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I'd edit that past post, people will be PMing you non-stop if they read that and don't read your latter post.

also, glad to see you got the details worked out with Bernie quickly! :yesway:
 

Phrygian

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i got an update from bernie the other day, after I sent him a reminder that it had been three weeks since I was supposed to get my ETA update later that day. Well, without going into details he has ALOT to handle right now, aside of business. He's not sick AFAIK, but he has other issues at hand that are taking a huge toll on his time.

trust me, he is working hard at getting guitars done and shipped, but he has some other business that needs to be dealt with right now that may delay his work a little. Hang in there for him!
 

Hollowway

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I'd love to get an actual update instead of the typical stock email . communication is still lackluster.:noplease:

True, but there seems to be little correlation between the updates and when the guitar actually arrives, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've gotten updates whenever I ask about my custom (non-BFR) and I think I'm the current record holder for how long since it's been ordered.
 

Rook

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^:lol: I think so too!

My issue isn't with duration (9 months waiting here, no biggie) I just wanna know if I can sell my damn spot or if I even need to but that simple piece of info seems to confuse the shit outta him
 

WickedSymphony

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I'd love to get an actual update instead of the typical stock email . communication is still lackluster.:noplease:

Yeh, my guitar was supposed to have shipped last week but I haven't heard anything about it since. I get that he's busy, hopefully not with health issues, and I've been really patient this whole time and tried not to bug him a lot but at the same time I feel like he should be letting me know that it's going to be late instead of me sitting here wondering what's going on. I know other people got their guitars recently and were really happy so it's not like I'm really worried, but still I'd like to know how much of a delay it is since I was told it would ship.

To his credit, he messaged me when there was an issue before which was great and it was resolved super smoothly, no problems. But communication should stay similar to that throughout the process.
 

Speculum Speculorum

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I know other people got their guitars recently and were really happy so it's not like I'm really worried, but still I'd like to know how much of a delay it is since I was told it would ship

The wait is definitely bad, especially when, for example, I was told my guitar would have been done last... August or September. But having been told so many times that my guitar will absolutely ship, guaranteed, promise, etc., any messages to me feel a whole lot more like ear fodder to keep me occupied than anything else.

I know that the guy has been through a lot of Hell recently, and I'm not just trying to be a mean cud. I do have compassion for the man's health and other struggles. But... when we talked after he was getting better from bedrest, I point-blanked him with "So it sounds like my guitar was pretty much almost finished before all this went down. How much work is left to do on my guitar? I can't imagine it being more than a week or two, but I don't know if what John was telling me was representative of reality."

His reply was that, at most, I had about 2 weeks of work left on my guitar. Here I am, almost two months later, and the latest shenanigan is that even though my guitar was supposed to ship 1.5 weeks ago (absolutely will be out by the beginning of that week), he's going to try to get it out by Monday.

I hope that he's getting right as rain and that my guitar will miraculously actually show up this time. But considering how many repetitions of the same thing, it just kind of grays out any more. :shrug:
 

Lirtle

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I feel the same way. I wish Bernie could be a little more honest in his practice. I'd be so much less stressed out by this whole ordeal if I were provided with a somewhat accurate time frame from the start.

I have paid for my guitar in full and have seen no evidence of it ever existing in any form(Apparently it had to be rebuilt) I know the wait will be worth it but I'm pretty bummed out by the experience thus far. It sucks when you're continually let down by someone.
 

Qweklain

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I feel the same way. I wish Bernie could be a little more honest in his practice. I'd be so much less stressed out by this whole ordeal if I were provided with a somewhat accurate time frame from the start.

I have paid for my guitar in full and have seen no evidence of it ever existing in any form(Apparently it had to be rebuilt) I know the wait will be worth it but I'm pretty bummed out by the experience thus far. It sucks when you're continually let down by someone.
I know how you feel man. For the most part, I have not cared it has taken this long. However, when I got an update pic months ago, there was a mistake in the inlays so the fretboard had to be redone to re-do the inlays, which in my mind means many, many more months added to wait time.

Thing that sucks is I am in the same boat of wait with an amp too that is close to two years wait time... at least I can get ahold of him, although the response is always the same crap there too. :squint:
 

SpaceDock

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I was thinking about it, Bernie said he sold 100+ guitars with the BFR, he had many guitars from custom builds in the works prior to that, and I saw 50+ guitars sell with his March madness sale. Now I've only seen < 20 guitars finished via SS.org, FB, and his website pictures in the past year. How long will it really take for him to tackle the backlog that has grown? I have been getting the perpetual "2 weeks" for more than a year but at this rate it seems like it might take several years to get my guitars.
 

animalwithin

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Glad I'm not the only one experiencing problems with Bernie. Here is what I was promised/guaranteed:

1.) Guitar would be done at or before May in time for my graduation (paid my deposit early November 2011)
2.) Constant texts/emails with pics and updates
3.) Half way through the build, he said I could drive down there (I'm 2 hrs away from him), we could design the pickguard together and wrap up any last minute details that I wanted in the guitar

Its been 8 months now, no guitar, he doesn't answer my texts/messages, and none of the above ever came to pass. I paid my $500 deposit but in all honesty, this hasnt been the most pleasant experience. I'll be the first person to say take your time and I'll be the last person to complain and I'm extremely sympathetic in the case of family/health problems but in the end all I wouldve liked was a quick email/text saying: "Hey Sam, I'm at so and so with your guitar, looks like we're gonna have to push production a bit." That would have sufficed, alas not even that happened. I don't even want the guitar anymore, there were some things we were supposed to talk about before he finished, I fear now that he just went with whatever and the guitar has things/looks different than what I wanted. I don't think there is a way to say I don't want the guitar anymore, I've asked a couple of people and they said that the deposit is enough to be a binding contract and I can't back out. What is this selling spots you guys speak of?
 

Locrian

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If you can get a buyer, and get a hold of Bernie, someone can pay you the money you paid for your deposit, and have Bernie switch the order over to their name.
 

Hollowway

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For the guys who have decided they don't want their builds, have you contacted Bernie and asked for a refund? His business does not offer refunds, but he might be open to it since he hasn't kept up his side of the agreement. He can sell those builds himself, and put them on the back burner and get through all of the ones people are waiting for. So he might go for it. It sure beats having a bunch of angry customers doing chargebacks on their credit cards.
 


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