Vik Guitars Discussion

[Gango79]

Ultimately, you have to notice that my comment was not directed at the guy himself, but at anyone who's overzealous in congratulating him for simply owning the guitar.

honestly my purpose was just to highlight the guitar! Secondly since Reidar is well known enough I just pointed out that it is his property ... no one is overzealous in congratulating him.

 

[technomancer]

watty & narad: the argument can stop now

 

[Watty]

*Disclaimer: I've been working to youtube videos of Bob Ross episodes all morning. Comments may be overly positive.

You may be my favorite person ever.

Blue Ridge Falls

That is all.

 

[Erockomania]

Since #1 was directed at me:

You're correct, how he comes by his guitars is none of my business, but I hope I'm not alone in feeling irked that he gets a certain kind of attention as a result if it turns out that his parents buy him the guitars. I would be much more inclined to congratulate the kid who saves for a year to buy a Squire Strat than to fawn over a custom guitar bought by one's parents (especially if it's not the first). I don't care how he came by it, I just don't think it's overly productive to congratulate the latter party on the acquisition as a lot of folks are want to do. I don't think he posts here, but if FB is any indication.....

#2 - Specifically shows why the thread gets nasty from time to time?

#3 - While you could look at it that way, it's easy to extrapolate the situation in the opposite direction. If you're essentially complicit (through support - financial or otherwise) with the actions of said homophobe, it's not a stretch to think that some means of recourse is due said party. I love using extreme examples to get a point across, so I present to you exhibit A:

Would it be silly of someone to attack a Hilter sympathizer who had been spouting off about the scientific advancements made by the NAZIs, regardless of their genocide?

I'd hope you'd say no. Obviously supporting Vik's credibility as a luthier isn't anywhere near as bad as the aforementioned example, but the disparate nature of the two positions certainly doesn't remove all reason to be at odds with [the shilling] noted above.

Godwin's Law. lol

 

[Fred the Shred]

Actually, I find the scientific and engineering accomplishments of the Nazi to have been nothing short of praise worthy, and many of those after the obviously repulsive use they were given by Hitler and co., were indeed used for rather constructive purposes.

It's worth mentioning that I have no trouble discussing homophobia with Vik, as I've done a few times, and while there is a lot of conservative notions that are blatantly incorrect, there have been some markedly exaggerated remarks on that topic after the whole thing took place, and I did give him a fair bit of shit for that, mind you. Even if he was indeed a "burn them fags" kind of man, the quality of the instruments is undeniable - you could say you'd never want one due to the incompatibility of your morality and the luthier's, and that is absolutely fine and logical, but there will be no objective flaw to an instrument deriving from the maker's moral standards, no matter how deviant they might be IMO.

If I can be honest, the whole situation pertaining late orders and some ordeals SSO members went through is far more relevant in terms of the negative aspects I've seen discussed here thus far.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Never a dull day in the Vik thread.

Looks like Frederick Thorendal's Domineer FF8 string is complete.

 

[Fred the Shred]

Turned out to be quite a stunning guitar for sure.

 

[capoeiraesp]

Damn... That's awesome.

 

[TemjinStrife]

If I can be honest, the whole situation pertaining late orders and some ordeals SSO members went through is far more relevant in terms of the negative aspects I've seen discussed here thus far.

This. ViK had huge issues with delivery, delay, unilaterally canceling customer orders, failing to deliver other orders, and taking customer orders to NAMM without permission BEFORE he revealed himself to be a homophobic asshole.

It's sad that it took the fallout from his personal beliefs to get his "endorsers" to say something about his shoddy, shitty business practices.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

It's sad that it took the fallout from his personal beliefs to get his "endorsers" to say something about his shoddy, shitty business practices.

Yup. This is the most ....ed up thing in the whole situation that people aren't keeping in mind.

 

[absolutorigin]

Even with all the negative things about Vik and his business practices, I'm still a big fan of the Duality Shape. His guitars are quite spectacular, and he has a good taste for aesthetics. Oh why, oh why did he have to be a douche .

Side note: That chick playing the Vik bass is pretty hot. How come there aren't any of those girls where I live .

 

[MaxOfMetal]

It's sad that it took the fallout from his personal beliefs to get his "endorsers" to say something about his shoddy, shitty business practices.

Yup. This is the most ....ed up thing in the whole situation that people aren't keeping in mind.

Was that really a surprise to anyone though? These "endorsers" were the same ones who were pushing the BRJ brand while things were going to hell real fast.

The only difference was they would have come out poorly if they made a show of it. Though, as soon as ditching would give them some good PR they made it public. Bernie was just as, if not a bigger asshole than Vik (if you can imagine ) yet none of the artists said a thing.

Why? And now, this might surprise some of you, they don't care about you. You're just facebook likes, concert tickets, twitter followers, and internet hype pushers to them. You're a means to them getting gear and advancing thier careers, no more, no less. Do they care that you cared when before companies were throwing them instruments and endorsements like it was going out of style? Obviously not if they rather slip out of a bad situation under the radar under the guise of "keeping it professional" and doing "good business".

I know I'm going to get flack for saying all this, but it's just too freaking obvious not to.

Y'all want to have some fun? Make a list of the last half dozen builders on here that shit the bed, and then list the artists of those builders. Now, connect the dots.

 

[BlackStar7]

These "endorsers" were the same ones who were pushing the BRJ brand while things were going to hell real fast. The only difference was they would have come out poorly if they made a show of it. Though, as soon as ditching would give them some good PR they made it public.

In the case of Vik, didn't one particularly prominent "endorser" basically offer to keep quiet as long as he got his guitar? As we saw from screencaps, he didn't go public until Vik basically refused him, yet somehow he was celebrated for this.

This is particularly galling coming from a guy who seems to pile up ultra high end guitars so shamelessly. Even when everyone was jumping ship from the Vik brand and it was a total no brainer for him to do the same, when it was clear Vik is a total nutcase and a shitty businessman, when normal customers were getting screwed for months on end, this individual was STILL willing to let everyone else twist in the wind as long as he got his fancy guitar. How many guitars do you need, and how little integrity can you have?

This is a pretty damning example of your point: these people don't care about any of us (however much they may claim to only represent "gear they believe in"). Maybe I don't know the whole story, certain people sure seemed to be having fun at Vik's booth at NAMM!

The gear whoring, the brand worship, the free guitars for endorsees racket, the paying customers getting screwed -- all of it is out of control. Sometimes I wonder if the whole custom guitar thing is one big bubble waiting to pop.

 

[Fred the Shred]

You know it's a rather crappy time in the guitar world again when the companies you endorse or work with actually take the time to thank you for not being an endorsement whore and the fans or people that are interested in your views praise you for being honest, which you should be at all times anyway.

I had a rant about this some time ago, but it feels like the whole late 80's again, where you'd see guitarists with vast trains of endorsements and appearing twice on the same mag's ads saying that two different guitar brands made the best shit ever. It's not good for the fans, it's not good for the companies, and it doesn't really help in terms of artist credibility, does it? Even if it doesn't ring one's "morally wrong" bell, it's often equally bad in terms of business practices.

tl;dr - don't lie to fans. If you're a total dick and don't see anything wrong with it morally, then understand it's a crap move to alienate the people who put food on your plate even for the most unscrupulous asshole.

 

[Edika]

Was that really a surprise to anyone though?...

I made that argument very diplomatically when that specific person made the situation public with his long awaited guitar. Several people defended him in a civil manner so I chose not to pursue it any further. It would only turn ugly and derail the thread from the discussion back then. Now I think I should have insisted more.

I think a lot of people are too emotionally invested in products, artists, bands or even genres of music. Sometimes going to extremes of stating of not being able to live without one or all of the above. Then in one or two years some or all of the above are replaced by the new flavor and the round of declarations begins again.

 

[asher]

In the case of Vik, didn't one particularly prominent "endorser" basically offer to keep quiet as long as he got his guitar? As we saw from screencaps, he didn't go public until Vik basically refused him, yet somehow he was celebrated for this.

I'm pretty sure that is not what happened. IIRC staying quiet was basically the condition for receiving it.

 

[Edika]

Well from what he had posted there was no indication of that. He said that was the case but the exchange of emails that he posted didn't exactly show that. I can't find the page where he posted all of this, but the exchange more or less went him asking if his guitar will be ready, getting no for an answer, cancelling the order and then all the subtext with Vik's meltdown being added.

 

[MetalDaze]

Let's also not forget that after waiting forever and paying a premium price you are not guaranteed to get a flawless instrument. I know there was at least one NGD that reported that as well as photo evidence from a trade show.

That's probably the most frightening scenario. You decide to look past all of these other problems, hoping the end result will be worth it....and being disappointed. I suspect that chances are low that you can send it back and get a refund at that point.

 

[Xaios]

Y'all want to have some fun? Make a list of the last half dozen builders on here that shit the bed, and then list the artists of those builders. Now, connect the dots.

This place has had so many luthiers .... things up that putting together a comprehensive list of all of them might just be impossible.

 

[Altar]

But Nolly is cool.