ETA - 3rd custom ordered guitar is here!

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mighty_duck
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It's here!!
Gotta run, will post more later.
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mighty_duck
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Only had about twenty minutes with her after unpacking.
First impressions:
Ridiculously pretty, light (7.4 pounds). Fit and finish, while never quite perfect with this brand, was better than any IYV I've had before. Frets were nicely done, not a sharp one in the lot.

The neck feels like....home. precisely what I was looking for. Substantial but not too chunky.
Could use a decent set up, but action and intonation was pretty good right out of the box.

It's got me thinking crazy thoughts, like selling every other solid body I have. I'm sure that will pass, but DANG!
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solteroblues
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awesome, looks great!
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UrenragK
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HNGD! Looks sweet!!
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mighty_duck
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solteroblues wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:23 pm They both look great to me!

You're having as good as if not better luck custom ordering from them as I have had from Kiesel. I've ordered 2 customs from Kiesel, and I swear I will NEVER order one again. Took them forever to build it, I paid TONS extra for a color match and highly figured tops, got neither either time. My last one I paid $600 extra for a highly figured quilt plus $400 extra to do a photo matched color and they got both wrong. That was going to be my one and only MAJOR custom guitar purchase and they ruined it for me. At least they refunded me the $600 for the top.
I used to dream about getting a custom Carvin/Kiesel, but between the high price of ordering, the loss of value once it ships, and stories like yours, I could never justify it.
I did pick up a couple of CT6's on the used market, for a fraction of what they would cost new. Use that loss of value to your advantage 8-)

IYV makes some of the best tops of any import guitars, even on their standard production models. My two customs certainly did not disappoint!
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Chocol8
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Nice! Looks like you got two great guitars. With this one coming in so nice, you definitely don’t need to keep the thin neck blue one, sooooooo, how much do you want for it? :D
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sabasgr68
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mighty_duck wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:52 pm It's here!!
Gotta run, will post more later.

ivy2_2.jpgivy2_1.jpgivy2_3.jpgivy2_4.jpgivy2_5.jpgivy2_6.jpg
A beauty! Glad you´re happy with it.

Cheers!
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sabasgr68
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tobijohn wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:16 pm As soon as I get over the hit i just took getting the Corvette running again, I'm definitely going to investigate some lefty builds...
Totally out of the OP subject, but what year and model is your Corvette? (see, apart of guitars, I like sport cars too - Mustang 1968 my favorite) Just curious... :)
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tobijohn
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sabasgr68 wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:58 pm
Totally out of the OP subject, but what year and model is your Corvette? (see, apart of guitars, I like sport cars too - Mustang 1968 my favorite) Just curious... :)
1996 LT4 coupe, last year of the fourth generation, only year that engine was offered and came with a six speed ZF transmission ( the same one used in BMWs)...
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sabasgr68
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tobijohn wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:06 pm
sabasgr68 wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:58 pm
Totally out of the OP subject, but what year and model is your Corvette? (see, apart of guitars, I like sport cars too - Mustang 1968 my favorite) Just curious... :)
1996 LT4 coupe, last year of the fourth generation and only year that engine was offered and came with a six speed ZF transmission ( the same one used in BMWs)...
Great machine, beautiul car... Not difficult to fall in love with. Monster carb V8. I can just imagine how it sounds. It is officially among my favorites from now on. And, you´ll also see, I love 4x4s, mainly the first gen Range Rover, and it also used a ZF auto gearbox, but it was a 4 speed, the ZF 4HP22 - later and more sophisticated RR models use some of those high tech ZF gearboxes, but for 4x4s, I prefer the old school RR -.

It´s great you got it running again :)
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tobijohn
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sabasgr68 wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:44 pm

Great machine, beautiul car... Not difficult to fall in love with. Monster carb V8. I can just imagine how it sounds. It is officially among my favorites from now on. And, you´ll also see, I love 4x4s, mainly the first gen Range Rover, and it also used a ZF auto gearbox, but it was a 4 speed, the ZF 4HP22 - later and more sophisticated RR models use some of those high tech ZF gearboxes, but for 4x4s, I prefer the old school RR -.

It´s great you got it running again :)
Thanks and FWIW, I believe Corvettes have had some sort of electronic fuel injection since 1984 (I think that there were a couple in the 60s where they had mechanical fuel injection)...
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jtcnj
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Congrats on 2 great guitars, and the whole custom order thing work out well in the end.
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Mossman
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That looks great! How's it sound/play?
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mighty_duck
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3rd custom PRS got here. Mixed it up a little, with a TOM bridge, and block inlays.
This one has a really chonky neck, feels like a PRS wide/fat. It's what I wanted all along, and feels great.
Playability is as great as her sisters. After a set up, and polishing frets (which again came in scratchy), I got very low action, super smooth frets.
As always, the top is fantastic. One of the best quilts I've seen.

Installed Grover locking tuners, and replaced the bridge with a Graphtech string saver bridge from an old Agile I had. The stock pickups are very good, but I will eventually replace 2 of them - no point in having three nearly identical guitars with identical pickups.

The bad:
(Aside from minor finish issues) I ordered an ebony fretboard an MOP inlays.
The fretboard looks very much like a dyed rosewood board.
The inlays, while pretty, have ZERO iridescence, so I'm guessing they are mother of toilet seat.

It's a fantastic guitar, so I'm not regretting buying it. But it sucks that they would cut corners like this. I'll have to contact the factory again. My expectations are pretty low that they will take responsibility or make it right...
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mighty_duck
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Can anyone back me up that this looks like rosewood?
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sabasgr68
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mighty_duck wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 2:27 pm Can anyone back me up that this looks like rosewood?

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I don´t have a trained eye, and I´m no wood expert, but it looks like rosewood to me...
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Rollin Hand
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Seconded--that's rosewood as far as my eyes can tell. If it was supposed to be ebony, I would be grumpy.
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HNGD(s)!!!

Yep- that is rosewood.
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tobijohn
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It's been my experience that the Chinese factories are able to produce guitars with incredible tops and finishes. However, when it comes to following instructions or delivering on specs, I've always been left disappointed...,
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mighty_duck
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Got a reply from IYV:
"The fretboard of your 3rd PRS is marcasa[sic] ebony, not rosewood.
In addition the inlay is pearloid, to avoid the ban to import to the US."

What a load of bull.
1. That's rosewood.
2. Even if the "import ban" was real (the IYV logo on the headstock is real MOP, one of the earlier guitars had real MOP dot inlays), they could have mentioned it at any point, and we would have gone with different inlays.

While I love the guitar and don't have any real buyers remorse, this has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Buyer beware...
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At least they are answering you, I asked them for a price for a guitar and have had nothing back!
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Mossman
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That does look like Rosewood to me. Macasar Ebony can have light streaks in it, but it doesn't look that brown, and it doesn't have that kind of grain pattern.

The inlays are definitely plastic pearloid, not MOP. Was there an up-charge for the fretboard and inlays? Otherwise, that guitar looks great.
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mighty_duck
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UrenragK wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 12:46 pm At least they are answering you, I asked them for a price for a guitar and have had nothing back!
Did you send a "cold" email, or did you go through Justin?

If you'd like, I can send an introduction email.

Keep in mind, they sometimes need a nudge. At various points in communication, they would not respond for a week. After a follow up email, I usually got a response in a few hours.
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mighty_duck wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm
Did you send a "cold" email, or did you go through Justin?

If you'd like, I can send an introduction email.

Keep in mind, they sometimes need a nudge. At various points in communication, they would not respond for a week. After a follow up email, I usually got a response in a few hours.
Ah, I just contacted them through the email address on the site, if you wouldn't mind greasing the wheels that would be great :)

Thanks!
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