Balaguer anyone?

[BatUtilityBelt]

Has anyone bought (or especially custom ordered) a Balaguer guitar? I'm considering a custom order that would look something like this:

It's a bit much, so I'd like to hear any brutally honest reviews or alternative preferred builders who work with SS frets and offer a lot of customization. Thanks.

[thepezident]

Never played one but I did have some gas for one.

They are based in a town about 45 min from me.
I emailed a question and someone got back to me in less than a day.

[thepezident]

BTW....your possible custom order looks hott!

[golem]

I know someone who works at Guitar Sanctuary who seems to love the brand. I guess I thought it was a little pricey considering what some custom builders in the US would charge (at least before COVID).

[golem]

I should add you're looking at like $1k more and up for a custom build from Bilt with SS frets. But, that's made in the USA from a brand beloved by many offset fans. In a sense that's a lot more money, but I also think it's far more likely to hold value long term.

[BatUtilityBelt]

I should add you're looking at like $1k more and up for a custom build from Bilt with SS frets. But, that's made in the USA from a brand beloved by many offset fans. In a sense that's a lot more money, but I also think it's far more likely to hold value long term.

Interesting. Somehow Bilt never hit my radar. I'll take a good look at them, thanks!

[slowhand84]

Has anyone bought (or especially custom ordered) a Balaguer guitar? I'm considering a custom order that would look something like this:
My-Balaguer-Custom-Guitar.jpg
It's a bit much, so I'd like to hear any brutally honest reviews or alternative preferred builders who work with SS frets and offer a lot of customization. Thanks.

At $1400+ I wouldn't think twice about this and would just go straight to Kiesel. Tons of customization options, USA made, etc. I've played a couple Balaguers and they were perfectly solid guitars but didn't hold a candle to the Kiesels I've played (and own).

[golem]

Kiesel isn't a bad option. They have occasionally made a very public misstep with customer service since the younger Kiesel took over but it's hard to deny that overall he's done good things for them.

Bilt is one of those brands that rose in profile due to Nels Cline. I thought of him because they're a brand with a lot of respect in the offset world. Off the top of my head, I'm not even sure Kiesel has a guitar with P90s or an offset design. But I think I was more interested in the S style and headless designs.

[BatUtilityBelt]

At $1400+ I wouldn't think twice about this and would just go straight to Kiesel. Tons of customization options, USA made, etc. I've played a couple Balaguers and they were perfectly solid guitars but didn't hold a candle to the Kiesels I've played (and own).

Kiesel is definitely great quality, but they don't flex on things I really prefer, such as an offset body and 24.75 scale length.

[slowhand84]

At $1400+ I wouldn't think twice about this and would just go straight to Kiesel. Tons of customization options, USA made, etc. I've played a couple Balaguers and they were perfectly solid guitars but didn't hold a candle to the Kiesels I've played (and own).

Kiesel is definitely great quality, but they don't flex on things I really prefer, such as an offset body and 24.75 scale length.

They have models with that scale length option, but yeah in terms of offset body shapes that's not really their style. Balaguer isn't a bad option by any stretch, I just struggle with the idea of paying $1400+ for a Korean guitar. Which isn't to say that Korea doesn't build killer guitars (or Indonesia, or Japan, or a bunch of countries other than America), but part of the appeal of imports has kind of always been more bang for your buck and when you're talking USA prices for import guitars I'm not super enthused.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Resale value will be whatever it will be. For what I was able to spec, the Balaguer comes in at about $2400. I tried the Bilt customizer and came up at $3774. After doing both, I doubt I would actually like the Bilt more. At that price, I would think I would have been able to spec a lot more than they let me. I also prefer grain over fancy paint, and this gives Balaguer an advantage.

With the Balaguer, I love that they can do an offset with no pickguard. I might have to replace the pickups, but most of us end up doing that with many guitars. I see Balaguer leans toward metal, and I am not a metal guy, so I'm not 100% sure I'd like their neck.

[slowhand84]

Resale value will be whatever it will be. For what I was able to spec, the Balaguer comes in at about $2400. I tried the Bilt customizer and came up at $3774. After doing both, I doubt I would actually like the Bilt more. At that price, I would think I would have been able to spec a lot more than they let me. I also prefer grain over fancy paint, and this gives Balaguer an advantage.

With the Balaguer, I love that they can do an offset with no pickguard. I might have to replace the pickups, but most of us end up doing that with many guitars. I see Balaguer leans toward metal, and I am not a metal guy, so I'm not 100% sure I'd like their neck.

There are a couple at GC used right now…maybe one’s right for ya or maybe you could just get a feel for the neck:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typ ... t=Balaguer

[BatUtilityBelt]

There are a couple at GC used right now…maybe one’s right for ya or maybe you could just get a feel for the neck:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typ ... t=Balaguer

That is a great idea, except that they are righties and I am a lefty. I definitely would try one through GC used otherwise.

I kinda feel like I missed the boat when Rondo was doing Agile customs. If I had my AD-3200MCC back then, I would have known how great their quality could be, and I might have had a few made to my specs.

[slowhand84]

There are a couple at GC used right now…maybe one’s right for ya or maybe you could just get a feel for the neck:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typ ... t=Balaguer

That is a great idea, except that they are righties and I am a lefty. I definitely would try one through GC used otherwise.

I kinda feel like I missed the boat when Rondo was doing Agile customs. If I had my AD-3200MCC back then, I would have known how great their quality could be, and I might have had a few made to my specs.

Yeah it is a shame that Agile customs are no longer around. My custom AS-1000 that I grabbed from GC (for $199 lol) is one of the best guitars I have ever owned.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Butterscotch-Gradient-Background-1080.png
Never played one but I did have some gas for one.

They are based in a town about 45 min from me.
I emailed a question and someone got back to me in less than a day.

Hey, there's one just like that on reverb currently: https://reverb.com/item/45403432-balagu ... VMEALw_wcB

[slowhand84]

Butterscotch-Gradient-Background-1080.png
Never played one but I did have some gas for one.

They are based in a town about 45 min from me.
I emailed a question and someone got back to me in less than a day.

Hey, there's one just like that on reverb currently: https://reverb.com/item/45403432-balagu ... VMEALw_wcB

Gotta love the classic "lowest priced one on Reverb at the moment" selling tactic lol...these were $1000 new.