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Well I have bought 2 guitars from him. I sold the 1st one as it was a bad experience. I decided to give him another chance and ordered another last year. He promised a June delivery. No communication till Christmas and he said my guitar was ready. I told him to wait till spring to ship but he ground shipped it anyway New Jersey to Ca. It arrived heavily checked.
He then said if I pay the shipping he would refinish the guitar. I agreed. I was also adamant that I wanted a high gloss finish and once again ship it back in the spring. He returned it now and this is how it looks now. There is also a sloppy paint brush touch up on the back where he filled a deeper crack.
With all the shipping charges we are talking $7K for this brand new guitar.
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03-17-2026 10:32 PM
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Holy Smoke! That is unacceptable. Looks like two bad experiences now, and a refund is in order. On the other hand, you can look at it as already pre-disastered, so you won't worry about its first scratch. Hard to fathom how he let that out the door for round two.
Phil
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I know some of the Borys fans on this forum will be upset with what I am about to write, but too bad. I tell it like it is, or at least how I see it.
I took delivery of a new Borys for a forum member who was out of the country at the time and I was appalled at the fit, finish and setup work of a new guitar at that price point. I had that guitar in my possession for several months. I thought it was a good sounding and comfortable Gibson ES 175 alternative but frankly, I prefer my Gibson 175s much more.
I had Vinny's first Borys in my possession for about a week (helping him get some refinish work that sadly did not turn out to his satisfaction) and I was once again underwhelmed by the fit and finish of the guitar. After witnessing firsthand Vinny's difficulties (Vinny is a personal friend and we get together from time to time), I would strongly advise against doing business directly with Roger Borys. It is my opinion that he is not a man of his word. OTOH, his guitars are worthy (if you are willing to accept the fit and finish he provides) and if you can buy one without the wait and possible disappointment, go for it
There, I said what I had to and as a retired attorney I am always reminded that truth is an absolute defense to the tort of libel. And everything in my post is 100 percent true.
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I’m sorry you had to go through that Vinny. I think the most frustrating part for me would have been that you gave clear, explicit instructions to wait on shipping and they were ignored twice.
Guess you’ll have to stick to Campellones from now on!
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Amen to that ! Mark Campellone rules
Originally Posted by andrew
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Sorry this happened to you Vinny.The old expression of fool me once applies here,if that had happened to me i would have never bought a new one from him again.I own a Borys 120 which i bought used and the fit and finish is perfect and is one of the best sounding,easiest playing guitars i have owned.I haven't bought a guitar newly made made in a long time,buying used just makes it a less aggravating deal because i don't worry about the guitar being perfect.
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I have to say the tailpiece on that guitar looks...off. Is it supposed to be relic'd or something? And I agree, You cannot beat Mark Campellone's work!
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Yes on the TP.
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Wow such a Bummer for such a respected luthier! I guess it’s buyer beware scenario!
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Clearly, a new Borys is made for a buyer who really doesn’t care much about receiving a cosmetically perfect guitar.
And the lack of communication and/or follow through indicates to me that Borys is set on doing it his way, which wouldn’t even be close to acceptable for me.
I need to make this clear. Vinny is not looking to drag Borys through the mud. He is bringing this to our attention in an effort to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Vinny has demonstrated more patience than I’ll ever have and in my opinion, he is flat out getting screwed here.
I think if Borys decides to ever market his product, he should stress that he makes excellent player quality guitars for the professional guitarist who really doesn’t care about the cosmetic condition of the guitar.
I’m sorry Vinny. I will say, I know you better than anyone here and I know how badly you wanted this to work. You are such a good dude who has done so much for so many people and you don’t deserve this.
Joe D
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Thank you my Brother !
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Wow, that’s very disappointing and sad that someone who was a premier builder has lowered his standards to this degree. Sorry, Vinny.
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Shocking! If a new guitar is sold in that condition that’s flat out bad business practice.
Vinny, you do not deserve to be treated like this. And at minimum, I hope you paid via credit card for you deserve a full and total refund.
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Whoa! A few months ago in another Borys thread Borys B120 you and many other posters loved it and now it's a piece of crap and a scam?? What gives? Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
This is an unfair NGD as from the OP's own admission it plays and sound wonderful but does not look good enough for the price??? He knew that the first time around !! "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me"
S
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Yes it plays and sounds very nice. That is not my issue. I told Roger that I loved the guitar but it was all checked from the cold weather ground ship. I did not ask him for anything. He said send it back, pay the shipping and I will refinish the guitar. I agreed and was adamant not to send it back till the weather warms. Originally Posted by SOLR
It actually looked way better before I sent it back.
I just sent it to a top notch guitar finisher. Stay tuned for a NFD.
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Just to add, I don't have any experience dealing w Roger but I can't imagine he would've lasted this long putting out what's exhibited in Vinny's pics. I'm guessing the checking wasn't there when he shipped it and I'm hoping Vinny's request to delay shipping and it being sent was a mistake. But sloppy workmanship isn't excusable and I'm also hoping he somehow makes this right one way or another. No one wants to see someone's rep damaged.
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Vinny, paisan, I feel for you. It is like seeing someone walk into what you recognise is going to be a disastrous marriage. I suspect that you too will sell this one on after the refinish.
Have you seen PreWar Guitar Company's guitars? All of them are at least minimally checked like this. PWGC sez that "it lets the tone out". A perfect unchecked finish isn't an option. Pre-distressed finishes have not hurt their sales. People buy into this pre-distressed aesthetic. Perhaps Roger Borys, for his own sake, should stick a disclaimer on his guitars, that they come with varying degrees of checking due to the water-based lacquer that he uses and his process. It will help to filter out incompatible clients.
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Jabs - I love your humor.
I guess what VOS means to me is Vinny’s Out $
I am anal about everything. I have the nicest yard in the neighborhood and my Lexus’s shine like a new penny.
i do realize that it’s a character flaw. I was raised dirt poor so that might have caused my desire for nice things.
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Just curious as to how how the guitar itself preforms? Does it feel good and does it sound good? I ask not as an excuse for its exterior flawed finish,but just to know about his guitars in comparison to say similar other builds.
And again sorry for your experience in dealing with this.
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Originally Posted by jim777
That TP has always bothered me. It looks like it was cut out with a hack saw and polished with a rock-ugh!
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It plays and sounds great. His fretboard radius is very flat almost like a classical guitar. No issues with how it plays. I do prefer a 1-11/16 nut over 1-3/4 though many love a wider nut. Originally Posted by jads57
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As I stated in my earlier post, the Borys is a comfortable guitar to hold and play and it sounds great. Fit and finish are not first rate. Originally Posted by jads57
In the 70's, Gibson was dropping the ball with the Norlin builds and the venerable 175s were often heavy and dull sounding. Roger Borys and Jim D'Aquisto created an alternative that had a more acoustic sound than the Norlin 175's.
In the 90's Gibson returned the 175 to its roots and other makers like Sadowsky and Archtop Tribute have offered 175 alternatives. Sadly, D'Aquisto left us too soon, but Roger Borys continued to make his guitars and has had a following. His communication with his customers has long been the subject of concern, but my experience with the two Borys guitars that I have had in my possession combined with my observation of how Roger Borys has dealt with Vinny informs me that I would not do business with Mr. Borys, and I strongly caution others to think long and hard before doing so.
IMO, to do well in business, you need more than a good product, you also need good customer service.
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Don't believe there's much of a market for relic'd archtops - maybe if they cost under $1k. Originally Posted by jim777
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Well depending on the market sometimes products,even ones with less than stellar reputation or components are valued.
A case in example would be Dumble Amps. Some times they were stellar and sometimes not so much. But they are ridiculously expensive due to collectors.
Again not trying to excuse the condition of the Bory’s guitar in ? That’s why asked how does it play vs how fit and finish.
I also like both the 50’s and 90’s version of the Gibson ES-175 for different reasons.
The 90’s are less prone to feedback and hence more versatile for modern loud settings. I do prefer the acoustic response and larger neck shape of the 50’s.
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Right. Make my comments on another Borys guitar the issue, instead of comments about this specific guitar! Originally Posted by SOLR
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