Questions for Yunzhi guitar players

[IanBart]

Hi all,
Having finally joined after scouring all the great info on here I am now seriously considering pulling the trigger on a Yunzhi Archtop. I've been most impressed with the photos shared elsewhere and what seems great value for money on a hand carved Archtop.
Couple of questions if anyone can help:
Is it possible to order without Pickup/Tuners/Bridge/TailPeice?
Most seem to have issues with these and I would rather add all these and set up by my local
luthier.
Are the burst finishes limited to the ones they do or are they truely custom?

Any help greatly received.



Ian

[clem_gael]

+1
I'm interested too!

[Spook410]

Hi all,
Having finally joined after scouring all the great info on here I am now seriously considering pulling the trigger on a Yunzhi Archtop. I've been most impressed with the photos shared elsewhere and what seems great value for money on a hand carved Archtop.
Couple of questions if anyone can help:
Is it possible to order without Pickup/Tuners/Bridge/TailPeice?

Probably yes. But I would not order it without the tuners/bridge/tailpiece since you want them to properly cut the nut, quality check the frets, and do a setup on the guitar before it leaves the factory.

Most seem to have issues with these and I would rather add all these and set up by my local
luthier.

It's a factory guitar. You may have minor issues although the last one (of three) I received required nothing but getting the bridge in the right place to be perfectly playable out of the box. Still, you have to let the factory do their job and leaving out all the parts to assemble it isn't a very workable plan.

Are the burst finishes limited to the ones they do or are they truely custom?

You can send them a picture and say 'match this'. It won't be perfect but will likely be close.

Any help greatly received.



Ian

They are already inexpensive.. no reason to scrimp further. I did have to replace the tuners on one though I could have just replaced the buttons. The other two were fine. The bridge and tailpiece are fine as well.

[BigMikeinNJ]

I've owned a couple of Yunzhi guitars, a few I bought online and one I special ordered. I would greatly suggest you do NOT order the guitar without hardware. I have a Yunzhi YZ23 (what it was called 2 years ago), essentially a Eastman John Pisano AR880 but with a floating pickup... Great guitar and value, ask for Ms. Lora... The tuners, bridge and tailpiece are the same Eastman uses and are just fine.

Imagine being a builder and tyring to setup a guitar BEFORE you ship it to the customer but they do not want tuners, bridge and tailpiece on it. Excuse me but how the F do you do a righteous setup ?? Pretty hard. Get the guitar with the parts installed, get everything. Play it and enjoy it. If you find fault with the tuners, bridge or tailpiece (I think you won't) then go hunting for parts over here... Easy as pie.

Now if you play her a while and realize the pickup, pots and wiring could use a little love then yeah sure get them replaced later, save some money buying Yunzhi and playing it as shipped for a while, then upgrade the pickup. I've had my YZ23 almost 2 years and still have not changed out the Wilkinson pickup, though I will...

Don't do anything too kookie to Yunzhi when ordering, it's tough enough for them to build your special guitar and doing all that translating from English to Chinese for the builders FOR YOUR BENEFIT is no easy job. And might I also suggest a natural finish. I haven't purchased any new archtops or semis from them lately but I was spec'ing out a fully hollow 335 style and Ms Lora came up with some really jaw dropping burled maple sheets (solid for a carved top and back) that I was gonna use. Money, as usual is a culprit delaying that guitar. But my point is why hide gorgeous wood behind a sunburst finish ?? They have some really fine wood. Ask specifically for the VERY BEST and for the most modest up charge (if any) you'll be very glad you did. When I had the John Pisano I would park it and the Yunzhi side by side (see my avatar) and look back and forth all over that guitar, Yunzhi had nailed EVERY detail down to the T with great skill.

You might see if Ms Lora has anything already built ready to go out the door also.
She's good people and Yunzhi is a great company. If you have a reliable tech in your area later you can modify your Yunzhi with some really good pickups/pots. Even Eastman sort of misses the target with fairly poor pickups (the exception being the John Pisano model).


Good Luck

[IanBart]

Thanks for the feedback guys, makes sense to have tuners etc sorted on delivery as you say for set up purposes, was concerned I guess with some of the wiring reports but I guess all easy fixable.

Will keep you posted and thanks again

Ian

[richpiv]

To the extent that I can, I second the opinions here. I have a 17" non-cutaway acoustic archtop that has been just fine straight out of the box. Bridge, tailpiece and nut are fine - no buzzes, great intonation and nice even tone. While it might benefit from a pro setup, the action is set higher for more forceful strumming so no hurry on that yet.

Mine is their tobacco sunburst, but they did a custom headstock logo and fret markers. I was a little worried how the lettering might turn out when Ms Lora said they did not have the same font as I used in Microsoft Word, but I sent all the designs full-scale so that they could trace. Everything came out great.

For the price I would not hesitate to recommend. In face I am in the thought process of ordering another - I'm thinking seven string, probably 16" with a floater, I'd like a little color so maybe a golden-age, yellowish-orange color.

[Spook410]

So Rich.. got a picture of that 17" non-cutaway? Would love to see it.

[TH]

Hey guys, I want to chime in with an observation here. I repair instruments professionally and I've very recently noted a disturbing trend after the long New England winter here. 3 Yunzhi guitars have come in with fingerboard problems. These range from:
High frets appearing after a complete leveling last summer
Shrinkage resulting in protruding inlay edges (painful and making vibrato impossible without finger catching)
Frets coming loose
Fret ends protruding with razor sharp edges
Neck Twisting

Ask any luthier, one of the most crucial construction considerations is the proper drying (stabilizing) and leveling (contouring) of the fingerboard. It is one of the most time consuming aspects of guitar production. I believe this is one of the areas where the corners have been cut.
Their construction and work is remarkable. Really good, but the use of uncured wood is a time bomb. These three guitars are from different owners, different lots, different models, same symptoms pointing to improperly cured wood.
I have not experienced this from Eastmans. But Yunzhi (and I've seen this previously in a Raines built by Yunzhi) seems to have an ongoing unaddressed problem in this area. The guitar will come in good, but know that problems arising from bad ebony are serious, not easy to see for a while and can be ongoing.
Good luck
David

[Spook410]

As you know, loose frets and fret ends poking out are common with any dried out guitar. Neck twist is not common and not good. Certainly hasn't come up with any of my guitars. A small sample of three to be sure. A larger sample would be owners I've talked to and Google. Seeing lots on bad electronics (they suck at this) but not warped or twisted necks. When Eastman had issues it was all over the place (e.g. the cracking tailpiece). Maybe there aren't enough Yunzhi's out there to get much information for trends. Dunno. I do like their guitars and their customer service and I'm OK with the risk of buying from them directly. I can fix minor stuff and if one blows up on me I'm still ahead.

Raines is another matter. He has a checkered history and has had his problems from what I've read. I understand that his guitars come from several sources and it has taken awhile for him to find decent suppliers. Looking at Raines' website I recognize a few Yunzhi models but many seem to be from somewhere else. The models that do appear to be from Yunzhi are almost twice a factory order. You would think you would get quality inspections and setups for the mark up. I also see where he was selling $500 7 string models in the recent past. Cheap indeed. That would mean he was paying the factory maybe $300 a copy. I'm not surprised they were junk.

[edh]

Sounds like this is climate related? Spook where do you live?

[Spook410]

In the New Mexico high desert. Very low humidity. Go to the tech shop here and you'll see top cracks, seam separations, and poking out frets. Not the best environment for a healthy guitar.

[TH]

In all fairness, I should point out that all of my problems have been for customers who have needed a relatively low action. I did set the instruments up personally when they were new, leveling the frets to absolutely flat and the customers were quite happy. If the action at this point were four turns on the thumbwheel higher, it probably wouldn't be a problem, but that is often the case, these inconsistencies are not issues for people who use a moderate or high action, present an unacceptable amount of buzz for those using lower action or a lighter gauge of string.
New England makes for a challenge too. Humidity changes are drastic. All the more important for the wood to be stabilized before the instrument is built. In building to that timeline, long term drying issues are addressed before the instrument's crucial specs are set not after it's in the customer's hands 9 months or a year down the line.
I didn't mention that I had seen a fingerboard where the shrinkage was so drastic that it separated the binding where the fret prevented the binding from remaining glued to the ebony. I may still have some pictures somewhere if you doubt this, though I have no interest in slandering a company that is providing a service to value minded guitarists.
Just one thing to be aware of.
It is also one reason the jury will still be out for this repairman/builder before I can recommend a Yunzhi to a professional player.
David

Oh yeah, I've communicated with Lora too, in the interest of their making a better product. She has admitted that there have been problems. They do seem very open to my suggestions though.

[Spook410]

I don't doubt anyone. Not even a little. Eastman had their start up problems. I'm sure Yunzhi has had their share even if I can't see much reporting of it online. As for my limited experience, there hasn't been any indication of problems with the wood I've been getting and the fretwork has been just fine. Also, I'm not looking for a 'value' guitar. I'm looking for a serious, quality instrument which is what I've been getting. These aren't in the class of my Goodall or Kinscherff flat tops, but I'll put up with the electronics, minor issues, and rough spots for the sound of a solid wood, hand carved guitar built to my specifications. Especially when I can buy 5 of them for the price of 2 or 1 of anything else. Maybe there are problems ahead, maybe not. But for now, I'm becoming a bigger Yunzhi fan with each new guitar.

[IanBart]

Thanks all for input, after much reading and weighing up pros and cons I am ready to take the plunge on a 17' tea burst model but not getting a reply through Alibaba. Does anybody have a direct contact for Ms Lora Yu?

Cheers

[2bornot2bop]

Thanks all for input, after much reading and weighing up pros and cons I am ready to take the plunge on a 17' tea burst model but not getting a reply through Alibaba. Does anybody have a direct contact for Ms Lora Yu?

Cheers

Lora Yu: [email protected]

that's the email she wrote me from. my man Spook may have a different address.

[IanBart]

Thanks will give that a shot

[Spook410]

Yea.. don't do Alibaba. No idea what happens down that rabbit hole.

You want to talk to Lora or Zoey. If Zoey, tell you you've spoken to Andrew on the jazz forum boards. As a forum I think we have more influence than individual buyers. Her email is [email protected]

Other considerations:
- Use Paypal to pay. 1/2 when the order is placed, 1/2 after you approve the guitar and they are about to ship.
- Be as specific as you can. Neck width, binding, port or no port, neck inlays, custom logo inlay (extra but worth it). charges for upgraded wood
- You will probably have to replace the electronics. Fortunately, that's easy.
- There will likely be other minor issues. It's a pure factory guitar and it won't be perfect. You should be prepared for that.

Hope it works out well for you. Keep us posted.

[IanBart]

Hey thanks again for this valuable info,
The email 2bornot2bop sent was spot on as Lora Yu contacted straight away. Seems all designs can be done and have passed specific requirements with photos etc.
Downside is i cannot place the order for a few weeks as Holiday is due and will get the ball rolling when i get back.
Here is the burst i'm requesting


Spook,
Did i read you requested them to leave the drying process longer? How much longer?

[Spook410]

A couple of weeks extra drying time. One of my three had marks under the bridge where it was fitted while the finish was still too soft. Wanted to avoid that. Even with a few extra weeks you may want to baby it for awhile. Nitro takes a long time to thoroughly dry.

[Woody Sound]

Here is the burst i'm requesting

Awesome color.

WS

[IanBart]

Cheers WS
Hope it turns out similar, Ms Lora confirmed they will pay extra attention during the drying process.
Cant believe the quote I've been given for what I'm asking for...incredible

[richpiv]

Found these on the alibaba website. I think they'll do a great job for you, but I'm not so sure about the volume and tone knobs on this one. Better be specific about them.

[IanBart]

That's not too far off. They have my images so hopefully will go off them rather than just get it close with something they already have

[2bornot2bop]

To my eye this one on their ebay presence is closer to the pic original posted by Ian. Although, to capture the burst fade on the back of the original pic may be a bit problematic...nothing against Yunzhi but I wouldn't anticipate they'd be able to accomplish a master fade as was done on the back of that guitar. Who knows, they could surprise you if you gave them very specific instructions and ask them to match that picture EXACTLY...never hurts to ask!

Promotional Cheap Price Best Hand Made Solid Wood Jazz Guitar for Sale | eBay





Oddly enough, I had almost the exact shade in the one Ian posted above I was going to have made in an 18" inch...strange that I can't find it on their website now...they seem to have changed the website since last year....there were 100's of different archtops on it then.

[IanBart]

Well after the quote I've been given I'd be happy if it comes somewhere near to the last picture. The one I posted was of a Buscarino so chances of matching that quality are pretty slim...but then it's not costing $15000