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JB108- thanks for sharing you experience and do enjoy your new guitar.
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12-15-2017 08:43 AM
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JB108, That's a great story. It's pleasing to read and knowing that it worked out positive. Congratulations on the new guitar and play a lot of great music with it. Happy Holidays and New Guitar Day!
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What a beautiful instrument! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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What exactly was wrong with the electronics?
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It's common knowledge for any guitar produced in China that electronics are not of the highest grade. The hardest part to create is the guitar itself...everything else is easily upgraded to a western standard. Which is why many, like myself, ordered our guitars without electronics...why create the extra freight?
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
It's common knowledge for any guitar produced in China that electronics are not of the highest grade. The hardest part to create is the guitar itself...everything else is easily upgraded to a western standard. Which is why many, like myself, ordered our guitars without electronics...why create the extra freight?
If anyone considering going this route ut would behoove the to enquire or SEARCH the forums here or at ICW where I was talking about this eight years ago. What Greg described IS common knowledge. The overhead for them to import American brand pickups, pots, caps and such is too expensive. So they go with cheap parts, that keeps their price down - and any savvy buyer has his tech setup the new arrival and install his custom electronics choices, thus building his Dream Guitar.
My first experience with Ms Lora was buying a Yunzhi John Pisano copy (the AR880) but with a floating pickup. Once I got it I had my tech install a Bartolini 5J and do a thorough workover of her (the guitar). It's still with me and an amazing piece. I bought a Eastman AR880 while waiting for Yunzhi to finish the build and had them side by side a long time. I much preferred the sound of the Yunhi with the floating pickup.
Big
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Happy New Guitar Day! Hope you have many more. Welcome to the forum you'll find that you can really learn a lot from the people here.
That's a really nice guitar, JB. The color is spectacular and I'm happy that you found a luthier to help you get it into shape. I hope you enjoy playing it for many years to come.
Tony D.
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Wow! What a beautiful guitar! So, this is a ‘Yunzhi’ via Ms. Lora? Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
If anyone considering going this route ut would behoove the to enquire or SEARCH the forums here or at ICW where I was talking about this eight years ago. What Greg described IS common knowledge. The overhead for them to import American brand pickups, pots, caps and such is too expensive. So they go with cheap parts, that keeps their price down - and any savvy buyer has his tech setup the new arrival and install his custom electronics choices, thus building his Dream Guitar.
My first experience with Ms Lora was buying a Yunzhi John Pisano copy (the AR880) but with a floating pickup. Once I got it I had my tech install a Bartolini 5J and do a thorough workover of her (the guitar). It's still with me and an amazing piece. I bought a Eastman AR880 while waiting for Yunzhi to finish the build and had them side by side a long time. I much preferred the sound of the Yunhi with the floating pickup.
Big
I currently have an order open for a custom build at Yolanda Team with Ms. Lora. A somewhat similar model and specifications like my ‘Musoo/Yunzhi’ one.
Yes, i already anticipated on having all electronics, pickups and wiring etc. to be replaced upon arrival of the guitar and have my guitar tech guy do all the work that needs to be done to finish the guitar correctly.
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a beauty! Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Mr Wu for sure builds a fine archtop!
i have currently a ‘Mr. Wu’ guitar in order via Yolanda-team.
i can’t wait to see the result.
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She's pretty!!!
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Welcome JB108, and your English is fine, better than some born in the U.S :-)
Let me say you are not alone, many here as you said went through the same issues on a custom import knowing they would have to invest a bit more time and money to get it right. The important thing is that you CAN make it right. Also bear in mind that LOTS of players regularly buy less expensive gits from Ibanez, Peerless, Epiphone etc. and do exactly what you did. It's a great way to get into a git made just to your needs "One piece at a time" to quote a Johnny Cash song without a big outlay upfront.
Many here CAN afford what they want and yet they STILL bought Yunzhi, or Wu and even other models to tinker with so, you're in good company.
I get the "buy better stuff" mentality but it applies to folks who can afford it or are willing to sacrifice other things for the better stuff. Some can't afford a "head stock logo tax", and some forget that not everyone can walk in another man's financial shoes.
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I want to offer my Yunzhi experiences here.
I've purchased about 14 custom made Chinese guitars in the last 3-4 years. Most were ply instruments of various designs. However, 3 are crafted from solid woods by Yunzhi to my specs. Attached is a photo of this trio of ladies. My comments here relate to only the Yunzhi's.
I said this before and a lot of you agreed:
If building a guitar takes 10 steps to complete, Yunzhi really does an excellent job on the first 8 of those 10 steps. However, they totally butcher the last 2 steps.
Each Yunzhi I purchased was fudamentally a well-crafted instrument. However, the finish work and quality control on each was horrible to the point that many of their buyers (as evidenced by the posts in these forums) get frustrated. Me included.
I do my own guitar work. When I received each instrument, I would put a lot of work/luv into each one (I'm slow). Each guitar required saddle and floating bridge work (sanding the floating bridge to match the top, sanding the bridge enough to lower the action to an acceptable level). I did sanding on all unfinished woods to reduce sharp edges. I added an extra bracket to support the pickguards (thanks Big Mike for the idea). Fretwork and playing action of each instrument required lots of fret leveling. I had to do filing to the string slots on the nuts and saddles so the actions are even height. The finish of each guitar had to be carefully rubbed out to remove the minute scratches put into the guitar after the finish was sprayed on. There's more...
Certainly, the worst work done by Yunzhi that I saw was to the electronics. Whoever was doing the soldering should be arrested. Hence, I would wire my own from scratch using quality components, including adding coil taps, a handy addition.
But what are the results?
I gig a lot. Now, I have these three professional quality custom made archtop guitars that I love to make music on. I'm spoiled! My audiences also enjoy asking about the guitars. Each instrument has an entirely different playing personality and sound. Depending on the gig and my mood, I get to pick and choose what I want! One instrument tends to lend itself to solo performances; one to ensemble work; and the last one to fusion, but they are all interchangeable.
This is GREAT you guys! And... I still have money in the bank!
My 1961 Gibson ES 175 is semi-retired and my 1978 Yamaha AE 2000 is jealous. Considering the minimal cash I have in the three Yunzhi instruments, its a great way to go! However, I know that I need to knock on the door of Lora and Mr. Wu's next (I've already designed the next custom purchase). Its a Bucket List thing.
If you want to see/hear some videos of me working out on the Yunzhi's, go to my webpage and click on "videos." It will give you an idea. Greg Ernst Music | Official Website of Greg Ernst Music
You be the judge. Decide if one of these hand-made custom instruments from China is for you.
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Kind of third world sorta shocking. You would think they would get better, but apparently not. Worst soldering you've ever seen. Apparently haphazard, untested connections to random connection points. Fall apart thumbwheels. And special custom low pad, high pad, mid-grunge pickups. You may think I'm exaggerating but not really. While you get bad pots when you get a used Washburn J6 requiring a quick swap to CTS, with Yunzhi/Wu you take it off and throw it away. No kidding. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Of course this has been well known for years. So you either order acoustic or mail them the electronics you want installed but don't have them solder it.
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Hey Greg, nice Music Man back there! I had the same amp a long time ago. Originally Posted by GregErnstMusic
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Spook410 -- Yeah, REALLY bad soldering. So bad that on the 3rd guitar I had Yunzhi build (the double pickup model in the pic) I pre-built the electronics myself and shipped them to Yunzhi.
Woody Sound -- thanks for the compliment on my old MusicMan RD 65. I've had it since the 80's. LOVE the hybrid sound but hate lifting and toting it. Today, I'm going to be testing what I hope is its replacement, a small custom PTP tube amp I commissioned to be built by Jerry at Kroker Amps in Salem Oregon. I hope it sounds as good.
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Salem ... That be 12miles from here ... hmmm. Originally Posted by GregErnstMusic
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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Congratulations! Welcome to the Wu guitar team! Originally Posted by JB108
New guitar: the black one on the right.
So, the one on the left was made by Musoo/Yunzhi and the one on the right is made by Yolanda Team/Mr. Wu.
The "Wu" is my second China made custom guitar, an 18" body, 65mm (2.5") depth. The "Wu" has a slightly slim model f-holes. The frets are amazing and i think with this guitar it needs VERY little settings work. I received the guitar today, ordered it in July i think. I will swap the electronics buttons, switch and pickups and have the wiring replaced. And connect a ground-wire to the tailpiece.
Everything else looks and works perfect. The neck is very straight and cosmetically everything is perfect.
Attachment 50290Attachment 50291
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First time.
What do you have to say about the byrdland copy .I'm left handed. I am new at this but I'm going to buy one. Can you give me your input on this guitar?
Thanks
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Since you're asking about a lefty Byrdland, I'm assuming that you're considering one from either DHGate or ebay. I'm happen to be on here looking for info on Yunzhi guitars, and ran across your question. Coincidentally, I ordered the lefty Byrdland(Florentine cutaway) from Starshine on ebay in Dec 2017. My request for the lefty was based on their offering of a right handed Byrdland model that had some 'enhanced' cosmetics that included burled top, some sort of shell binding and a cheap looking red pickguard. I sent them an image of a traditional lefty Byrdland with a sunburst finish, w-b-w-b-w binding, and I also asked them to make the laminated pickguard in black instead of red. The cost with the case and shipping was about $400, and it arrived in April 2018. Since then I've noticed a proliferation of traditional looking lefty Byrdlands on ebay and DHGate, so it seems I ordered the first one and they ran with my suggestion.
Anyhow, the guitar is good quality as far as playability and appearance. As would be expected, and as others here have stated, the electronics aren't top rate. That being said, overall I'm satisfied with the purchase. One thing first-don't buy one that offers a case. I ordered one when I ordered the guitar, assuming they would ship the guitar in the case for added protection. As it turned out the guitar came first - and without the case. When I notified them, they explained that they had forgotten about the case, and a couple weeks later the case arrived - but it was a dreadnought case and was too small for the guitar. It wasn't a huge deal, as I had a dreadnought that needed a case anyhow. I ended up buying a 17" Gretsch semi-hollow type case locally.
Other things to know-the guitar isn't a 'true' Byrdland, in that it has the longer scale neck. To me, that's a good thing, but a purist would disagree. As mentioned in reference to the ill-fitting case-the guitar is 17", so that's correct for the Byrdland. And it is the proper hollow body, rather than semi-hollow body. The cosmetics are adequate, but a bit cheap. Of course, those can be replaced, and I did a little of that. I replaced the tailpiece with a Byrdland type I found on ebay(w/o the "Byrdland" logo-although they exist too, but quite a bit more $), as well as the pickguard bracket, and a bridge with another one that had the MOTS inlays-as well as a used saddle that I found that had the old nylon inserts-I just wanted that because my old 335 back in the day had them. Replacing the nut would be another consideration. The tuners are knock-off Grover types, but seem to work fine. I had thought I'd replace those with some new Kluson wafflebacks but haven't bothered. In my case, the threshold for making the guitar look 'authentic' has been achieved ;-).
Anyhow, most of that is just cosmetic, and I only mention it because, as a fellow lefty, I can appreciate how you must feel in finding something as rare as a Byrdland in a lefty version. We lefties don't have too many options, so I went a little crazy on the cosmetic stuff. All that being said, if you're even a little handy and can do the minimal required set-up work yourself, you can make a very close copy of a Byrdland for not a lot of dough(another $135 in my case), but keep in mind-it's just a copy, and you're going to end up keeping it. It's quite playable, and I'd say go for it, but again - pass on ordering the case to go with it. I don't think it's a good idea, as I'm not even sure they have one that fits.
On the other hand, you can pick up a new, comparable Asian made lefty 335 type instrument for about the same price. If you look around for a used 335 type semi-hollow body, you can probably find a somewhat better quality brand named instrument with upgraded pick-ups and a case, for about what I paid. Ibanez comes to mind. I hope this helps you in making your decision.
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I bought a Yunzhi and since I live in Thailand it was easy as far as shipping and communication. They were fine to work with. I wanted an L5 Wes style. Single pickup but no pick guard. I asked them to leave out the electronics and pickup and send just the guitar set up with no wiring etc. When I got it I installed a Lollar CC and did proper wiring with good components. The guitar cost $900 plus about $300 and my time. I touched up the frets and did a set up to my taste. New Tomastic strings and I was good to go. It plays and sounds great. Bottom line, I would love a Gibson Wes L5 but there's a big difference between $6000 and $1200. I enjoy the process as well. If it plays well and you enjoy playing it, it's a great guitar. Probably not good for resale but I bought it to play, not sell.
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I have recently received and order from Yunzhi.
I paid $1500 for a handmade guitar. The amount of imperfections and poor attention to detail is absolutely despicable.
In addition to the rear pickup being misplace according to CAD drawings, the tail piece is wrong. I was told I needed to purchase another one. There are finish flaws, and the neck angle is incorrect. The guitar is playable, but for $1500 it should be perfect.
I pointed out the mistakes before they shipped the guitar and they assured me it was ok.
She did say sorry.
Please do not support this company, or Musoo.
She charged me double, and at one point even threatened to not send my guitar.
I ordered 5 pieces from her! what an idiot I am!
Musoo made copies of my design with another manufacturer.
So please, don't support any of these companies. They don't care about you or your instrument.Last edited by jfilipow; 12-25-2019 at 06:04 PM. Reason: doxing
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Filipo
why don’t you tell us what you really think.
If you spent any time researching you would have realized that once received you’ll need to have your tech iron out any issues, usually not a big deal.
Show us some pictures of your design and the finished product, front, back, neck and side shots. There are many forum members here who’ve ordered from Yunzhi, Mr Wu, worked with the highly esteemed Miss Lora that we’d like some proof to back up your harsh criticism.
We’re waiting...
bybthe way, welcome to the forum
Big
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Filipo.. bit confused. You sent CAD drawings to Yunzhi to have 5 guitars built? Same design? What basic parameters (based on their current designs) were changed? Did you have a contract with them based on the overall design of what you submitted and did they breach that contract? And who is 'she'? If you mean Ms Lora, I simply don't find your claim of malfeasance on the financials credible. Ms Lora is an honest and honorable business partner and many of us have worked with her for years.
You only have one post here. There is a lot of experience with Yunzhi in this forum. You'll need to back up your assertions.
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If you expect perfection for $1500, you had better not consider Gibsons, of any model.
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Allow me get together a full list including pictures now I am aware this thread is being read.
I absolutely will provide full details on these claims.
my claims maybe harsh, however I was completely clear of what I wanted, and pointed out the mistakes as I saw them, being assured they were fine.
small details to iron out is not the same thing is an improperly routed pickup, poor finish work, and incorrect parts.
thanks for the replyLast edited by jfilipow; 12-26-2019 at 05:56 AM.
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