How many of you...

[AK_NorPine]

.....are waiting for your build to start?


HI there, I was wondering how many of you are out there who have got your deposit in before the Jan 1 2008 cut off for new orders? Are you going crazy with anticipation for your build to commence? Do you find yourself checking you email like every other hour or waiting for the phone to ring hoping it'll be Jason or Elizabeth saying "IT IS NOW TIME TO START YOUR GUITAR". So, I'm just trying to pass some time, waiting for my name to be mentioned in a progress report. I guess I'll just go practice some more.

Cheers,
Skip

[bsic]

It may be a while Skip! I had placed my order in May last year, and Jason has just started wood prep for mine.

I think once he starts the build it moves rather quickly, and he has put some things in place to make the process more efficient since i have ordered. He's short on people, and is also making "ready to ship" guitars in addition to custom orders. Plus some people ahead of you keep changing their minds and that delays your order too :(

All part of the custom build process ;)

[Schroeder]

Hey Guys,
I am going to jump in here before it gets ugly! ;) I know there are quite a few of you who have not selected all of your wood yet. We are working through the list in order as best we can. Because of the backlog, there will be a wait for me to start many of your builds as well.

Until now, we have always referred to the guitars in the shop by the name of the client. I always hated to refer to any custom as #0002 or #0006 or whatever it happened to be. Even the RTS guitars always have a name "Blood Drip," "Zerofret," etc. We are getting to the point, however, where I feel a need to post the serial numbers to show you guys where you stand in the lineup. Hopefully it will help everyone understand how busy we are at Schroeder Guitars.

Beginning in the middle of November 2007 we began taking orders at a rate of 2-3 per week which is a rate that tripled our output. Overwhelmed and anticipating the trend to continue, I decided that the only path forward would be to freeze new orders. We were spending so much time with cost estimates, answering emails from interested buyers, and taking pictures of wood for new guitars that I barely had time to build. As a result, the production of the existing backorder also slowed. This is the reason that I decided to freeze new orders. It is also the reason that by the end of December we were quoting a build time of 12-15 months (barring major spec changes). It is simply impossible to start 30 guitars at the same time. I feel confident that this is under control with the order freeze and we can get back to building! And I am very grateful to all of you for trusting me to build your guitar and for tolerating the chaos during these changes.

I know that we stopped at serial number #0048 with the latest orders that came in before the freeze. I will post the serial numbers and general specs (Singlecut, Chopper, etc.) later tonight. I can email your serial number to you upon request.

I will be going back to the weekly production schedule to keep you guys up to date of what we are working on for a given week. Trust me, it weighs on me heavily to know that you are checking your email and hoping for a progress thread that shows your body cutout or your neck inlay complete. Please hang in there while we wrap up the most recent orders and move forward with making progress on the guitars. We anticipated that the order freeze would not give us a reprieve until about February due to the time it takes to get the newer clients settled. We should have a much better handle on progress by then.

I think this is going to be a great year for Schroeder Guitars. I hope you all look back on this in a few years and are stoked that you were the guys who got in early! We have big plans! I really hope that you feel it is worth the wait. I have a few references of guys who think it was worth it for anyone wondering!!! :D

Thanks guys!

Jason

PS - to clarify too, the RTS guitars are about 75% built by Mitchell (and now Marcus too), both of whom are great guitar builders who are graduates of Roberto Venn School of Luthiery. I come in on RTSs and do critical steps, neck fit and carve, top carve, finish work, some detail stuff. But that is why Mitchell has been able to stay and work! It gives some stability to cashflow also when custom builds get delayed (spec changes, etc.). This is a tricky business! We are planning on doing more RTSs like the Shorthorn also to provide a reasonably priced alternative to the custom line and also for guys who simply do want to wait for a custom guitar.

[guitarnyc]

It is worth the wait....not sure if I'm one of the guys on the reference list but I thought I'd chime in...I waited 16 months for my guitar and once I had it I completely forgot how long it took to get it to me and haven't ever thought about it since...I just pulled up the first emails I sent to Jason back in 7/05 about my order and I got my guitar on 1/07....lots of stuff was going on since I was one of the first orders but it was worth every month !

Thanks Jason !

[goof1073]

Tommy...let's not forgot that the original batch of orders (yours, Stu's, etc.) where pushed out as Jason built an entirely new shop to house his then sprouting business.

While I'm one of the Custom Builds that are currently worked on I can speak to the quality of Jason's work and how one of guitars sound / play since I was able to purchase RTS #3 / the TigerBurst Chopper. It's a great instrument and even though it was an RTS Jason was willing to make small modifications to it before he shipped it out. J really wants each of his customers to be happy...so hang in there folks and I'm sure that he will build you the guitar that you envisioned and that you will be happy with it!

[guitarnyc]

Tommy...let's not forgot that the original batch of orders (yours, Stu's, etc.) where pushed out as Jason built an entirely new shop to house his then sprouting business.

Still doesn't change how long I waited...just wanted to let all the "newer" guys that us "older" guys went through the same waiting period...that's all I was saying...not complaining at all but just wanted everyone to know that we're all in the same boat and we should all be excited about what jason is doing regardless of how long it takes to get our custom guitar :D:D

[buickrob]

Wow, I'm real glad I put my order in during September, beat the rush and the freeze :D

[AK_NorPine]

I totally understand what is going on and I hope my post was not misinterpreted as whining. I am so totally psyched as I've never done a custom build before. I just wanted to start a thread and get some chatter going between the newer guys and get some of the older guys to share some of thier stories(Are there any Ladies here?). Maybe get some discussions going on new gutiar specs and stuff like that.

Best to all of you from butt ass cold Alaska!
Skip

[vangit]

I totally understand what is going on and I hope my post was not misinterpreted as whining. I am so totally psyched as I've never done a custom build before. I just wanted to start a thread and get some chatter going between the newer guys and get some of the older guys to share some of thier stories(Are there any Ladies here?). Maybe get some discussions going on new gutiar specs and stuff like that.

Best to all of you from butt ass cold Alaska!
Skip

Nicely said Skip. And you should be excited. Having a custom guitar made is a fantastic experience we are all very fortunate to be part of.

I guess I was one of the oldest of the "old timers " (Bryan's a fossil). I believe I started e-mailing\talking with Jason back in April 2005. You know early PRS guitars have become known as "pre-factory"? My Schroeder started as one of the "DRT" builds (dinging room table ):)

Many newer guys have e-mailed me asking about my experiece with Jason and if I have any advice. The most important thing I tell everybody is don't over think it, leave as much as you can to Jason. The biggest roadblock in your build time is spec changes. There's an old proverb that goes something like, "Don't change your direction and your will get to your destination". I too have a custom on order now. I told Jason I want to select my neck carve, my bridge and the family of color. I gave him my budget and said "The rest is up to you". I honestly don't even know for sure what body style mine is going to be? I also never picked wood. I told Jason what vibe I'm going for, likes and dislikes about various guitars and I'm leaving it up to him. Ballsie move? Yeah I guess. But when I see the pics in these two threads which were done only from Jasons mind, I know I made the right choice:
http://www.schroederguitars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1076
http://www.schroederguitars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1133

Ya know, part of our cost is in the time Jason spends in communicating with us. So by staying out of his hair, hopefully Jason can devote more time to my build and sneek some of his extra touches in (hint,hint :))

Not only have I been one of the early builds, but I have been active on the forum since the beggining. So I have seen\followed every build. So yes, I have seen where someone will post they selected their wood and their progress thread doesn't move for months. Then when Jason startes their build the progress moves along very quickly. So don't expect to see a little here-and-there each month. You'll see quite a bit when you are in the que.

So sorry, can't discuss my specs. I don't know them :).

[Elizabeth]

Hey guys!
For anyone interested, the list of serial numbers is posted in this thread:

http://www.schroederguitars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10871#post10871post10871

Enjoy!!

[r9player]

well mine will get started at some time ... he says he's up to #25 with some stuff and I'm #27 I saw that the top was already cut, so that is a nice headstart :)
Not worried though.

Also um (plug) if you want a Schroeder now, I have Roberto up for sale. it is #0015 (its in the for sale now area)

[t_hamill]

I think I may have been one of those naughty guys guilty of changing some specs and slowing the rest of you up so apologies. However, I'd have to say to everyone that you shouldn't worry too much. Once things get moving you'll be amazed at how quickly that progress occurs during the woodworking phase.

One of the most important things I'd say that separated Schroeder guitars from a lot of builders is the sheer amount of input you get into making sure every aspect is tailored to you individually. Inevitably this will lead to longer waits but I think thats what makes each guitar so special, what gives it an individual edge. I think that if things ever got to the stage of mass produced standard models that a lot of soul may be lost (not to say that there isn't a place for some standard RTS models ala Thorn junior 90 to keep cash flow moving though).

So hold tight guys and remember that if it takes longer it's because you're going to have something even more special at the end of it!