NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

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Darth Sabbathi
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NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Darth Sabbathi »

I've been waiting for this one for while. Finally arrived today.

Dunable Cyclops in metallic dark cherry. Two humbuckers, which kind of defies the name of the guitar. I could quite happily live with just the bridge pickup, but I thought it looked cooler with both.
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This is a custom made guitar. I won't say how much, but obviously it wasn't cheap. And I have to say, while it mostly looks and sounds awesome, I'm a bit disappointed with the details. The main issue is the finish... first off, I was expecting gloss. This is the reference I provided:
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Second, it feels like they skipped a couple of rounds of sanding - on the back at least. The neck feels nice enough, but the back is rough.

Third - and this is the bit that really bothers me - there are a couple of bubbles around the tuners...(one big one on the first string, another less noticeable one on the 5th)
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A couple of other annoyances: I specified B standard setup with 12-56 strings - I got 10s (not a big deal, but annoying to have to restring and tweak the intonation immediately); I asked for aged hardware, and while the pickups look great, the bridge and tailpiece look like they just had a quick scrub with steel wool. I'd have preferred plain nickel...

All in all, it just feels like they rushed it. I think I timed it poorly... Dunable has taken off this year - he seems to be churning out a lot of guitars, and just launched a budget Asian-assembled line. He also told me he had to redo the finish as he wasn't happy with the first try - guess he really didn't want to have to do it a third time (I did say I'd be happy with plain black if the metallic finish was too much hassle...) Finally, I suspect he wanted to get it out the door before Christmas...

So yeah. Like I say, mostly I dig it - the neck profile is perfect, nice weight, great balance. The pickups sound ace (Dunable Grizzlies - PAF style). But I was hoping for a bit more finesse. I'll give it a week or so before giving feedback. :|

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by mr_sooty »

It does look super cool though, nice colour. But yeah you'd expect better from a custom made guitar right?

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by RobRoyMcCoy »

Bro send it back or at least tell them how you feel! That stuff will annoy you for ever.
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by MikeC »

RobRoyMcCoy wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:47 pm Bro send it back or at least tell them how you feel! That stuff will annoy you for ever.
Yes - asap before there's too much water under the bridge. Poor for an expensive custom guitar. I do like the look of it though - SG'ish to my eye.
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by The Scarecrow »

RobRoyMcCoy wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:47 pm Bro send it back or at least tell them how you feel! That stuff will annoy you for ever.
^This. You might think you can live with with it, but even minor resentment grows over time,. I think most people have this ingrained feeling of not wanting to rock the boat to a service provider for fear of delaying the process or upsetting the vendor.

You paid the cash, which I presume was a fair amount of $. You are entitled o get EXACTLY what you paid for. In this case, I'd personally be asking for a resolve, or partial refund, but YMMV.

Regardless, that's a nice silhouette and overall look - like the best hybrid of a Gretch, Airline and SG.
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Mini Forklift »

Love the look of that. However with the points you raised and the money you’ve paid, I’d definitely look to send it back. It’s not like it’s just one small thing, there’s a number of issues which will just continue to annoy the crap out of you. You’ll be sighing each time you open the case

I’m sure if you get onto it pretty quickly they’ll sort it. Fingers crossed for you as that’s one hot looking guitar

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Starfire »

That's a great looking design, which is all the more reason to want it to be perfect, I think. Likely to be an expensive faff to send back to the US(?), so some sort of partial refund might be the best option?

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by GrantB »

Dig the look. Agree with the team. That bubble should not be there.
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Michael »

+1 to sending it back/some kind of solution. You pay custom money, that shit better be 100%.

Pretty awesome guitar though.

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by godgrinder »

Darth Sabbathi wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:34 pmI did say I'd be happy with plain black if the metallic finish was too much hassle...
Most of his guitars I've seen looked like some kind of oil/stain finish, so it probably was too much for him indeed.
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Jay »

Bummer, are those bubbles solid or is there air underneath? Reading their FAQs, they don't seem to have a return policy but rather a fix it thing, produce receipt and they will pay for it. So I guess, ask him all the finish details and get quotes in NZ to fix it.

If they are air bubbles, the big one can be tackled by removing the tuner and slice the bubble open where it hits the tuner. Inject some glue that can be cleaned up from the finish and then press it down for a while. If the finish is hard, it will most likely crack, but then you have just introduced some relicing...
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

Looks tasty
My harvester was a bit rough n ready and at first glance I was a bit miffed about the the final fit and finish but that faded after I spilt my first beer on it and kicked it round on stage a few times.
Now I just look at it as a testiment to its handmadeness

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by Darth Sabbathi »

Update:

I sent Sacha Dunable an email explaining my concerns. He got back almost immediately and has offered to cover the cost to ship it back and fix or replace it.

So there you go. It's the putting right the counts.

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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by jeremyb »

Darth Sabbathi wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:03 pm Update:

I sent Sacha Dunable an email explaining my concerns. He got back almost immediately and has offered to cover the cost to ship it back and fix or replace it.

So there you go. It's the putting right the counts.
Brilliant outcome! :thumbup:
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Re: NGD: Two eyed Cyclops

Post by MikeC »

Darth Sabbathi wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:03 pm Update:

I sent Sacha Dunable an email explaining my concerns. He got back almost immediately and has offered to cover the cost to ship it back and fix or replace it.

So there you go. It's the putting right the counts.
Yep, the attitude of "my bad, I'll put it right" is what counts. I wonder how it slipped through though?
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