Awesome service from USACG and Taipan Tone

[PeterUK]

The idea of putting supporting vendor links at the top of the page has proved to be very cost!

I was working from home and taking part in a very dull conference call, so to ease the boredom, I logged onto the TDPRI and found myself lured by the USA Custom Guitar logo at the top of the page.

I was browsing thorough the web specials and immediately fell in love with a Thinline body, so - still on the conference call - I e-mailed Tommy and within hours the deal was done and I was the proud "owner" of the fabulous Thinline body.

I've also been working with Vincent at Taipan Tone on securing a Jacoby-style Tonebar, and it turns out that USACG will be offering the Taipan Tone Tonebar route as an option for their bodies.

The body is ready and routed, so Vincent is going to send the Taipan Tone parts - the Tonebar, a bridge and I'm probably going to order a neckplate too; Vincent has been great to work with as I've changed my order several times and I've not told him about the neckplate yet! - to USACG and they'll ship the whole thing to me.

When you've got two companies like this working together, then the outcomes will almost certainly be a superb guitar.

I can't wait!

Peter

[Ronkirn]

Kudos indeed to Tommy and Vince...

Sometimes it stumps me when I see guys asking about some unknown, obscure supplier when there are available the likes of USACG and Taipan Tone...

With an unmitigated willingness to accommodate your desires and impeccable quality, to wander off into the wilderness of unknown suppliers to save a few bux strikes me as a fool’s quest.

With Tommy and Vince, it doesn’t get any better.

Ron Kirn

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

Kudos indeed to Tommy and Vince...

Sometimes it stumps me when I see guys asking about some unknown, obscure supplier when there are available the likes of USACG and Taipan Tone...

With an unmitigated willingness to accommodate your desires and impeccable quality, to wander off into the wilderness of unknown suppliers to save a few bux strikes me as a fool’s quest.

With Tommy and Vince, it doesn’t get any better.

Ron Kirn

Ron, I have a agree wholeheartedly. This is my third deal with Tommy and my second with Vince - although if I keep changing my order with him, he might insist it being my last last.

I'm astonished by the great value and service and wouldn't hesitate to recommend either company. Indeed, I already did!

Peter

[PITT]

And it's also good to hear about great customer experiences rather than the poor!

[edwardjeffrey]

Tommy is a stand up guy.I've gotten 2 bodies from him,and they are exactly what I asked for.He always returns e-mails and phone calls.I'd advise anyone to try him first.

[Michael Murphy]

I'll second those emotions!

It just so happens I'm in the middle of a project Esquire build. Tommy called me last week and said the body was done and waiting me. (I live about 50 or so miles north of his shop.)

I'm doing some unusual mods on this build, including the Jacoby Tone Bar. In fact, my guitar is the first one Tommy has made with that mod, and is the reason Tommy got the routing template from Vince so he could offer it as an option.

Like you, Vince sent my Tone Bar to Tommy directly with the template so he could do the routing (and it's a great job, by the way- very clean and exact).

I have purchased several bodies from Tommy starting a few years ago when I lived in Texas. It's a treat to be able to just drive down to his shop now whenever I want/need to. You won't find a better person to work with anywhere, either from a personal or professional standpoint.

Vince has also gone above and beyond for me. I called him yesterday to check on an ETA for a bridge he's doing for me. He was a little shocked because he shipped it on the 12th of July, nearly a month ago. He said he sent it via USPS (which he doesn't, usually), and that he had another one that didn't make delivery going to the UK the same way. He's shipping me another one along with my neck plate today through UPS with signature required at no charge, no questions asked. I'm hoping the post office finally gets their stuff together and delivers the original one so I can send it back to Vince, who has made several phone calls to me to see that everything is working out right on my order. WAY above the norm for customer service these days.

And the workmanship on that Tonebar is superb. It's a thing of beauty...

I can't wait to get this guitar completed, and I'm forever grateful to Tommy and Vince for their efforts (not to mention Paul and his dedication to running this page so that I would have resources that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago...).


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by Michael Murphy

he had another one that didn't make delivery going to the UK the same way.

Hah! That would be mine. Small world ain't it?

I've got nothing but good things say about Vince as well. My order's been a long time coming because to start with we were waiting for an Allparts neck I ordered through him to come into stock. It never did, and I cancelled that part of the order without any hassle after a couple of months of waiting. (All the while he'd been in regular contact with Allparts to try and find out what they were up to)
There've been a couple of other unforseen hiccups, but all the communication and service so far has been top notch - He really seems the kind of guy for whom customer satisfaction is his main goal, rather than an afterthought, or byproduct of making money.

Come to think of it, I've not heard a bad word said about him. Or USACG for that matter. Now there's an advert. We're lucky people to have stumbled on this treasure trove right on our virtual doorstep.

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Michael Murphy

I'll second those emotions!

It just so happens I'm in the middle of a project Esquire build. Tommy called me last week and said the body was done and waiting me. (I live about 50 or so miles north of his shop.)

I'm doing some unusual mods on this build, including the Jacoby Tone Bar. In fact, my guitar is the first one Tommy has made with that mod, and is the reason Tommy got the routing template from Vince so he could offer it as an option.

Like you, Vince sent my Tone Bar to Tommy directly with the template so he could do the routing (and it's a great job, by the way- very clean and exact).

I have purchased several bodies from Tommy starting a few years ago when I lived in Texas. It's a treat to be able to just drive down to his shop now whenever I want/need to. You won't find a better person to work with anywhere, either from a personal or professional standpoint.

Vince has also gone above and beyond for me. I called him yesterday to check on an ETA for a bridge he's doing for me. He was a little shocked because he shipped it on the 12th of July, nearly a month ago. He said he sent it via USPS (which he doesn't, usually), and that he had another one that didn't make delivery going to the UK the same way. He's shipping me another one along with my neck plate today through UPS with signature required at no charge, no questions asked. I'm hoping the post office finally gets their stuff together and delivers the original one so I can send it back to Vince, who has made several phone calls to me to see that everything is working out right on my order. WAY above the norm for customer service these days.

And the workmanship on that Tonebar is superb. It's a thing of beauty...

I can't wait to get this guitar completed, and I'm forever grateful to Tommy and Vince for their efforts (not to mention Paul and his dedication to running this page so that I would have resources that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago...).


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

Oh man, my little heart is beating faster now! These guys are great people and when you hear your words right back, you feel very reassured that you've done the right thing.

Have you got a photograph of the Tonebar fitted?

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Hah! That would be mine. Small world ain't it?

I've got nothing but good things say about Vince as well. My order's been a long time coming because to start with we were waiting for an Allparts neck I ordered through him to come into stock. It never did, and I cancelled that part of the order without any hassle after a couple of months of waiting. (All the while he'd been in regular contact with Allparts to try and find out what they were up to)
There've been a couple of other unforseen hiccups, but all the communication and service so far has been top notch - He really seems the kind of guy for whom customer satisfaction is his main goal, rather than an afterthought, or byproduct of making money.

Come to think of it, I've not heard a bad word said about him. Or USACG for that matter. Now there's an advert. We're lucky people to have stumbled on this treasure trove right on our virtual doorstep.

Don't you hate that when the courier screws up. To be fair, I prefer USPS as they never failed to deliver to our Royal Mail who have delivered to me.

Hope it works out.

Peter

[woodman]

i used both these fine vendors on my last build and the results were superb.

i was lucky enough to be a "guinea pig" as Vince developed his line ... tried all three of the tone bars (brass was the keeper for me) and made before-and-after recordings for comparison. also used his beefy neck plate (countersunk), and he made me a custom control plate with the switch in the middle.

when i asked Tommy if he could make me a fretboard from some purpleheart i'd found, he said don't go to all that fuss, he could make one with some purpleheart he had "laying around" (although it's not part of their standard line) ... and he sold it to me at the price of a maple board!

so yeah, two thumbs up for both these guys!

[Michael Murphy]

Originally Posted by PeterUK

Have you got a photograph of the Tonebar fitted?

Here's the top view and the route:


The bottom side:


And here's how it will look installed:


As you probably know, the four bridge mount screws (6-32 x 1.5") thread all the way through the body directly into the tone bar, making for a very secure, solid coupling between the block and the bridge.

Nice little sustain sammich with the body. Between that and the neck inserts I'm gonna use, I expect it will just start singing if I look at it hard...


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Michael Murphy

Between that and the neck inserts I'm gonna use, I expect it will just start singing if I look at it hard...

Thank you Michael. The whole thing makes perfect sense to me. And like you, I'll be using the neck inserts too.

Once again, thank you for the pictures.

Peter

[boris bubbanov]

Those are great images, Michael!

I need to go back and re-photograph the Taipantone G + L tone bars I have on my ASAT Classics, to show the attention to detail.

I'm glad Tommy has decided to offer the Jacoby style routing - of course I already have a big number of USACG bodies - I'll be doing any tone bar routing myself.

Very good to see USACG and Bill and Becky up on the top of the page. All the best people.