The Guitar Mill necks & bodies?

[jads57]

Has anyone had experience w/ any of their necks or bodies. What did you think, how do they compare to say Warmoth, U.S.A. Custom Guitars, Musikraft , etc? Thanks in advance!

[shuie]

I have bought them in the past and would buy them again. Mario is fantastic to deal with. My favorite tele partscaster ever has a Guitarmill body. The one piece lightweight ash stratocaster body they built for me was a work of art.

[martins3325]

Not much to add about their quality but i got a 2-piece swamp ash blank from them that has to be the lightest Ive ever seen..I dont have a digital scale to say for sure but id bet cut out in strat shape it weighs less than 3lbs..super featherweight..nice body blank!

[DANOCASTER]

Guitar Mill is where I get 100% of my bodies and a good amount of my necks as well

Nothing but GREAT things to say about Mario & Co

[K-Line]

I have used his bodies, very nice. Have not tried the necks yet, too new, I am waiting for the kinks to be surely gone. Great to deal with.

[Southern ILL]

Hey,it ain't no K-Line....Creston or Danocaster.....but I got my body from Mario and Guitar Mill and its great.....Fine 2 piece Pine body.....Assembled it weighs about 6.5 pounds....

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i32/jsh1970/Picture069.jpg

[lazymonday]

I bought like 2-3 bodies from Mario. All good stuff, all really light (3.5-sub4.0 lbs).

[Dion]

My Tele has a Guitar Mill alder body, turned out great!

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/diesel_d99/Ice%20Blue%20Tele/PB160023.jpg

[jads57]

Thanks so much for the info everyone. I`m looking to buy a G&L Asat replacement neck from them. Just want to make sure it fits correctly!

[stevieboy]

Anybody got anything to say about their necks? I know it's a relatively new thing for them, most of the comments so far are about the bodies.

[big mike]

G&L Neck? That heel should be way different than Fender. Do they offer that?

I though they were just selling Allparts necks?

[DANOCASTER]

G&L Neck? That heel should be way different than Fender. Do they offer that?

I though they were just selling Allparts necks?

They DO offer that. They saw a need because NOBODY was offering them.

They are also offering spot on Fender offset bodies ( Jazzmaster / Jaguar, etc. )

their necks are also very good. The fret work has been awesome - overall fit and finish as good as anybody I've used

They just made a Jazzmaster neck for a build I'm doing w/ dots and a BOUND fingerboard and it looks great !!

[big mike]

Very cool! Good of them to work a niche.

[MightyGuru]

Big Props to Mario at Guitar Mill. My swamp ash Mary Kaye tele body is gorgeous, light and toneful.

[Guitarpentry]

Hey,it ain't no K-Line....Creston or Danocaster.....but I got my body from Mario and Guitar Mill and its great.....Fine 2 piece Pine body.....Assembled it weighs about 6.5 pounds....

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i32/jsh1970/Picture069.jpg

That's purdy man. What did you stain the pine body with? I've been looking at those kinda stains from Minwax, etc.

[Joe Perry]

I believe I saw in an ad that they will make a complete guitar. Has anyoneone done this?

[DANOCASTER]

true

they also do all sorts of repair work

[michael30]

their necks are also very good. The fret work has been awesome - overall fit and finish as good as anybody I've used

Good to know. Too bad they don't offer SS frets.

[jads57]

Thanks again for all the responses!

[Southern ILL]

That's purdy man. What did you stain the pine body with? I've been looking at those kinda stains from Minwax, etc.


Thanks....Minax Water-Based....Pretty much rolled up a t-shirt.....soaked it....wiped it on....let set for 1-2 minutes....wipe off....I believe I did the sides-back-front.Goes on very thin....same with the wipe on poly.....very thin finish and its wore great.....I'm ready to do another.....I'm down with the FLU....looks like tues-weds before its gone....my daughter-aunt and uncle and kids at school say it take a week to get over.....NASTY STUFF.

[Dion]

They just made a Jazzmaster neck for a build I'm doing w/ dots and a BOUND fingerboard and it looks great !!

Someone's gonna be one happy camper!

[MightyGuru]

Good to know. Too bad they don't offer SS frets.

indeed, i won't use anything else.

[timmers]

I'm mid-assembly on a Tele project that's comprised of a GuitarMill body & neck. The fit & finish on both pieces is PERFECT. Really can't imagine better craftsmanship (or customer service - Mario is the KING. Guy actually called me after he'd painted the body just to say, "Hey, this thing is going to look great!").

[mrfjones]

I have used one of their bodies and also got a wood blank there, extremely light. very nice and easy to work with.

[David Robrecht]

I guess I'll be the bad guy here. My experience with Guitar Mill wasn't great. I ordered an all flame maple neck from them in the beginning of August. I didn't receive it until early October. The neck I got had a very poorly cut bone nut. The frets were filed down very roughly. There were finish blobs all over and visible sanding scratches on the fretboard. It looked very amatuerish. I emailed them and they said they had some recent layoffs and turn over and they would fix it for me. OK, no problem, I thought. I sent it back and received it about a month later. The nut still wasn't very well shaped or slotted. It had been refretted, but the finish around the frets was now rough. There were still sanding scratches all over the fretboard. I returned it and they refunded my money. They even refunded the original shipping charges. I thought that was very decent of them. As for me, I won't buy another thing from them. YMMV. I now have a Musikraft neck on order. I hope that goes well.........
Dave

[jads57]

Thanks Dave, I hope I have better luck than you had. Unfortunately there are not a lot of after market options for a G&L neck replacement. I had very good experiences in my dealings w/ Musikraft. Very good people, especially the owner Gitwanne!

[Iamblichus]

I have used close to two dozen Guitar Mill, swampash bodies and never had any problem. Mario is great to work with. I love thier one piece bodies.

[hank57]

I once bought a Tele Ash body through Reliable Fender and the body was awesome. Unfortunately I returned it due a big dent in it.

[EL 34 X2]

I've dealt with Mario several times. Great standup guy. Tell him exactly what you want and that's exactly what you'll get.

[jads57]

Well it`s been 2 months now, and I`m still waiting for my neck to be sent to me. In fairness I`m having it finished there as well. Just hope I get it soon!

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Well it`s been 2 months now, and I`m still waiting for my neck to be sent to me. In fairness I`m having it finished there as well. Just hope I get it soon!
It's been awhile but it seems to me when I had my necks and bodies finished they quoted me somehere between 8 to 12 weeks.

[jads57]

Thanks Trebor!

[slopeshoulder]

My Tele has a Guitar Mill alder body, turned out great!

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/diesel_d99/Ice%20Blue%20Tele/PB160023.jpg

sorry to get off topic, but what is that color called? me likey.

[Trebor Renkluaf]

sorry to get off topic, but what is that color called? me likey.
Hard to tell from that angle as the top looks like Daphne blue or Sonic blue, but then the cut awy looks more like Lake Placid Blue or Sherwood Green.

[andygio]

Looks Ice Blue Metallic to me... Love it!

[DANOCASTER]

Ice Blue Metallic IMO

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Looks Ice Blue Metallic to me... Love it!
I'll buy that.

[jaydawg76]

Unfortunately I just had a bad experience with Guitar Mill. I ordered an ash blank that took over three weeks to ship. That strikes me as a little long. When I emailed them about the blank two weeks into the wait they said that everything is custom built..........its just a chuck of wood, what did they have to build? Then when I got the blank I found a giant check/split that ran half way down the blank. I took pics that same day and emailed them the pics telling them I was not happy with the blank. The response I got was "it looks like you should be able to glue that".

That's the LAST time I'll order from Guitar Mill!

[Dion]

sorry to get off topic, but what is that color called? me likey.

"Tis true, this is Ice Blue Metallic, Mark Jenny finished, guitar mill body.
This pic shows the yellowed nitro effect over the Ice Blue:

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l286/diesel_d99/Ice%20Blue%20Tele/IceBlue11.jpg

[mattmccloskey]

I'll add my story here. I didn't have a great experience either. Not terrible, but it could have been better.
I ordered a lightweight alder strat body finished in sonic blue. It took about 2 months to get (nitro finishing does take awhile), and when it arrived it was a truly crappy finishing job. Lots of scratches, a big dimple (I mean like an inch in diameter) on the front contour- like they wetsanded without a block. It also had shallow grooves on the bottom edge, and very little shine.

This was a brand new non-aged custom ordered piece. I was totally disappointed. So I contacted them and explained that I was not satisfied with it and would like to return it for a refund. I really didn't want to get another at this point. Mario got back to me and although nice, he totally ignored my mention of getting my money back and 'wanted to make it right' and do another. I got the impression that they really don't like to refund any money. So I returned it and after another 2 months I got a replacement. The second one was much better, but by that point I had already ordered and received a perfectly finished body from USACG to complete the guitar. I sold the guitar mill body at a loss.

I am sure they make some really nice stuff, but I really was turned off by not being able to get a refund. Even though he was able to do a much better job the second time, I lost 4 months of my time, and extra shipping charges.

[michael30]

I received a pine strat body from Guitar Mill yesterday. It looks great. So far I've ordered 3 bodies from them and have been satisfied with the quality.
I'll order a couple of pine tele bodies as soon as I can get the money together.

[EL 34 X2]

I'm really surprised by the problems others have had recently with Guitar Mill. I last dealt with them over a year ago, and until then had nothing but great work and service. Whatever problems they're having, I hope can be worked out very soon. Mario has been a super good guy for me to deal with.

[ford]

It is rare that any company is going to be perfect.

Do they have a stated return policy? That might be something to look into before ordering, or ask them what will happen if I'm not satisfied with the quality.

I haven't purchased anything from there, but I was going to have a guitar body refinished.. of course it was stolen the next week. But they did answer all of my questions quickly, and I thought the price for the refin was good.

bford

[DANOCASTER]

I'm really surprised by the problems others have had recently with Guitar Mill. I last dealt with them over a year ago, and until then had nothing but great work and service. Whatever problems they're having, I hope can be worked out very soon. Mario has been a super good guy for me to deal with.

I surprised too. They have been really great to me - and I have received nothing but great stuff from them

And I dont really think they are "having problems". I just think they do a TON of business and there is bound to be a problem here and there. The internet is a BIG place and 1 or 2 problems ( even 5-6 ) popping up can seem like a HUGE problem when I'm sure it's way less than 1%. It really comes down to how you deal with problems when they arise - cause they will.

they are shipping stuff all over the world and supply many builders w/ finished bodies - as well as blanks - and I think their track record overall is very good

[mattmccloskey]

I surprised too. They have been really great to me - and I have received nothing but great stuff from them

And I dont really think they are "having problems". I just think they do a TON of business and there is bound to be a problem here and there. The internet is a BIG place and 1 or 2 problems ( even 5-6 ) popping up can seem like a HUGE problem when I'm sure it's way less than 1%. It really comes down to how you deal with problems when they arise - cause they will.

they are shipping stuff all over the world and supply many builders w/ finished bodies - as well as blanks - and I think their track record overall is very good

I don't doubt they do plenty of excellent work. I got a crap finish job, but the body itself may have been fine unfinished. The thing that really bugged me was the reluctance to issue a refund. If you can't get it right in two months why not just refund, or cut a break on cost or something. Plus, it was really really bad! I just don't see how someone could look at it when done and say "that's nice, let's ship it".
I received a finished body once from usacg that had a blem in it (still way better than the finish on the guitar mill body), and Tommy not only took it back, he covered shipping and upgraded the body and gave me a huge discount on top of that. i had the choice of a return or a replacement, but the replacement came in cheaper and better than the original order. He even gave me a discount on my next order as well.

Perhaps if I had ordered an unfinished body from guitar mill it would have been fine.

[jaydawg76]

I surprised too. They have been really great to me - and I have received nothing but great stuff from them

And I dont really think they are "having problems". I just think they do a TON of business and there is bound to be a problem here and there. The internet is a BIG place and 1 or 2 problems ( even 5-6 ) popping up can seem like a HUGE problem when I'm sure it's way less than 1%. It really comes down to how you deal with problems when they arise - cause they will.

they are shipping stuff all over the world and supply many builders w/ finished bodies - as well as blanks - and I think their track record overall is very good

I was surprised as well. I knew that you had really good luck with them and didn't think twice about ordering from them.

I'm sure my experience is not the norm, but it's definitely not how you get repeat business.

[Planet_TeleX]

I ordered a finished body from GM over three months ago....still waiting.

[Jan Folkson]

In times like this, customer service is EVERYTHING. Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking because the spread of a bad experience on the internet is, undeniably, the fastest thing in the universe! In my biz, I do whatever I can to make a happy client. Making a customer is way more important than making a sale.

[Dave Orban]

Never tried one of their necks, but I've used their Tele bodies a couple of times, and was very pleased with the quality.

[Planet_TeleX]

The second hand GM finished bodies I picked up are absolutely perfect. I hope the the quality issues people have had are isolated.

[jads57]

Well, I received my neck from Mario at Guitar Mill. It was definitely worth the 4 month wait. I'm extremely happy with end result, even though the depth of the neck is a little bigger than I requested. In fairness to Mario, I'd requested a Nocaster neck profile .92-1.0, it came .95-1.0 no biggie! The wood,finish,frets,workmanship,feel,etc Excellent AAA+++ And I'm comparing to USAG,Warmoth, Musikraft,etc.

[cmatthes]

I have been ordering stuff from Musikraft, and will probably continue to do so, as their work has been fantastic and comes with great customer service. That being said, I'll definitely give Mario at GM a try. If he can do bound/dot ('65/'66 era) necks, I'm all over it.

I have also heard almost totally positive reviews of their work, and if they're good enough for Danocaster, well... :)