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I e-mailed him when this thread first started and have not received a response.

Well, either someone bought it all, or they emails are getting junked. Does he have a message board he posts on?

Shawn is out of the state helping his mother. He should be back in about 10 days. I'm sure he will respond to emails then.

The reason I know is I just received a kit from him a few days ago. WHAT A DEAL!! All pieces came in great shape. I can't wait to start my build!

I can't say enough about ihs customer support! He talked to me for half an hour letting me ask question after question. I will be picking up a few more kits after I finish this one.

This is his site.

http://bardsong.weebly.com/index.html

His phone number is on it.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I just received my 000 kit from him, but I'm not sure what plans I should be using for bracing and such (my first build). Very good service from this guy. I did neglect to ask him about plans unfortunately. Should I be using 000 plans from here: http://www.pilgrimsprojects.biz/guitar.html

This looks typical of the stuff that Martin sells out of their Guitarmaker's Connection

I notice that some of the sides are not bent and IMO, unless the sides are bent, it's not a "kit" per se, just a box of wood and parts. If you can bend sides you can probably do most of the rest and don't need a "kit".
These type of parts certainly do make building a particular guitar style easier and far safer for the novice.
I've seen this seller now for a while on Ebay and have been impressed in some cases....others not and in a few instances I could see that the wrong parts (12 fret necks with 14 fret body parts etc.) had been supplied. Not to say these aren't good buys if the parts are correct and if you know enough to know they are (or aren't).

I've noticed the same thing that Dave has with some of this seller's auctions on ebay, mismatched parts with no apparent awareness that the parts were incompatible. This has included 12 fret sides with 14 fret tops (or vice versa) being sold as a 12 fret "Kit", as well as mismatching of 12 fret body parts with 14 fret necks. I've also seen a few instances of tops that weren't the same size/profile as the sides. In fact, in the photos the seller posted in the first page of this thread there is a 12 fret neck/block/truss rod trio pictured in which the neck is routed for an old style "T" rod while the truss rod pictured as mating with the neck is a modern adjustable truss rod.

As Dave noted, surely some folks could be perfectly satisfied with some of what this fellow sells, but I would suggest that potential buyers ask a lot of questions and make sure you know what you are getting. The more knowledgeable the seller the more likely you are to get properly paired parts and items of overall higher quality.

I agree that these parts are ones that are iffy at best. You get what you pay for. I passed on most of these parts and wouldn't use them . Some may be useful for learning stages but these are not a quality part .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I asked him if he had any 12 fret necks (for a slope dred style) and he said he didn't, but he also said he had a box of necks that were unopened. etc...

I think this would be great for a beginner, I have a Martin 2nd neck on my first build and it makes it fast and easy.

I offer parts that are indeed 2nds. There are flaws which I always point out. I post this on my website. I also post that I am NOT an expert on Martin parts. But I will answer all questions, emails, phone calls, etc. and do my best and beyond to make my customers happy. Yes, I sell kits for as low as 150.00. And people like them because they are less expensive than other kits and they can build their first solid wood guitar without having to spend 500 bucks or more to do so. It just makes sense.

Thanks again for the great word and business!

Also, if anyone has emailed me and not received an answer, it must have went to the spam folder and I am sorry. Please try again.
My latest build from my parts: a 000 solid mahogany. Not bad from 2nd parts?

I guess it is an inside joke now.

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

There is no doubt I am a happy customer. He has went above and beyond to make me happy as a customer. Including spending an hour on the phone with me to help me with all my "first build" questions.

The kit I received has great quality and the small "issues" with any of the parts are insignificant for my first guitar or even my 10th. The issues where explained in detail before I ever bought my kit.

If your looking to get a kit, you found the right guy! I can't wait to finish mine and put up some pics.

im new to this forum and trying to build my first guitar . you have a 12 string kits? and how much they cost . thanks

Hi all,
This seller had a ton of stuff on EBAY for sale recently but now is no where to be seen..................anyone know what happened to him???

i called Shawn and orderd over the phone in March.
http://bardsong.weebly.com/index.html

Ph# is listed under contact.

Joe H.

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Joe

My wife asks me "How many Guitars do you need?"
I reply "When I die count them; thats how many I needed".

Is this same seller now selling under the name "2009Charles64" on Ebay??

I ordered over the phone. I ordered 3 14 fret OOO or OM kits. It took a few days for him to gather everything I wanted but once he had it all together he packed well and shipped with tracking. It arrived today. He was really generous with throwing in extra bonus parts. I have so much extra that I'll end up with almost 4 guitars worth of stuff.

Very cool. I feel like this will give me a good start.

Thanks for the update, Linus. I'll try phoning him.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

I can't get this guy to contact me. I've messaged him, I have called him...nothing.

Interesting. A "reputable" ebay kit provider once sold me a kit advertised as 24.9" scale. But the kit included a 24.9" scale neck and a Martin OM top (25.4"). He told me it was up to the builder to sort it out.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

I've had a good experience buying from him. I bought 3 kits and some extra bits from him before and they have been fine. Minor cosmetic issues that he warned me about ahead of time. Very good price considering I'm so new to this and would rather make rookie mistakes on inexpensive kits. I contacted him again and got a couple more tops and bracing materials because I bought some backs and sides from another source (trying hot pipe bending for the first time).
Over all I think it's good.

Well then I guess they weren't really that reputable, were they?

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC