Can't speak for anyone else, but I've heard nothing further on mine, except that all these orders take "a little more time" than the normal ones. I have to admit, I'm feeling a little frustrated. It's been something like 21 months since we put in our orders, and I've been hearing the "just a little longer" song for quite a while now, at least since last fall. I can't help feeling a bit like these orders get pushed to the back burner whenever a new initiative (e.g., the basic black line, the US store) comes up. I have no doubt that the instruments will be excellent once they're completed, but I honestly feel they shouldn't have taken this long. Though it's possible there are some other issues that we're not privy to. Maybe there are some "teething" issues with the new process of manufacturing all the Balors. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing any Balors at all in the shipping videos in recent weeks, maybe months.
I am 100% with you about the "just a little longer" updates. I haven't been sharing much of the info I've been receiving because it's all been more of "just a little longer". I didn't think it would be helpful and merely add to everyone's frustration.
About two weeks ago was my last update. One of the players waiting got a response from Caolan stating the entire lot of first run Balor 6s are currently "in with the custom shop guys". So, another "just a little longer" update. At least, the instruments do exist now.
We HAVE indeed been getting bumped. They just haven't confirmed it in writing although I had a conversation confirming it. There have been geniune issues. One was when several of Emerald's USA bulk shipments were held at customs and then rejected and returned to Ireland. Nothing could get into the USA and some customers were livid. They stopped all progress on custom orders for a month or so and focused on building up stock while they found a shipping broker who could "fix" the import issue we've caused here. That moved us into several of the Opus line promotions, so bumped the Balors to role out those. Strategically, they only do one "new" promotion at a time. Now we're in the Black Friday promotion, so we're probably bumped.
Many people are waiting on non-6 string Balors as well. There have only been a few Balors produced since we first placed the Balor 6 order. Some were produced with the old method. However, there is currently a green Balor in the stock section on their site that might very well be a new production method bass. Just a guess.
That's all I've got for info. I sympathize with everyone's frustration and anticipation while our patience is, at this point, being ill-treated. I feel it, too.
I appreciate everyone who is taking part in this. I double appreciate the folks who haven't sent me angry messages about these basses. In meantime, I encourage everyone to reach out to Caolan to relay any frustrations and dissatifaction they might have. He can field all questions and concerns. I will reach out to Caolan after I post this and relay any new updates I might receive.
Richard is right, these orders will definitely be fulfilled and they will be excellent. Emerald can be trusted with that. It has been way, way, way too long.
