REED JAMES - Hard time with him.

Oh, God. Don't tell me, not another horror story. Why won't these business owners just buckle down, and man up? Way too many of these stories on here. Good luck with your purchase.

 

Good luck.
I had a two year nightmare with a builder I will keep unnamed.
Hope it works out.

 

Yes, Jim Reed is one of the worst businessmen on the planet, but he always gets the pickups done. He never makes anyone wait a year......THAT I KNOW OF:sly::what:.......LOL

If you want RJE pickups, I would wait, the pickups are awesome, but if you are Sick of waiting and being put off, I would just cancel the order and get the Delanos.

I know Jim, and I have 2 customers waiting on his pickups also, so I understand the frustration.

 

Dang, hate to hear that. I've never used his pickups but I know some folks here that have and they didn't have any problems. Guess that was short lived.

 

Brady Muckelroy has been using them in his custom basses for a while. I spec'd a pair if the ALNEO's for my build and they had my build sidelined for nearly 2 months. Brady was upset enough he wasn't sure he would do business with Jim anymore. In any case, I am glad I was able to get my pickups while I still could. Good luck!

 

I have a set of humcancelling Js in a spalted maple covers from him. They sound great. I hope he not having any issues...he's a little rough around the edges, but a good dude.

 

I ordered a set of MK1 shaped pick ups from him and received them in less than a week. The bridge pickup was noisy, so I called him, and he sent me another one out and told me to just send him the bad one when I got it replaced.

My experience with him was outstanding, I hope he hasn't fallen into bad ways.

 

Man up? Want to explain that in English?

What you guys that don't run a small business, and are being paid by someone else don't get is that, with James, as well as with me, we are the business. If we are sick, etc., nothing gets done. So maybe you say "get some employees." We aren't that big yet. Can't afford to pay them.

But what you get with this is when you order pickups from James, he makes you pickups. Not employee #2.

Think of someone ordering a Stradivarius back in the day. Did you want Antonio to build it, or some young trainee? lol

Anyway I have been following him on FaceBook and hope things turn around for him soon.

Because I sure can relate.

To the OP, wait. You waited this long already.

 

Most of the greatest violins ever made are made by Stradivari's and Amati´s pupils. And yes, i will purchase a pup made by a pupil if the pup works fine and i have not to wait 6 month...

 

Then you probably need to stick with factory pickups were they are churning them out by the dozens. They "work fine".

 

Are you saying factory pups are lower quality than handmade ones?

The difference is just the "custom" factor, not the performance...

 

Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of variables.

As a general rule, a large company has an advantage in that it can produce large quantities and sell them fairly inexpensively. But to produce something unique for one customer, it is usually quite a bit more expensive.

A small company has an advantage in that it is usually more flexible, and can accommodate a person's unique order more easily. But with limited resources, it might take longer to produce.

When it comes to customer service, big companies and small companies are all over the map. Some good, some bad.

A factory pickup can work just as well as a custom pickup, and vice versa. But if you want something a little different than what is mass produced, you either have to settle for something you don't like as much, or pay the company a lot more to get exactly what you want, or go to another pickup maker. To each their own.

 

Of course "stuff happens" on occasion. But 5 emails and then the silent treatment? By "man-up", I think what the OP means is if you know darn well you have a huge backlog, then just say sorry dude I know I told you 6 months, but based on everything going on it looks like we're looking at 10 months. It's being strung along that nobody likes, and that there's no excuse for.

 

Easy now. I certainly meant no disrespect in my reply. As a matter of fact, go back and re-read it. Are you back? I'll proceed then. All I'm sayin' is, just pick up the phone when it rings, or, AT LEAST EMPTY THE VOICE MAIL. How about clickin' a couple of keys to answer an email? Stephen Hawking does.....
Look, I understand what it feels like when you come down with the oinks, and, you get sick. But, not answering ANYTHING for months on end? Unless the owner (God forbid) passes away, I really see no excuse. Come on, surely you have to agree with me on that. Right?
I didn't see the power company give 2 $h!ts about me a few years back for bein' on medical leave when I was sick and off work. All I'm sayin' is, the world doesn't stop turnin' when things don't necessarily goes one's way. And, most of all, people don't forget bad business practices, either.

Peace