A place to talk about the music of the Grateful Dead
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By mkaufmanRe: Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Tue Sep 08, 2026 9:41 am -
By tdcrjeffRe: Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Tue Sep 08, 2026 7:35 am -
By TacosauceRe: Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Mon Sep 07, 2026 11:57 am -
By Jon S.Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Sat Sep 05, 2026 8:39 am -
By Darkstar860Re: Searching for a JBL K-120 Fri Aug 14, 2026 7:41 pm
Why would this guitar be purchased, set-up, and then quickley sold for little or no profit? The guitar looks great, what is the problem?
Yeah, that caught my eye, too. My first guess is that they lost their job? My second guess is they didn't bond with the guitar. Who knows.
USBLUES wrote:Why would this guitar be purchased, set-up, and then quickley sold for little or no profit? The guitar looks great, what is the problem?The gear page hears the tale of woe about weekly of some shmuck trying to sneak gear into the house cuz they won't talk with their wife, she finds if, flips, he sells for cheap.
strumminsix wrote: The gear page hears the tale of woe about weekly of some shmuck trying to sneak gear into the house cuz they won't talk with their wife, she finds if, flips, he sells for cheap.lol - that's probably it. I don't know what those guys are thinking that their wives won't notice a new guitar in the house or more likely 5k missing from the checking account.
You know those Phigas are very very tempting for the under 3k club.....but i want to grab one and see for myself, ya know? Just doesn't add up.....
I work with my hands, and many things like this are subject to improvement over time and where he lacks the perfect touch, can be remedied by another luthier considering price, (but not always). It is my observation that humans tend to perfect things over time. Phiga has made hundreds of guitars, and a bunch since the horrible reviews we hold to memory. Maybe out of being souls with a good heart, We can assume his continued success has ironed out many of his issues, and I have yet to hear specifics. Maybe the guitar is perfect but the set up lacks some like so many we hear about making it sound crapy? Maybe one or two guitars were made with wood misrepresented by a dealer as being kiln dried, different grade or blah blah... so many variables could have got him the scarlet letter.
But then again, If he spends the time it takes to get something as right as that, they should cost more than a made in china version, that's what worries me most about it. But maybe his overhead/production/sales allows him to price his work reasonably? Even Thomas can make a guitar in the 4K area.... But who will take the plunge and try him out? Maybe we screwed it all up and he makes a decent guitar all along? We should see if he would let a well respected voice of our community try out a guitar to clear his name...
But then again, If he spends the time it takes to get something as right as that, they should cost more than a made in china version, that's what worries me most about it. But maybe his overhead/production/sales allows him to price his work reasonably? Even Thomas can make a guitar in the 4K area.... But who will take the plunge and try him out? Maybe we screwed it all up and he makes a decent guitar all along? We should see if he would let a well respected voice of our community try out a guitar to clear his name...
http://otislotus.net/ Finally finished our new site...
almost pulled the trigger on his bolt about a month ago. He started out communicating pretty well and then all of a sudden wouldn't return my e-mails. He will not talk on the phone at all. Pretty hard as it is to buy a guitar with out playing first. But to have one custom made across country without good communication, i just couldn't do it. It is a shame cause I think from the close up photos and how long he has been doing he is making a decent guitar for the price. I would love to be able to try one some day.
Peace
Peace
USBLUES wrote:Why would this guitar be purchased, set-up, and then quickley sold for little or no profit? The guitar looks great, what is the problem?fwiw, In the ad he says it was too heavy for his back.
ime, Alot of guys buy things thinking... I can sell it for what I have into it if I don't like it for whatever reason.
Pete B. wrote:God I am so guilty of this and it never works out that way. My desire to buy is always higher than my patience for the right selling price.USBLUES wrote:Why would this guitar be purchased, set-up, and then quickley sold for little or no profit? The guitar looks great, what is the problem?fwiw, In the ad he says it was too heavy for his back.
ime, Alot of guys buy things thinking... I can sell it for what I have into it if I don't like it for whatever reason.
"God I am so guilty of this and it never works out that way. My desire to buy is always higher than my patience for the right selling price."
1+ on that Strummin!
1+ on that Strummin!
I had the opportunity to play a phiga guitar - a guy I played with had one that looked exactly Jerry's tiger. Now I only played it for like 5 minutes but before I played it I was super impressed. I thought wow this dude dropped like 3 grand - waited almost a year for it to be made and delivered - and seeing one for the first time in person kinda gives ya the goose bumps just looking at it and thinking about the possibilities - and man this is what Jerry played - because I'm assuming for that kind of cash you are indeed getting a fine hand made musical instrument crafted to the exact specifications that Jerry's guitar was - or is - I guess for the super rich football mogul dude that owns it now.
Anyway, he asked me if I wanted to play it so of course I'm like well yeah - bottom line is that I was not to impressed. I was actually bummed a bit - and maybe it was indeed set up like Jerry played - if so I don't know how Jerry was able to play all that he did - first it was like the heaviest guitar I ever picked up - no balance to it, the neck was crazy les Paul + thick and the action was so high - seriously - so high that it was like a half step out of tune if you pressed all the way down to the fingerboard. Now I wanted to be kind and not say anything offensive - but I was like dude the action is a bit high eh? And my friend goes on to tell me well that's how Jerry had it set up and he used this technique where he would play really fast and light and just finger the string with enough pressure behind the fret to get the sound but not press all the way down. He was also like well yeah it's a bit high for me and I need to have the frets filed down.
So I realize I'm critiquing but it's more of an incidental observation. Sounds like there is a lot of good information - pro and con - on this topic already on the board and probably best to put more trust in those observations as people own the phiga guitars and played for more than 5 minutes. Just thought I could add a bit to this conversation - and maybe also push in the direction that if you do have 3 grand to drop, what do you get that is really worth the investment and will perform up to the expectations of always in tune up amd down the fret board and electronics that deliver? For a long time the carvin approach has looked interesting - and now kinda validated with John playing with Furthur - anyone playing Parker guitars? Or is it finding some independent luthier that can really craft you a guitar to this level of expectation? Sonde like this is exactly what people are expecting from a phiga purchase - and I'm assuming are indeed getting with a modulus purchase.
Later
Anyway, he asked me if I wanted to play it so of course I'm like well yeah - bottom line is that I was not to impressed. I was actually bummed a bit - and maybe it was indeed set up like Jerry played - if so I don't know how Jerry was able to play all that he did - first it was like the heaviest guitar I ever picked up - no balance to it, the neck was crazy les Paul + thick and the action was so high - seriously - so high that it was like a half step out of tune if you pressed all the way down to the fingerboard. Now I wanted to be kind and not say anything offensive - but I was like dude the action is a bit high eh? And my friend goes on to tell me well that's how Jerry had it set up and he used this technique where he would play really fast and light and just finger the string with enough pressure behind the fret to get the sound but not press all the way down. He was also like well yeah it's a bit high for me and I need to have the frets filed down.
So I realize I'm critiquing but it's more of an incidental observation. Sounds like there is a lot of good information - pro and con - on this topic already on the board and probably best to put more trust in those observations as people own the phiga guitars and played for more than 5 minutes. Just thought I could add a bit to this conversation - and maybe also push in the direction that if you do have 3 grand to drop, what do you get that is really worth the investment and will perform up to the expectations of always in tune up amd down the fret board and electronics that deliver? For a long time the carvin approach has looked interesting - and now kinda validated with John playing with Furthur - anyone playing Parker guitars? Or is it finding some independent luthier that can really craft you a guitar to this level of expectation? Sonde like this is exactly what people are expecting from a phiga purchase - and I'm assuming are indeed getting with a modulus purchase.
Later
I got a phiga tiger as a wedding present from my wife (she is a keeper!!)
I got it in 2009 and I love it.
A few things to remember:
1) these are hand built so there is a lot of variance between different guitars, perhaps I got lucky, perhaps someone got unlucky, either way the guitar is great
2) the look and detail are amazing, yes I know 3k is a lot of money for just looks, but when I take it to the shop near me for set-ups It is nice to see profesional luthiers and guitar techs whip out iphone to take photos to show their friends
3) The action: Jerry did have high action and was very very good. I am not. between the dual truss rod, the nut and the bridge you should be able to lower the action if you like. The frets are jumbo and if you have the action up high and press all the way down to the fingerboard you do get out of tune notes. The way I play I dont push all the way down but if that is what you are used to you will have to adjust the action. Also, this is how Jerry liked it. It may not be how you like it. The neck is very large and the scale is long (vs. my les paul)
4) Price: His Tiger was half the price of the other customs out there, and yes it did take a leap of faith to send a lot of money to someone in Texas for a guitar you have never played. I relied a lot on Karma and got a great guitar, I believe that this is an after work hobby for him so he might not need to charge as much
All in all I have had a very positive experience and wanted to share with the forum.
cheers.
I got it in 2009 and I love it.
A few things to remember:
1) these are hand built so there is a lot of variance between different guitars, perhaps I got lucky, perhaps someone got unlucky, either way the guitar is great
2) the look and detail are amazing, yes I know 3k is a lot of money for just looks, but when I take it to the shop near me for set-ups It is nice to see profesional luthiers and guitar techs whip out iphone to take photos to show their friends
3) The action: Jerry did have high action and was very very good. I am not. between the dual truss rod, the nut and the bridge you should be able to lower the action if you like. The frets are jumbo and if you have the action up high and press all the way down to the fingerboard you do get out of tune notes. The way I play I dont push all the way down but if that is what you are used to you will have to adjust the action. Also, this is how Jerry liked it. It may not be how you like it. The neck is very large and the scale is long (vs. my les paul)
4) Price: His Tiger was half the price of the other customs out there, and yes it did take a leap of faith to send a lot of money to someone in Texas for a guitar you have never played. I relied a lot on Karma and got a great guitar, I believe that this is an after work hobby for him so he might not need to charge as much
All in all I have had a very positive experience and wanted to share with the forum.
cheers.
In the pics of the most recent Tigers that Phil Gawen has made (check with him and he'll send you a link to the photos), the carved top is better looking than the pics on his web site of the older Tigers. They used to have a very distinct, sharp, carving below the pickup ring. Now the carving is smoother and more subtle and closer to the original Irwin Tiger. That is an improvement in my opinion.
Still, the offshore Irwin Tiger for 3K is a great option for the money if that project ever gets off the ground.
Jim
Still, the offshore Irwin Tiger for 3K is a great option for the money if that project ever gets off the ground.
Jim
strummingturtle wrote: He started out communicating pretty well and then all of a sudden wouldn't return my e-mails. He will not talk on the phone at all.I think he is from Germany - maybe his English is bad .... ?
Peace
Ya know as much as his name comes up on the Kind ... we should have him contact us maybe ... you know a meet and greet ... talk about his guitars .... ask questions ....
A interview ... get some definitive answers ....
Could be cool - I like poking around his site - interesting fellow
- Tom
