Has anyone here dealt with Rondo Music?

Malice

Rather stupidly I was browsing Rondo Music earlier. As a result I've been hit with an attack of GAS .

I've managed to resist reaching for the credit card so far and I thought I'd see if anyone here has any experience in dealing with them.

On their returns page they state rather cryptically that "We do on occasion ship to Western Europe". Does anyone know what this means exactly?

They also state that "Orders shipped outside of the US and Canada are not refundable." Hypothetically speaking does this mean that if I order something and it arrives damaged e.g. a guitar with a cracked neck I am stuck with a broken instrument?

I've sent them an email with the same questions but if anyone here can answer them that would be great.

Malice

I got a couple of responses from Rondo Music. The biggest potential problem is to do with my second question. This was their response to my question about if I order something that arrives damaged:

Yes your assumption is correct – if you receive the guitar smashed or broken, you are stuck. We are not setup to support European customers so we do not market our products over there. We do require a hard case for shipping to help insure it should get there however

That's a bit of a stumbling block to say the least .

Ravelleman

I think Rondomusic have appeared in a few threads over the years. Someone ordered some kind of Agile, which Feylya, I believe, compared relatively favourably to an Epiphone after trying it.

Personally, I don´t think it´s worth buying from them. The resale is non-existent is you decide to sell later and the savings don´t justify the shipping costs and the cost of the case. If you buy an SX from them you´ll end up spending for more on shipping costs than the guitar.

I would also expect the worst with cheap guitars like that. If they send you a lemon, which is quite possible, you´re stuck.

I reckon there are better options out there for the money.

What were you thinking of getting anyway?

Demeyes

I bought an 8 string Agile Intrepid from Rondo about 2 years ago. I was aware that they have no warranty when dealing with europe but they were the only production 8 string at the time that had anything close to the specs I wanted. I took a gamble on it and made sure I got a hardcase too. The guitar arrived perfectly. You aren't likely to encounter something like a broken neck or smashed guitar, but Agiles do arrive sometimes with small finish blemishes and similar issues you can expect from mid range factory produced guitars. If you have a problem like that then you should be able to work a discount in with Kurt who runs rondo.
I'd order from them again if the guitar was right, I'd probably just get an Agile though as the Sx, Brice and Douglas stuff is cheaper again and probably aren't worth the hassle of importing. What model are you looking at?

wild turkey

I had an al 2000 les paul goldtop , the basic entry level lp
It was as good as any epiphone ive played but never liked the body shape.
Id say the 3000 series would be very nice but for the same money including case, shipping, taxes youll get a very nice tokai etc. on adverts.

Malice

Ravelleman wrote:

Personally, I don´t think it´s worth buying from them. The resale is non-existent is you decide to sell later and the savings don´t justify the shipping costs and the cost of the case. If you buy an SX from them you´ll end up spending for more on shipping costs than the guitar.

Resale value isn't a factor for me as I don't tend to sell my stuff once I get around to buying it. The only guitar I've ever sold was my first bass which was just a hunk of junk. I got a decent trade-in for it and haven't missed it since .

Ravelleman wrote:

I would also expect the worst with cheap guitars like that. If they send you a lemon, which is quite possible, you´re stuck.

That's a fair point but the particular model I'm looking at hasn't had any bad reviews online.

Ravelleman wrote:

What were you thinking of getting anyway?

An Agile Septor Elite 827 in the purple finish here. Shipping and a hard case will push the price to $1,035.22 (€782.06). The dreaded customs charges will be another €165 or so on top of that so roughly €950 in total. Not quite a cheap guitar .

Demeyes wrote: »

I bought an 8 string Agile Intrepid from Rondo about 2 years ago.

If I get a chance later on I'll shoot you a PM with some specific questions. Hope that's okay .

wild turkey wrote: »

I had an al 2000 les paul goldtop , the basic entry level lp
It was as good as any epiphone ive played but never liked the body shape.
Id say the 3000 series would be very nice but for the same money including case, shipping, taxes youll get a very nice tokai etc. on adverts.

A 8 string guitar is about all I'm interested in. I've been playing 7 string guitar for so long I don't think I could handle going back to a 6 string. I'd miss the low B too much.

Ravelleman

Malice wrote: »

Shipping and a hard case will push the price to $1,035.22 (€782.06). The dreaded customs charges will be another €165 or so on top of that so roughly €950 in total. Not quite a cheap guitar .

That sounds extraordinarily expensive for a Korean guitar, if you ask me. That being said, I do understand that extended-range instruments tend to be more pricey in general but close to €1000...

I'm not really one for knocking guitars on the basis of country of origin, believe me, but when I think back and remember that I paid €850 for my Gretsch Annie and €860 for my G&L Legacy, all included, it does seem like a lot! My Fernandes Ravelle was made in Korea and it's nice and all, but the other two are a lot better!

Anyhow, you might disagree. And you're perfectly welcome too

Squidgy Black

For that price you could get an Ibanez http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_rga8bk.htm or there's a couple of schecters for not far off that price range.

Dord

That's quite expensive! I'd be more inclined to go for a Schecter, Ibanez or LTD at that money. At least you have some recourse if you have problems and should easily be able to get one in Europe to avoid customs & VAT fees.

Demeyes

Malice wrote: »

If I get a chance later on I'll shoot you a PM with some specific questions. Hope that's okay .

No bother, ask away and I'll help you out if I can.

stetyrrell wrote: »

For that price you could get an Ibanez http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_rga8bk.htm or there's a couple of schecters for not far off that price range.

I played an RGA7 string in a shop a few months ago and it felt awful. One of the worst 7 strings I've ever played. You'll have to add the price of a pickup upgrade into that too as everyone agrees the stock ones are junk.

Schecter might be worth looking at, they have some models very nicely priced but I don't know many places with an extensive selection of 8 strings in europe, you might end up still getting one from the US. My experiences with Schecter have been good, I'd like to try one of their 8's some time.
Carvin have started doing 8 strings now which is definitely an option to consider. http://www.carvinguitars.com/catalog/guitars/index.php?model=dc800 You spec out the options yourself so you can spec a model for about $1k, you'd have to add customs on top of that but you have alot of options on a US built guitar. My 7 string Carvin is a really nice guitar, I'm seriously thinking of getting an 8 when I can afford one.
Agile stuff works out fair enough for an import, mine was about €700 all said and done when I got it, though I think their prices might have increased a small bit since. Mine is a very solid guitar, I've gigged mine a lot and haven't done any pickup or hardware upgrades to it and I've not had any real problems with it. It holds well with my other guitars, it definitely doesn't feel cheap or poorly made. If they had proper distribution in the EU I think you'd see a lot more of them around.

Malice

Ravelleman wrote: »

That sounds extraordinarily expensive for a Korean guitar, if you ask me. That being said, I do understand that extended-range instruments tend to be more pricey in general but close to €1000...

Yeah there's nothing like cold financial reality to calm a GAS attack .

stetyrrell wrote: »

For that price you could get an Ibanez http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_rga8bk.htm or there's a couple of schecters for not far off that price range.

I've seen a few bad reviews of that RGA8 on the 'net so I'd be a bit hesitant to take the plunge on one. If I was going Ibanez it'd probably have to be an RG2228.

Dord wrote: »

That's quite expensive! I'd be more inclined to go for a Schecter, Ibanez or LTD at that money. At least you have some recourse if you have problems and should easily be able to get one in Europe to avoid customs & VAT fees.

Good points on the customs and returns issues. I've played 7 string Schecter guitars in the past and their necks didn't agree with me at all so I'd be very reluctant to go for an 8 string one. ESP I have very little experience of apart from a couple of 6 strings.

Demeyes wrote: »

Carvin have started doing 8 strings now which is definitely an option to consider. http://www.carvinguitars.com/catalog/guitars/index.php?model=dc800 You spec out the options yourself so you can spec a model for about $1k, you'd have to add customs on top of that but you have alot of options on a US built guitar. My 7 string Carvin is a really nice guitar, I'm seriously thinking of getting an 8 when I can afford one.

Good spot on the Carvins there are definitely a lot of options available. I'll bookmark that site and maybe revisit it in the future.

Demeyes wrote:

Agile stuff works out fair enough for an import, mine was about €700 all said and done when I got it, though I think their prices might have increased a small bit since. Mine is a very solid guitar, I've gigged mine a lot and haven't done any pickup or hardware upgrades to it and I've not had any real problems with it. It holds well with my other guitars, it definitely doesn't feel cheap or poorly made. If they had proper distribution in the EU I think you'd see a lot more of them around.

The folks over on sevenstring.org seem to rave about them almost without exception so either there's a good marketing team at work shilling in that forum or they actually are pretty good guitars.

wild turkey

http://www.adverts.ie/1135994

I presume you've seen this !

Malice

wild turkey wrote: »

http://www.adverts.ie/1135994

I presume you've seen this !

Funnily enough I actually did spot that yesterday. I'm still waiting on my activation email from the site though so I can't contact the seller yet. :mad:

Malice

Activation email finally arrived and I have agreed a price with the seller! It's not quite the colour I would have chosen but for nearly half the price and far less hassle (bar a six hour road trip) I think it's well worth it.

Ravelleman

Good buzz.

Malice

Guitar has been purchased. I've stuck up a picture of it and its extended rather brethren here.