How long do I have to wait? Tell me more about lead times!
Since most of our items are built to order, lead times are an unfortunate inevitability.
If you are looking for a standard spec item, and want to skip the wait, we encourage you to check our “Get it Now” store before ordering.
We might already have what you are looking for in-stock and ready-to-ship.
Our lead times are as follows*:
Unfinished Standard Spec. Bodies = 1-2 weeks
Unfinished Custom Bodies = 3-6 weeks
Unfinished Necks = 6-8 weeks
Finished Bodies = 8-12 weeks*
Finished Necks = 8-12 weeks*
If you would like an update on your order, the best way to do so is send an email to this address**:
info@guitarmill.com
*Lead Time Disclaimer:
Since we are a small company, lead times are subject to change. Lead times represented here are an average. Actual lead time may vary due to work load, material availability, employee illness, family emergency, attention to detail, order specifics and other varying circumstances. We try our best to get every order out as quickly as possible, however, we refuse to sacrifice quality for a shorter lead time.
**Contact Disclaimer:
For your sake and ours, calling us or emailing to check on the status of your order before the lead time has come up is not necessary and will cause further delays for you and our other clients. Every time we get a call like this, we have to cease building/finishing, pull your order off of the production line and check its status. This takes time that we could use to finish our workload. We are a very small shop, so please keep in mind that our time is better spent building guitars rather than giving updates. We would greatly appreciate if you only call if you have a very specific, time-sensitive question or if we are running a considerable amount behind your projected lead time. We honestly do appreciate each and every customer and refuse to sacrifice quality for a shorter lead time. We thank you all for being patient as we do our best to stay on top of the ever-growing demand for our products and services!
Processes Disclaimer:
Our orders are processed in batches. At any given time, we have ~250-300 or more bodies and necks on order (including full builds.) The filling, sealing, priming, sanding and other prep work in finish of any given body or neck makes up about 75-80% of all time spent in finish. Once the body is primed and completely level sanded, the 1-2 coats of color and 1-2 coat of clear for standard colors, necks and bursts go fairly quickly. Once your first coat of color is sprayed, it only takes about 2-3 weeks to finish the job.
Since the orders are done in batches, there may be periods of time where your body is curing or waiting for the next step, so it may not physically progress much between “check-ins.” This means that we do not work on every individual order every single day. This is not an indication that we have forgotten about your order or that your order is any further behind than the last time you checked in.
We are only 8 people, and every single finish that comes through the building is handled by Mario personally, thus we are processing these orders in the best way we know how. We appreciate your patience and promise that finished product will be well worth the wait.