MAX RUFO's Custom Guitars & Basses w/ pics!

[juwanfidle09]

steve vai with a jem sounds like steve vai with a jem

steve vai with a raon guitar will sound like... steve vai with a raon guitar. whether it sounds good or bad.

only a guitar player can make a guitar sound good or bad. only a guitar player can  do it justice.  a veteran guitar player with a rockstar tele sounds better than a newbie with a prs and i think many would agree.

would that be a PRS tri..... nevermind... 

[paengkee]

edit

[stringman]

As I read the thread isang tao lang ang magiging kawawa dito, si Mang Max. The poor guy has no inkling na may negative feedback na gawa niya. He's just an honest luthier making a simple living. The threadstarter started the thread to give homage to a luthier who has gained his trust and was a happy customer, with that a lot of people followed and I believe became happy too. I never met Mang Max so i'm not on anyones side here. Let me just post a thought that I got from a friend for everyone to see........


opinions are like @ssholes. everybody has one, every one thinks everybody else's stinks

[firemodel55]

i only stated that as an example of the relativity of tone. of course he cant make a raon guitar sound like evo. but he'll still sound like himself because of the way he knows his tone.

Thats my point, for Steve Vai, hindi relative ang tone because only EVO which Ibanez has tried to duplicate so many ties, can deliver that ONE tone.

[firemodel55]

As I read the thread isang tao lang ang magiging kawawa dito, si Mang Max. The poor guy has no inkling na may negative feedback na gawa niya. He's just an honest luthier making a simple living. The threadstarter started the thread to give homage to a luthier who has gained his trust and was a happy customer, with that a lot of people followed and I believe became happy too. I never met Mang Max so i'm not on anyones side here. Let me just post a thought that I got from a friend for everyone to see........


opinions are like @ssholes. everybody has one, every one thinks everybody else's stinks

YEAH BUT SOME OPINIONS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS SPECIALLY COMPARED TO SOME PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS AN @SSHOLE

[paparoni]

oops easy walang pikunan 

mwah

haha

[paparoni]

 

[gitarakista27]

YEAH BUT SOME OPINIONS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS SPECIALLY COMPARED TO SOME PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS AN @SSHOLE

eto opinion ko...

mga fellow forumites this is a MAX RUFO THREAD. if you guys want to talk about tone go to sir alex's thread. parang dun na papunta ang arguements eh...

parang paikotikot lang tayo but pumunta nalang tayo sa lugar na valid ang paikotikot natin.

 

[paengkee]

SO WHY THE HELL DOES STEVE VAI INSIST THAT HE KEEPS ON TOURING WITH EVO FOR THE PAST 8 OR 10 YEARS?

because ibanez made it for him. to his specifications. of course musicians like him would look for the manufacturer that best complies with his specifications. what if it wasnt ibanez? what if it was some unknown luthier who made his guitar and he loved it? would it matter if it cost him a fortune or nothing at all? i dont believe so.

i hope you dont mind me using your baker as an example. you had that baker made for you (was it? if not well, i assume you bought it because it was in your exacting specifications) and as everyone can see,you love it. now im having my guitar made by max rufo. i MIGHT love it or not. if i do, then ill be really really happy with what i got. just like you and your baker. thing is, we chose mang max to make our guitars because we want to. and he is quite in our reach, budget wise. as you can see, there are people here who are quite happy with what they got from mang max. Russel was happy enough to have another guitar commissioned (and i estimate that both his guitars would total to what he would have paid if he had his guitar made elsewhere). i talked with deadlifted and he is very satisfied with his V. i dont see them complaining about how their guitars isnt made exactly as another. marklakandula's guitar ISNT SUPPOSED TO BE A PGM COPY. he said it himself a few pages after he posted his pictures. and he seems happy with it. a few pages back you noted each flaw that you saw in max rufos work. now. they all came from you, not the owners themselves.

edit*

crap nag hang pc. ko. i lost the rest of my post. oh well. i think i made my point

[gitarakista27]

because ibanez made it for him. to his specifications. of course musicians like him would look for the manufacturer that best complies with his specifications. what if it wasnt ibanez? what if it was some unknown luthier who made his guitar and he loved it? would it matter if it cost him a fortune or nothing at all? i dont believe so.

i hope you dont mind me using your baker as an example. you had that baker made for you (was it? if not well, i assume you bought it because it was in your exacting specifications) and as everyone can see,you love it. now im having my guitar made by max rufo. i MIGHT love it or not. if i do, then ill be really really happy with what i got. just like you and your baker. thing is, we chose mang max to make our guitars because we want to. and he is quite in our reach, budget wise. as you can see, there are people here who are quite happy with what they got from mang max. Russel was happy enough to have another guitar commissioned (and i estimate that both his guitars would total to what he would have paid if he had his guitar made elsewhere). i talked with deadlifted and he is very satisfied with his V. i dont see them complaining about how their guitars isnt made exactly as another. marklakandula's guitar ISNT SUPPOSED TO BE A PGM COPY. he said it himself a few pages after he posted his pictures. and he seems happy with it. a few pages back you noted each flaw that you saw in max rufos work. now. they all came from you, not the owners themselves.
edit*

crap nag hang pc. ko. i lost the rest of my post. oh well. i think i made my point

bingo...you hit it.

[paparoni]

tama, that's why it's called, custom guitars & bass, yeah.

[paengkee]

if i found my guitars flaws, theres nothing i could do about it diba? its already there. theres bound to be someone whod complain and all, but thats his problem. over time i think anyone would either accept a guitar's flaws and set them aside as afterthoughts, or... gas for a new guitar because of that one flaw. and eventually repeat the process and spending money like crazy.

true story:

i once had a 1978 greco les paul standard. its now with stompmoko. i let it go one time because i kept looking at its flaws. i kept thinking "why cant i have the perfect guitar?". it was battered. the pickups squealed with distortion. basically i focused too much on what i hate.

after a year, i looked back at the recordings i made. i realized "damn this guitar sounds amazing" pala. i hadnt noticed how good the tone was and how beautiful it looked in all its cherry burst glory.


if the guitar i commissioned comes with some flaws, im sure it wont make me stop playing it or make me sell it. im pretty sure mang max wouldnt just make an unplayable piece of crap right? and i know what is an unplayable piece of crap guitar. ive tried many.

i guess my views were the result of how i was weaned on crappy guitars. because i havent really played a super amazing perfect guitar, any guitar ABOVE crappy, i can make do with.

if theres anything the people who have max rufo guitars would say after reading this post i guess it would be: max rufos guitars arent crappy period. no comparisons to higher end stuff or anything like that. i rest my case.


to all who have had their guitars made or are being made by max rufo, be proud of it. you earned for it, max rufo gave his time and effort to make it. a guitar is only as perfect as you think it would be. when you start to see that your guitar is perfect, no matter who made it, no matter how much other people think its imperfect, other guitars will be dim in comparison. the romantic in me says that a guitar is like a girlfriend or something and im sure you guys would agree with me.

to all who own awesome guitars: keep em. if you think its awesome, that should be enough. you dont have to convince others that its awesome. they'll think what they want to think. if you have a really beautiful girlfriend, you dont really have to show her to your friends and make em with she were theirs right?


oh yeah. hitting your guitar, using screwdrivers, throwing it around and stuff isnt RAPE. now as i said, if a guitar is like a girlfriend... well...didnt you guys know that some girls enjoy bondage, S&M and sodo---oooohhhh so this is not FHM! and im not a feature writer! HAHAA

see ya guys. i have to finish mixing something pa. ciao.

[deadlifted]

true story:

i once had a 1978 greco les paul standard. its now with stompmoko. i let it go one time because i kept looking at its flaws. i kept thinking "why cant i have the perfect guitar?". it was battered. the pickups squealed with distortion. basically i focused too much on what i hate.

after a year, i looked back at the recordings i made. i realized "damn this guitar sounds amazing" pala. i hadnt noticed how good the tone was and how beautiful it looked in all its cherry burst glory.

argh! nalilito ako lalo. i was thinking of selling my yamaha studio lord kasi gusto ko magpagawa ng isa pa kay mang max. pero all my friends keep telling me na huwag ko daw pakawalan yun kasi sayang. based sa story mo, baka nga magsisi ako kasi i have no complaints whatsoever dun. di ko lang ma-afford na magpagawa ng isa pa without letting go sa isa sa mga guitars ko.

[paengkee]

argh! nalilito ako lalo. i was thinking of selling my yamaha studio lord kasi gusto ko magpagawa ng isa pa kay mang max. pero all my friends keep telling me na huwag ko daw pakawalan yun kasi sayang. based sa story mo, baka nga magsisi ako kasi i have no complaints whatsoever dun. di ko lang ma-afford na magpagawa ng isa pa without letting go sa isa sa mga guitars ko.

if you love it that much, dont replace her because you found that something else MIGHT be better. it will only leave you comparing your new guitar to your yamaha and youll miss it even more.

[paengkee]

before SRV used that strat, it was just a regular strat

before clapton made blackie, the parts came from just regular strats.

now people would pay damn big money for them even though they would have been just a few guitars out of a million. wala pang custom shops noon. they were production line strats lang. the reason why ang mahal na nila is because the artists loved their guitars and the people loved what they were doing with the guitars: music.

say i became famous. and i had the best tone in the world. but i used a rockstar tele. now. is local guitar matters more than local? imagine the people lining up to buy rockstar teles. imagine rockstar teles increasing in price.

argh i got to stop daydreaming. get real. ill never be famous haha.

ciao guys.

[deadlifted]

if you love it that much, dont replace her because you found that something else MIGHT be better. it will only leave you comparing your new guitar to your yamaha and youll miss it even more.

yun yung problema. i have 2 LP's right now bukod sa V. yung studio lord at burny LP custom. mas bagay sa preference ko yung burny kaysa studio lord kaya sa totoo lang pwede ko talagang pakawalan yung studio lord.

although sabi ng friends ko mas maganda daw yung SL, at the end of the day ako naman ang mamimili which ones better suited for my taste di ba? nakakalito talaga hehe.

[firemodel55]

because ibanez made it for him. to his specifications. of course musicians like him would look for the manufacturer that best complies with his specifications. what if it wasnt ibanez? what if it was some unknown luthier who made his guitar and he loved it? would it matter if it cost him a fortune or nothing at all? i dont believe so.

LET ME JUST EXPLAIN AGAIN, EVO HAS NEVER BEEN DUPLICATED BY IBANEZ DESPITE NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS AT SUBMITTING GUITARS WITH THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS.  BY THE WAY, AFTER ALL THE YEARS I HAVE FOLLOWED VAI'S DEVELOPMENT NEVER HAVE I SEEN HIM STICK TO ONE SPECIFIC JEM MODEL AS HIS NUMBER 1 EVO.  NEITHER HAS THE GREEN MEANIE CHARVEL OR HIS PERFORMANCE GUITARS -- BY THE WAY HE WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN ARTISTS TO EVER SAY THAT GOTOH WAS HIS PREFERRED FLOYD OVER THE GERMAN MADE FLOYDS -- EVER HAVE STAYED IN HIS LIMELIGHT AS LONG AS EVO.  THE POINT IS FOR HIM, HE CAN NEER SOUND LIKE HIM AT HIS FULLEST WITHOUT THIS VERY SPECIAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT -- AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT HIS FINGERS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH.

i hope you dont mind me using your baker as an example. you had that baker made for you (was it? if not well, i assume you bought it because it was in your exacting specifications) and as everyone can see,you love it.

NOPE NOTHING ON THAT GUITAR IS BUILT TO MY SPECIFICATIONS JUST TO CLARIFY. THIS WAS HAND PICKED AND FORCED DOWN MY THROAT BUT DESPITE THIS I HAD TO GIVE UP CONTROL ON CUSTOMIZATION TO REALIZE THAT THE REALLY TONEFUL GUITARS ARE NEVER IN YOUR CONTROL.  THEY JUST EITHER COME INTO YOUR LIFE OR THEY DO NOT. I ASSURE YOU ABOUT 9 OUT 10 PEOPLE WHO TRY THE BAKER I HAVE JUST KEEP ON SAYING THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD A GUITAR ON THAT LEVEL BEFORE.  I WAS TELLING DEADLIFTED THE OTHER DAY THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED THAT SOMEBODY CAN CONSISTENTLY GET THE CHARACTER OF THAT BAKER AND MARRY IT WITH ANY PHYSICAL FORM THAT I WANT BUT ITS REALLY ALL DUE TO LUCK AND SOME MAGIC.  AS I SAID BEFORE, MR RON THORN OF THORN GUITARS CANNOT MARRY BEAUTIFUL LOOKS WITH THE STANDARD OF TONE AND CHARACTER I WAS LOOKING FOR.  THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS HE WAS FRANK AND HONEST ENOUGH TO SAY IT.  
now im having my guitar made by max rufo. i MIGHT love it or not. if i do, then ill be really really happy with what i got. just like you and your baker. thing is, we chose mang max to make our guitars because we want to. and he is quite in our reach, budget wise. as you can see, there are people here who are quite happy with what they got from mang max.

I UNDERSTAND THIS AND I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT MANG MAX WINS BANG FOR THE BUCK WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMIZING A GUITAR.  

Russel was happy enough to have another guitar commissioned (and i estimate that both his guitars would total to what he would have paid if he had his guitar made elsewhere). i talked with deadlifted and he is very satisfied with his V. i dont see them complaining about how their guitars isnt made exactly as another.

YES I BELIEVE THAT DEADLIFTED SHOULD BE HAPPY. I WAS ALSO EXCITED BY THE LOOKS ... BUT PLUGGING INTO GOOD AMPS MADE A DIFFERENCE THOUGH AND I HAVE ALWAYS SAID IT IS EASIER TO SPEND ON AMP BECAUSE OF BETTER CONSISTENCY AND HARDER TO SPEND AND LOOK FOR  A TRULY GOOD SOUNDING GUITAR.

 marklakandula's guitar ISNT SUPPOSED TO BE A PGM COPY. he said it himself a few pages after he posted his pictures. and he seems happy with it. a few pages back you noted each flaw that you saw in max rufos work. now. they all came from you, not the owners themselves.

OF COURSE NOTED FLAWS HAS TO COME FROM ME BECAUSE I DID NOT BUY A MAX RUFO GUITAR.   I JUST EXPRESSED MY PERSONAL OPINION BASED ON THE PICS WHICH I BELIEVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY THE "QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP" CLAIM.  BESIDES SOMEBODY HERE SAID OPEN SILA TO COMMENTS.  TAKE NOTE WALA PA AKONG SINABI NA PANGET ANG TUNOG NG MGA GITARA NI MANG MAX... YOU GUYS CAN GO BACK AND CHECK.  I DO SAY THAT SOME GUITARS WILL SOUND MUCH MUCH BETTER PERO WALA AKONG SINABI NA BASELINE SOUNDS SUCKS OR IS EVEN EQUAL TO SANTA MESA SOUNDING ELECTRIC GUITARS.

edit*

crap nag hang pc. ko. i lost the rest of my post. oh well. i think i made my point

[paengkee]

"NOPE NOTHING ON THAT GUITAR IS BUILT TO MY SPECIFICATIONS JUST TO CLARIFY. THIS WAS HAND PICKED AND FORCED DOWN MY THROAT BUT DESPITE THIS I HAD TO GIVE UP CONTROL ON CUSTOMIZATION TO REALIZE THAT THE REALLY TONEFUL GUITARS ARE NEVER IN YOUR CONTROL.  THEY JUST EITHER COME INTO YOUR LIFE OR THEY DO NOT. I ASSURE YOU ABOUT 9 OUT 10 PEOPLE WHO TRY THE BAKER I HAVE JUST KEEP ON SAYING THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD A GUITAR ON THAT LEVEL BEFORE.  I WAS TELLING DEADLIFTED THE OTHER DAY THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED THAT SOMEBODY CAN CONSISTENTLY GET THE CHARACTER OF THAT BAKER AND MARRY IT WITH ANY PHYSICAL FORM THAT I WANT BUT ITS REALLY ALL DUE TO LUCK AND SOME MAGIC.  AS I SAID BEFORE, MR RON THORN OF THORN GUITARS CANNOT MARRY BEAUTIFUL LOOKS WITH THE STANDARD OF TONE AND CHARACTER I WAS LOOKING FOR.  THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS HE WAS FRANK AND HONEST ENOUGH TO SAY IT. "

ah so the baker was a fixed spec. guitar. big gamblewell if ever it had flaws, im pretty sure they have become an afterthought right? well, gene baker sure knows his guitars better than most of us here. that prize ear of his. but hey, thats gene baker were talking about. (btw, i checked ron thorns guitars. they look amazing really)

of course. almost anything compared to the baker would be inferior right? the baker is YOUR standard. im guessing its the best guitar youve ever played (and youre fortunate enough to own it. *sigh*) i only have a 1978 greco les paul as the best guitar i have played and to be honest, every guitar i owned ever since seemed to leave me disappointed. i learned to eschew points of reference a long time ago and i approach each guitar as a new one. not better or worse.

i was asked a very philosophical question once. "do you know what you like? or do you like what you know?" id like to ask the people here, everyone, the same question.


oops. edit. out of topic na. sorry guys.

[toybitz]

say i became famous. and i had the best tone in the world. but i used a rockstar tele. now. is local guitar matters more than local? imagine the people lining up to buy rockstar teles. imagine rockstar teles increasing in price.

I won't.  I hear a tone in my head and not somebody else's.

Pero Pare, sana sumikat tayo.  ROI at we get to travel, quit our dayjob, etc...

[Metal Gear Solid]

Can we all go back to the topic please? OT na e.

[rad_12]

off-topic na mga sir. as far as i know this thread was for mang max rufo's custom guitar and bass review thread not a cockpit.

[vhunter]

Alex sure does love his baker... and so do I. One of the best guitars ever built. It doesnt get much better than that. I'd tend to agree with him. Most guitars cant touch it.

[firemodel55]

"NOPE NOTHING ON THAT GUITAR IS BUILT TO MY SPECIFICATIONS JUST TO CLARIFY. THIS WAS HAND PICKED AND FORCED DOWN MY THROAT BUT DESPITE THIS I HAD TO GIVE UP CONTROL ON CUSTOMIZATION TO REALIZE THAT THE REALLY TONEFUL GUITARS ARE NEVER IN YOUR CONTROL.  THEY JUST EITHER COME INTO YOUR LIFE OR THEY DO NOT. I ASSURE YOU ABOUT 9 OUT 10 PEOPLE WHO TRY THE BAKER I HAVE JUST KEEP ON SAYING THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD A GUITAR ON THAT LEVEL BEFORE.  I WAS TELLING DEADLIFTED THE OTHER DAY THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED THAT SOMEBODY CAN CONSISTENTLY GET THE CHARACTER OF THAT BAKER AND MARRY IT WITH ANY PHYSICAL FORM THAT I WANT BUT ITS REALLY ALL DUE TO LUCK AND SOME MAGIC.  AS I SAID BEFORE, MR RON THORN OF THORN GUITARS CANNOT MARRY BEAUTIFUL LOOKS WITH THE STANDARD OF TONE AND CHARACTER I WAS LOOKING FOR.  THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS HE WAS FRANK AND HONEST ENOUGH TO SAY IT. "

ah so the baker was a fixed spec. guitar. big gamblewell if ever it had flaws, im pretty sure they have become an afterthought right? well, gene baker sure knows his guitars better than most of us here. that prize ear of his. but hey, thats gene baker were talking about. (btw, i checked ron thorns guitars. they look amazing really)

of course. almost anything compared to the baker would be inferior right? the baker is YOUR standard. im guessing its the best guitar youve ever played (and youre fortunate enough to own it. *sigh*) i only have a 1978 greco les paul as the best guitar i have played and to be honest, every guitar i owned ever since seemed to leave me disappointed. i learned to eschew points of reference a long time ago and i approach each guitar as a new one. not better or worse.

i was asked a very philosophical question once. "do you know what you like? or do you like what you know?" id like to ask the people here, everyone, the same question.


oops. edit. out of topic na. sorry guys.

It is my personal standard now.  How I wish everybody could recreate it so that it can become affordable and everyone's standard.  In my case: " I never knew that there could be so much more in a guitar".  Thats one reason why I was weary to compare it to a Mang Max.  When this guitar arrived, it caused me to sell all my other non-baker guitars.  As you probably know, I am down to 2 bakers.   

From the start I was skeptical before Baker#55 arrived, I was ready with a PLAN B to have the guitar sent back to USA and sold somewhere else because I believed my Japanese Guitars that sounded so good that it would kick a USA guitar in the ass. Fortunately or unfortunately at least for me, I got a surprise lesson on tone.  When it first arrived, I and my close luthier friend were laughing about the flame.  The case even had more flame!!!  But after plugging in.  We were floored.   From that point, I did understand Ron Thorn. What we realized that more than specifications and workmanship, that this guitar was a product of years of experience and exposure to the very best guitars.  It was simply not something you could design yourself.  It was a personal custom by the luthier himself.     

[the quite one]

So why use TSK TSK?

bat ako tinatanong mo? DI KA LANG MAPAGKUMBABA, MATALINO PA TALAGA, SANA DUMAMI KATULAD MO PARA SUMAYA AT TUMAHIMIK ANG MUNDO. SA SCALARIZER IKAW DIN YATA YONG MAGALING AT VERY HUMBLE MAG SALITA DON NO? TSK.. TSK.. EVERYTHING IS FINE WITH YOU.

[lateralis]

It is my personal standard now.  How I wish everybody could recreate it so that it can become affordable and everyone's standard.  In my case: " I never knew that there could be so much more in a guitar".  Thats one reason why I was weary to compare it to a Mang Max.  When this guitar arrived, it caused me to sell all my other non-baker guitars.  As you probably know, I am down to 2 bakers.   

From the start I was skeptical before Baker#55 arrived, I was ready with a PLAN B to have the guitar sent back to USA and sold somewhere else because I believed my Japanese Guitars that sounded so good that it would kick a USA guitar in the ass. Fortunately or unfortunately at least for me, I got a surprise lesson on tone.  When it first arrived, I and my close luthier friend were laughing about the flame.  The case even had more flame!!!  But after plugging in.  We were floored.   From that point, I did understand Ron Thorn. What we realized that more than specifications and workmanship, that this guitar was a product of years of experience and exposure to the very best guitars.  It was simply not something you could design yourself.  It was a personal custom by the luthier himself.     

You're going out of line. Definitely out of topic.