Ebay seller?

[Dave Bagwill]

I don't know how this guy sells so cheaply. Any experiences with him good or bad?

[Tim Benware]

Twice. Both BAD experiences. Sets so warped I couldn't use them for their intended purpose. I did use it for making my mountain music sticks. He wanted to heat and straighten them out when I requested a return, not the answer I wanted so I just stayed away after that. On the flip side it seems like others have not had the experience I did with him. Caveat Emptor!

[Dave Bagwill]

Any recommended sellers on EBAY??

[Carl Dickinson]

I've had great success with wood acquired from Aaron. Made a Bocote Baritone that I had problems with sides cracking while bending and Aaron replaced them for a very reasonable price. The price shown for the Wenge is starting price and will probably end up closer to $75 to $100 at the end of bidding. Check out his website. Sorry you didn't have a good experience, Tim, but I consider him a good reasonable source.

Carl

[John Link]

Aron Hix, completely reliable. I bid low on Wenge quarter sawed sets and have "won" more than a half dozen sets, usually in the $20 plus range, plus shipping. Many sets go for more than that, but when the market cooled I was successful with my adamant low bidsl, a phenomenon that happens on an apparently random schedule. Every set was quarter sawed and taps very musically. I've bought many other species from him too, and every set was as represented in the eBay description and true to the photo, which is always specific to the set you are bidding on.

No set was warped and the only imperfections were the ones he circled in the photos.

[Dave Bagwill]

If that's the case, I have no reason to pay the hugely marked-up prices of certain luthier supply houses.

[John Link]

About Wenge:

My Wenge sets compare favorably to the Brazilian Rosewood sets I have in every way except appearance. They all tap out about the same and are quire vitreous sounding, just like the Brazilian. If you like a true dark chocolate brown, they are striking though hardly figured at all unless you get slab cut, which I have seen only in pictures. Quarter sawed is very straight grained, like the pre-War Brazilian that was cut higher up on the tree (versus highly figured compressed stump wood that appears today). Unlike Brazilian, they seldom have defects and are not prone to checking at the ends. Ervin Somogyi uses Wenge for some of his gits and says the musicality is comparable to his Brazilian instruments. At one point LMI was selling Wenge sets for $120. They seem to be out at the present moment.