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| Exotic Wood Zone http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=57762 |
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| Author: | Dave Rickard [ Sun Jul 19, 2026 6:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Exotic Wood Zone |
Has anyone had business dealings with Exotic Wood Zone in St. Lois Mo. |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Sun Jul 19, 2026 6:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
I have, yes. Good shop IIRC… |
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| Author: | dofthesea [ Sun Jul 19, 2026 7:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
Cheap discount wood. A lot of there stuff is B grade. They used to be better but I haven't bought anything for years as the quality went way down. Look at Elitetonewoods.com Mikes prices are great and he's a very knowledgable Tonewood dealer. |
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| Author: | doncaparker [ Sun Jul 19, 2026 10:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
Same experience as David. A few years ago, I could count on them to have really good East Indian Rosewood at great prices. I think they aren’t offering as high quality wood any more. But the buying experience is fine. No concerns about their business dealings. |
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| Author: | Brad Goodman [ Mon Jul 20, 2026 8:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
dofthesea wrote: Cheap discount wood. A lot of there stuff is B grade. They used to be better but I haven't bought anything for years as the quality went way down. Look at Elitetonewoods.com Mikes prices are great and he's a very knowledgable Tonewood dealer. Another thumbs up for Elite Tonewood-great wood at fair prices! David, Thanks for turning me on to him. |
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| Author: | Chris Pile [ Mon Jul 20, 2026 8:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
I've never had a problem with them, Dave. I don't buy the high dollar stuff, but that's okay. They are good about combining shipping, too. |
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| Author: | Kbore [ Mon Jul 20, 2026 2:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
Read all the reviews you can. I'm not going to dis' them but they don't have a stellar reputation in my neck of the woods (St. Louis). A lot of their wood is seconds and thirds. A lot of their wood is pretty wet- they have started noting that in the description. |
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| Author: | kfish [ Mon Jul 20, 2026 7:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
I got some ebony head plates from them that were mostly gray and didn't match the picture in the auction at all. I used the Contact seller through Ebay and never got a response. Ebay provides the option to request a refund so I used that and they did refund my purchase. Kent |
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| Author: | dofthesea [ Mon Jul 20, 2026 9:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
It been pretty well documented that these guys are shady and sell poop wood. Why would you buy from them when you can buy from a great resource like Elite Tonewoods with the same pricing. For instance they have master grade FB for $35 each. Allied and Stewmac are trying to get $75 each for the same FB. Which isn't even as nice as what Mike has. |
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| Author: | Mike Conner [ Wed Jul 22, 2026 12:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
I've purchased about 15 EIR dreadnought sets from Exotic over the past couple of years, including two "lots" of 5 sets combined. I had previously bought three StewMac sets, and they were not all that great considering the price - one back ending up cracking in storage. I had realistic expectations when considering the Exotic purchases. - I was not looking for premium, super straight grained sets - like we might see on the typical Martin or Taylor. - I build as gifts as a music ministry endeavor, and the folks I'm building for really enjoy looking through the sets to choose one that speaks to them. - There is a lot of variation in the appearance of the sets. I agree that perhaps some would consider them seconds or third quality, but for me and my "clients" we like the resulting funky and unique look. - I stickered the sets for a few months in my climate controlled shop just to be sure on the moisture content. - I paid in the range of $90 per set - No issues with checking, cracks etc, and everything is well-behaved in the luthiery processes (sanding, bending, etc) I'll definitely check out Elite in the future. |
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| Author: | Brad Goodman [ Fri Jul 24, 2026 12:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Exotic Wood Zone |
dofthesea wrote: It been pretty well documented that these guys are shady and sell poop wood. Why would you buy from them when you can buy from a great resource like Elite Tonewoods with the same pricing. For instance they have master grade FB for $35 each. Allied and Stewmac are trying to get $75 each for the same FB. Which isn't even as nice as what Mike has. Yes, exactly. I bought a bunch of indian rosewood fretboards from him and they were gorgeous!. I also bought some from another (well known) suppler and they were not nice at all.... |
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