Like many businesses we have seen our raw materials costs double since the start of the pandemic. We have recently been notified by various suppliers that their prices have increased, this time driven primarily by higher fuel costs. We are forced to decide between cutting quality to maintain our pricing or increase pricing so we can maintain the quality. We’ve chosen to keep the quality where it is and adjust prices as necessary.
Even with the price increase our products will remain at a similar cost, or bellow cost, compared to most other suppliers in the industry. While at the same time our radius dishes offer many more features than other suppliers in the market.
Get your radius dish orders in before May 1 to take advantage of our old pricing.
]]>This is our first price increase on dishes in 5 years. During that time we’ve seen a gradual rise in material cost. Unfortunately the pandemic has caused a rapid increase in some of our materials over the past year. Even with this increase our dishes remain some of the most affordable on the market, and still have more features than any other supplier.
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Over the past few weeks we have begun to see significant delays with the postal system. This is due to the COVID-19 safety measures that have been put in place at the postal sorting centres, as well as an exceptionally high volume of parcel being processed by the postal system. These delays are applying to all parcels, with International parcels experiencing the highest delays. Parcels that would normally be delivered in 1-2 days are now taking 7-10 days. And international parcels may take an additional 2+ weeks. Since most of our items are large and heavy, at this time there is no good alternative to shipping through the post. Couriers are also experiencing delays and typically charge 2-3 times more than the postal system for shipping.
We generally ship multiple parcels daily and so far nothing has been lost, it is just taking longer than normal for things to arrive. This appears to be the new "normal", at least for a while. The sooner you place your order the sooner it gets into the system. Please factor in extra time for delivery when you are placing an order. If you have any questions please contact us.
Josh
]]>Looking back on the last 2 weeks, I could have never imagined we'd be where we are today. We live in a small town full of shops, restaurants, and many small business. They're all closed now as we wait to see what the next few weeks hold.
CLS/House Guitars has been, and remains, a family business and a one-man shop. For 17 years, my shop time has been spent working alone, just me and my radio with the occasional visitor. Well, those occasional visitors have stopped.
Right now my family and I are healthy, so I continue to work. And as expected, order volume is low. This means our order wait time, which can be 2-3 weeks for manufactured products like radius dishes, is currently down to 1-2 weeks.
While the uncertainty of this situation has caused some fluctuation in the CAD and USD, the USD remains strong. So this continues to be a great time for US clients to enjoy the savings from the strong USD when purchasing Canadian products.
As a builder, I empathize with what you may be experiencing in this time. I know from talking with some of you that you're dealing with canceled orders, or unplaced orders you thought were coming. I'm in the same boat and it's tough.
I'll continue to fill orders as usual, provided I can still get materials and ship to clients. Our household is practicing the recommended guidelines regarding sanitizing and social distancing.
I'll keep you updated with any changes in service as a result of COVID-19, and look forward to when this has passed.
Take care of yourselves, your families, and maybe check in on a neighbour in need.
Josh & Jessica House
]]>A special luthier training opportunity coming up July 2020. Many of you will be familiar with Trevor Gore as one of the co-authors of Contemporary Acoustic Guitar Design and Build. Trevor is coming to Canada next year to teach his 3-day Modal Tuning Course. In this course, Trevor walks through the principles of modal tuning with live demonstrations and the opportunity for students to interact with him through Q&A. Having this course offered in Canada is a rare opportunity!
The Details
There will be two 3-day courses with 10 spots open in each course, taking place July 17-19 and 21-23, 2020. Luthier Greg Wight of Harbour Guitars will be hosting these courses at his shop in Port Stanley, Ontario.
Cost is $1,500 CAD for the 3 days (not including accommodations).
For more information or to register please contact Greg at: wightgreg@gmail.com
Greg can provide you with full details about the course, including a detailed description of what Trevor will cover each day. Payments can be made in 3 installments of $500 ea.
At the time of this message, about ½ of the spots are already taken. Get your name in soon so you don’t miss out. Hope to see you there!
Josh
]]>It’s been our privilege to represent Hibdon and work with them closely. They’re top-notch and lead the industry by offering the best quality Mahogany and other tonewoods to top builders, factories and luthier supply houses around the world.
For several years we’ve maintained Canada’s largest stock of instrument-grade Mahogany and Spanish Cedar. We also have the largest inventory of African Blackwood backs and sides. With our inventory is at its peak, our goal is to clear out as much as possible in the next few months.
We have:
•approx. 80 electric guitar blanks
•80+ back/side/(top) sets in various species and figures
Since we began selling wood, we’ve proudly offered the best quality wood at competitive prices (and often lower) than other Canadian suppliers. Our prices will remain the same. To recoup our investment, we will not offer large discounts. We will offer a small discount (10%) if you should purchase 10+ neck blanks, 6+ back/side sets, or 6+ electric blanks. If you’d like to purchase in these quantities, contact us so we can verify that we have what you’re looking for and can get you a quote. We’ve reduced the price of our African Blackwood sets by 10% from our previous pricing.
We’ll be adding new stock to our website weekly and sending out updates to highlight what’s available and what’s running low. We’d encourage you to buy early if there are items you want, as this will be your last opportunity to get many of them. Please note, due to a camera setting error some recently added pictures are poor quality. We will reshoot these sets early next week. If you see something you’re interested in but need to see a better photo let us know.
Going forward, Canadian clients can purchase non-CITES woods directly from Hibdon. You can visit their website for more information.
Many thanks to you for supporting CLS over the years through wood purchases. We’re be happy to continue offering our radius dishes, jigs and accessories.
All the best for 2019,
Josh & Jess
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We’ll be stocking the following items:
Back/side sets
Fretboard blanks
Bridge blanks
Headplates
Binding
If you’d like more information on these Blackwood products or want to reserve items from this shipment, please e-mail to let us know. This will enable us to keep you posted on the shipment’s progress.
African Blackwood is CITES restricted; we can’t sell it outside Canada. We can provide CITES documentation to anyone purchasing African Blackwood. US residents can purchase Blackwood directly from Hibdon Hardwood. International customers should contact Hibdon directly to inquire about shipping CITES woods to their own country.
If you have questions about African Blackwood or our other products, please contact us.
]]>House Guitars/Canadian Luthier Supply is an authorized K&K dealer and can supply you with any K&K product. Please contact us if you are looking for a K&K product that we do not regularly stock.
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Products back in stock
•1x3x24" Mahogany neck with heel block
•1x3x36" Mahogany neck blanks
•3x4x36" Plain and figured Mahogany neck blanks
•Uke neck blanks
•1x3x24" Spanish Cedar neck with heel block
•Electric body blanks, “Paint” grade and “A” grade
•Plain Mahogany and figured Mahogany back/side sets
Mahogany Pricing
With this arrival comes a price increase. Previously, our wood shipments arrived when the Canadian and US dollars were at, or around, par. This year we've seen the value of the CAD drop to its lowest point in 12 years before rebounding. Our new prices will reflect the drop in the value of the CAD.
If you're interested in reserving any wood before it reaches the website, please email us and let us know what you are interested in. We'll get back to you with the new prices and an estimated ship date for your order.
]]>Payment is not required until the wood clears Canadian customs.
Prices below are in Canadian dollars and do not include tax or shipping.
This year we have the opportunity to bring in some highly-figured back/side sets and neck blanks (3”x4”x30”). Selection is limited, so first-come, first-served! (Pictures are only a sample, not the actual sets.)
Mahogany
Highly-figured back/side sets • $350
Highly-figured 1-piece neck blanks, 3”x4”x30” • $250
1”x3”x24” with heel block • $35.50*
3”x3”x18” Uke neck blank • $25.00*
Electric body blanks, paint-grade • $85*
Spanish Cedar
1”x3”x24” with heel block • $35.50*
1”x3”x36” • $31*
*Buy 10 get 1 free
Be sure to check out our other items in stock and ready for shipment.
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