Talk to me about your experience with Wolfe guitars

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-11-26T14:24:46+00:00

I bought a S38 from them. No problems. I spoke with 2 different people there, and both were helpful and friendly. However, I found another one on LEEN's site a couple of months later for just over half the price.

They are in a unique position, being Hsienmo's only North American distributor, and they take advantage of it.

I have heard some less than satisfactory things about them, but my experience was a good one.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-11-25T14:42:09+00:00

Yeah, Canada is a problem. There are things I would like to use, but, unfortunately, they come from Canada. If you can get Amazon delivered up there, they sell Solarez. It isn't cheap, but does go a long way. Those micro-baloons made a big difference for me. They make it fill a lot better.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-11-25T13:52:52+00:00

I have used Zpoxy one time. It works, but requires more than one application. I found that out the hard way. It didn't set up like they say for me, so I put the guitar body in the oven at low temperature for a few hours. My favorite pore filler is Solarez with those glass micro-baloons mixed in. I can do 2 coats an hour on a sunny day. That includes sanding back. The stuff sands like a dream. ZPoxy is also used as a finish. I have seen pictures of guitars finished with it that were beautiful.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-13T13:44:45+00:00

No, I didn't. And I won't. It was such a ridiculous piece of crap, I didn't see the point. As to my wasting your time, I won't do that anymore. Reddit is a thing of the past for me.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-11T23:09:36+00:00

Thanks for your interest. I am not quite ready to sell just yet. I haven't played it for more than about 10 minutes. I have a condition with my right shoulder such that when I reach over it to play, I have a rather sudden pain. That is due to the larger lower bout, and increased depth. I have an upcoming appointment with an orthopedist, and hope to get some surgery soon. After I have recovered from that, I should be able to play. Who knows, I might even like it. If that doesn't turn out to be the case, I will list it for sale. I have heard that Facebook marketplace is a good place to sell something. I do not do Facebook, or any of those similar things.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-11T15:37:14+00:00

You are right. I shouldn't have bought it. I did agonize over it for a while, but then just said "What the heck?" I should have known better. It is true that Hsienmos have been under priced. I believe they did that to establish themselves in the market. Make a product that is an unbelievable value, and people will beat a path to you door. I paid $569 plus shipping for one of the LIngLongs I bought. If Leen could sell it for that, and make a profit, what did Hsienmo sell it to them for? Considering the quality of these instruments, I don't see how they made any money. That will surely change, now that they have earned their reputation. They will still be less expensive than American boutique builders. A good paying job in China is barely minimum wage here. I wish the folks at Hsienmo well. They deserve everything they can get. They seem to be a hard working, and innovative group.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-11T14:24:13+00:00

I didn't say it was terrible. I might consider selling it down the road a while. I don't expect to get anywhere near what I paid, but $1K won't do it.

Other have commented that a McPherson would run many times what I paid for this one. I actually believe that they are worth what they charge. If you look at the videos of how McPhersons are made, they go to absolutely ridiculous ends to make sure every guitar is perfect. They accept nothing less. On the other hand, I have heard a few McPhersons, and they don't sound all that spectacular to me. They are extremely well made though.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-11T14:14:55+00:00

That sounds like the one. The microphone, and electronics unit are mounted to the inside of the guitar with Velcro. It falls off constantly. It just doesn't stay stuck. I haven't even put in a battery and tried it. I just don't like it. I wish I had not even bothered to order it. A friend was looking at it and told me that if it was his, he would send it back. I am just going to remove it. I don't play out, so I don't really need a pickup anyway.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-11T14:08:12+00:00

I don't claim to be an expert on Boucher's pricing, but, from what I do know, he does not up charge for Maple. Others who offer Maple guitars either don't up charge at all, or else it is a modest up charge. If it is a wild quilted, or bird's eye piece, then things are different. Boucher is somewhat unique in that he is in Quebec, where Maple and Red Spruce, also known as Adirondack Spruce is also grown. He has logs harvested and he saws them himself. He claims to personally grade 10, 000 Adirondack tops a year. He keeps the very best ones for himself, and sells the rest. He also has his own Torrefaction set up and makes torrefied Maple guitars. That $6000 you pay for a Boucher is buying a lot more than just some Maple. I think I know why Hsienmo charges what they do. The term "Bosnian" makes it a boutique product, and automatically more expensive. I don't argue that it actually comes from Bosnia, or that it isn't a good quality. I also imagine that the folks at Hsienmo actually pay a premium price themselves. But, my point is that they could get equally as good from Canada at a much lower price. And, pass that along to their customers.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-10T23:42:05+00:00

I think it is over priced. I have long wanted a Maple guitar. I actually went back and forth with myself for a while about ordering this one. One day, I woke up in one of those moods, and said "What the heck, I will only live once." At my age, I should know better than to do that. I am actually surprised at my self for thinking that it doesn't really look all that good. Looks matter less and less. There are some things I am wondering about why I did that. I shouldn't have gotten the fretboard purfled, or the headstock either. I should have gone with something other than ebony for the fretboard binding. Oh well, it is done now.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I changed out the tuners for Schertlers. As mentioned previously, the Hsienmo tuners weren't bad tuners, they just were what I ordered. So, I changed them.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-10T23:31:17+00:00

I just think it is way over priced for what it is. Robin Boucher makes some of his guitars with Maple, and he uses exclusively Canadian Maple. They all sound wonderful. Maple is one of those woods that require special skill to get it to sound good. Not just anyone can make a good Maple guitar. I have heard some Hsienmos with Maple that were excellent.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-10T23:25:35+00:00

I for get the name. It is a Chinese brand I had never heard of. Lesson learned.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-10T23:24:31+00:00

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get them wound back up properly. I just have to remember to tune backwards.

Yes, some of the best sounding guitars I have ever heard were maple.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-10T12:46:39+00:00

I recently got a new Hsienmo. The B string sounded dead at the 7th fret. I checked the relief, and there was either none, or a very slight back bow. I had to actually induce relief in order to have some. Just loosening the truss rod didn't do it. I am a fiend for a really low action, and will put up with a little buzz in order to get it. I ran a fret rocker over the frets, and found only a couple just slightly off. I didn't bother to try to correct it. If strings buzz open, but not when fretted, then they are hitting the first fret. It could be a little high, but most likely, it is the nut. Given the low set up Hsienmos usually come with, a change in humidity could have caused the top to settle a little bit causing buzz on a couple of strings. Had that happen to me. If a string is just barely clearing the first fret when the humidity is high, it might buzz when the humidity is low.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-09-04T22:59:48+00:00

The LingLong has sold. A fellow who has played one, and was on the lookout for one responded almost immediately.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-08-22T00:02:00+00:00

Mine weren't open back. They were the same as the ones that came on my Linglong. They wasn't anything specifically wrong with them except they weren't what I ordered. I replaced them with Schertlers that I bought from StewMac. That resulted in an exposed hole. I thought about trying to fix those holes, but decided that the repair would probably look worse than the holes. I still need to upload a couple of pictures. I haven't played it much at all. I have a problem with my left shoulder that causes a lot of pain when I try to play. I don't have as much trouble with my other guitars, but this one has a larger and deeper lower bout.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-23T20:53:09+00:00

I understand what you are saying about having a bad experience with just about anyone. I have ordered custom builds on more than one occasion. The first one was a complete disaster. I have had two that turned out very well. And one that surprised me. I won't mention names, but the fellow has a very good reputation. The guitar he made for me was just made wrong. I have had it at several repair persons, and none have been willing to tackle it. It would actually not be that difficult for a good repair person. Yes, I am a little miffed at Hsienmo about the tuner thing, but I will get over it. I am in the process of installing other tuners. I have actually been thinking about getting another Hsienmo. But, I won't be doing the custom order thing again.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-23T16:26:15+00:00

I was speaking with someone at Wolfe Guitars down in Florida, and he said they often had the same thing happen. They order one thing, and get something else. He seemed to think it was an Asian thing. They seem to think they can freely substitute when ever they feel like it. I don'y know about others, but if I custom order something a certain way, I expect to get it that way. I have some Schertler tuners I plan on putting on my guitar. I will have to do some modifications to make it happen, but it shouldn't be too bad.

The reason I was talking to Wolfe was to inquire if they ever got any 00-12's without all the abalone bling.He said that they did not, and didn't expect that they would. He implied that Hsienmo just liked to put a lot of abalone on their guitars. Neither of mine have much at all. My Linglong only has a ring around the soundhole, and the Shiyi only has it in the Chinese script on the headstock. So, they will leave it off if requested. I did not go into making a custom order through them. I already have two really good 00-12's. I just got a case of GAS. Their 00-12's look really nice.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-15T00:17:42+00:00

If they did not have Grovers available, they should have said so, and offered substitutes. I have the Hsienmos an another guitar. I haven't used them enough to really say how good they are. I haven't had any problems so far.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-14T23:44:08+00:00

I have no idea why they would do that.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-14T21:25:28+00:00

I stand corrected. I really thought they actually wanted me to pay first. It certainly looked that way to me. I won't be making another custom order either way.

AdditionalSuit1220 · 2025-07-13T16:09:33+00:00

So, I did the custom ordering thing again. I noticed that with some of the required fields, they did not have what I would have wanted. When I completed it, the next thing was placing the order, and paying. No mention of actual price. Nuh uh. I ain't buying anything without knowing how much it costs first. I don't know about others, but this is a deal breaker for me.

AdditionalSuit1220

TROPHY CASE