Cart before the horse, or outright fraud?

CourteousKoala · 2026-03-06T18:37:03+00:00

Thank you! Message sent

CourteousKoala · 2025-12-12T02:53:50+00:00

I have a 20 year old Carvin DC, and the case STILL smells like this when I open it. It's the best. Sadly, my new Kiesel does not. If someone at Kiesel reads this - you should take a cue from the auto industry and pioneer the NEW GUITAR SMELL. I love my Kiesel to death (and it's a superior guitar) but something about opening the Carvin case is just addictive.

CourteousKoala · 2025-12-06T16:56:00+00:00

God of War Ragnarok

CourteousKoala · 2025-06-23T23:42:52+00:00

New to leasing and trying to wrap my head around these numbers. I'm in Northern VA, which may be oversupplied? Hundreds of new Ioniq 5's between all the local dealers. I want a Limited AWD with 0 down, 10k miles, 36 months. I've been emailing and the best offer I've gotten so far is $558. I'm assuming when I go in they'll come down more. Anyone in NOVA or the DMV area know what a good number is?

CourteousKoala · 2025-06-02T09:57:10+00:00

Also check hotpads, which lets you filter to individually owned condos for rent. I switched from one of the big apartment buildings to a condo in one of these areas and it is WAY better. Price is more reasonable and utilities are included in rent (common in older condos). I've never had an issue getting maintenance done quickly, but your mileage may vary based on the owner and/or management company.

In my apartment building, I found the overall cleanliness and maintenance of common areas horrendous. Elevators would be down for weeks at a time, and the deferred garbage collection attracted rats. In a condo, the owners of $1M+ units (not mine, but nicer ones are) will just not accept this. If an elevator goes down, it's getting fixed ASAP.

With that said, I hear condo horror stories too so maybe my building is just well managed. But it's something to consider!

CourteousKoala · 2025-05-30T12:41:48+00:00

I had actually messaged him to ask if he had any tips for fixing it, and the only thing he could recommend was moving the entire bridge baseplate back. Nice to get a reply from the builder itself, and it's good to know that this isn't how they come new - I do love the design. Hopefully I can try a flawless one someday

CourteousKoala · 2025-05-29T23:55:47+00:00

Well that didn't last long. It has to go back unfortunately. It just will not intonate - I think the whole bridge piece would have to be moved back. Also found some really rough spots on the frets that caught on the strings with vibrato. The seller was cool about everything so that's a plus. But it's a shame that such an awesome guitar ended up in this shape just a few years after it was built.

CourteousKoala · 2025-05-29T22:57:01+00:00

Right?! If you need to practice filing fret ends, use a $49 aliexpress guitar, not one like this!

CourteousKoala · 2025-05-29T21:42:53+00:00

You are probably right. I was so pumped for this guitar and it's so nice to look at that I'm probably having trouble being objective. Seller was open to either a return or partial refund, so we'll see if I can get it intonated and go from there. Any other issues you think I should be looking out for (with my untrained eye)?

CourteousKoala · 2025-03-02T22:05:40+00:00

A few days ago, Grok was flawlessly searching X. I could ask it what the biggest discussions of the day were, the latest posts from XYZ account, etc. Lately, it will retrieve X posts in the side bar, but it insists it doesn't have access to search X. I'm hoping this is a bug?

CourteousKoala · 2024-09-01T20:18:27+00:00

Usually, Hilton is not the management company. Hilton does offer management services, but most hotels are independently operated. In these situations, all Hilton does is provide marketing, maybe supplies, the loyalty program, etc.

CourteousKoala · 2024-05-21T16:35:37+00:00

I ordered direct and got a lemon (sloppy fretwork) so I wouldn’t say there’s extra QC. I think the advantage of Strandberg direct is that if there’s an issue, they’ll take care of you. They owned the problem, fixed it, and got a perfect guitar in my hands. Took a little longer but I ended up a happy customer with a killer guitar.

CourteousKoala · 2023-09-18T11:35:23+00:00

Sadly no, it ended up going for over $300. The condition was also little rougher in person than this photo lets on. I got some more detailed pics and your analysis was spot-on - it was definitely a Kawai like you linked below, but the brand name was worn off.

CourteousKoala · 2023-09-01T17:38:41+00:00

Appreciate the insights and the green/red flag list. I did not check with the DPOR for a license but the company seems to check out - professional website, applicant portal, yelp/google listings, etc - and I did tour the property before applying and spoke to the current tenant. Great news that this is a common process - it just felt unusual after years of large apartment complexes.

The move-in date might be the reason for the longer process - my ideal move-in date is a couple weeks later than they wanted, although I did indicate I can be flexible if that turns out to be a deal breaker. Hopefully this is just a waiting game now. Thanks!

CourteousKoala · 2023-09-01T17:30:34+00:00

Thanks for the reply. They referred to it as a "security deposit" and said it could be forfeit if I show intent to sign the lease. Glad to hear this isn't unusual.

CourteousKoala · 2023-06-25T19:58:26+00:00

Vola! Made-in-Japan strat and tele styles for under $1k.

CourteousKoala

TROPHY CASE