BO-EL Guitars any of our Euro Members try one?

[kmanick]

I've been looking at the Marcel Coenen MC7 string and the price is good 1299 Euro. ( around $1600 US today)
The Owner has sent me some pics and specs, these look like great guitars, any of our European members have one or try one?
Owner sent me these pics

[GodOfRhythm]

I don't have one, nor did I try any. But I did speak with a guy that bought one and went by Marcel's house to pick it up, he's got pics of the meeting somewhere and everything. Anyways, he was nothing but purely positive about it, he loved it to death and I think he sold his EBMM JP's because the BO-EL was so good.

I've seen Marcel live a couple of times now and talked with him a couple of times as well, after the shows and he's a really cool guy, I can't imagine him putting his name or skills on an inferior piece of equipment. If I see him again anytime soon I'll ask about his sig bo-el.

[AimingHigh]

This is really cool. I actually live in NY but I've been in Holland every summer over the last two years, hanging out with my bud and king of lefty Kramers Remy. (Kramer Amsterdam)

I was in the Bo-El shop a year ago, while we were on our way to Peter VanWeelder's shop. (EVH's amp tech and designer of the Gainland amp)
The Bo-El guitars look divine and play great--very much a handbuilt feel--but from what the folks there told me, they ARE made in Korea. Bo-El has a deal with a high-end Korean supplier--they use real quality woods and hardware, but there's still that stigma of a Korean guitar. As a player, I'd say who cares, but as a collector and an investor, I'd say to stay away only because the resale value of asian guitars just isn't good.

George

[kmanick]

Email Huub sent me
I started my Customshop in 1990. We made custom build guitars and did some repair work.In 1997 we start importing Shine guitars beside our own. ( semi acoustics) More and more guitarists wanted to play our Bo~EL guitars, so in 1998 we developed a signature model with Gordon G. We where not able to do productions so the first series GG models (50) where made by Shine in Korea with the Shine logo on the headstock.( that was a logical step).
After that we started a small customshop ( 4 guys) in Korea who make the bodys for the affordable guitars. (It's very hard to get the right licence in Holland for this).We build them up here in Holland so we still able to check the quality. (GG-75, GG-100, S03, Kim, MC-6 and MC-7 models) All expensive guitars (about 2000,== Euro and more) are made here in Holland. They are not better only they are made with special inlays and woods that makes them more expensive. So, the guitars are not made by Shine!!! They are partly made on a real customshop with high quality woods and with a lot of care.
I think some Idiots try to ruïn my brand ( must be Fender players they can't stand that we make a better product.)

About your questions: we use Dunlop 6140,
Neckwidth by the topnut is 47,5mm and on the 12th position 59,7mm.
There is no distributer in the US yet, so you have to order directly.
In a couple of days we will finish the new series MC-7 with dot inlay. ( 1225,-- Euro)

I will also sent you some pictures from our production ( hope your mailbox is big enough)

Regards,
Huub Boel


So now I'm even more confused????????????

[AimingHigh]

The Bo-el shop is cool. It's in the Dutch countryside and is a very small storefront. I loved one guitar I played--ash body, hardtail, two Duncans and an unfinished neck. I believe they wanted 900E for it.
I do recall some handmade guitars on sale for 3000E which the clerk Harry (a dead ringer for Adrian Vandenberg) told me were made by the owner.

Is it worth it? Probably. It's definitely better quality than any run of the mill guitar I've seen out of Korea. But, to play devil's advocate, I could argue that anyone can put a guitar together. Yes, Bo-el came up with the specs, and they have been strict in securing only the best Asian supplier. Just for me though, I like my axes CNCed and made in the USA. I know this is a sensitive subject for many.

The perception may change over time, though. There was a time when "Made in Japan" indicated lower quality too. Of course, now it's not the case..

George