Last year I bought a Richard Beard bouzouki used from Charles Johnson. I snapped it up because I just played a friends Beard cittern and loved the sound of it. The woods were the same (spruce top and koa backs and sides) so I went for it. The fact that Charles said that Richard would also cover the instrument under warrantee was also a plus, although I never have needed warrantee service before.
Well, I'm not sure if Richard saw a dime on this transaction, but he stepped right up to the plate when I needed him. I had a top brace pop on the zouk last month. I dropped him an email and he responded back right away. He offered to fix it himself or pay to have it fixed by luthier locally.
I opted to have him do the work and shipped him the instrument. He kept me updated on the progress and answered my questions when I had them. I just got the bouzouki back today. It is actually in better shape than when I first bought it.
I want to publicly thank Richard for his outstanding customer service (especially when the customer was not a direct customer!). For all of you considering Octives, Bouzoukis, Mandolas, etc., I couldn't recommend Richard more highly.
Thanks!
Pete
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