Who wants to be a Beta Tester? New Breedlove Custom Shop Section (topic moved from 'Guitar' section)

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David Ingram	Who wants to be a Beta Tester? New Breedlove Custom Shop Section (topic moved from 'Guitar'...		Lead	[-]
00 Posts: 100 September 7, 2007 09:47:40	Tags : None ------This topic was moved to 'Ask BGMF' as it is more helpful as one long thread for David, but has become many threads. To keep it all in one identifiable place, I've nudged all of the comments about the beta testing and website comments to here. This way the feedback won't be spread throughout two sections. Try to feedback in this thread if possible.-------thank you... I finally found time this week to get to a sorely needed project - a web-based overview of Breedlove's custom shop capabilities. I'm going to unleash it on the world next week, but I thought I'd request some preliminary feedback from the BGMF readership. Interested in beta testing a new web site section? Here's the starting point: http://www.breedloveguitars.com/instruments/guitars/custom_shop/ CAVEAT: The Custom Shop "Original Designs" section is pretty much done. The Revival Section is not done but will be completed soon. The Mark Series section is not even started yet. REQUEST: I am looking for the following feedback: 1) comments on usability/navigability 2) comments on informational content, flow, etc. 3) errors both grammatical and spelling-related. Post general comments here on the board. If you find specific errors or link problems, please don't post them here - email me directly through the board. By the time everyone else starts reading a post about a specific error, I will probably have fixed it already. When emailing, include a URL wherever possible so that I can track down the problem quickly. Thanks for your help and input! David Ingram Last Edited By: omegaman41658 September 10, 2007 12:02:37. Edited 1 time.
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MIKE DARLEY		#1	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 34 September 7, 2007 11:19:43	1) comments on usability/navigability very usable, and navigable (not sure if that's spelled correctly). it would be nice to be able to click on the options you want and have them saved as you go through, and then maybe be able to view all of the options at the end. in other words, if i selected a certain body, with a certain finish, with a certain type of inlay, it would show like a flash picture or something at the end. that way i could print it out, frame it, and sleep with it next to my bed until the real thing came.....well, maybe not that last part, but it would be good to have some way to look at it at the end. 2) comments on informational content, flow, etc. i thought this was very good. starts with the big things body, tonewood, then moves to the smaller details. very nice. 3) errors both grammatical and spelling-related. i'm not really the guy to ask about that. now that i've completed the survey please let me know how to redeem my $5000 credit towards a custom breedlove.
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Greg F		#2	[url]	[-]
000 Posts: 335 September 7, 2007 12:07:03	(1) Very easy to navigate. (2) Very informative where it needs to be. You give important and detailed information in the sections where more questions are usually asked such as tone woods. (3) I see you use spell check...................! Just one question.Why do your instruments "glow" in some of the pictures? It seems to take the sharpness out of the picture and I have to check and see if I'm wearing my glasses. I only noticed it on the first page of your test section. The rest of the photography looks awsome. Great job and I look forward to seeing the rest of it. I almost felt like I was back at the E2 picking out my guitar... Peace Greg F
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BillyLyons		#3	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 29 September 7, 2007 15:13:55	What a great addition to the site this is going to be. Honestly I wish you folks had this up before I started on my custom build, I would have done things much differently. Some random thoughts: - the flow is excellent. Takes you from 'big issues' to smaller details, from top to bottom, so to speak. A very comprehensive way of laying out the building process and isolating the various options at each step in the process. Very sharp. The best I've seen at any custom builders shop and a great addition to your web presence. - I'd love the ability to actually 'build out' a guitar by picking various combinations and options and finding out how much they cost with a 'price this custom guitar' option. The ability to 'save' the instrument options you just created would be ideal. That way you could tweak the options as necessary to get the price point and options configuraiton you were happiest with. For example, say I have budgeted $4500.00 for my custom Breedlove. I'd like a 'real time' guitar builder price calculator that adds up the cost of each option as I select it. Did I just upgrade the tuners? The price is added to the running total of the guitar. Did I go back and downgrade the binding? The price of the guitar is reduced as specified. I want to be able to hit a button that says "build it" and have the specs saved or emailed to someone at Breedlove who can contact me about getting started on the guitar. that would be sweet. I understand this is beyond the scope at the present time, however. Just something to keep in mind. The graphics are sharp and I generally like the quality of them but I think the color scheme on the site itself could be a bit more vibrant. Just a minor thought. There are no spelling or punctuation errors that I encountered. As I said this will make your services stand out above that of other custom builders. A great addition to the site.
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MIKE DARLEY		#4	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 34 September 7, 2007 23:21:18	BillyLyons wrote: - I'd love the ability to actually 'build out' a guitar by picking various combinations and options and finding out how much they cost with a 'price this custom guitar' option. The ability to 'save' the instrument options you just created would be ideal. That way you could tweak the options as necessary to get the price point and options configuraiton you were happiest with. For example, say I have budgeted $4500.00 for my custom Breedlove. I'd like a 'real time' guitar builder price calculator that adds up the cost of each option as I select it. Did I just upgrade the tuners? The price is added to the running total of the guitar. Did I go back and downgrade the binding? The price of the guitar is reduced as specified. I want to be able to hit a button that says "build it" and have the specs saved or emailed to someone at Breedlove who can contact me about getting started on the guitar. that would be sweet. I understand this is beyond the scope at the present time, however. Just something to keep in mind. Yeah, what he said.
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David Ingram		#5	[url]	[-]
00 Posts: 100 September 10, 2007 11:07:37	What you guys are talking about is essentially a product "configurator". I know these well - I've worked on similar projects before, and I have a friend at an interactive agency that does this sort of thing frequently. I think it's a great idea in some respects - the only downside from our perspective is that it might set up a false expectation in terms of the appearance of tonewoods. Specifically, tonewoods are a natural product, and aesthetic properties are subject to change with each successive batch. Let's say that someone configures an instrument on-line, and the configurator selected a certain "swatch" of myrtlewood to apply to the back of the guitar template for illustrative purposes. The customer then prints out the resulting instrument picture, and stares at it every day for two months, but when their actual instrument arrives, the grain and figuring might be different. With that said, I do think about this idea a lot... as I said above, I've been involved in this sort of project before. I lack the programming chops to get it done properly myself, but I know who to call! David Ingram .............................................. David J. Ingram Marketing Communications Breedlove Guitar Company www.breedloveguitars.com ..............................................
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BillyLyons		#6	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 29 September 10, 2007 16:22:44	I wouldn't be so much concerned with an image of the guitar, I just thought of this as a price estimator, nothing more. I just want to spec out a guitar with the options I want and have an idea of how much it would cost me.
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David Ingram		#7	[url]	[-]
00 Posts: 100 September 10, 2007 17:23:09	I understand completely, Billy. Just giving you a bit of background information regarding the absence of prices on our site. David .............................................. David J. Ingram Marketing Communications Breedlove Guitar Company www.breedloveguitars.com ..............................................
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Capt06		#8	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 72 September 14, 2007 21:00:34	Nice transitions from feature to feature and the ability to jump around if wanted. I agree with another comment, that is would be nice to be able to save or note selections as the customer reads and chooses. Maybe a additional custom worksheet. Anyway if I may add one more thing. Amazing! really nice features and choices available.
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Prophet Noir		#9	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 18 September 17, 2007 10:08:30	Hello All, This is my first post after much lurking and learning. I will be receiving my first guitar and my first Breedlove in the same box today. I am excited to get through the workday and get home to her. Regarding this topic, I don't know if the search for typos is limited to the new custom shop section, but in the Atlas section on the opening page the word Atlas is misspelled in the second paragraph. A small thing but it caught my eye several weeks ago and, as an aspiring writer, it sort of made me itch. Anyway it is a minor nit to pick and I hope I brought it up in the right place. Look for my post about my new guitar very soon. Mason Last Edited By: Prophet Noir September 17, 2007 19:06:28. Edited 2 times.
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David Ingram		#10	[url]	[-]
00 Posts: 100 September 17, 2007 10:15:35	Thanks for the heads-up, Mason. Spelling errors would be best sent directly to me through the board email, just because they would not be of interest to the BGMF once fixed, and don't need to be part of the permanent BGMF database. Discussions about content, etc. are great to hash out here, though. Thanks David Ingram .............................................. David J. Ingram Marketing Communications Breedlove Guitar Company www.breedloveguitars.com ..............................................
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Prophet Noir		#11	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 18 September 17, 2007 10:20:03	Cool David. By the way, I just worked my way through the new custom section and found it to be smooth and easy. The one side effect I did notice was an overwhelming case of GAS!
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omegaman41658		#12	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1644 September 17, 2007 22:24:16 BGMF Owner & Founder "Fame is but a fruit tree" Nick Drake	Prophet Noir wrote: Hello All, This is my first post after much lurking and learning. I will be receiving my first guitar and my first Breedlove in the same box today. Mason Mason...turn us onto what you got and if I read you right you have not owned a guit before? Are you taking lessons or what is your story there. Maybe post that up in the Guitar section so we don't hijack this thread, but I'd love to hear. Jeff edit: Mason..I see you just posted that this morning...too funny...thanks! Last Edited By: omegaman41658 September 18, 2007 08:26:59. Edited 1 time.
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mattthepirate		#13	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 3 January 6, 2008 21:47:01	you should add a custom mandolin section...
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