Spence,
Welcome aboard!!!
I just spoke with Bill a few minutes ago and asked him to pass on some of the options that are available to you. I apologize, but Walnut is no longer a "standard" wood species in our offerings. I had planned on it being so until after I got the bill from our wood vendor on the first batch we bought. Ouch... a little more salty than I had calculated. But...it is certainly available and in the case of the Walnut in particular, the up-charge for it isn't that much.
Talk to Bill, but we can work something out at a very reasonable cost - which could (if you like) include the Curly English Maple (Sycamore), that you see in our pic of the Continuum 2.5s (which are on their way to Frank S.)... on our website. Whatever your preference may be, we'll work real hard to get you something that you'd really like and bring it in at the lowest possible cost. I hate to see folks compromise on a substantial investment such as this - especially when they have a good idea regarding what they'd prefer. We have to cover our costs, but beyond that it's seldom much more actual work going with different species of wood. There are exceptions like burls or oily woods, but they are usually quite a bit more expensive to begin with.
We used to have a fixed price for what we call our "Premier Finish," but found it too limited and in many cases unfair to either us or the customer. Now we quote that price on a "per order" basis. Some of the possible finishes and combinations (which are virtually limitless) aren't all that bad from an added cost standpoint and can really make your pair a "one of a kind" - if you like.
As a side note... that's one advantage our customers have that you don't get from a lot of other companies. While it may take a while for us to get them to you, try ordering ANYTHING special in the way of finish from manufacturers that are out-sourcing their enclosures to Asia/South America/wherever. Every enclosure is made here in the good old USA. We're out-sourcing now too...all the way from Illinois!
Add to that the fact that we DO NOT out-source any design that we can't make here in-house ourselves. My business plan is to see to it that no vendor has the ability to shut us completely down.
This is quite in contrast to at least one other company that I know of that was essentially put out of business by a vendor from China. He was extended on his debt to customers and the banks, and was depending on the "balance due" from product sold (that he was to receive upon shipment to the customers) ... in order to survive. Well, the "slow boat from China" showed up with a batch of bad enclosures that couldn't be used. There was no time left to wait on a replacement shipment so...bankruptcy was all he had left. That ain't happening to this guy.
OK... I'm off on a tangent. Coffee break is over and it's time to get back to work. It's another all-nighter to get Ted B. His Revs before Christmas. That and I have Minis constantly biting at my heels and wanting to be prep-ed for a ride on Santa's sleigh as well.
Take care,
-Bob
