It's been some since I played or sang as part of a musical group (orchestra, choir, etc.), but during my years as performer I remember listening to praise for some luthiers and despise for others. Bad comments where always on the same topic: time. Nobody liked the idea of waiting six months to get a new instrument.
Six months sound like a lot, but luthiers. At least the ones who can pull their weight on that name usually set these time frames in order to make instruments for their stock. It is their work. And as any other job they can't live without producing. Custom-made-instrument requests are not their bread and butter; nor repairs.
Nonetheless, I understand a musician's point of view in these situation. They need a tool to work. Maybe they need a new one. Professional musicians outgrow their instruments. They need something new to fill in the gaps on any area: sound quality, projection, tuning, comfort, aesthetics.
On the other hand, not many musicians know how instruments are made. They might have an educated guess at best. But it isn't enough.
What's my point?
I've been in both shoes. As a musician I have bought one custom made instrument in my life and remember pushing the luthier to have it ready in a specific time frame. In this case, this guy was the one to tell me it would be only a month to have it done. And I'm finnicky with time. That's part of my OCD. Now, I understand the need of time in such a delicate process.
Once upon a time, I was trying to sell Bri, my mandolin. I decided I wasn't going to play any more. But I had to get new finish on her. That's the point in which all this trip into luthiery began. My teacher was the one to do this restoration. At the time, I didn't even bother to keep track of this. I remember the mandolin spent some months in his house because he was busy with other requests. I worked in another city at the moment. When he finally got onto this, he sent me pictures of every step of the process. Yes, every step from removing the old varnish to the complete preparation for the new one. I even have a video of the whole varnish process and one from the final polish. It was truly something else.
[Bri with a bright new finish!]
Long story short, I never sold the mandolin. It's still with me. I even have some videos playing it. But I remember some of the musicians that were interested in it all said the same: "I wanted insert luthier name to make me one, but he/she said it would take 6 months or a year. I can't wait that long, I need an instrument now!
Comments like this above keep coming to me. I listen to them in conversations between musicians and I have read them. Making an instrument takes all the time it needs. What would surprise many is that putting all the pieces together is the easiest part of the process. Have you seen my posts? I'm making a cuatro at home with barely enough jigs for it. But the work in legit. This needs dedication and attention to details. Yes, making an instrument can be simple, but no luthier around the world wants to make or would even allow him(her)self to make a poor quality instrument. It doesn't matter if it's the most basic thing in the world.
At this point, you may be wondering: but what's difficult about making the instrument then? It's simple: the finish! You can spend twice as much time making sure the instrument has a good appearance. Of course, the more you do it, the easier it gets, but we always want to make the best work possible to satisfy the aesthetic needs of the client be it a glossy finish or a mate one.
Maybe some luthiers in the past have made a bad habit to take long periods of time to make their stocks. For example, Venezuelan luthier Pablo Canela used to make 2 cuatros a year. But Canela was renown and his years of work and quality of craft set him aside in history. I believe this kinds of comments about luthiers taking their time would be fixed with exchanges between both guilds. They depend on each other after all.
This being said, not all musicians are in a hurry for an instrument, but those who are maybe should consider going to a story and buy something that's already made and available for performances on short notice.