Y'all deserve the full picture, but straight to the point first.
If your order, refund, repair or replacement is still unresolved, you deserve a straight answer. I missed commitments, and I should have communicated better. I am responsible for addressing that.
A review of our records identified more than $20,000.00 in customer refunds. That includes direct refunds and payments resulting from processor disputes. Product exchanges and replacements are separate, and are not included in that figure.
That progress matters. It does not resolve someone else's order, and I am not claiming every customer matter is closed.
For those awaiting resolution:
Please continue your existing email thread or contact info@cerberusguitars.com with your order details, the outstanding issue and the outcome you are requesting. Do not send card numbers, passwords or sensitive banking information.
This update does not create a new universal refund or delivery date, replace individual commitments, or change applicable customer rights.
Optional payment-provider review form
If you would like to ask your bank, card issuer or payment provider to review an unresolved payment, you may use this optional fillable form. Your provider decides whether review or recovery is available; the form does not guarantee eligibility, a refund or any particular outcome.
This option does not replace Cerberus’s obligations or individual commitments, and does not waive your rights. Disclose all refunds, credits, replacements and other recoveries already received so the same loss is not recovered twice. Do not include full card numbers, passwords or sensitive banking credentials.
I was working to address matters directly behind the scenes. Court filings, internal auditing and an outside review have also limited what I could discuss publicly while that work was underway. With that work having either completed or progressed far enough, I can now share more of the picture.
What exactly happened:
Allegations were made about Cerberus. Some criticism was earned. Some accounts left out facts that matter. Below is what happened in each relationship, including where things remain disputed. Some dates are approximate.
I chose our partners based on the reputations I understood them to have at the time. I paid suppliers, invested in work and equipment, and pursued completion when projects fell behind. I contributed personally to resolving customer matters and helping make customers whole. That is part of the picture that bears notating, I am still responsible for how Cerberus handles customer expectations and I’ve never nor will I pass that buck to someone else.
LsL Instruments, 2019 to present day:
We've been working with LsL since 2019, and that relationship is still strong to this day. We're honored to work with them and proud of the models we've created together.
The USA Hermes 7 projects, and subsequent Machado issues:
The USA Hermes 7 project with Brandon Machado has unfortunately become the subject of an ongoing legal dispute in an attempt for Cerberus to recoup the nearly $10,000 we paid him for work that was never completed. The initial customers and dealers associated with those builds have been refunded in full and were as fast as reasonably possible. That statement concerns those orders specifically, not every outstanding Cerberus matter.
Cerberus Guitars, LLC filed suit against Machado on March 5, 2025, in the 237th Judicial District Court of Lubbock County, Texas, case DC-2025-CV-0285. In the filed pleadings, Machado disputed Cerberus’s claims and asserted counterclaims. I am leaving the disputed contractual and financial issues to the legal process.
Our dispute with a supplier does not change our responsibility to our customers.
Rebirth Guitar Company / Lance Gregory Music LLC:
Our work with Rebirth Guitar Company / Lance Gregory Music LLC began around 2023, as best I can remember. I invested in that relationship because I respected Lance and his work, was hoping to build something strong together, and expecting the agreed work to be completed. Here is why I ended the agreement in 2025.
There were delays, and I had to intervene to get parts moving. Specifically, an EverTune invoice issued in May 2025 to Lance for a customer’s build was still unpaid despite me paying Lance for it in full. On June 16, I wrote to EverTune, “I just spoke with Lance and the invoice should be paid now.” EverTune confirmed receipt of payment on June 18. The issue was delay, not that the parts were never ordered or paid for.