I had the exact same issue as GB did.

I will say this, picking the guys brains that build a lot of rods is by far the best way to go. If I was a hobby builder that built one here or there, I could see where you would have some frustration after building a rod and then having it not perform as you want or think it should. Like GB, I have built a few rods with different platforms on it and it is amazing to see how some things can completely transform a turd into a treasure or vice versa.

A big frustration that even I deal with is the complete difference between rod manufacturers and even materal makup in relation to the advertised rod action. One companys UL Fast rod will have an action comparable to another companies Light weight moderate action rod. I guess that is why so many of us find a particular brand or company that we get used to and we stick with it because we can accurate predict what the rod blank will react like or feel. You have to have that sort of knowledge when building rods for people.

I build (or used to build) a ton of jigging rods. Very specific rods intended to jig 5/8oz to more than 1oz jigs in fast current for walleyes. Knowing what the person intends to get out of the rod or what they are looking for was a great beneifit. I could accurately gauge which rod blank (even down to the company) would work best for them. If they were NEVER going to cast this rod, I would build it a ton different than if they were. Same held true for what type of line they wanted to utilize. Again, many guys assume that they need to use X because that is what they found works best on the current version of rod they have. Then they are amazed when you build them a custom intent rod.

I own tons of rods, some of them are store purchased and some are custom built. The store purchased ones that I contue to use, I simply have yet to find a blank that reacts like that one. Not to say it isn't made, just that I have yet to find it!

I'm currently working on a real gem right now. A rod blank composit that has not been made in years. I was able to get the company to reproduce it in order to closely match the makeup of one of their rods from more than 30 years ago. It got sent back in 2016 on a warranty mission only to find that they just couldn't make it anymore. Instead of warrantying that rod, they decided to produce a whole new blank for me. Slightly better than the original but still utilizing the same components. I'll show it off when it is complete. If you are not familiar with a SAGE rod, take a look. Feel free to choke when looking at the prices. Then you will realize the reason I called it a real GEM!