Alleva Coppolo

[20db pad]

Alleva-Coppolo instruments are built literally from scratch by hand by an American with exquisitely honed master-level skills, in America. That's not an inexpensive proposition and hasn't been for decades.

There's also a gap between what a builder would "like" to charge for his work, and what a builder "has" to charge for it. Once your company gets to a certain size and production level, you can't build guitars in your basement because of residential laws. In an outside facility, these guys have to pay their own lease, finance/buy expensive equipment, pay insurance, pay taxes, material costs, heating, lighting, air conditioning and a host of other things I'm leaving out.

Even with the premium prices they charge for building up to a standard instead of down to a price, they're not making as much profit as you might think.

 

[FunkHead]

I have yet to "nail down" who is making necks for the custom builders. Most admit to using Warmoth at least some of the time. Almost anybody can bolt together a Warmoth bass. To Me the neck is 90% of the perfect bass. Sure there are a ton of Electronics to chose from. Alder or Ash??? Nitro or Poly??? Just think of the incredible bass you could build yourself with $5 Grand. I don't think you could even get it 1/2 that high. I have a custom builder that will sell me one of their necks but they won't give up the Manufacturers name. So it could be Mighty Mite for all I know.

 

[20db pad]

I have yet to "nail down" who is making necks for the custom builders. Most admit to using Warmoth at least some of the time. Almost anybody can bolt together a Warmoth bass. To Me the neck is 90% of the perfect bass. Sure there are a ton of Electronics to chose from. Alder or Ash??? Nitro or Poly??? Just think of the incredible bass you could build yourself with $5 Grand. I don't think you could even get it 1/2 that high. I have a custom builder that will sell me one of their necks but they won't give up the Manufacturers name. So it could be Mighty Mite for all I know.

It's these guys in many cases. Chew this post up and swallow it after you read it.....

Wildwood Manufacturing, Inc.

 

[FunkHead]

It's these guys in many cases. Chew this post up and swallow it after you read it.....

Wildwood Manufacturing, Inc.

Yes sir, I am tempted to order 12 Geddy Lee Style necks just to sell 11 and keep one. LOL

 

[20db pad]

Yes sir, I am tempted to order 12 Geddy Lee Style necks just to sell 11 and keep one. LOL

I think the minimum order is more than 12 !!

 

[FunkHead]

I think the minimum order is more than 12 !!

They might require 12 Bodies be ordered at the same time.

 

[20db pad]

They might require 12 Bodies be ordered at the same time.

Yeah, they're definitely not interested in selling to individual consumers - not their business model.

 

[FunkHead]

Yeah, they're definitely not interested in selling to individual consumers - not their business model.

Do you think there's a reseller that would sell one at a time?

 

[20db pad]

Do you think there's a reseller that would sell one at a time?

They don't seem to have a dealer network like Allparts or WD or many other manufacturers have, and there's a reason for this. Looks like they sell only to established builders in the trade looking to buy prefabricated parts in bulk. The end consumers in this - the builders - aren't in the habit of selling separate bodies or necks except in the case of replacing a damaged part on one of their own instruments.

Over the years, I've seen guys buy Allparts or Warmoth necks - which are great products - and have them shaped/shaved/tweaked by luthiers to more customized specs, so there always is that option.

 

[svtb15]

I can tell ya who makes those necks for the other builder... But then they would have to kill me.. ! I wont tell, unless they water board me. Then Ill spill the beans.
EDIT: Looks someone spilled a part f the beans. . there is another manufacturer too,, Actually Jimmy at alleva at times makes a few necks for another company in the same shop that he makes his basses

But while you ask, here is my new Alleva neck being made by Jimmy at Alleva... The CNC roughs it out , then he does the rest by hand.. The CNC gets its dead on but the hand sanding and some shaping gets it to a custom feel that i personally like. I own a few and he has my neck profile feel down to the tee.... Some photos from last week on my new LG5 at his shop in Upland
Alleva Coppolo Neck

This is my new neck .. DN Brazilian FB at Alleva Shop in Upland

I like jimmy to make my neck a little deeper than stock alleva necks..

Ready for side dots

I have yet to "nail down" who is making necks for the custom builders. Most admit to using Warmoth at least some of the time. Almost anybody can bolt together a Warmoth bass. To Me the neck is 90% of the perfect bass. Sure there are a ton of Electronics to chose from. Alder or Ash??? Nitro or Poly??? Just think of the incredible bass you could build yourself with $5 Grand. I don't think you could even get it 1/2 that high. I have a custom builder that will sell me one of their necks but they won't give up the Manufacturers name. So it could be Mighty Mite for all I know.

 

[Baird6869]

They don't seem to have a dealer network like Allparts or WD or many other manufacturers have, and there's a reason for this. Looks like they sell only to established builders in the trade looking to buy prefabricated parts in bulk. The end consumers in this - the builders - aren't in the habit of selling separate bodies or necks except in the case of replacing a damaged part on one of their own instruments.

Over the years, I've seen guys buy Allparts or Warmoth necks - which are great products - and have them shaped/shaved/tweaked by luthiers to more customized specs, so there always is that option.

Good points...

Personally, I don't care who a builder buys from as long as I am happy with the end result/sum of the parts.

My most recent custom (Valenti) turned out perfect and I specified the FB radius, neck profile, but width, scale, etc. If he had a SX neck reshaped and it ended up being as good as mine... Cool. He didn't BTW.

 

[20db pad]

Good points...

Personally, I don't care who a builder buys from as long as I am happy with the end result/sum of the parts.

I don't either, and I actually think CNC parts make for a better instrument. There are those who vehemently believe that is NOT the case and think that the act of a builder buying pre-fab parts makes their instruments null and void. Makes for interesting reading on the forum, anyway.

 

[Baird6869]

I don't either, and I actually think CNC parts make for a better instrument. There are those who vehemently believe that is NOT the case and think that the act of a builder buying pre-fab parts makes their instruments null and void. Makes for interesting reading on the forum, anyway.

For sure.

Even Fodera uses CNC for bodies. I asked them why during a visit and was told that it is crazy to have high priced and skilled luthiers doing mundane tasks like cutting the same body shapes over and over when they should be doing carving, finishing, etc. I personally have no problem with this either.

 

[20db pad]

For sure.

Even Fodera uses CNC for bodies. I asked them why during a visit and was told that it is crazy to have high priced and skilled luthiers doing mundane tasks like cutting the same body shapes over and over when they should be doing carving, finishing, etc. I personally have no problem with this either.

My old Fodera was very much pre-Jason, pre-CNC, and pre-organized Fodera manufacturing/business plan. It was a great axe, but I much prefer the stuff they do now.

 

[Baird6869]

My old Fodera was very much pre-Jason, pre-CNC, and pre-organized Fodera manufacturing/business plan. It was a great axe, but I much prefer the stuff they do now.

The new ones are great IME. Not that the old ones were bad (in my limited experience), but the new ones seem to be very consistantly.

Not to derail....

In any case, I personally would prefer a CNC doing the pickup routes and neck pocket over a human any day.

 

[Just Thumpin']

For sure.

Even Fodera uses CNC for bodies. I asked them why during a visit and was told that it is crazy to have high priced and skilled luthiers doing mundane tasks like cutting the same body shapes over and over when they should be doing carving, finishing, etc. I personally have no problem with this either.

It really all comes down to using the best tools available for any given job and preserving the limited amount of skilled artisan work available to a shop at any given time. The reality is that people who have the artistic skill, talent and demeanor necessary to work at the highest level are precious. They also tend to be intensely creative and having them spend their time repetitively rough-shaping parts again and again is a sure-fire way to burn people out.

We use our CNC to get parts that we make routinely to a decent rough-carve state. Then people do the final shaping of every part of our instruments -- meaning that we leave enough wood during the rough-carve that each piece can be treated uniquely and personally. That is the balance that we try to strike.

 

[Kmrumedy]

.........with your experience as a furniture builder - I'm sure you can make a stunning instrument that sounds just like an armoire should.

Dammit how these posts irradiate me.

Bwwwhahahhahhahahahhahahaaa! That was awesome! Have to add this to my signature.

 

[mpdd]

Jimmy is always looking for vintage wood to make the basses out of and vintage machines that perform the production processes of yesteryear, i can't afford to buy a bass from him. but i cannot begin to describe how awesome his jazz pickups sound in my 80s mij jazz and how fun it is to tour the factory

 

[basses55]

I am posting to see if it is just me or do others have the same thoughts. I checked out some Alleva Coppolo basses on line and I am amazed at the cost of copies of Fenders with a different headstock design go for ridiculous prices (there are quite a few others). If one spends that kind of dough for a custom why would one buy a copy? Myself and others build customs that are exactly that, unique, one of a kind with just the electronics and specs the buyer desires. It irradiates me that they advertise these as their creations. End of rant.

Having been involved closely with builders who take on the challenge of trying to build a vintage- like Fender style bass in a 5 string that sounds and feels almost exactly like a vintage Fender 4 string, I can tell you that its not as easy as just changing a headstock, copying everything else, and then just adding a string. A 5 is a very different animal, and it changes the physics and almost all other parameters.... this has been discovered (albeit slowly at times) by all the good luthiers I know and work with. Generally, the ones that may think its as simple as you think it is build the basses I dont like as much or buy because IMO it shows up in the tone. Fender are doing 5s better and better, but they are still a long way away from what Jimmy's basses ( for instance)can get to re vintage Fender.
None of this might be worth even 1/4 the money to many, or you, and thats legit, but that is something Talkbass has never, nor will ever settle no matter how many posts like yours show up over the years ( trust me). Its easy to say over the net that you can build just as good a bass for less (whether its a Fender style or not) but before I play and hear one of yours, reading something like that does not mean much.
Why dont you build a Fender style 5 string ( meant to sound like a vintage Fender in a 5 string) and take it around or send it out into the world and lets see what you mean about just changing a headstock?

 

[Doctor D]

Sigh... yes, lots of folks think the same way you do. Talkbass is littered with post like "Why buy a Sadowsky?", "Who would pay 10K for a Fodera?", and - my personal favourite - "My $200 Squier blows away a "insert Boutique bass brand here"!!! And other such nonsense. Guys like Jimmy Coppolo, Roger Sadowsky, Ken Smith, Vinnie Fodera, Cary Nordstrand, and probably couple dozen dozen more I'm forgetting have spent decades honing their craft, and assembling basses that have particular tone for particular players. You are paying for their experience, their craftsmanship, and their intimate knowledge of how the working parts of an instrument combine to produce a musical result. Oh, and if there is a production glitch with their instrument, you send it back and they fix it - for free.

Sorry, your experience as a furniture builder - no disrespect, it is itself a demanding profession - does not necessarily qualify you as a luthier. I'm sure you can make a stunning instrument that sounds just like an armoire should. Fine furniture does not have pickups, frets, truss rods, etcetera. It does not have to sound like anything in particular. And, just because you can make something for under $1000, does that mean you would sell it to me for under $1000? In fact do just that - make 5 awesome basses and sell them for $1000, then see how you feel about it. Add in the realities of having to doing service and warranty work, then consider that you are trying to pay a mortgage. Can you still sell your basses for under $1000? Could you make a living doing it? Would you?

Dammit how these posts irradiate me.

Well you certainly made some assumptions there. How is "sounds like an armoire should" not disrespect? Never said anything about how much I sell my basses for. They sound and play beautifully as those I've made them for attest. I make each one exactly the way the player wants as to tone woods ( which I've had for more that 35 years and are extremely hard to come by) , neck profile, electronics, body design, etc. Everything on their bass is the way they want it and then some. None look like fenders, which are just fine basses of course. My specific point was why make one that looks like a clone, for a heady price? I'm 70 years old and have acquired a pretty high level of skill because most of the businesses I've been involved is were of the custom type, cars, homes, hand made furniture, wood and metal and glass sculptures. I guarantee I'm no amateur. I'd be happy to make one for you, they start around $5,500. Irradiation can be fun, especially in place of stage lights.