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Amazing Birdseye Neck - or EBay junk?

TimBosby

TimBosby

Somewhere in middle America
Gold Supporting Member
Dec 19, 2004
11,931
10,241
47
Omaha, NE, USA
#1
I'm a birdseye maple junkie. Finding nothing with heavily figured birdseye maple in my bass collection, I recently ordered the neck below from Warmoth. They described it as "high-grade birdseye" which I've found to be somewhat open to interpretation - but this one does really look pretty nice. I should have it on Wednesday. Pictures:

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Now I'm looking at EBay and see this monstrosity:

4A Roasted BirdsEye P Bass Neck, Nitro Finish, Mycarta | eBay

It's definitely $100 or so less expensive than what I paid for my Warmoth neck. And MUCH more heavily figured. But - the neck itself is a giant question mark. It could be garbage. I don't really want to do business with anyone who calls his company "D*ckhead Designs." Anyone bought from this guy before? I've seen his other stuff on EBay. He builds oddball basses. Usually they're too expensive. This neck does LOOK nice but it could be junk.

I'm not going to buy it. Just wanted some thoughts...
 
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#3
Looks like it would be fine. But for your extra $100 you're getting the confidence that the company has a solid reputation (so has made quality products in the past) and will back up your purchase should anything go wrong. In my professional life, we call that "branding." It has a tangible worth and in this case its seems to be $100.
 
#5
mathewcanhaz said:
I've always heard that too much birdseye actually hurts the structural integrity of the neck.
Click to expand...
Birdseye can indeed be a problem in terms of warping and twisting, but mostly when there's just some of it in an otherwise clear neck. I've seen a lot of that with old necks. I've seen some nasty cases with vintage Fenders, for example.

Straight, clear grain is a safer bet as it's a more consistent material.
 
#7
looks beautiful here but, what you don't know....

What if you bought this neck and throw it on your p- j body, whaterver, get it strung up only to find out you have a big dead spot on the neck?

If you bought it new from warmoth, back it goes, if you buy from a guy on ebay, now you have to fight with him or resell to somebody else. There is no way to know what you are buying.

Just sayin...
 
#8
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#15
line6man said:
I definitely would not trust a neck from this guy. The fact that he calls himself "Dickhead Designs" does not help, either.:rollno:
Click to expand...

D*ckhead Designs is the same seller that posted this short-scale Jag a week or so ago. Different account, but if you read the item specifics, you'll see it says "Fender/DhD Custom Shop" under the brand. Made by AJ in Anaheim. Same dude. Or dudette.

He's got some negative feedback, too, under his DhD account. 4 negatives and 3 neutrals over the last year. The real winner is how he responded to some of them, though...

Item was not in new condition. There were scratches not pictured or noted.
Buyer: teezerocks ( 57) Feb-21-11 14:03

Reply by dhdesigns2010 (Feb-21-11 20:52):
They were not there when it was shipped, contact shipper ask for insurance claim

Fender Short Scale Bass, Gotoh, MM Pick-up, Coilsplit (#140477022969) US $450.00
Click to expand...


cord imput wont work , paint on neck like sandpaper, action to low,been dupped
Buyer: kevin6851 ( 101) Dec-07-10 08:08

Follow-up by kevin6851 (Dec-07-10 08:45):
taking to a luther for proof of work needing to be done to make it playable.

Reply by dhdesigns2010 (Dec-07-10 13:39):
Another scam artist on ebay why am I not suprised *NO DISCOUNTS - NO EXTORTION*

FENDER 1990 JP-90 Custom Shop Relic Modded by DHDesigns (#140475766840) US $669.05
Click to expand...

Needless to say, anyone who handles customer complaints like that should be avoided. The more you know...
 
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#18
TimBosby said:
Hahahahahah

I just noticed the tuners were backwards in that orange quilt bass...... wow..amazing
Click to expand...

The pickup routes are equally interesting. Given the attention to detail exhibited in the bass... I would not even consider the neck.

I had a beautiful birdseye maple Warmoth neck that played fantastic. I look forward to owning another Warmoth neck.

Anyways... try repeating this phrase out loud: "I have a Roasted Dickhead neck on my bass":hmm:
 
#19
Hah!!!

ubnomnar said:
The pickup routes are equally interesting. Given the attention to detail exhibited in the bass... I would not even consider the neck.

I had a beautiful birdseye maple Warmoth neck that played fantastic. I look forward to owning another Warmoth neck.

Anyways... try repeating this phrase out loud: "I have a Roasted Dickhead neck on my bass":hmm:
Click to expand...
 
#20
ubnomnar said:
The pickup routes are equally interesting. Given the attention to detail exhibited in the bass... I would not even consider the neck.

I had a beautiful birdseye maple Warmoth neck that played fantastic. I look forward to owning another Warmoth neck.

Anyways... try repeating this phrase out loud: "I have a Roasted Dickhead neck on my bass":hmm:
Click to expand...

Wow, what the hell did he do with those pickup routes?
The knobs on the control plate seem unevenly spaced, as well.

Does he sell the "Design by Dickhead" neckplates, to go with the roasted neck?
 

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