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Celinder Ain't No Joke!

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,348
120,764
Metro St. Louis
#1
KJung and I had a mini GTG today. I showed him my basses and amp, and he brought his sweet natural finish Celinder. This was first really extended exposure to a boutique jazz bass, and I am 100% impressed. Anybody who says just get Fender is entitled to their opinion, but I think they are certainly worth the extra change. The fit and finish on the Celinder is absolutely flawless, in it's own way, it's just as beautiful as any Fodera, Ken Smith, Ritter, etc.

The sound of the Celinder is perfect: absolutely flawless Fender Jazz. I can see why KJung likes it better than a Sadowsky because it really gets the Fender tone while a Sadowsky is a noticeably more modern. The neck is nice and wide compared to my Stingray, but not ridiculous (18mm spacing.) This finger and slap tone is to die for! It absolutely nails Marcus Miller's slap tone.

I don't see a Celinder in my future, the price is just too much for me at this time. I can, however, see me with an Atelier Z five string since they cost about the same as a Metro. I officially love boutique Jazz clones, no ifs, ands, or buts!:bassist:
 
#2
I recently spoke with Chris Celinder about having an Update built but I can't wait for over a year for a Bass to be built(any more) but if I have to I will and in the case of a Celinder it would be more than worth it,they really are some killer Basses and the craftsmanship is second to none.
 
#3
Jauqo, with that superbad Lakland 44-94 you have, you won't be hurting for basses while you wait for that Celinder!:) If I actually made money playing, I would order one right now. As it is, it costs about twice what I can really justify at this time.


I also have to say that KJung is modest, but he is a great player who really knows his way around a bass. He is also a very nice guy, I would keep clear of anyone who didn't like Ken, if you can't get along with him, you are probably a jerk.

He also has great taste in amps and cabs, I loved that Thunderfunk amp and his Schroeder cab. I've got to get some paying gigs so I can upgrade like him!:hyper:
 
#4
Dr. Cheese said:
Jauqo, with that superbad Lakland 44-94 you have, you won't be hurting for basses while you wait for that Celinder!:)
Click to expand...


The Lakland does kill especially with the high gloss finger board and it's versatility is to die for,I wanted to get an unlined fretless 4-94 but the wait is normally 8-10 months but I may be able to get it sooner so I ordered it from Dan just recently.

Maybe I'll just have to get over the thought of the long Waite for the Celinder and give Chris another call :)
 
#6
Dr. Cheese said:
KJung and I had a mini GTG today. I showed him my basses and amp, and he brought his sweet natural finish Celinder. This was first really extended exposure to a boutique jazz bass, and I am 100% impressed. Anybody who says just get Fender is entitled to their opinion, but I think they are certainly worth the extra change. The fit and finish on the Celinder is absolutely flawless, in it's own way, it's just as beautiful as any Fodera, Ken Smith, Ritter, etc.

The sound of the Celinder is perfect: absolutely flawless Fender Jazz. I can see why KJung likes it better than a Sadowsky because it really gets the Fender tone while a Sadowsky is a noticeably more modern. The neck is nice and wide compared to my Stingray, but not ridiculous (18mm spacing.) This finger and slap tone is to die for! It absolutely nails Marcus Miller's slap tone.

I don't see a Celinder in my future, the price is just too much for me at this time. I can, however, see me with an Atelier Z five string since they cost about the same as a Metro. I officially love boutique Jazz clones, no ifs, ands, or buts!:bassist:
Click to expand...
This is exactly how I felt after playing Kens. I actually have one coming from Glenn at Austin Bass Traders very, very soon. Ken, you should be given an endorsement.
 
#7
Dr. Cheese said:
I also have to say that KJung is modest, but he is a great player who really knows his way around a bass. He is also a very nice guy, I would keep clear of anyone who didn't like Ken, if you can't get along with him, you are probably a jerk.

He also has great taste in amps and cabs, I loved that Thunderfunk amp and his Schroeder cab. I've got to get some paying gigs so I can upgrade like him!:hyper:
Click to expand...

+1000. I've never met Ken, but I certainly respect his opinion as a player. All of his posts that I've ever seen are straight talk, and no BS. The man has been around the block more than a few times. So what if he can't lift more than 10 lbs?

:hiding:


:ninja:


:D


j/k, Ken!


Kevin
 
#8
JAUQO III-X said:
Maybe I'll just have to get over the thought of the long Waite for the Celinder and give Chris another call :)
Click to expand...
The way I look at it is a year will go by anyway. So I'd rather be a year older and have a celinder too! Hopefully mine isn't due 'soon' on the BCAT scale. (Bowlus Celinder Arrival Time). ;)
 
#10
kobass said:
+1000. I've never met Ken, but I certainly respect his opinion as a player. All of his posts that I've ever seen are straight talk, and no BS. The man has been around the block more than a few times. So what if he can't lift more than 10 lbs?

:hiding:


:ninja:


:D


Cheers, Ken!


Kevin
Click to expand...
Well, as much as I'd like to say good about Ken, I've only interacted with him a little bit here on TB. I can, however, vouch for his taste in cabs...he's a huge Epi 4x10 UL fan, as am I.:smug:
 
#11
Anthony, I would agree with you 100%. For an aggressive 70's J bass sound they are hard to beat. Ken got a couple of exceptional basses from Chris and the guys at Austin Bass Traders are great to deal with. I would consider a used one (fairly rare) in a heartbeat.

But, Chris MUST improve his customer service before I would order a new one (not n stock). The saga that Tombowlus went thru was inexcusable ( I had lunch with Tom, Friday). And the worst part was that the finish was not satisfactory on Tom's bass AFTER it arrived. As a Bass builder your word and your customer service have to be exceptional and Chris's is mediocre at best. Which is a shame because his product is very cool.
 
#12
burk48237 said:
But, Chris MUST improve his customer service before I would order a new one (not n stock). The saga that Tombowlus went thru was inexcusable ( I had lunch with Tom, Friday). And the worst part was that the finish was not satisfactory on Tom's bass AFTER it arrived. As a Bass builder your word and your customer service have to be exceptional and Chris's is mediocre at best. Which is a shame because his product is very cool.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I must admit that my trevails have involved more than just the 6-7 month delay (so that he could get the finish just right). After all this time, it turns out that the finish has issues which I find unacceptable on a bass in this price range. I didn't want to post anything about it publicly until I knew how Chris was going to resolve it, but after more than a month of asking how Chris would like to handle the situation, it appears that he does not intend on doing anything to rectify my issues. Glenn Kawamoto, on the other hand, has been a pleasure to deal with, and has offered to take care of me in every conceivable way. Glenn will make sure that I am taken care of, and my opinion for him is sterling, no doubt. But, before I posted anything that might reflect negatively on Chris, I wanted to give Chris a chance to "come through." This has not happened.

Here are some shots of the bass that was refinished at least 5 times in order to be "perfect":

131_3156.jpg


131_3155.jpg


I was rather surprised when I saw all those ridges on the belly cut, and at first I thought that perhaps it was intentional. I could have lived with the dimple on the heel (though again, for a high end bass that had been held up for a long time because Chris is a "finish perfectionist", this alone was a little unimpressive), but after talking to Glenn and others (and after looking at pictures of other Celinders), it was clear that this was not intentional, and instead a mistake in the finishing process.

I do love the way this bass plays and sounds (and looks, from the front! ;)), but I am not impressed with the attention to detail regarding the finish, and I must say that the customer service from Chris is abyssmal (even worse than another very good luthier with cruddy service, which caused me to sell an otherwise fine bass I owned by that person :rollno:).

But, if you have a Celinder with no such issues, they are truly great basses. It was Ken's blue Update 5 that got me hooked, and again, I am 100% happy with the sound and feel of my Update 5 - even for my fingerstyle approach to playing.

I just wanted to share this information and help any other potential buyers make an informed decision.

Tom.
 
#13
Tom, I hope you get that bass fixed. For the amount of money Celinders cost, absolutely nothing should be flawed when the customer gets one.

As for me, if I go for a super 1970's Jazz, it will be an Atelier Z. They are cheaper, easier to get, and they seem to be made quite well also.
 
#15
Dr. Cheese said:
Tom, I hope you get that bass fixed.
Click to expand...

I have no worries, there. Glenn is being super fair with me, and has offered multiple options. I was really hoping that Chris would decide to get involved with the solution, here, but since he's not, I'll just work something out with Glenn. But, deciding just what to do is the tough part. If I thought it could be done this century, having Chris refinish it would be the obvious solution. But that ain't gonna happen. Glenn has offered to order me a replacement bass and let me keep playing this one, but I wonder if that would ever happen, either. And of course, we could just have it refinished by someone else (which is probably the best route for me to get it fixed and back in my hands the fastest).

Tom.
 
#16
burk48237 said:
Anthony, I would agree with you 100%. For an aggressive 70's J bass sound they are hard to beat. Ken got a couple of exceptional basses from Chris and the guys at Austin Bass Traders are great to deal with. I would consider a used one (fairly rare) in a heartbeat.

But, Chris MUST improve his customer service before I would order a new one (not n stock). The saga that Tombowlus went thru was inexcusable ( I had lunch with Tom, Friday). And the worst part was that the finish was not satisfactory on Tom's bass AFTER it arrived. As a Bass builder your word and your customer service have to be exceptional and Chris's is mediocre at best. Which is a shame because his product is very cool.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, there are more than a few horror stories out there regarding Celinder's customer service. I think Chris's intentions are good, it's just that maybe he should leave the customer service end of the business to someone a little more reliable. I don't want to turn this thread into a Celinder bash, Chris does make a decent bass, but maybe just a heads up for future Celinder buyers. My year and a half wait on a bass that was promised in 6 months turned a little ugly when I had to escort Chris to the ATM machine to refund my deposit. He was honorable then. I was bummed, because I really wanted one of his basses too. Some of the best playability I've ever come across....
 
#17
Dancing on the line here, but I feel very strongly about this...

While I totally loved playing Ken's Celinders, and as great as I'm sure they are when done "right", they aren't even on my consideration list anymore. Period.

I think Tom and Glenn have both been absolute SAINTS on their deal, when neither should have to have been. I think VERY highly of both of those gentlemen, and bear a lot of "vicarious" frustration and anger as a result. This is totally on Chris, and whether he realizes it (or cares about it) or not, he's got very serious damage control to do here. :mad:

'nuff said.
 
#18
I remember Ken making a statement about a certain amplifier manufacturers customer service. Paraphrased, "It's great their customer service is so good, because a lot of people have needed to use it!"

Well, even though I was way impressed with the Celinder I played, I think if I had the money, I'd really think twice about ordering one. It sounds like when Celinder customer service is needed, it's not there!
 

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