Certainbass "Svelte Bass" Kickstarter

[Volkov]

I'd rather have the controls at the bottom where I won't accidental move them, the stuck up pickguard and controls are exactly where my arm goes when I'm tapping, I'll pass.

 

[Dradder]

With that response, David Certain shows that he's a class act. A lot of people on Talkbass, including the admins, could take a lesson from him -- and not just a music lesson.

 

[Thankful birds]

Well, threads like this are the reason I rarely come to Talkbass. I own one of David's basses, and it has been my main and favorite bass since I got it. That's true for hundreds of people he's built basses for, which includes numerous high level pros. Look up his reviews on harmony central.

The problem is when he was starting his business, people on this forum ripped his products and their quality mercilessly without ever having touched them. In short- they messed with his livelihood on a message board where all his potential customers could see it, just because they could. And, when nearly every customer he had defended them, those same people called his customers shills. So, yeah, he reacted negatively. I think a lot of people would react that way who make a great product and watched people denigrate it that had never tried it. But, that's the important part- he makes a GREAT product.

As far as the svelte bass goes, it looks cool, but it's not my cup of tea. I'm more of a p bass guy. But, for anyone who reads this, if it is your thing and you have the cash, the dude makes a really solid bass.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

On a positive note, I've never heard of Certain Bass before. Not sure if it will result in a sale, but he's on my list.

 

[bluesdogblues]

Control Knobs up there is a hinder for me to play

 

[Bass Viking]

Bass Viking, I stand by those words today although I wouldn’t say them again because they can be construed as a violation of Rule #1. Anytime I ask people to post their bios, things get really quiet, pretty funny. In fact, I would like to see who I’m dealing with here, whether they’ve played gigs or toured or what or never left their bedroom. If you guys wouldn’t mind posting your bios, I’d like to see.

Ok then, here's a short video clip of me playing (I didn't have any videos on Youtube at the time of the thread). I'm no pro, I may not even be good enough for one of your basses, but I'm not a complete know-nothing either. And yes, this was recorded in my basement.

 

[Bass Viking]

Bassviking, yes I did get banned for like a day. I’m not perfect, but sometimes a person has to tell another where to place their lips. I got acquainted with Rule #1 the hard way, and it has not happened again, won’t happen again. It’s a good rule, I just wish you all would follow it. I apologize if you were offended.

I'm curious, did you PM others or was it just me?

 

[Shadi]

I've had email conversations with Mr. Certain on a few occasions, and he's been nothing but a gentleman, and when discussing a possible bass build, he was great.

 

[loveandbass]

Why not pony up your own money to make a proper proto and THEN ask for kickstarter funds to make 30 more?

That seems to be a better scenario, no? Drop a few grand into making it proper and then use the kickstarter to scale it to a business model.

 

[DieterVDW]

I'll agree that here on TalkBass a "groupthink" opinion can develop fast, amplified by emotion and not always hindered by facts.

However, I love playing the bass but I am no big talent and I'll probably never play in something bigger than local coverbands.
It's a hobby, and I love talking about it and discussing different basses, amps, gadgets and other bass-related topics.

By this definition I'm a nobody and my opinion doesn't matter. So forgive me for not being charmed...

 

[GuzBaas]

I don't usually like to say negative things about anyone BUT when I started playing bass 7 years ago I commissioned Mr. Certain to build me a "high quality" Varitone (used to select diferent tone capacitors). Mr. Certain was a real pain in the ass to deal with, he charged me $85 plus shipping for VERY sub quality item made with the cheapest chinese parts available, and took more than 2 weeks to ship.

Since I was a real noob at the time it took me a little while to understand how cheap all those parts where, and how easy was to build a varitone.... And from time to time I get ashamed on how stupid I was.

I will never deal with this guy ever again. If one of his "high quality" basses is the last bass on earth... I'll start to learn to play guitar.

 

[groooooove]

I don't usually like to say negative things about anyone BUT when I started playing bass 7 years ago I commissioned Mr. Certain to build me a "high quality" Varitone (used to select diferent tone capacitors). Mr. Certain was a real pain in the ass to deal with, he charged me $85 plus shipping for VERY sub quality item made with the cheapest chinese parts available, and took more than 2 weeks to ship.

Since I was a real noob at the time it took me a little while to understand how cheap all those parts where, and how easy was to build a varitone.... And from time to time I get ashamed on how stupid I was.

I will never deal with this guy ever again. If one of his "high quality" basses is the last bass on earth... I'll start to learn to play guitar.

ah. i hate hearing stuff like this..

that about says it all... look at this bass and how we're all hating on it.. haha..

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm not going to get into a "Hey, I'm better than you," grade school challenge with someone. Only reason I ever even went there is because you, David, have brought up how great a player you fancy yourself to be, more than once. And at the same time insulted me and all the other people here at talkbass. I'm also not a jazz player, so yeah... You'll easily play circles around me with that. If we both went and auditioned for 10 rock bands though, I'm pretty certain I'd be getting those gigs, not you. I could be wrong though, but I don't go around making claims that nobody here can outplay me. I respect my playing, and I respect what all others here bring to their respective bass playing game. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and not everybody is playing bass for the same reasons. I have no intention of being the best bass player in the world, nor on talk bass. My intention is to express myself as best as I possibly can with an instrument, have fun, and bring joy to others through my playing. As much as I possibly can. And I work hard at that.

I've played with a handful of people I'm certain you've heard of, but I don't do the name dropping thing. Its not what I'm about. I have played and toured however with some of the greatest musicians on the planet.



I'm not going to continue with this nonsense after this post. Just a heads up there.

Oh yeah... PS: I don't drink either. We have 2 things in common. Go figure .

 

[DavidCertain]

Joe, I think you play very well. Is being able to play bebop an unfair advantage? If so, I'd get cracking if I was you because any advantage, anything you can learn that will further your career, why not go for it? I believe the funnest thing a human can do (besides sex) is learn new stuff. So not sharing your resume means what exactly? No one sharing their professional history means what exactly? Thanks for not making me not have to go neck to neck with you. I thought there might be an easier way to settle your challenge.

 

[JACink]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[electracoyote]

And to think John Hall, and many other very successful bass builders with a lot of experience and information to offer, avoid TalkBass like the plague.

Go figure...

 

[GregC]

With that response, David Certain shows that he's a class act. A lot of people on Talkbass, including the admins, could take a lesson from him -- and not just a music lesson.

I guess my definition of "class act" is a bit different than yours.

 

[Baird6869]

Bass fighting? You guys are funny.

Why not pony up your own money to make a proper proto and THEN ask for kickstarter funds to make 30 more?

That seems to be a better scenario, no? Drop a few grand into making it proper and then use the kickstarter to scale it to a business model.

In any case, making a proper proto won't be a few grand unless you already own all required tools and the CNC programming done. Then add materials, labour, etc.

 

[Iridescentone]

And to think John Hall, and many other very successful bass builders with a lot of experience and information to offer, avoid TalkBass like the plague.

Go figure...

Yeah too bad, Hall would be a perfect fit for a thread like this one.

And if Ed Roman were alive, he could join in to round out the Panel of Abrasive Businessmen.

They could challenge each other to a school yard contest, sort of a.......Jackass Shootout.

All the thousands of Talkbass "nobody's" could vote for The Most Annoying and Arrogant contestant.

First Prize winner would be rewarded with a commission to build their inspired concept of a Talkbass Nobody Ltd Edition Bass Guitar. As further enticement, the winner would be allowed to slap a MSRP of up to $5000 onto it, and take up to 5 years to complete. Naturally, the commission would be fully funded in advance by TB voters, so that contestants wouldn't have to use their own money for the build.

Think of the fun!

 

[wvbass]

Speaking strictly about the prototype, my opinion has not changed. The pictures tell the story, and the builder expands on it. The prototypes are rough, unfinished, and made largely from junk parts and old 2x4's. While I agree that this is acceptable to "rough out" your ideas, this needs to be just an initial rough draft. It would be far better to have a finished, final prototype to present on kickstarter. From my point of view, this is like going to a meeting with a potential financial backer and showing up to that meeting in a dirty t-shirt and jeans with your ideas on a bar napkin.

These rough prototypes look sloppy - like something somebody might throw together out of spare parts when they got bored. The design has some potential, but it isn't in a presentable form quite yet. Nothing about the prototypes suggests that the builder has the chops to pull off a build from the ground up. And while I do think the design has some potential, this form factor has had limited popularity: the Lace Helix, the Ibanez "bean," etc., are all similar designs that were short lived due to a lack of popularity.

Edit: I apologize for staying on topic in a thread such as this.