Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 21)

[Fuzzbass]

Good deal! I do think it is crazy for a builder to bump the price by that much for a spalted alder body, though. To me that is far from exotic. IMO only! And from experiance in buying woods to build basses. I know how much that stuff costs.

Since you mentioned it:

Isn't spalted wood difficult to work with? Doesn't it (often) have to be carefully prepped? I don't know, just askin', but if so, that would certainly justify some upcharge.

It's also curious to me that the entire body is spalted. Normally, spalted wood is just used as laminate over tonewood. I thought the bass sounded good in the video, when it wasn't buzzing anyway. But still, I rarely see spalted bodies.

 

[jonno1707]

Spalted wood is wood that already started rotting -you have to make sure it has been dried out very well to stop the process than fill all the uneven voids.Tough and time consuming and can chip easily when working it.Its much more expensive than non figured woods which is why its mostly sliced into tops but absolutely but can be used as an entire body if desired just as any figured wood like Quilts-flames-Crotch's etc.

 

[esoxhntr]

I don't know how hard it is to work with, but it looks - and sounds - pretty cool.

 

[Chef]

Nice.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Nice.

+1

 

[Gorn]

I don't know how hard it is to work with, but it looks - and sounds - pretty cool.

Do these have exposed routing under the pg? It would look awesome pickguardless.

 

[AMp'D.2play]

After reading much, if not most, of that other thread, I'm glad Addison is getting his issue taken care of by Jimmy.

The bass was certainly problematic, as was Jimmy's reply. (During the better part of that thread, I was not ready to throw Jimmy completely under the bus just yet as it was occurring over a weekend.)

After the reply, and especially after reading some comments from some other posters about what they perceived as a drop-off in quality, I would not consider one of his basses. Dropping $5k+ on a bass should not be hit-or-miss, or reliant upon whether the luthier was "on his game" (a phrase used more than once) that day.

And, although I don't believe Addison posted any pics to support his claim, what's up with shipping it out in a "crappy gig bag"?! No thanks.

 

[jpbass5]

Do these have exposed routing under the pg? It would look awesome pickguardless.

My Spalted Alder Alleva Coppolo is rear routed and has no pickguard.
And yes the wood is very difficult to work with.

 

[jonno1707]

Wow love that spalt and dark burst

 

[esoxhntr]

There is no exposed routing under there, and it would look great "nude", but I actually prefer the look with a PG, and I don't like to slap with too much space between the strings and the face of the body. You can't tell from this shot, but there is actually a clear plexi spacer under the PG to raise it up. It gives the PG sort of a 3D look when you aren't looking at it from straight on. I think it helps tie the control set with the PG a little better. Not sure if the pic below will show it better or not...

Do these have exposed routing under the pg? It would look awesome pickguardless.

 

[Molan]

Its much more expensive than non figured woods which is why its mostly sliced into tops but absolutely but can be used as an entire body if desired just as any figured wood like Quilts-flames-Crotch's etc.

I have a Ritter with a single piece of highly flamed maple used for the body - looks stunning but it was a very high cost upgrade.

I didn't specify the wood but when I saw it hanging on a wall in the shop I knew I just had to have it

The same shop has a Brubaker with a spalted top that also has a completely spalted fretboard - that's something I hadn't seen before but it looks amazing.

Definitely more that can be done with very nice pieces of wood, it's just a shame that they tend to be harder to work with and are more expensive

 

[KJung]

There is no exposed routing under there, and it would look great "nude", but I actually prefer the look with a PG, and I don't like to slap with too much space between the strings and the face of the body. You can't tell from this shot, but there is actually a clear plexi spacer under the PG to raise it up. It gives the PG sort of a 3D look when you aren't looking at it from straight on. I think it helps tie the control set with the PG a little better. Not sure if the pic below will show it better or not...

I was never a huge fan of 'fancy woods' on classic instrument designs like a P or J, but that is just SMOKING IMO. Love the way the guard picks up the colors of the spalt top... beautiful. Still has that 'trans ash or alder' sort of feel, just a unique take on that sort of figuring. Dig it!

 

[witchbass]

WOW! I cant believe this actually happened. My experience with Jimmy has been nothing but sensational, he's one of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of dealing with, and has been more than happy to help me with any problems I've had in the past. I have had the privilege of playing almost every boutique bass out there, and even still, I regard my Alleva Coppolo's as the best I've played. I will continue to deal with him, as I have great trust and respect for what he does.

 

[Brad Johnson]

One last very general comment. I have MANY MANY years in customer service (global management at a previous company, everything from basic sales support to tech support/customer service and even deep technical training).

It's a FACT that when a scenario gets to where this one got, there is no chance for a graceful exit. The absolute best possible scenario... or rather, least negative... is to resolve the situation as quietly as possible and move on as fast as you can.

As has already been proven here since my last post, anything said will just encourage more irritation. "Anything you say can and will be used against you...."... there's a good reason that comment is in the Miranda Rights.

Just trust me on this.

If you still choose to disagree with me, that's cool, but I think I've already been proven correct a few times here.

I don't think you have... he took one of the worst routes imaginable. It genuinely took me by surprise.

Someone who understands how to resolve a conflict like this most certainly could've steered this towards a better outcome IMO IME. It could've been a relatively small blip. Even if it wasn't fully sincere, the appearance of sincerity would've helped, along with following through on the resolution. I have a lengthy customer service background myself. I have no idea how long Jimmy spent on his response but again IME if he had just written it outside of TB, let it sit, counted to ten, heck... emailed a copy to an adult that he trusts who wasn't as worked up about this as he may have been... this ending could've been averted. He certainly didn't anyone to co-sign his displeasure with this... that only makes the wrong response seem more warranted.

I can practically guarantee that little to no thought went into the ramifications of that post. I know people like that and their approach has an almost 100% "comes back to bite them in the ass" record. I seriously doubt that "What's the worst that can happen?" entered into the logic before pressing send.

I doubt any of the builders I know are happy about this. I've discussed CS problems with builders and always recommend they don't take the easy rock back and fire approach, rather that they think long term about their short term issue. Will this affect AC? IMO undoubtably.

A basic mea culpa would've gone a long way IMO IME. Better yet, saying "I'm not going to make excuses, I messed up. Please let me make this right... I appreciate your business" would likely have taken a ton of heat off of this episode. And that's really what "manning up" is about in business. Sometimes it even stings a bit but that quickly fades as you go on about your business successfully, with people knowing that you'll work hard to resolve any issues. Again, problems aren't the problem, how you deal with them usually says much more about you.

Everyone is not a people person. I'd think most know that about themselves. That's why they should probably consult people people D) about situations like this before they jump off a cliff.

 

[esoxhntr]

WOW! I cant believe this actually happened. My experience with Jimmy has been nothing but sensational, he's one of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of dealing with, and has been more than happy to help me with any problems I've had in the past. I have had the privilege of playing almost every boutique bass out there, and even still, I regard my Alleva Coppolo's as the best I've played. I will continue to deal with him, as I have great trust and respect for what he does.

Ditto - though can't claim to have played as many boutiques. From those I have played - Sadowsky, Fodera, Ritter, F Bass, Ken Smith, Elrick, Roscoe, Pedulla, Alembic and a couple others I'm likely leaving out - I prefer my Alleva Coppolos. they just feel "right" physically and acoustically. The others, great basses all, are just not quite my flavour.

 

[Brad Johnson]

WOW! I cant believe this actually happened. My experience with Jimmy has been nothing but sensational, he's one of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of dealing with, and has been more than happy to help me with any problems I've had in the past. I have had the privilege of playing almost every boutique bass out there, and even still, I regard my Alleva Coppolo's as the best I've played. I will continue to deal with him, as I have great trust and respect for what he does.

And if this happened to you?

Just curious.

 

[mgrier1]

And if this happened to you?

Just curious.

What he is saying is that his experience was far better with Jimmy than what most people here have posted (many of them with no direct experience with Jimmy - just anecdotal notes or pure musing).

My experience with Jimmy has been far better, too... Across multiple purchases.

I have purchased at least 6 basses from Jimmy either directly from him or through dealers. All the experiences were to the letter perfect as to what we agreed and the instruments were all superlative examples of luthiery.

Do I condone what happened on Addison's deal? No... Is Jimmy a bit eccentric? Yes... Could there be extraneous circumstances? Certainly...

What I am suggesting is that he be judged by the body of his work and not one incident.

The bottom line here is that nobody but Addison and Jimmy will ever know the full truth of what really happened. Anything beyond what their experience was is simply speculation and hyperbole (if you are not Addison or Jimmy C).

My Best,

Mike

 

[joeyl]

what shocked me is that he was refunding Addison his money anyway, why not do it graciously and move on instead of slamming the guy who was (obvious to me, at least) wronged?

 

[Vic]

I don't think you have... he took one of the worst routes imaginable. It genuinely took me by surprise...

No, I really do.

You misread my post. I was starting with "when a scenario gets to where this one got".

I was not getting into the moot (and obvious I think) case of doing everything possible to avoid letting it get there, because it did.

And in all honesty, there are still cases where you just can't prevent it, so you still have to have this case covered. Thankfully, it's rare if you're good with CS, however.

 

[Jared Lash]

what shocked me is that he was refunding Addison his money anyway, why not do it graciously and move on instead of slamming the guy who was (obvious to me, at least) wronged?

I always try to put myself in other people's shoes. I don't think Jimmy was intentionally trying to scam anyone anymore than I believe Addison was "doctoring" photos. I"m guessing he had a show bass that he viewed as having a few dings but otherwise didn't seem to bad. A bass that he probably didn't play much himself given that it's a leftie. So he discounted it and sold it to Addison.

And the photos are rough. No doubt about it. For all the talk about the "glue" or "oil" lines on the fretboard the issues with the tummy cut and lower horn were more glaring to me. But I'm guessing that Jimmy saw the high res, flash images and really didn't think the bass looked that bad when it was in his hands.

So he suggests a couple fixes (ones that I wouldn't have taken either) and Addison asks for a refund upon which he points out his policy. Then over the weekend the thread goes nuts and people start sending him angry email etc.

So he gets defensive and makes things better with a refund but much worse with how his response was worded. That's how I see it anyway.

I've done PR work in a couple very different circumstances. And personally I was taught in these circumstances that job one was to mollify the customer and job two was to admit as little direct blame or issues as few apologies as necessary.

So to me, a simple - "I have a no return policy for business reasons but I stand behind my work completely and I want every customer happy with a bass they get from me. So I'll refund Addison's money immediately and go over this bass with a fine tooth comb when it returns to me as I want every instrument coming out of my shop to be as good as it can possibly be."

Again, it's time to move on. But if I can offer one more piece of advice it would be that Jimmy (and anyone associated closely with Jimmy or AC) should let this drop. Posting new pictures of the bass after it comes back to the shop or searching for any sense of vindication after the fact will only make things worse.