Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 21)

[boristhespider9]

Correct. As we all know... the 'skip it' box needs to be replaced with a 'think about it for another week or so' box, which would then link directly to the 'buy it' box

The real problem is that if you say "No" to "Will it make you sound better?" it's the end of the inquiry. The next question should be: "Does it look awesome?" -- if yes, "Buy it." That would solve all of problems with the flow chart.

 

[Tom7]

The real problem is that if you say "No" to "Will it make you sound better?" it's the end of the inquiry. The next question should be: "Does it look awesome?" -- if yes, "Buy it." That would solve all of problems with the flow chart.

Yes, good point. I don't buy basses solely on tone anyway, how they look and how they play are big factors, and while it is much MUCH less of a factor, I also tend to think about resale value.

But I do like the general idea of this chart and if I had more free time on my hands, I would take a stab and making one myself.

 

[svtb15]

Your purple bass looks awesome...
Ive been debating getting another LG5 that i ordered or changing to another kbp5 to replace my Black poly body/ Dalbergia RW one that i sold two years ago..

I finished a track for an up and coming artist this week..
Used my sparkle kbP5>REDDI> old NEVE console ..
You played that bass before i had the chance, and gave it a thumbs up.. You were right..
Anyway, the Producer told me to put that other bass on the stand and play that sparkle thing...
Best P5 that I have ever played...
I never thought that i could say it.. But my alleva has a better B than my other"boutique popular" 5 string basses that i have had for 2 decades . But tonally, the alleva sits in a track better. Much the way a Fender does....
And resale has only gone up. or stayed steady..

Totally. I've sold every vintage Fender I had except one. My allevas do it better and have B strings!

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

Your purple bass looks awesome...
Ive been debating getting another LG5 that i ordered or changing to another kbp5 to replace my Black poly body/ Dalbergia RW one that i sold two years ago..

I finished a track for an up and coming artist this week..
Used my sparkle kbP5>REDDI> old NEVE console ..
You played that bass before i had the chance, and gave it a thumbs up.. You were right..
Anyway, the Producer told me to put that other bass on the stand and play that sparkle thing...
Best P5 that I have ever played...
I never thought that i could say it.. But my alleva has a better B than my other"boutique popular" 5 string basses that i have had for 2 decades . But tonally, the alleva sits in a track better. Much the way a Fender does....
And resale has only gone up. or stayed steady..

I told you bro! As soon as I played that sparkle kbp I was like...WOAH! The neck just has such a fantastic profile that my other two KBPs don't have. Lovin this purple guy though. As wonderful as foderas are, they're just not as practical sound wise on a lot of things. Allevas are just fenders on steroids IMO.

JOEL!! NOOOOOO dude seriously I would highly reconsider that decision (no offense Ken!)

 

[Joelc73]

JOEL!! NOOOOOO dude seriously I would highly reconsider that decision (no offense Ken!)

I totally hear you -- I know I'm going to regret this one but
I'm on a crazy 'down-sizing' spree. I'm selling stuff I swore I would keep forever.

Although -- for the record, I could be tempted with a bad ass KBP5 supreme... ;-)

My beloved sunburst LG5 that I got from Mitch S may be next on the block.

 

[svtb15]

You are right about the Alleva being as a Fender on steroids.

Foderas are great! Handmade works of art..
Little story.... I had one back in the mid 80s when they were not so expensive... You could get one for Under 2k used.

But i lost favor with it for some of the gigs i was doing at the time.. Then i started on the quest for the perfect Rock 5 string.. I wound up loosing Thousands $$$ on that quest!
At one time i had 27 five string basses... A little impractical!

Pedullas, Spectors 'one of their 1st 5s" , Alembics, Laklands, Fodera, Yamahas BBs and TRBs, prototyped Steinbergers, Peaveys, Music man, More Alembics, Tobias, Zons, Modulus, geeeshhhh...

I had road cases full of basses in my Brooklyn Loft...
One day I said, Damn, all these things have batteries that need to be replaced.

Then my friend Hugh (who is a Sadowsky player) suggested that i try a Sadowsky.. I did, and i bought one..Thank you! The quest was almost over. (Funny, I found the receipt for that bass about a month ago, I paid $1995 for a NYC. They weren’t called a NYC then , because all of his basses were NYCs in 1993-'94)

Then i met Jimmy who sold me a Tobias bass when he worked at Rudy’s Music on 48th St... He said,, Sell all that crap and get a couple of old fenders! He was right... And i did.. And the engineers loved them. And i sold off all my other stuff at a HUGE loss... Oh well!
Sadly those pre CBS fenders were stolen a few years ago..

I think I came full circle about 20 years ago, going back to Fender style with the Sadowsky.
Then I got the Alleva stuff about 10 years ago when JImmy was only doing one off basses after making guitars for Nile Rogers and India Arie etc.. The original bass he made fro me was a gift to replace some of those old fenders that were stolen.. I then realized, they're are as good as the old Pre CBS Fenders..
It took a lot of arm twisting. But he finally did the P4 then the P5.
Never looked back, and I don’t miss any of those old basses. EXCEPT that old Spector 5... That was a rock machine!
These passive Allevas always get the thumbs up... And has the best B of any 5 i have owned and its 34" too..

I told you bro! As soon as I played that sparkle kbp I was like...WOAH! The neck just has such a fantastic profile that my other two KBPs don't have. Lovin this purple guy though. As wonderful as foderas are, they're just not as practical sound wise on a lot of things. Allevas are just fenders on steroids IMO.

JOEL!! NOOOOOO dude seriously I would highly reconsider that decision (no offense Ken!)

 

[basses55]

Your purple bass looks awesome...
Ive been debating getting another LG5 that i ordered or changing to another kbp5 to replace my Black poly body/ Dalbergia RW one that i sold two years ago..

I finished a track for an up and coming artist this week..
Used my sparkle kbP5>REDDI> old NEVE console ..
You played that bass before i had the chance, and gave it a thumbs up.. You were right..
Anyway, the Producer told me to put that other bass on the stand and play that sparkle thing...
Best P5 that I have ever played...
I never thought that i could say it.. But my alleva has a better B than my other"boutique popular" 5 string basses that i have had for 2 decades . But tonally, the alleva sits in a track better. Much the way a Fender does....
And resale has only gone up. or stayed steady..

Kirk, that sparkle P is killer...and so is the sparkle RA in the shop.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I totally hear you -- I know I'm going to regret this one but
I'm on a crazy 'down-sizing' spree. I'm selling stuff I swore I would keep forever.

Although -- for the record, I could be tempted with a bad ass KBP5 supreme... ;-)

My beloved sunburst LG5 that I got from Mitch S may be next on the block.

Ha....not gonna be MY kbp! This things a keeper for sure. But seriously man that LM is one of the greatest basses Jimmy has made and I've played a LOT of them!

You are right about the Alleva being as a Fender on steroids.

Foderas are great! Handmade works of art..
Little story.... I had one back in the mid 80s when they were not so expensive... You could get one for Under 2k used.

But i lost favor with it for some of the gigs i was doing at the time.. Then i started on the quest for the perfect Rock 5 string.. I wound up loosing Thousands $$$ on that quest!
At one time i had 27 five string basses... A little impractical!

Pedullas, Spectors 'one of their 1st 5s" , Alembics, Laklands, Fodera, Yamahas BBs and TRBs, prototyped Steinbergers, Peaveys, Music man, More Alembics, Tobias, Zons, Modulus, geeeshhhh...

I had road cases full of basses in my Brooklyn Loft...
One day I said, Damn, all these things have batteries that need to be replaced.

Then my friend Hugh (who is a Sadowsky player) suggested that i try a Sadowsky.. I did, and i bought one..Thank you! The quest was almost over. (Funny, I found the receipt for that bass about a month ago, I paid $1995 for a NYC. They weren’t called a NYC then , because all of his basses were NYCs in 1993-'94)

Then i met Jimmy who sold me a Tobias bass when he worked at Rudy’s Music on 48th St... He said,, Sell all that crap and get a couple of old fenders! He was right... And i did.. And the engineers loved them. And i sold off all my other stuff at a HUGE loss... Oh well!
Sadly those pre CBS fenders were stolen a few years ago..

I think I came full circle about 20 years ago, going back to Fender style with the Sadowsky.
Then I got the Alleva stuff about 10 years ago when JImmy was only doing one off basses after making guitars for Nile Rogers and India Arie etc.. The original bass he made fro me was a gift to replace some of those old fenders that were stolen.. I then realized, they're are as good as the old Pre CBS Fenders..
It took a lot of arm twisting. But he finally did the P4 then the P5.
Never looked back, and I don’t miss any of those old basses. EXCEPT that old Spector 5... That was a rock machine!
These passive Allevas always get the thumbs up... And has the best B of any 5 i have owned and its 34" too..

Crazy man. I guess I learned early on that old fenders were the way to go, but after playing one of Jimmy's basses, the 5 string thing just clicked for me. Except it was the same tone as my fenders with an even better feel. No more bowed necks with blown out truss rods or dead frets. My fodera imperial is really incredible and unlike any other instrument I've owned, but they just don't sound like fenders. Period. I've done everything one could possibly do to make it so and it just isn't possible. I enjoy playing it more than any other bass, but in a band context or in the studio, the allevas just slay. And since 99% of my job is either playing in bands or on records, it just seems to make sense.

 

[esoxhntr]

In a band context or in the studio, the allevas just slay.

+1

 

[svtb15]

+1

+1

 

[esoxhntr]

Hey guys

I wanted to give a heads up to the club first.

I'm going to pick up Ken Jung's LM and let my newest limited edition LM5 go. I'm going to forego some of the Deluxe bling in an effort to free up some cash.

My bass is as good as it gets.

One piece NYC body, natural, highly figured Ash, skunk stripe, blocks/binding.

It's brand new and has never left my house.

I will sell it for what I have into it.

PM me if interested.

JC

Oh Joel... this has regret written all over it...

Another stunning LM5 on the block. T'were it only a Tom Barney model...

 

[TimothyGroovy]

Played LM / LG in studio and live band setting, the best tone and feel to capture that vintage Fender'ish in 5 string package.

Echo to Mitch on Fodera and AC..

This is why I own both and I always tell people simply go for AC, Fodera and Sadowsky .. They just all killed in different way, by owning any one of these or all of these , you're set.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

Played LM / LG in studio and live band setting, the best tone and feel to capture that vintage Fender'ish in 5 string package.

Echo to Mitch on Fodera and AC..

This is why I own both and I always tell people simply go for AC, Fodera and Sadowsky .. They just all killed in different way, by owning any one of these or all of these , you're set.

+1!

FWIW I spent an afternoon at Joel's a little while ago and got a chance to rock out on that gorgeous LM5. I was actually there to try out his Fodera AJ6 and I left there thinking just how bad ass that AC was! I really love my TB LM5 but if I didn't have it, this bass would be a no brainer!

 

[nozkcb]

Regarding the "Value" discussion, I would simply say, using automobiles as a example:

One could say that a used Ford Focus upgraded with leather, XM, etc does the same thing as a BMW 528. Both get you from point A to point B. They both have leather seats, they both use gas, are made of steel, plastic, etc, both have the same XM radio etc.

So, are they the same thing? Can you do the same thing with the Focus as you can with the BMW? Basically, yes.

Are they the same, and more importantly, is the BMW worth the difference in price?

That can only be answered by the person that appreciates the differences AND is willing to pay said difference.

It's a matter of perspective and opinion. And despite what another TB member told me in another thread, ones opinion is not subject to debate. It is what it is (yes, I actually had someone tell me they "disproved my opinion")

For some people a $200 Squire bass is no different than a $5000 Alleva Coppolo. (Both have strings, wood, makes music, heck, might even the be the same color!).

For others, the difference (subtle or substantial) makes a great difference. So much so, that for some, the difference in price is worth it.

It's a simple matter of basic economics, and if there's a demand for high quality, Fender-like instruments that people are willing to pay more for, then clearly there is value.

(let the arguments begin)

 

[Joelc73]

Oh Joel... this has regret written all over it...

Already regretting it...

It's sold.

 

[KJung]

Already regretting it...

It's sold.

I think you are going to be just fine

 

[svtb15]

There ya go again

 

[jonno1707]

You're nuts JC...;-)

 

[KJung]

You're nuts JC...;-)

He is getting a good one. I hope he digs it as much as I did over the years. Really special instrument. And, if for some reason he doesn't, you win

 

[jonno1707]

Ha...