Dudacus?

[Matt Dean]

I’m in the “meh” crowd. if I want retro, I lean towards fenderish basses.

 

[bdplaid]

Not interested in a bass made by a guy with a name that's a derivation of "dud." Or maybe it's this guy.

 

[Robot.G]

Bad design aesthetics. Bad Marketing. Terrible logo.

But hey that guy in the Pat Benatar tribute band is an endorser so?

 

[callofcthulhu]

Fair point.

Answer this.

Where are his basses made?

WHO makes them?

What kind of pedigrees do any of the builders have?

You see, Roger Sadowsky paid some dues. So did Spector, Fodera, Dingwall, et al. They didn't shoot right out of the gate asking thousands of dollars for instruments are by unknown quantities. Is Baxter building all of these basses a few miles from Fenway (which would be a plus in my book)? Who knows?

His copy reads like his wife wrote it at the kitchen table. A few local guys liked his basses so he figured, what the heck, let's offer them up to the general public.

His basses may be stellar. But if he wants that kind of dough right out of the gate from strangers hundreds/thousands of miles away, he had better EXPLAIN TO US WHY.

Short version: His basses be Excaliber with strings. His website is laughable. And he gives zero good reasons why anyone should just randomly take a shot on his product.....other than, of course, "Some of my friends dig my work" (in essence).

Seems a bit unfair to assume this guy hasn't paid his dues.

Also seems a bit unfair to balk at a $3k price tag when you know anyone in the luthier's side of the forum would tell you that's probably the break even point on a fully handmade one-off build.

Now, I agree with you that the marketing copy does not tell the story of when and why he paid his dues (and I agree it would be better if it did), and I think it's pretty likely this guy is selling basses he buys from China (possibly after doing some mod work done in his garage).

But I bet if this guy was a regular poster on here (or, better yet, someone you knew personally), whether or not he took your advice on how to improve his website would not meaningfully impact your relationship.

 

[mikewalker]

not.my.cuppa.tea.

 

[MattZilla]

Love the specificity level of the pickups in the In Stock basses.

They all look like $100-400 Korean/Indonesian instruments with $150-300 of American/German hardware & electronics installed somewhere on Earth.

99% sure those are guitar pickups in the Apollos.

 

[dkelley]

I can sure see how they'd scratch a retro itch, if you've got one. And Danny DK Klein endorses them. How can you fail to trust a man who dresses like that?

If Danny Klein plays one them I'm all into it now. He's one of my fav bassists growing up.

Specially though, he made me want a bass with a locking tremolo on it, like he used for his solo on River Blindness, one of the greatest bass solos in popular music.

 

[BassikBrad]

I'm excited, just waiting for the Fartacus model to be released.

 

[SgtHulka]

I'd rather endure water torture than play a bass with that headstock.

 

[spatters]

I found this interview, in which the builder states "Each bass is hand crafted in the Cambridge shop. It takes about 3 weeks to build a Tiberius from start to finish."

[Bass of the Week] Dudacus Tiberius 5 | eBass

Based on the reaction to both the Jackson CBXNT and this bass, nothing whips Talkbass into a rabid, frothing rage more than basses that take styling cues from Rickenbacker, instead of Fender.
It's very strange to me. Talkbass has no problem with amateurish Rickenbacker clones like the Harley Benton or innumerable Chinese/Japanese knockoffs...but the moment anyone dares to make their own bass with a few Rickenbacker styling cues, a massive and completely unjustified torrent of invective begins. I don't understand it and have no explanation.

 

[SgtHulka]

I found this interview, in which the builder states "Each bass is hand crafted in the Cambridge shop. It takes about 3 weeks to build a Tiberius from start to finish."

[Bass of the Week] Dudacus Tiberius 5 | eBass

Based on the reaction to both the Jackson CBXNT and this bass, nothing whips Talkbass into a rabid, frothing rage more than basses that take styling cues from Rickenbacker, instead of Fender.
It's very strange to me. Talkbass has no problem with amateurish Rickenbacker clones like the Harley Benton or innumerable Chinese/Japanese knockoffs...but the moment anyone dares to make their own bass with a few Rickenbacker styling cues, a massive and completely unjustified torrent of invective begins. I don't understand it and have no explanation.

"torrent of invective"? Wow - you are really fired up bro.

 

[MIMike]

I wonder if the Eddie Money Band does a version of Big Bottom at their live shows.

 

[Kendescending]

Filling that important niche market of people who want a bass that looks like a Ric, but think a Ric isn't expensive enough

Brilliant! You win the Internet today with that observation!

 

[Matt O]

I'm excited, just waiting for the Fartacus model to be released.

6 string 40” scale with low F#
I am Fartacus

 

[Stranger Danger]

Look like cheap knockoffs to me. YMMV

 

[burgerdj]

Nope. But how you choose to spend your money is up to you.

 

[Bassiclees]

Binding is cool.. very 'luthiery'.
I got no hate for anyone with the guts to go into the bassmaking business.
Brave, ambitious, hard. Wishing them luck.

 

[Hounddog409]

And here I am I thinking it was pronounced Dud-acus!

Seriously, though, this one looks good...hints of Ric, Hofner and Dingwall.
View attachment 4347296

That is hands down the worst review of bass I have seen.

Zero info gained on how the bass sounds.

 

[jd56hawk]

That is hands down the worst review of bass I have seen.

Zero info gained on how the bass sounds.

Rule one for some seems to be to slap until you your bass knows it's been slapped.
Simple solution...give one to Andy Irvine too review.

 

[DDXdesign]

The designs have a feel that is so.... close? Like, if some of the lines were made more elegant, or lined up better across the neck joint, there would be a couple winners there. As it is, something looks 'off' and I wonder if they'd also feel off.