Has Dave Pushic's Quality Improved?

[Munjibunga]

What does "no comment" mean here? If you've got something to say, say it.

I promised DP I wouldn't comment on his basses after he ragged on me here for not owning one and ragging on them. So, no comment.

 

[Munjibunga]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to purchase a custom bass? For the money you'd pay for a Pushic, you could get a killer production bass (especially used) and you wouldn't have to worry about build quality.

You know, that's precisely what I would've said if I were going to make a comment.

 

[mheintz]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to purchase a custom bass? For the money you'd pay for a Pushic, you could get a killer production bass (especially used) and you wouldn't have to worry about build quality.

Because I live vicariously through TB purchases, I should support more buying of custom instruments. Maybe, I am risk averse, but it seems to me that you could have gold today or bronze tomorrow. The deals on TB right now are just way too good to pass up for a DP and a MTD. You could buy a mint Zon today instead of waiting 3 months for a custom. (I don't know AJ Brown, but I sincerely hope that someone makes out like a bandit on his basses.) There has been a glut of ridiculous basses on TB. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[gkbass13]

i vote for a zypher 5 and throwing the other 1500 into a suped up valneti 4. or finding a nice used jazz abss and ordering a 2000 dollar stambaugh. if he is quoting you over 3k then the options you are asking for must be considerably greater than any of the other basses you are considering anyways. i emailed chris a couple months ago about a bass that i will eb having made at sem point this year and the rgand total witha case and shipping was under 2200. pm me if you want the specs, but it was pretty much my dream bass minus a pope preamp.

 

[Bass Viking]

I promised DP I wouldn't comment on his basses after he ragged on me here for not owning one and ragging on them. So, no comment.

Yeah, I remember that thread. He called you a jerk or something?


Guess you won't be buying from him anytime soon.

 

[Masher88]

I can't get the images of his (Winters Custom bass) rather shoddy looking "scarab" bass out of my mind.

I'm also very put off at that "Scarab Bass" that loads up on the front page. Perhaps he needs to have one of the more exotic looking basses come up right away. There are some nicer looking bass in the "Gallery" section of his website. First impressions can be a b*tch

 

[Oxblood]

You all have very valid questions and there's a lot more good advice here. Let me answer a few of the questions for you.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to purchase a custom bass? For the money you'd pay for a Pushic, you could get a killer production bass (especially used) and you wouldn't have to worry about build quality.

Well, I would want a custom bass instead of a production bass because I want a bass built for specificly for me with my exact specs. Why would anyone buy a LeCompte, Valenti, DP, or Stambaugh when they could get a killer production bass? There are tons of reasons why. Also for the record, like I have said earlier, im not getting a DP anymore, im getting an MTD Zeyphr 5 & one of the new Benavente Standard Series.

What i find strange is that you have already planned to ditch all your basses without a real sense of what your replacement is to be, then you are thinking about rolling the dice with whatever you have left.

worst case scenario, all of your basses turn into a mildly ok DP, You'd be pretty pissed off AND it would be tough to financially recover into a bass that you can dig.

Not to intrude on your party, but if you feel like you HAVE to have multiple basses and they HAVE to be speced the way you want it, make sure you got funds for a production bass that you can do what you need to if you aren't going to sink all the money into a proven choice.

I don't really understand why you find it strange. I have an idea of what I want but its not set in stone or anything. I guess you could call it rolling the rice with ordering a DP, but that is why I made this thread, to see if his quality had improved, and then I would decide from there wiether or not to purchase one. I decided not to.

There is no "head" guy as such, it's a one man operation.

Well, thats obviously what I meant.

i vote for a zypher 5 and throwing the other 1500 into a suped up valneti 4. or finding a nice used jazz abss and ordering a 2000 dollar stambaugh. if he is quoting you over 3k then the options you are asking for must be considerably greater than any of the other basses you are considering anyways. i emailed chris a couple months ago about a bass that i will eb having made at sem point this year and the rgand total witha case and shipping was under 2200. pm me if you want the specs, but it was pretty much my dream bass minus a pope preamp.

Mr. Valenti also have me a quote for over 2 grand, not bad at all, but more than I want to pay atm. For all you who keep commenting on why Chris quoted me for over 3k, il share with everyone my spec list that I wanted:

-5 String Standard Bolt-On Singlecut Body Style
-Swamp Ash Body w/ Buckeye Burl Top & Urethane Finish
-Wenge/Maple/Wenge Neck w/ AAAAA Birdseye Maple Fingerboard
-24 Guitar Frets
-MOP Blocks & Binding
-Satin Finish on Neck
-Matching Buckeye Burl Headstock w/ My Intials on Trussrod Cover
-Nordstrand MM5.3 Pickup for Bridge, Nordstrand Reverse 5 String Precision Pickup for Neck
-Sadowsky 9v Preamp w/ VTC, Series/Parallel Switch, & Active/Passive Switch
-Hipshot 5 String Tremelo Bridge
-Hipshot Ultralite Tuners w/ Detuner
-Birdseye Maple Pickup Covers
-Birdseye Maple Countersunk Knobs
-Neutrik Locking Side Input Jack
-Black Hardware
-Schaller Straplocks
-35'' Scale
-Tuned E - C

Throw in a HSC + S/H and you got your $3,000+ Bass.

 

[BurningSkies]

For all you who keep commenting on why Chris quoted me for over 3k, il share with everyone my spec list that I wanted.

-5 String Standard Bolt-On Singlecut Body Style
-Swamp Ash Body w/ Buckeye Burl Top & Urethane Finish
-Wenge/Maple/Wenge Neck w/ AAAAA Birdseye Maple Fingerboard
-24 Guitar Frets
-MOP Blocks & Binding
-Satin Finish on Neck
-Matching Buckeye Burl Headstock w/ My Intials on Trussrod
Cover
-Nordstrand MM5.3 Pickup for Bridge, Nordstrand Reverse 5 String Precision Pickup for Neck
-Sadowsky 9v Preamp w/ VTC, Series/Parallel Switch, &
Active/Passive Switch
-Hipshot 5 String Tremelo Bridge
-Hipshot Ultralite Tuners w/ Detuner
-Birdseye Maple Pickup Covers
-Birdseye Maple Countersunk Knobs
-Neutrik Locking Side Input Jack
-Black Hardware
-Schaller Straplocks
-35'' Scale
-Tuned E - C

Throw in a HSC + S/H and you got your $3,000+ Bass.

The problem isn't that the builder's price is out of line...the problem is that you've decided to heap on as much 'custom bass bling' as humanly possible.


I've highlighted the areas I'm talking about. Basically, you're asking for a bass that would be a 5-7K instrument from most builders. I think its a hell of a price for what you're asking.

If you want all that AAAAAAAAAbling you should be willing to pay the price.

 

[Drake Kennedy]

I think I have a very good explanation for these high quotes:

No S***.

Honestly, you can't get a bass of any decent quality with those exact specs for less than 2 grand.

 

[Oxblood]

Im just saying Dave Pushic would have quoted me for lower because of his lower starting prices. I haven't emailed him about it so don't take my word, but I have a feeling I could get a bass like that for $1,500-2,000 from him.

 

[Lackey]

Wait - so you're getting this laundry list of options on a Benevante? I somehow doubt it - which means you're compromising. That's a GOOD thing IMO, half the stuff you want is superfluous and ridiculous (IMO again).

Furthermore, I don't think a Tremolo bridge is gonna work very well with a 35" scale and E-C tuning, that's a lot tension to put on the springs!

P.P.S., that list you quoted seems like it could add several pounds to the weight of the bass!

I say - buy a used F Bass or Sadowsky fiver and be done with it for now until you're SURE you have a list of options you want and enough money to realize your dreams.

 

[Baryonyx]

I'm also very put off at that "Scarab Bass" that loads up on the front page. Perhaps he needs to have one of the more exotic looking basses come up right away. There are some nicer looking bass in the "Gallery" section of his website. First impressions can be a b*tch

it should also be noted that a lot of his designs are "concepts", as in, he hasn't yet actually made a bass that looks like that.

However, his modification work looks solid.

 

[Oxblood]

Wait - so you're getting this laundry list of options on a Benevante? I somehow doubt it - which means you're compromising. That's a GOOD thing IMO, half the stuff you want is superfluous and ridiculous (IMO again).

Furthermore, I don't think a Tremolo bridge is gonna work very well with a 35" scale and E-C tuning, that's a lot tension to put on the springs!

P.P.S., that list you quoted seems like it could add several pounds to the weight of the bass!

I say - buy a used F Bass or Sadowsky fiver and be done with it for now until you're SURE you have a list of options you want and enough money to realize your dreams.

What thread are you reading?! Those were the list of specs I wanted to put on a Stambaugh. Also, either Nino, Chris, or anyone else has said anything about it being too much tension on the springs. As for the weight of the bass, it might be 10lbs TOPS. The body wood would be Swamp Ash which is very lightweight. And no thanks on the F Bass or Sadowsky, I hope to own both someday but right now I really want to have more than one bass.

 

[n. stefani]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew if Mr. Pushic's quality had improved, say over the last 6 months to a year? I still see no luthiers that even comes close to his price range, except for Nino Valenti which is still a lot more to me. As most of you know, im selling off my entire stable, and along with some other small things. My grand total when I get done will be close to $2,500. I already plan on buying a used MTD Zeyphr 5 String, and I wanted to use the rest of the money for a DP Custom. So thats why I wanted to know if his quality had gotten any better? If so, then I will go ahead and do my plan, if not then I will have to rethink things. Thanks!

I guess you most of the time get what you pay for. If Pushic could ask and get $5000 for his instruments he would do so immidiately. Sometimes beginning builders will underprize themselves because of lack of experience but I think Pushic has been building for a couple of years now. There is always a reason why somebody is inexpensive, usually it is not because they are just a nice person.

 

[greg]

There always is Greg Yancey........

www.gregyancey.com

Mine was around $2,400....its #17

I can provide more pictures if you want...