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Mikeyswood - BUYER BEWARE

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#64
When I had a bass built by a fellow TB'er I had updates, pics, suggestions, comments, questions, all along the 3-4 month process. No question from me went unanswered more than 2-3 days at the most.

Everywhere I bring that bass, I get asked about it and I have nothing but high marks for my builder. That's how it should be. I'll never buy a branded bass again and I'm already thinking of the next one that I want him to build (won't say name to derail thread, but he has a nice Ampeg collection).

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this and I really hope that when you get that bass, it's like deep fried ice cream dipped in chocolate with a bacon crust.
 
#65
What a nightmare. There are all kinds of reasons for there to be a delay where building is concerned, but there's no excuse for the kind of lack of communication demonstrated by this swood character. At this point he should be giving you the option to terminate the build and get a full refund ($250 initial deposit included). He can sell the bass to someone else should he decide to finish it.
 
#66
Out of curiosity how was the money sent? Is there anything traceable (ie credit card, paypal, etc?) Assuming it was to the US you do have some level of protection from stuff like this.

To me it does sound shady and that you were and still are being taken advantage of. Again sounds like his priorities are screwed . Once he took payment and things were agreed upon you entered into a good faith contract of sorts. If someone did not meet the requirements of the contract you should be able to recoup your money.

Im sorry I wouldnt want the bass

I will say..posting to a number of threads related to the builder wont benefit the situation..Id keep it to this thread alone.
 
#67
Well, I've read this through, and Alex' emails strike me as both reasonable and constructive. They've been met with arrogant and evasive argumentation on the builder's part. So he agreed to a price of $3000 and then has the nerve to suggest that paying an additional $9000 wouldn't be out of order and would at least secure a firm delivery date? Sheesh, did I get that right? Anyone would conclude that the lack of updates and pics is due to the build currently not progressing at all.
 
#68
It is interesting to me how Mr. Wayne talks about these new responsibilities he has undertaken as though they have been foisted upon him against his will, and that his time in the shop has been a hapless victim of cruel circumstance.

It is also interesting to me how he talks about creating a sentence as though it's an act of divine creation. They're just words, dude.

Pure arrogance.
 
#69
Very sorry to hear about your troubles. I have dealt with Mike locally a few times and never had a problem (though I never commissioned a bass from him). The builds I've seen him working on in the past all looked to be well executed.

Hopefully you guys can get it worked out and you can get a bass.
 
#70
Alexander Eddy said:
July 6 2012 - A REPLY
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The scarf is one of the easiest cuts. This weekend is the layering of the body. Cutting the wings to minimize lumber waste was a tremendous challenge. The Padauk veneer is also an issue. While there will be a veneer layer the colors and weights won't be enough to convey the desired effect. There will be an additional layer of Padauk to make the body Coffee thick, Padauk medium, Coffee thin, Padauk thin, Coffee thin, Cocobolo medium. This conversation was stemmed from out facebook conversation. The additional layer of Padauk is being added due to aesthetic need. This type of corrective action will be done when it's required. The same action was taken with the drafted lineweights of the neck; they were adjusted for the instrument's need.

The Cocobolo layer will be added at the end of the woodwork and the profiling of it will remain a large hurdle. The horns have very thin section that will reveal too much under-layering from the front which would harm the overall theme of this instrument. The proper solution would be to solvent bend the Cocobolo to a curved horn. This will not be occurring since I have yet to experiment with solvent bending Cocobolo; and now is not the proper time. There will be a proper fix to maintain the complete Cocobolo front view but at current I am not sure what that shall be.
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This smells funny. It reads like he didn't sand his veneers at the same time, or with any precision. Even a rookie would have dry clamped things to ensure a proper join and proper thickness to spec. Cutting wings to prevent lumber waste is a challenge :rolleyes:...If a dude can't use a band saw he should not be allowed in a wood shop, He sounds like a hammer and nails kind of guy definitely not a luthier. "Solvent bend" mmmk He made a mistake by shaping too early and now has to fix it.
 
#71
I wood say," Mickey, if you finish the bass, and throw in a matching guitar, just for the sake of being friends, I'm willing to keep this out of yur political carrier.

Make him an offer he can't refuse...(does he have a horse...?)

You can call the bass ..."the godfather".

Hahahaha...
 
#72
Immigrant said:
I'm playing Mikey's advocate.

I don't know Mikeyswood. Googled it and it wasn't in the first page of results. Mistake #1.

Dissatisfaction with communication and progress after one year and continued to wait. Mistake #2.

I'm sincerely sorry you seem to be getting the wrong end of the stick, but I feel like you walked into it. Why didn't you ask for whatever money back after initial communication problems? Maybe after the first financial hiccup (job lost, build on hold) he felt the last payment may be a long time coming? Maybe he's not as flexible as you'd like with headstock design deviations, etc, and you should've found someone who would do what you want when you want it done. His description of pricing is outrageous.

Did you ever ask for a refund or did I miss that when reading?

Either way, good luck. I hope you get your money back because I have a feeling if you ever get the bass, it won't be what you want.
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I've had three successful builds commissioned this way. At the time if laying down money, he was very communicative, and one of the more frequent posters here.

As for a refund, yes I asked for one. The response was that he has already spent $1750 on materials so there would be no refund, and that if I decided I did not want the bass he was going to build it anyway and keep it for himself.

Funny that his should claim to have laid out $1750, in an email I posted here he quoted what parts would costs. I think it came to $1150
 
#74
Just curious, why did you decide to use him in the first place? Thats a genuine question with no other motive behind it other than curiosity. I would have thought there would be luthiers closer to you. While I can appreciate he makes nice basses, but from what I have seen they havent been "I'm going to a guy with no website or reputation on the other side of the world good" and nothing not repeatable by others. Especially as his people skills always seemed lacking (maybe he needs to take even longer on his emails!). Again, thats not a critisism for using him, or really anything against him. I always found his posts amusing, the emails in this thread were no different, though I think that was unintentional.

I personally wouldnt want to own the bass anymore, it would remind me of all the trouble I had had. I would cut my losses and not pay the second half. You have lost out on plenty, why shouldnt he?
 
#75
I'd push for the full refund, deposit included. He quit on you, you didn't quit on him. By his own admission, he is no longer a professional luthier. (I seriously doubt he's a politician either but that's another matter...) And as for $1750 he spent on "materials" -- he probably means beer and weed.
 
#78
Before visitors to the LC get all up in arms about mikeyswood, remember there are always two sides to every story, despite how evidence often show up. He can be polarizing in posts, but no one deserves to be slandered all over the place by people they have not personally slighted.

That said, I think that from a place of ethics, the appearance of impropriety has occurred, and so the only recourse is either the prompt delivery of the bass with some form of discount, negotiated or offered, or, the return of all funds related and mikey just eats the costs he's invested to date. If this were me, the OP would be getting a cheque and a public apology. I would not write him off or judge him an ass until he's had a chance to make good on one or the other, bass or refund...
 
#79
Meatrus said:
Just curious, why did you decide to use him in the first place?
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He talks the talk. Very well. At the time he was offering advice in nearly every build thread, telling people the "right way" to do things. I figured he was the go to guy around here.

It actually come about after I offered to purchase a bass that he was completing for the first ever build off. I do not know if that bass ever got finished.
 
#80
Beej said:
Before visitors to the LC get all up in arms about mikeyswood, remember there are always two sides to every story, despite how evidence often show up. He can be polarizing in posts, but no one deserves to be slandered all over the place by people they have not personally slighted.
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+1

I've no doubt Mike is aware of this thread. He has every chance to tell his side of he story. If I am in the wrong somewhere and I don't know it, I will gladly accept my piece of humble pie. Our entire email history since late June is here verbatim (with the exception of some personal details edited out)

Maybe he has started a reply, but since -

With each communication I spend time editing and condensing as to use words efficiently and wisely. Chemistry and luthiery are among the leaders in my skills so I allow much time for each sentence written. Receiving multiple messages written with emotion requires time to construct a proper response so as to keep the conversation focused on the goal.
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it may be a year or two before he finishes the first draft of his response.

I should also note that his facebook does show a photo of the core of the body wings, roughly cut, so at least some work has been done beyond a neck blank

Link Removed

Gimme a bandsaw and I reckon I could do that in 5 minutes!
 
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