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My DP Pushic Custom fiasco........

#62
I think that using the same nut on the second bass was a huge mistake...but without photographic evidence, it is hard to make judgement on anything else, really.

When it comes to paying $700 for an out-of-the-ordinary design...well, I just don't think that's wise...in that price range, you should accept what you pay for...sorry, but true...

but do your homework...like I did when I bought my wishbass...i was not expecting anything other than what I got...and for $300, I'm completely satisfied with my "work in progress"...

I've had to put some work into it myself...but I'm enjoying it...

what I've done so far...

1) Put on a set of Labella Nylon Tape wound strings

2) Installed a thumbrest

3) Installed a series/parallel switch for the KA soapbar

4) Shielded the controls cavity and repaired a bad solder on the volume pot.

5) Changed out the corian bridge for an individually-saddled, channelled bridge (I did the channelling with a dremel and it turned out pretty nice)

6) Gave the fingerboard a quick sand with 400 grit sandpaper to clean up some little pencil marks and smooth it out.

7) Scrubbed down that "sticky" finish with a nylon scrub pad...made the neck feel quite nice

I still have to give her a final finish and throw on a chrome knob...but I'm having too much fun playing her, right now...and I've really enjoyed working on it. When I'm finished, I'll post some pics.
 
#65
I've read all about the db (?) basses here. I visited his site on the net. Was not at all impressed. He needs to charge more for his basses so he can upgrade the site. Then everyone can actually SEE what he's trying to sell.
Lambo... didn't read where anyone is picking on you... just good advice. Pushic (?), learn the craft, and don't try to outdo everyone. People build in their styles for a reason.

I'm just a bass playin' hacker that felt the need to post. I do know that you can get a very good playing bass for cheap if ya look around. I live in a town with a pop. of 10,000. NO music stores whatsoever. ( I'm laid off, too. Anyone want to start a store?)

I've lurked around here for awhile. Lot of good info. I'll probably be a supporter real quick so I get access to everything.

Anyway... make sure you're satisfied with what you buy. That's what matters.
 
#67
Zooberwerx said:
Indeed, a twisted neck is not a good thing, however, several builders intentionally put slightly more relief on the bass side of the fretboard to accommodate the mass of the larger diameter strings.

Riis
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Yeah, I know that. But I didn't get the impression that it was done intentionally. It's one thing to work it into the build--it's another thing to justify a mistake.
 
#68
I'm really sorry to hear about 4string4ever's troubles. $700 or so bucks is still a good chunk of change for most of us, and if one is promised a "custom" instrument, that's what one should get. If the builder can't deliver, he shouldn't list his business as a "custom" builder. If he continues to deliver something less than custom, but continues to represent himself as a custom builder, he should be reported to the BBB and other organizations accordingly.

I guess it all boils down to expectation. Anyone seeing an advertisment for a "custom" bass costing $700 should immediately get their badar (bass radar) activated. A lot of folks here love Sadowsky's; you can't even approach a custom Sadowsky for less than $3K or more. Given the reputation that Sadowsky has in these parts, why would anyone think they'd get a quality "custom" bass for a $700 starting price? Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't get it.

Bottom line is one gets what one pays for. This doesn't mean that something has to be expensive to be useful and bring one hours of enjoyment, but you will not, for example, see the same level of quality in a $1200 Fender that you will in an Alembic, Fodera, Pedulla, etc. I paid about $5K each for my Alembics, and it shows. The quality is superlative, best in my experience. And their support is legendary (in my experience, anyway). I'm sure Fodera and Sadowsky owners have had simliar experiences.

One is paying for more than just a bass when one lays out cash. Service, support, etc. are all part of the equation. Alembic, for example, would never be able to ask the prices they do for their instruments if the support wasn't at the same level. Case in point ...

My Europa had some places in the finish that appeared to be turning to a satin-type finish. I couldn't figure it out because it was only in certain spots. I contacted Alembic, we troubleshot the problem, and then they had me send it back (they paid for pick up and then delivery). They re-shot the finish in the affected areas at no charge. It now looks beautiful everywhere.

Had Alembic not done this, I'd have been mightily disappointed. One can make the case that a $5K bass shouldn't have these problems, and they'd be right. However, mine did. The difference is Alembic stood behind their product and fixed a valid problem due to no fault of my own (which it wasn't).

The fact that Pushic only did the minimum reflects the cost involved. You're not going to get the same level of support from Fender, Musicman, Gibson, etc., for example that you will from a high end, reputable, custom builder. For them, their reputation is on the line with every instrument they make. They know if they don't deliver, they're out of business. The mass produced instruments ... well, those manufacturers know they can get away with it. They make a whole bunch, and kill the competition by sheer force of numbers. If one guy has a bad experience and never buys a Fender again, so what. There's another guy waiting to take his place because the price is right.

Bottome line: if this guy is representing his work as custom and not delivering, he should stop doing so. Short of that, I think we'd all be well advised not to purchase a Pushic if the problems 4string4ever and others have documented remain to be the norm rather than the exception.

My two cents,

Alan
 
#69
lamborghini98 said:
Im just surprised that no one recognizes this bs and does something about it.
I mean... even coming from a moderator? I like some of the stuff that comes out of these forums... but a lot of it is just depraved.
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The one bass i played was crap. The fretboard I played was not straight, period. At least on the couple of Wishbasses that I had, the playability was there, even if the control plate looked to be made out of a sprite can.

And yes, if a builder can't get that right, then THAT is totl BS, and we need to know. You got a nice bass, great. I saw what I saw, and it was not worth a damn penny. It was NOT playable.
 
#70
abngourmet said:
The fact that Pushic only did the minimum reflects the cost involved. You're not going to get the same level of support from Fender, Musicman, Gibson, etc., for example that you will from a high end, reputable, custom builder. For them, their reputation is on the line with every instrument they make. They know if they don't deliver, they're out of business. The mass produced instruments ... well, those manufacturers know they can get away with it. They make a whole bunch, and kill the competition by sheer force of numbers. If one guy has a bad experience and never buys a Fender again, so what. There's another guy waiting to take his place because the price is right.
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I think you need to take MusicMan out of this paragraph. I bought a Bongo secondhand, which means no warranty for me. The chord jack crapped out and I called them and told them upfront this was a secondhand bass. They said it was no problem and had an output jack in my hand that week, free of charge.

If you go to the Ernie Ball forums you can speak to the head honcho, Sterling Ball, directly. If you have a problem with an Ernie Ball MusicMan bass, they want to know about it. They'll make it right too.
 
#72
WillPlay4Food said:
I think you need to take MusicMan out of this paragraph. I bought a Bongo secondhand, which means no warranty for me. The chord jack crapped out and I called them and told them upfront this was a secondhand bass. They said it was no problem and had an output jack in my hand that week, free of charge.

If you go to the Ernie Ball forums you can speak to the head honcho, Sterling Ball, directly. If you have a problem with an Ernie Ball MusicMan bass, they want to know about it. They'll make it right too.
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100% correct.

The level of service that Musicman provides is second to none. I'm constantly amazed at the lengths they go to for their buyers. if you buy a SUB from them, and it needs work for any reason, the same guy who sets up Tony Levin's bass and Dave LaRue's bass works on the SUB. That the are all genuinely great people is a plus.
 
#75
jivetkr said:
Doesnt DP post here?
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He used to. His last post was towards the end of 2004. He posted pretty regularly when everyone was ordering their basses and then got them, but began to post less and less as criticisms of his basses began popping up. He handled them fine earlier on, but as more kept appearing when more people received their unsatisfactory basses, he apparently didn't take too kindly to the criticisms anymore.

His user name was DP Custom if anyone wants to review his posts.
 
#76
abngourmet said:
Had Alembic not done this, I'd have been mightily disappointed. One can make the case that a $5K bass shouldn't have these problems, and they'd be right. However, mine did. The difference is Alembic stood behind their product and fixed a valid problem due to no fault of my own (which it wasn't).
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Alan,
while most of my dealings wih the folks at Alembic has been postitive, I'd like to share one experience with them that's left a sour taste in my mouth (Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread in doing so)

I bought my '93 Europa new in 1997. It had been on display at the music store without much interest, so the music store kept discounting it's price. I kind of lucked out: I payed $1400.00 for it.

From the time I bought it the neck relief was a bit strange. The E-string side sloped down at the end of the fretboard, whereas the G-string side sloped up. One side had a hump in the middle frets, the other side had an extreme backbow. It had lots of string buzzes unless I jacked it's string height up to an uncomfortable level. I sent the bass back to Alembic and they ended up doing a simple trussrod adjustment(which I could've done myself) which lessened the problem.

Over the following two years the problem continually worsened until it got to the point that my trussrod and string height adjustments would no longer help the string buzzes. I contacted Alembic and got the o.k. from them to send it in. Once they had evaluated the problem, they called and said they would have to de-fret my bass, re-true it's fingerboard, and re-fret it.

Now I ass-umed because the neck wood had settled oddly that Alembic was handling the repair as a warranty repair; I did contact them right after I'd bought the the bass and sent it in for the same problems while it was under warranty. I know, I should've asked anyway, but at no time did they leave me with the impression that I was picking up the bill on this one.

Once the job was completed, they called to say it was ready to send back and "Oh, by the way, the charge will be $360.00 plus return shipping". :scowl:

I was a bit pissed off to say the least, but I paid for the repairs and the job they did was excellent. But my point is that they should have done this repair when I sent my bass to the the first time, while it was still under warranty. :eyebrow:

- Art
 
#77
I think CS on alot of, if not all, companies are hit and miss. I've heard great things about Fender, but I called them about a deadspot on a brand new Jazz, and I was told, "That's just part of the Fender mysitque." I've heard negative things about Warwick, but they've treated me and those I've sent to them like kings. I have to admit that your's is only the 3rd complaint I've heard about Alembic in all of my 8 years of playing.
 
#78
Woodchuck said:
I think CS on alot of, if not all, companies are hit and miss. I've heard great things about Fender, but I called them about a deadspot on a brand new Jazz, and I was told, "That's just part of the Fender mysitque." I've heard negative things about Warwick, but they've treated me and those I've sent to them like kings. I have to admit that your's is only the 3rd complaint I've heard about Alembic in all of my 8 years of playing.
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2 of my Alembics had serious neck recurve issues.
1. Alembic Series 1 #1711-80 (Purchased new custom order thru Chicago Music Company)
2. Alembic Elan 6 (Don't remember S/N)(Purchased new from GC)

I love Alembics wood craft and electronics but they definitely had some problems with necks moving around on them in the 1980's and 90's. I believe this had to do with their wood supply.

The Elan 6 was repaired under warranty but that first series one I didn't realize what was wrong until 2 years later when the tech who set it up for me after it was shipped from Alembic told me it had a recurve right from the factory but he didn't have the heart to tell me after waiting 8 weeks for it.

I traded that bass at GC for a used Medium scale Series 1 with a perfect neck.

For "boutique" basses I now only buy Ken Smith, because of the basic craftsmanship and playability AND because he puts so much thought into how the woods that go into his basses are handled.
 
#79
Woodchuck said:
...I have to admit that your's is only the 3rd complaint I've heard about Alembic in all of my 8 years of playing.
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Make that 4. They jerked me around big-time on a custom case for a Series 1 Custom I owned a few years ago, stringing me out for months and then casually mentioning that they hadn't bothered to order it when I wanted to know if it was in their latest batches of orders when they came in. This is after sending tracings and discussing the case with them for months via phone and email. Their attitude was cavalier, to say the least. I was so pissed, I sold both of my Alembics and would never own another. Based on my experience, I rate their customer service a complete failure. :spit:
 
#80
lamborghini98 said:
Frankly Im sick of the sophomoric hypocrisy on these forums. Its really disgusting. If you have something intelligent to say, say it. Otherwise dont waste my time.
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Here's an intelligent thing to say:

I will never buy a DP Custom. Many of my well respected friends here at TB have had issues with them, why would I waste my money on one? I trust my TB friends.
 

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