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

#81
I checked out his webpage and ind it looks like he mad quite a bunch of instruments to this date. Exotic wood there, rare wood here...that's nice....but he probably knows why the photos are in that small resolution and why they are so dark.
You can have 4 string bass built for 700$ here by quality luthier. But that means no fancy HW, no fancy electronics, no fancy finishes, no fancy wood. But you will get more that solid workmanship and solid chung of nice wood.
 
#82
Bryan R. Tyler said:
If to you a good bass is that even when riddled with mistakes, it can still play and that's good enough for you, then there's no good reason for you to get a custom bass. If your tastes are really that unpicky, then there's nothing that a comparably priced bass can't give you sound and playability-wise that a Pushic can that you won't be satisfied with. You go custom because you want something different and better than what's out there.... You also don't have to pay $2500-$5000 to get a bass better than a DP. Heck, if you buy used, you can get a great one for about the same price as a DP. Most of the basses I own were $2000 or under.
Click to expand...


Ah, but youre forgetting the subjectivity here. You set a LOT of the standards you set here for what people are looking for are extremely subjective. NOT everyone expects absolute perfection. Dave has actually put out a lot more basses than you know about, and its only been since he had that huge outpjut that TBers have started buying them. Now theyre yelling at him because he doesnt cater to THEIR specific needs. I think a lot of people on these forums who do buy DPs but have expectations that are too high end up complaining the most. I mean... look at the big deal 4string4ever's problems stirried up. The problems on his bass are not nearly as bad. I dont know this for a a fact but Id guess that a decent amount of the problems people posted on these forums are less than critically structural problems.
Example:
The crappy delis in brooklyn and way uptown manhattan. They present the dirtiest appearances and make food that people are more or less unhappy with. They still get a ton of business because not everyone in those neighborhoods necessarily cares that the floors are dirty. Perhaps they want that kind of atmosphere.
Thats an extreme example, but it applies to a lot of people. Especially me. I dont expect to have the perfect instrument when it comes out. Im not going to examine it with a caliper and a magnifying glass to make sure that theres no problems. If the problem is big enough to me, itll be macroscopic and ill see it immediately. But Im not expecting that. If when I get my bass it turns out that theres any really big problems then you can prove me wrong. Otherwise youre completely ignoring the fact that your standards are subjective.
 
#83
lame(B)ass said:
I checked out his webpage and ind it looks like he mad quite a bunch of instruments to this date. Exotic wood there, rare wood here...that's nice....but he probably knows why the photos are in that small resolution and why they are so dark.
You can have 4 string bass built for 700$ here by quality luthier. But that means no fancy HW, no fancy electronics, no fancy finishes, no fancy wood. But you will get more that solid workmanship and solid chung of nice wood.
Click to expand...

Hes got a bit of a point here too. Hes also sort of wrong (Im getting EMGs with an EMG preamp, schaller tuners and a hipshot bridge) in that Dave doesnt give you nice hardware. His point is right in that I do want to have Wenge wings and a Curly Rock Maple/Padauk neck with an Afzelia burl top, and I cant get anythign like that for ~$1100.Maybe I can go out and buy someone's Stambaugh or something... but then it wont be mine. Dave does also have a pretty good customer base because theres a lot of people out there who just dont have the money to buy a really nice bass, but they want to have something of decent to good build quality (excellent structural quality) and a nice appearance.
 
#84
Lamborghini98 buy whatever you wants, but if it does turn out to be another "fiasco"...don't complain about it. You've been given many examples/opinions on DP, you obviously want the bass , so buy it. Now can we give 4string4ever HIS thread back?
 
#86
If you think that "quality" is a subjective term then I suppose you're right. Most people don't. I have basses that sell for over $3500 new and a Bongo that I purchased for under $1000 new. They are both high quality instruments. If you think the problems on 4string4evers aren't that bad, then you REALLY need to reconsider your ideas on good craftsmenship. There is a difference between perfection and imperfection, and another difference between perfection and poor quality. Quality needs to be maintained at all price points, and if you don't mind poor quality, that's fine, but it's not something that acceptable for a business to do, as most people DO expect a quality product.

Don't be so sure that'd you'd see an issue immediately either. The owner of the DP I almost purchased didn't know the reason the preamp was having issues was that it was installed improperly and the wires were cut too short, so that it basically was going to need a new one. You won't see if all the frets are level, which is important as if you adjust the setup of the bass to where you like it, the frets may begin buzzing. Same with the truss rod. You should inspect any new instrument very carefully if you can, as a small problem you might not notice could turn into a large one.

Oh, and how would you know if Dave has actually put out a lot more basses than I know about?
 
#87
Ferrari 007 - "people are yelling at him because he doesn't meet their specific needs "


That's hogwash. He touts himself as a "Custom" builder with all the things that go with it. So if he is going to let you order what you want and you do not get it then the customer has every right to be disgruntled. Custom is one thing, absolutely shoddy craftsmanship is quite another.
 
#89
boogiebass said:
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:
Click to expand...

+1.
Well you know their Alembic's location is relatively close to some very fine cannibis! :D JK.

Anyway, I agree they can be very flakey at responding to customer inquiries. Sometimes they would be great, other times they wouldn't respond to my emails and phonecalls for weeks. You'd think as small as a company that they are, and for the prices they charge, especially for their Series basses they'd be alot more attentive to their customers.

A local guy here had also had neck problems with a Series bass he bought back in the 80's. He became so frustrated with getting the run around, he did the same thing you did and sold the bass. He swears he'll never buy another.

- Art
 
#92
Wading through all the menutia above, where the rubber meets the road is here; I consider a twisted neck or whatever the problem is NOT to be an anal over-examining expectation of absolute perfection, but an unacceptable fabrication defect. Would anyone here actually accept such if you had paid $1500 for a bass?
 
#93
4string4ever said:
Wading through all the menutia above, where the rubber meets the road is here; I consider a twisted neck or whatever the problem is NOT to be an anal over-examining expectation of absolute perfection, but an unacceptable fabrication defect. Would anyone here actually accept such if you had paid $1500 for a bass?
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Normally I'd think not but given the apparent leniency of some... who knows?
 
#95
DZ, you can use the neck as a hockey stick or perhaps let someone on the Flyers borrow it. Granted, it won't pass NHL standards either. ;)

I just can't believe that anyone would "defend" the mediocrity and incompetence that "4string" encountered with DP. Baffling. Does that guy work for DP or something?

DZ said:
:smug: I still have the neck if anyone wants it... of course the headstock angle is wrong, the nut is crooked and the fingerboard has a loose knot in it...
Click to expand...
 
#97
lamborghini98 said:
Ah, but youre forgetting the subjectivity here. You set a LOT of the standards you set here for what people are looking for are extremely subjective. NOT everyone expects absolute perfection. Dave has actually put out a lot more basses than you know about, and its only been since he had that huge outpjut that TBers have started buying them. Now theyre yelling at him because he doesnt cater to THEIR specific needs. I think a lot of people on these forums who do buy DPs but have expectations that are too high end up complaining the most. I mean... look at the big deal 4string4ever's problems stirried up. The problems on his bass are not nearly as bad. I dont know this for a a fact but Id guess that a decent amount of the problems people posted on these forums are less than critically structural problems.
Example:
The crappy delis in brooklyn and way uptown manhattan. They present the dirtiest appearances and make food that people are more or less unhappy with. They still get a ton of business because not everyone in those neighborhoods necessarily cares that the floors are dirty. Perhaps they want that kind of atmosphere.
Thats an extreme example, but it applies to a lot of people. Especially me. I dont expect to have the perfect instrument when it comes out. Im not going to examine it with a caliper and a magnifying glass to make sure that theres no problems. If the problem is big enough to me, itll be macroscopic and ill see it immediately. But Im not expecting that. If when I get my bass it turns out that theres any really big problems then you can prove me wrong. Otherwise youre completely ignoring the fact that your standards are subjective.
Click to expand...


I don't know that I have ever come across someone who is so accepting of mediocrity. This is YOUR hard earned money. Don't you expect quality? Don't you feel that those you are paying for goods and services should be held to a certain degree of perfection?

Would you eat a sandwich from one of your local Deli's after the meat fell on the floor?

Live your life however you want, but your continued argument supporting the low standards of workmanship are staggering.
 
#98
Woodchuck said:
I was wondering the same.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, he probably can't get his deposit back so it's likely an effort to rationalize the money spent.

lamborghini98, I would just wait until it arrives and post a review. There is a probably a good chance that this will be one of the good ones.
Let's think positive!
 
#100
I would eat a sandwich from the aforementioned deli on one condition: If I could eat it within the cozy confines of my new lamborghini...............and the stereo system would have to be slammin'!!!! ;)

WWMSD?
What Would Martha Stewart Do?????????????????


west*coast*bass said:
I don't know that I have ever come across someone who is so accepting of mediocrity. This is YOUR hard earned money. Don't you expect quality? Don't you feel that those you are paying for goods and services should be held to a certain degree of perfection?

Would you eat a sandwich from one of your local Deli's after the meat fell on the floor?

Live your life however you want, but your continued argument supporting the low standards of workmanship are staggering.
Click to expand...
 

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