My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

[JimmyM]

This thread blows my mind. One of the very best looking and feeling basses I have ever played in my life was an AC 5-string J that belongs to a friend. Would have been the very best had it been a 4 but that's beside the point. Makes me bum out.

 

[sratas]

just saw the video...wow.
I could even tolerate the cosmetic issues (well...maybe), the bass seems to sound killer in the OP hands, but it's quite unplayable with that neck.
hard to imagine the flaw...if the neck has a hump even the first positions would be influenced. It is a problem for sure, but a complex one...IMo the whole bass seems to have been constructed with poorly treated and seasoned woods.

Bad move Jimmy, and com'on, the word is spreading. Do you care about your name and reputation?

Another thing that drives me nuts...it seems that some customers are less that satisfied with their AC bass, but they refuse to share this. maybe the same persons would rather open a thread on the less than perfect contruction or cosmetics of a Sx or Squier...

 

[fusionbassed]

I would be upset if my 500 dollar Fender looked like that

The mom and pop shop I patronize would have put it in back the box and returned it to Fender for a swap out if they got a dog like that. They have put scratch and dent stuff on the wall but always at a steep discount and they are very upfront about it.

 

[fusionbassed]

+1

We've all seen and played basses made on a factory line that look better than this travesty.

From the pics it looks like a nice AC bass was given to a high school kid with a super glue fetish. SO MUCH SUPER GLUE.

Seems to me the bass was not prepped properly before finishing and the frets started to pop out and the poly just went to hell.

Really hope the builder and proprietor of AC makes this right, by either offering to build the same bass the right way or a flat out refund.

Quite frankly, the pictures make it look like the builder - based on his reputation - was likely drunk or under the influence of something when finishing the bass. I agree that this looks like a shop project gone *bad*. None of it is unfixable - you can resand, rep prep the body, do it right and fix the neck finish/truing issues... but would you WANT to in the case of the neck?

 

[fusionbassed]

It's already been brought to his attention on Facebook.

Ah, OK. Still relatively new to the world of basses, but that's good to hear. A bit late to the party here. I really feel for the OP... the total sense of being ripped off and crushed.

 

[eban3]

contact the New york (i believe thats where he does bizz out of) State attorney generals office regarding a fraud , they dont take this stuff lightly ,, what an A--h---

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

That's one of the big points here: when confronted about the major issues (flaws) with the bass, the proposed solution is to see if he can pawn it off on one of his dealers? The fact that it made it out of the shop in the first place is surprising.

 

[Dos Inus]

Completely unacceptable business practice. As a business owner myself, it is clear that the damage in his reputation alone far outweighs the relatively small margin of profit he made off of you. Typically issues like this result from poor communication between the business and the customer, however, in your case that is not the issue. Miscommunication is easily resolved. More troubling possibilities include: he no longer cares about his product; or, he is having financial issues and/or going out of business.

Check into consumer protection laws in your state. Also, I agree that a call to the BBB is in order. Finally, lawsuits have been filed in cases such as this, and are often found in favor of the consumer. $5k is no pocket change for any of us.

 

[CTC564]

This is what bothers me most.

If I'm giving someone 5k of my hard earned dollars, I'm placing a lot of trust in their ability to deliver what's promised. AC broke OP's trust and then as much as admitted that the only way he was going to get his money back was if they were able to break trust with someone else by passing the lemon on. New guy (ie. unsuspecting dupe) would probably get the same story as OP did: "well, you know, we have this bass on layaway and the guy who put it there is broke". Sorry, but unless some new information comes to light, I could never bring myself to recommend buying an AC, new or used. The kind of treatment the OP is experiencing is reprehensible on the highest level.

Very well stated and EXACTLY how I look at this mess...

 

[JAUQO III-X]

This will definitely have a chilling effect on his business especially from us talkbass members.

I doubt it and the talkbass community is just a drop in the bucket in regards to how this would possibly hurt his business.

 

[Ivan M]

I would buy one, as long as I could play it first. I don't know what happened with my bass... I'm not even going to speculate on it.

I would just simply try to buy used or from a dealer that will allow you to make sure it's exactly what you want before you commit to it, and stay away from buying direct if there is a "ALL SALES FINAL" policy.

Not comparing Jimmy to Roger (SADOWSKY) But at Sadowsky they have a 7 day trial period, that alone would have saved you this headache. I HOPE Jimmy makes this right for you and refunds your cash, and takes that bass back and makes sure it NEVER leaves the shop. That tummy cut looks HORRIBLE.

 

[fusionbassed]

contact the New york (i believe thats where he does bizz out of) State attorney generals office regarding a fraud , they dont take this stuff lightly ,, what an A--h---

According to his website, he's located in Upland, CA, just across the San Bernardino county line from LA in SoCal...

 

[Rich McCoy]

Wow what a ripoff.
I am pretty sure people have gone to jail for less.

 

[Dos Inus]

It should have been discounted $4500.00.That is one ugly P.O.S.I would be embarrassed to have my name on it.

I think that instrument should not have eleven been sold. Any credible luthier would have thrown that one on the scrap heap and started over rather than actually sell it.

 

[kai_ski]

I doubt it and the talkbass community is just a drop in the bucket in regards to how this would possibly hurt his business.

Meh, you may be blinded by your industry status. From my view, as a consumer, the bass business is an exceptionally difficult portion of the musical instruments industry. Business is tough, no one can afford to lose any prospective buyers. For example, if I know a guy who is looking to buy a killer Fender clone and I tell about this mess, and he tells two friends, and they tell two friends etc, etc... the trickle has to start somewhere. This thread has had over 14,000 views in under 12 hours. Not to mention he's losing un-official endorsers (such as kjung) for inconsistency in his recent manufacturing. Unless he fixes his problems, I don't see how he won't take a hit in the long run.

 

[JimmyM]

I doubt it and the talkbass community is just a drop in the bucket in regards to how this would possibly hurt his business.

Agreed, but even so, losing even 2 or 3 customers when you're a relatively small operation putting out expensive basses is a bummer. Hopefully they can solve it amicably.

 

[Dos Inus]

I doubt it and the talkbass community is just a drop in the bucket in regards to how this would possibly hurt his business.

Trust me, ANY drop in sales for any business, in this economy, hurts bad.

 

[LagBox]

Afraid it does.

I'm in no position to buy one, but if I ever am I'll remember this thread.

 

[Rocktometrist]

This thread could pop up every time someone Googles "Alleva-Coppolo", which potentially makes it a problem for him that extends well past the talkbass community. When anybody who decides to research their $5k+ purchase sees this mess, I'm guessing it could result in considerably more than a few lost sales.

Dude needs to fix this last week.

 

[TinyE]

Start posting pics and vids on your Facebook page and tag him in the pics. Social media is a very powerful weapon. He can remove tags, but you can always post another picture and tag it again. Sometimes brute force is needed to gain attention.