Anyone remember this bass from namm? I know there where plenty of bass players there drooling over gear.
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My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...
- Thread starter Addison
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Much less for $5000! THAT is NOT a $5000 bass!! And my personal opinion is that the AC's are over priced to begin with! Some will disagree but it is my opinion.
And as for the TB membership vs. non TB membership..........In my area alone, I know aprox. 30 or so bassists. Half of them are not TB members but we talk bass and bass manufacturers all the time. If I were to relay this experience to them, that would in turn make them move in a different direction from AC basses. So I feel it can have an affect on sales. I'm from NY. Huge area full of musicians who I know quite a few bassists. I don't plan to blast AC at all though.
I do feel Jimmy should take the bass back and finish it properly, address the neck issue and make things right. I mean for $5k, I would hate for someone to tell me "tough luck" on my purchase! Just fix the dang bass!!
I don't understand how being wealthy or not would change this situation... 5k is 5k, period. Wealthy or not so wealthy, it really doesn't matter. Just because someone can afford a 5k bass, doesn't mean that if they get screwed its no big deal (because they have the money to buy another one).
he's been pretty cool in the past though with having basses that are far from perfect out there with his name on them so this bass doesnt really surprise me. theres definitely basses out there that posters here have called perfect that ive seen first hand that have funky fretwork,blocks/binding. like mentioned earlier as well, there are tb'rs that have had similar dealings with him that dont wont post since theyll have to deal with svtb15 calling them a liar or exaggerating or inferring theyre just an amateur thats too busy staring at their basses.
And yes this Will affect AC's business - there are several thousand members here on Tb- many are well connected- word of mouth travels fast. This is a travesty that needs to be resolved!
I would never buy an AC bass from them, $5,000 for such a flawed instrument is a rip-off. I wouldn't pay $500 for the bass the OP received.
Hopefully- AC will make this right and refund or replace the bass- and salvage their reputation before further damage occurs.
I would never buy an AC bass from them, $5,000 for such a flawed instrument is a rip-off. I wouldn't pay $500 for the bass the OP received.
Hopefully- AC will make this right and refund or replace the bass- and salvage their reputation before further damage occurs.
Good luck to the OP. I had a bad experience, treated very rudely, in his old Midtown west store years ago. Not such treatment across the east river, which is why I own a Sadowsky.
I'm not a good enough bass player to justify spending that kind of money on a bass... or guitar... just as I'm not a good bicyclist to drop $5K or more on a carbon road bike that could be easily destroyed in a crash or stolen. What will make me a better bass player is practice, patience and time.
I'd love to see the OP get a bass he loves.
If indeed Jimmy has cash flow problems, how about going above and beyond in making a brand new, to Addison's spec, a beautiful new bass? He probably already has parts in his shop. This would show me, as an interested 3rd party that he really cared about making it right through effort and building a quality instrument.
If indeed Jimmy has cash flow problems, how about going above and beyond in making a brand new, to Addison's spec, a beautiful new bass? He probably already has parts in his shop. This would show me, as an interested 3rd party that he really cared about making it right through effort and building a quality instrument.
I once bought a used Walter Woods Electracoustic Ultra from the original owner that was pretty well beat up. After owning several of Walter's amps something about this one didn't sound right. So I called Walter about it and come to find out it was a custom build he did for a customer that was voiced differently from every other amp he had built. He said he knew when he sent it out that it didn't sound good(to him) and was sorry he ever sent it out because he did want that amp to represent his work. The second Walter realized I had that amp he told me to send it to him immediately and in return he sent back a brand spanking new Ultra at no extra charge. That's an example of someone that takes pride in his work and takes care of his customers.
I played a couple at the NAMM one year and they were really nice, but they are not 3+k better than Lakland, Lull or Sadowsky to name a few. I was not too hot on the preamp on the couple I played.
I saw that and scratched my head. It looks like some of the finishes/bodies are outsourced so that would save time but...
I know very little about the luthier business, but that seems to be an awfully high output for a one man shop... or does he have people helping him? From what I've seen of his website, he looks like he puts together an awful lot of parts that are premade/precut - I'm not sure I would consider someone who builds electric basses and guitars from a parts bin the same as someone who bends their own wood, etc. making acoustical instruments. Again, I know VERY little about the luthier business, but watching the local repair shops around here and talking to the techs, some of whom have been to luthier school, you just don't crank out that many a week with high quality...
My apologies, this thread is moving so fast that it is hard to keep up with... I may have to put work on hold for a while...
I would maintain that good customer service makes zero difference whether you are buying a partscaster from a local 'unknown' for $500 with stuff scrounged from ebay and garage sales, or $5000. I think the fact that he paid so much for a bass that is apparently unplayable and with way too many cosmetic flaws for the price and is being treated like poo is the core issue that's got folks' dander up.
Of course it could go well for him. He'll show all of us that he's willing to correct a mistake. Apologizing and correcting a mistake is good customer service. We're all human and sometimes we make bad judgements. Imo, he made a bad judgement that he can make up for. He's going to have to go above and beyond but it can be done. If I were Jimmy, I'd give the O.P. the best AC bass on hand, 50% of the 5k back and a public apology on this forum for being in an unreasonable mood at the time. Wouldn't that solve the issue ?
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