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My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

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#481
fusionbassed said:
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.
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+1... I would hope so too.
 
#482
Low Class said:
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.
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Wow, that's just great customer service...
 
#486
I've seen it go both ways when a vendor makes an appearance in a case like this.

IMO, the best AC could do here is make a post admitting there is a problem and stating that he will make it right with the customer in private. No more details are needed in a public forum.

After the fact, if Addison wants to disclose the resolution, that's up to him.
 
#487
Spot on.

Vic said:
To those calling for a response from Jimmy in this thread... I can't imagine that happening, and IMHO, as I said before, there's no way in heck that could possibly go well for him. IMHO he's SMART for not commenting here. Only a fool would step into the middle of a hornet's nest like this... a damn fool.

Again, as I said before, it would be FAR better for him to just make things right with the OP and have the OP "resolve" this thread.
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#488
smcd said:
Many people don't have the time or money to travel to different shops to test drive basses. Fly to 3 different cities for missions like this and you'll end up spending almost as much as you would on a new AC bass. So you go on a builder's reputation. Do some homework, talk to the builder, and if you're left with a good impression, buying sight unseen is totally par for the course.

I know several people who've spent big dollars on high end instruments without ever having played one before. Hell, i've done it myself. None, including me, have ever had an experience like the OP's.
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I believe the OP stated that he lives in North Dakota. Plane tickets from Bismarck or Fargo are ridiculously expensive and if he's not in the eastern third of the state, its a serious drive to the closest major airport which I'm guessing would be Minneapolis. Not everyone lives in a major city or close enough to one where you have a lot of choices, or, if you're in the Plains to the West Coast, there's simply not the density of cities where you can drive a couple of hours to another builder, or you can live someplace like Denver, which is a very cool place to live, but one of the complaints that you hear from people who move there is how isolated Denver is... (not picking on you Denver I LOVE YOU). Even here in Sacramento, yes, I can get to dowtown SF in 90 minutes IF the traffic on the 80 cooperates, but its a six hour drive to LA, and while there are several smaller cities on the way there, none of them are anything special or loaded with master quality luthiers from an instrument perspective. Reno is about an hour and a half and there's not a heck of a lot between when you "go up the hill" on US 50 or 80 going out of Sacramento until you are almost in Reno... Portland is a day's drive away up the 5.

I grew up in Iowa, so I had some idea how vastly empty the US is west of the Mississippi River... I spent the better part of a decade living in VA between DC, Fredericksburg and Richmond, but even on the East Coast, once you get about 15 to 20 miles west of I-95, there's not a lot... the East Coast megalopolis is a string city that runs along the Interstates from Boston to Richmond and then down 85 to ATL...

My point is its not always practical to play before you buy. I bought my GL JB sight unseen through GC, knowing that if I was unhappy with it, I could return it for a different one. The OP took a chance on a custom instrument that was not brand new and it didn't work out, and it sucks that the builder is ignoring the OP...
 
#489
fusionbassed said:
You might as well go custom shop if you're going to drop 5K and get the real thing... one of the reasons I own Fender instruments isn't because they're the best - there are clearly great and competitive alternatives out there for the price - but I know if I need to flip a Fender I can do so pretty quickly. Less well known brand names are more problematic.

Let's face it - unless you are dealing with a well-known vintage product, anytime you drop more than $1500-$2000 into a guitar or bass you may end up taking a bath in the end.
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I don't agree with you.

Are you saying you WON'T take a bath on ordering a brand new $5k Fender Custom Shop bass? I think you would lose a fortune in almost every case. If the OP's $5000 AC was in great shape, he would likely get $4500 out of it if he sold it used. Not too shabby. AC's have very high resale in almost all cases.

Less well known names like Sadowsky have very high resale as well.

Also, the vintage market today is brutal. If you bought a couple of vintage Fenders 4-5 years ago, there is very little chance you would recoup your "investment".

In any case, I have played Fenders for over 25 years and still own a bunch, but buying a new Fender rarely translates into even a break even scenario when selling used.
 
#493
He's pretty smart in not coming here. Things would go out of hand very fast.

Let's just hope he sees this and comes to realize what an *ss he made of himself, and how such an instrument is a disrespect to himself and the brand he created.
 
#496
Baird6869 said:
I don't agree with you.

Are you saying you WON'T take a bath on ordering a brand new $5k Fender Custom Shop bass? I think you would lose a fortune in almost every case. If the OP's $5000 AC was in great shape, he would likely get $4500 out of it if he sold it used. Not too shabby. AC's have very high resale in almost all cases.

Less well known names like Sadowsky have very high resale as well.

Also, the vintage market today is brutal. If you bought a couple of vintage Fenders 4-5 years ago, there is very little chance you would recoup your "investment".

In any case, I have played Fenders for over 25 years and still own a bunch, but buying a new Fender rarely translates into even a break even scenario when selling used.
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I'm basing it on my experience. I've never owned anything that expensive, but I typically get 50-60% back of the original purchase price on the Fenders I've sold. Of course, everything I've sold so far is a MIM guitar so... most people are willing to fork out $200-$250 for an instrument that has one owner, new and been treated well.

I appreciate the info on boutique bass values - I'm still relatively new at this bass thing - almost 40 years on guitars but a year and a half on bass :)
 
#497
fleabee said:
Gotta make something good out of sh tty situation
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He's a good bass player and he added some extra color to the bass line that's not in the original. I don't think you always have to copy original lines to do a cover that's interesting and fun to listen to. And you are absolutely correct, there's no reason to not try to make lemonade here, because this is a situation that I would not want to see anyone on TB - or anywhere else - in.
 
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