My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

[Joebone]

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.

That is a class act...from a guy who was a pioneer, way, way ahead of his time with his circuits and concept.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Perhaps the classified section needs a new adjective:

Mint > "Minty" > minor wear > 'show' wear > usual wear > 'Mojo' > road worn > well loved > 'trusty' > dinged up > store wear > "project bass' > banged up > "A-C Show Worn" > basket case > firewood

Yeah, that's where I'd put it.

 

[Green1]

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.

I agree, some would argue that this is part of the "mojo" of AC basses, but at prices reaching $6500 this is totally unacceptable IMO. Players preference aside, you will never convince me from a construction standpoint that AC is 2K better than a Sadowsky or Nordstrand. If I'm spending 4k and up on a bass: fit, finish, fretwork should be METICULOUSLY EXECUTED......I sure hope the OP gets his money back and takes his business to someone that will appreciate it

 

[cabcreaser]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

I also think the radius on an AC is completely opposite from a Zon or a Lull and this issue hasn't even been mentioned. In addition, no local guitar techs have been consulted regarding setup and this went public imo way too fast.

I love and hate this forum

 

[Sufenta]

Really hoping this ends well and that my faith in the community of bassists living by a higher moral and ethical code is preserved.

 

[fusionbassed]

I feel for you. You could have bought nearly two brand new USA-made Laklands for that cash. And Lakland would have bent over backwards to resolve any issues.

Or you could have bought about 5 Fender American Standards P & Js.

Or, one American Standard J, a nice amp, and a lot of bass lessons.

Oh...the possibilities....

Presuming AC never resolves this, what is Plan B for this bass and/or for a new playable bass?

Watching his You Tube videos, the OP could probably be giving a lot of us bass lessons. He's very good. Love his take on Duran Duran's Rio. Excellent bass player!

 

[Steve]

I don't know whats up with the light colored patch on what looks like a rosewood board. I know there're variations in the color from nature but, I'd NEVER accept that as instrument grade.

 

[Baird6869]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

In addition, no local guitar techs have been consulted regarding setup and this went public imo way too fast.

Have you see the pics? The lower horn, the belly cutout, the headstock paint, etc.?

If my Fodera or any other high end bass I have bought over the years came to me like this, I would not be going to a local tech for a "setup".... especially on a new $5000 bass.

 

[FunkyMcNasty]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

Did you not see the body? I don't know if you read the whole OP.
I don't think fixing the neck would clear up the issue. A refund is in order.

 

[J.Wolf]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

I also think the radius on an AC is completely opposite from a Zon or a Lull and this issue hasn't even been mentioned. In addition, no local guitar techs have been consulted regarding setup and this went public imo way too fast.

I love and hate this forum

My knee jerk is to be uncomfortable with the public lambast, but in this case it sounds like other methods of reasonable resolution were fruitless. besides, even if jimmy built a killer new neck for free, you'd have a new neck that hopefully would be amazing, on a body with god awful lower horn shaping, a tragically executed tummy cut and a shabby finish, for 5k. Still doesnt sound like resolution to me.

 

[narud]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

I also think the radius on an AC is completely opposite from a Zon or a Lull and this issue hasn't even been mentioned. In addition, no local guitar techs have been consulted regarding setup and this went public imo way too fast.

I love and hate this forum

the radius on that bass is irrelevant. with it having that much relief as shown in the video and and still having buzz with a light touch localized to middle of the neck, the board isnt true.

 

[Jared Lash]

So (from the original post), the bass sounds great, the electronics are "insane", woods are beautiful, and the bass balances well.

The setup and crude quality of the work are the source of frustration. Jimmy offered to fix the neck which should fix the setup and I bet he would clean the glue as well. I hate going against the mob on this, but I am not ready to bash Jimmy to the level I have read in this thread .

I also think the radius on an AC is completely opposite from a Zon or a Lull and this issue hasn't even been mentioned. In addition, no local guitar techs have been consulted regarding setup and this went public imo way too fast.

I love and hate this forum

I understand where you're coming from and agree on some points as I said in my post which is probably a couple pages back at the pace this thing is moving.

But as I also said in my post, fixing the neck doesn't change the finish issues (somewhat minor but shouldn't exist on an uber high end instrument) or the body issues which are much more serious. Looking at the close ups of the lower horn and tummy cut I would NOT be okay with that on a bass I just paid $5000 for.

Things HAVE moved too fast considering that most of this went down less than a week ago. Still, I can understand where the OP is coming from since Jimmy seemed to have shut the door on a refund completely on Friday.

Still I think there will be a positive resolution when all is said and done. No need to start trying to bury Alleva Coppolo prematurely and I think some of the teeth gnashing is a bit over the top. Sending nasty emails to Jimmy certainly is.

Now if this ISN'T fixed in a satisfactory manner? That's a completely different story.

 

[cabcreaser]

Did you not see the body? I don't know if you read the whole OP.
I don't think fixing the neck would clear up the issue. A refund is in order.

I saw the body via a picture, something anyone spending $5000 on a bass would see prior to buying it.

The moral of this thread is not Jimmy is incompetent (every AC I have played proves otherwise), the moral is if you're going to pay $5000 for a bass either look closely at the pics or even better, try it in person.

 

[cabcreaser]

Don't forget, the bass was discounted due to flaws. I would demand detailed pics of any flawed $5000 bass prior to buying.

 

[J.Wolf]

I thought that the moral of the story is that AC sold a pre owned bass out of the shop that was in really bad shape, for 5k without thinking anything of it

 

[bassbully]

the radius on that bass is irrelevant. with it having that much relief as shown in the video and and still having buzz with a light touch localized to middle of the neck, the board isnt true.

There is no need to pick what issues with this bass are worse than the other.
NO bass from a so called custom builder should ever leave their shop like this...for 5 grand at that.

 

[ggvicviper]

I saw the body via a picture, something anyone spending $5000 on a bass would see prior to buying it.

The moral of this thread is not Jimmy is incompetent (every AC I have played proves otherwise), the moral is if you're going to pay $5000 for a bass either look closely at the pics or even better, try it in person.

Wow - that's pretty cold.

I dunno if anyone said Jimmy was incompetent either - I'm not about to go look through the giant thread to see right now either - but certainly how he represented his instrument was poor, and I feel really bad that the OP got shafted.

 

[GRoberts]

My knee jerk is to be uncomfortable with the public lambast, but in this case it sounds like other methods of reasonable resolution were fruitless. besides, even if jimmy built a killer new neck for free, you'd have a new neck that hopefully would be amazing, on a body with god awful lower horn shaping, a tragically executed tummy cut and a shabby finish, for 5k. Still doesnt sound like resolution to me.

+1

Full Refund is the right thing to do. That simple.

How much would anyone bet that once a dealer see's the condition of that bass, they would expect to return it for a full refund? The notion that this bass would be pitched to a dealer is confounding. Why would any builder want that bass on the market as a representative sample of their work? Makes no sense.

 

[Jared Lash]

I saw the body via a picture, something anyone spending $5000 on a bass would see prior to buying it.

The moral of this thread is not Jimmy is incompetent (every AC I have played proves otherwise), the moral is if you're going to pay $5000 for a bass either look closely at the pics or even better, try it in person.

I didn't see where the OP mentioned getting closeups of the back of the bass. Should he have asked for them? Probably. But he didn't and he certainly wasn't in a position to play this bass in person.

Obviously Jimmy isn't incompetent. But he made a far less than stellar bass this time and not only sold it to a customer but then suggested the only recourse would be to pawn it off on a dealer. Again, this isn't about Jimmy's skills - it's about how he chooses to handle the occasional lemon that every manufacturer produces no matter how careful or experienced.

 

[fleabee]

I think some people are missing the point that this bass should never have left the shop for sale-period. Not to the OP or anyone. This isn't just a CNC'd bass on an assembly line w/ unfortunately underpaid employees for quality control. This left with the AC stamp, which in this case meant junk.