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My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...

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#743
blackest_frank said:
Well, that did more damage.

Yikes. I mean...yikes.
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Yeah...I applaud JC for attempting to "make right" by offering a full refund in a situation that had gone horribly wrong...but to come off as the victim with the "it was perfect when it left my shop" and "he's a graphic designer, who knows how he could've doctored the pics" and "the bass is legendary now and obviously in the wrong hands" just blows me away...
 
#747
Refund = move on time , fantastic job talkbass ! This is what community is about . Good job jimmy on the refund. I personally think he could have done it right away to avoid this but the deal is done

This a good outcome for everybody and if jimmy learns from this he will be alright as well

Again, props to talkbass here for sure
 
#749
Chef said:
Just to be Devil's Advocate for a minute...

So:
Y'all do understand the 9th was Friday, which is followed by a weekend, and a Monday, right?

Y'all all act like Jimmy should wade into this thread, which is a bunch of guys who had nothing to do with this transaction, and apologize to you as a group?
Or, perhaps more likely, take a group beatdown from the lot of you; who did not have anything to do with this transaction...

And last I read in here, and I could be wrong, the OP hasn't placed a phone call to him to try and sort this out as close to "face to face" as might be possible. Maybe I'm wrong, I haven't read all 20-whatever pages, just notifications throughout the day.

Don't me wrong, I do in fact see the issue here, and I do have empathy for the OP. Things do in fact take time, and not all resolutions take place in a web forum.

I also wonder if you all would hold yourself to the same sort of standards and expectations you go on about here, not knowing anything about the vendors side of this; and what is or isn't being done about it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Low Class View Post
Over 24 hours since this thread was started and no word on this issue being resolved. That tells me all I need to know about Jimmy Coppola.
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I have to agree with Chef here - Jimmy is one of the hardest working luthiers I've ever come across, and I've met a lot of them!

I've owned several of Jimmy's basses, maybe 5 or 6 over the years and every single one has been absolutely superbly finished and I'm more than happy to vouch for his build quality.

I've met him a couple of times and he has a, near obsessive, desire to build the highest quality instruments that deliver not only amazing tonal qualities but also, near perfect, aesthetic original design ethics.

I genuinely don't think there's another builder out there that comes remotely close to Jimmy when he's on his game.

In my personal experience he really cares about his customers as well. I recently bought a very early Alleva Coppolo and the previous owner had removed the original pickups and replaced them with Seymour Duncans that i don't think work well with the instrument. As soon as I told Jimmy he offered to replace them with his own hand wound originals - this doesn't feel to me like the type of guy who screws with his customers and doesn't care about after sales service!

One thing I do know is that Jimmy is often extremely busy and does not pick up his mail every day. I think this is because he's actually buried away in a workshop building instruments. This absolutely does not mean he doesn't care about his customers - it's just that he runs a tiny business and and has to focus on one thing at a time.

Personally I'd pick up the phone and speak to him in person if I had a problem with his work. In my experience he has been nothing other than professional in responding to any queries.

I'm pretty certain he isn't sitting around reading web forums as a preference to building guitars and saying that he hasn't responded publicly to what appears to be a 'lynch mob' is entirely understandable.

It never ceases to amaze me how people are so quick to condemn with no direct experience whatsoever.

I genuinely hope the OP gets things sorted to his satisfaction as soon as possible.

Jimmy Coppolo makes some of the very best bass guitars available and is one of the most passionate luthiers it's been my pleasure to meet and it saddens me to think people are thinking so badly of him based on this thread :(
 
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#750
Oil vs. Superglue...I'd love to hear the OP's report as to whether the substance alongside the frets wipes away, like oil, or otherwise sits like a hard blob...like dried superglue...


But if a refund is in the offing, all is good, I'd say...

All in all, one very sad situation...

As ultimately was said about the Hollywood Blacklist - "No winners, only losers..."
 
#754
jpeck02 said:
Copollo has nothing to gain by providing his side of the story in this forum. Haters will always hate. I have a hard time believing that this is not a humungous misunderstanding. Does Jimmy truly personally inspect every instrument that leaves his shop? There has to be another side to this story.
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At $5000.- $6000. It should be flawless! Not glue all over the place. AND yes , at that price he should inspect every one of them. I have (at a 10th of the cost) a G&L Tribute L2000 and Sterling SB-14(both off shore made), and they are impeccable. This should have been handled right away. There is no excuse. When I bought an Alembic "Epic"(the lowest priced Alembic) years ago, Mica Wickersham(the grand Daughter of the owner) called me personally 3 weeks later to see if I was happy with it! That's what you should expect.
 
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#758
I'm just a noob here on TB, and a mediocre bassist, at best. I do however own a LOT of gear, some of it very costly. After reading most of this thread, and PARTICULARLY after reading Mr. Coppola's response, I'll say this much: I will NEVER, EVER even consider spending a dime on one of his instruments. His response was immature, at best.

To the OP: I'm really sorry you went through all this, but don't loose faith. There's still builders out there who take their customers seriously. Not this "Crappola" guy, of course. Good luck finding your dream bass.
 
#760
I have no horse in this game but the professional luthier's attempt to reverse blame and his complete disregard for paragraph structure don't do him any favors, imo. If he actually does issue a refund I think that would be the fair and right thing to do, based on the limited information I have coming solely from this thread.
 
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