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My HORRIBLE Alleva-Coppolo experience...
- Thread starter Addison
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This is so unfortunate, The Alleva I tried had a few marks on it as well, and it was tagged at $6500. I remember being VERY glad I decided to go with Nordstrand......I hope this gets resolved quickly, $5,000 is a lot of money and you deserve to be totally satisfied!
we've talked about this in the past. there was other issues too and joey offered to build a new bass, i just didnt want to wait years for a replacement so i kept it. thanks though!
I thought the same thing when I started reading. I am very fortunate to live in the same town as a fantastic luthier whose shop is a 3 minute drive from my house. This thread has made me appreciate him even more. He's currently working on my fifth custom build, and I get to see what's going on every step of the way so there are no surprises.
OP, I hope this all works out.
Wow, I saw the video and read this whole thing. I don't even know how to respond. OP, i really hope you get a refund. Your face in the video said more than your words possibly could.
I dealt with a "luthier" who really messed up and he went out of his way to make me a new one (after failed attempts at repairing his initial mistake). It was "better", but the emotions of a few years of dealing with the whole issue were just unbearable. I didn't play it and got rid of it as fast as i could. I really feel for you.
I dealt with a "luthier" who really messed up and he went out of his way to make me a new one (after failed attempts at repairing his initial mistake). It was "better", but the emotions of a few years of dealing with the whole issue were just unbearable. I didn't play it and got rid of it as fast as i could. I really feel for you.
It blows my mind that such a well-regarded builder would let this happen, on so many levels. First off, letting that thing out of his shop, with his name on it. Second, charging so much for such a compromised item. Third, taking a hard line on his "no refund" policy.
It also looks like the OP exercised a great deal of patience before going public. In my workday world I often deal with over-reaching jerks, and over the years I've found that if you give them enough rope, they generally hang themselves, but you have to give it time and patience. Having read the entire thread, it looks like the maker not only brought his own rope, but also cultivated the tree.
If this lingers much longer, it's hard to see how the maker will continue to enjoy a great reputation, even if he now finally does a refund.
Kudos to the OP for his temperate approach before going public.
And a moral to us all - in this world of instant and broad communication, you have to consider the possibility that you'll be slammed far and wide if you don't do the right thing...heck, you can be slammed by jerks even if you do the right thing!
It also looks like the OP exercised a great deal of patience before going public. In my workday world I often deal with over-reaching jerks, and over the years I've found that if you give them enough rope, they generally hang themselves, but you have to give it time and patience. Having read the entire thread, it looks like the maker not only brought his own rope, but also cultivated the tree.
If this lingers much longer, it's hard to see how the maker will continue to enjoy a great reputation, even if he now finally does a refund.
Kudos to the OP for his temperate approach before going public.
And a moral to us all - in this world of instant and broad communication, you have to consider the possibility that you'll be slammed far and wide if you don't do the right thing...heck, you can be slammed by jerks even if you do the right thing!
Wow what an absolute cruddy experience - I am surprised you weren't screaming into the camera.
Sadly after having read this thread and watching the video I will not be purchasing an AC, new or used. Too bad I was really looking forward to having one.
Sadly after having read this thread and watching the video I will not be purchasing an AC, new or used. Too bad I was really looking forward to having one.
I'm thinking if this thread gets too much longer without Jimmy chiming in his goose might be cooked. I'd imagine Talkbass is quite an important site for boutique builders, and press like this isn't going to do him any good now or in the reasonable future. Anyone searching for his basses on Google will likely come across this thread given the hits it has gotten.
truly sorry to hear of your problems. hopefully things will work out.
on a lighter note, when did Wish start working for AC?
on a lighter note, when did Wish start working for AC?
Agree to the above and that has been my experience after having owned 6 or 7 AC's over the last few years.
My current KBP5 in Plum Crazy color is a stunning build in quality and playability.
Sorry the OP has to go through this and I'm sure Jimmy will make it right in the end... I'm certainly hoping for a positive outcome!
My Best,
Mike
Man. I am sorry about your situation, but appreciate that you posted this as a warning to all. I hope this is made right.
Wow...disgraceful. I hope the OP gets a full refund from Alleva-Coppolo...it's deserved. Really sorry about this situation.
Just to clarify, positive or negative experiences with builders should be shared on TB (I think it's a big part of the value of this forum); we just can run into issues sometimes when personal communications from the builder are displayed here. I don't want to go off on this tangent, so if anyone has questions for me - just send me a pm. But, it's a service to the bass-playing community to share your experiences! I appreciate it anyway...
Just to clarify, positive or negative experiences with builders should be shared on TB (I think it's a big part of the value of this forum); we just can run into issues sometimes when personal communications from the builder are displayed here. I don't want to go off on this tangent, so if anyone has questions for me - just send me a pm. But, it's a service to the bass-playing community to share your experiences! I appreciate it anyway...
Sad indeed. Good luck, hope you get a refund.
Assuming the evidence in this thread is accurate (and it's hard to imagine any mitigating circumstances)....
Even if you do get a full refund, this builder would seem to have destroyed his reputation beyond repair at this point.
I mean, what can he say to a new prospective customer?..."No, absolutely not, I promise I will not screw you. Trust me".
Sorry to sound harsh, but I have zero empathy, and zero tolerance for anyone doing business in this fashion.
Assuming the evidence in this thread is accurate (and it's hard to imagine any mitigating circumstances)....
Even if you do get a full refund, this builder would seem to have destroyed his reputation beyond repair at this point.
I mean, what can he say to a new prospective customer?..."No, absolutely not, I promise I will not screw you. Trust me".
Sorry to sound harsh, but I have zero empathy, and zero tolerance for anyone doing business in this fashion.
+1 That was my biggest issue with the ones I previously sold. Quality was the reason I went back to my LowEnd basses.
Umm...don't know. We all sometime have this "it's never going to happen to me" attitude. As long as he fills orders, I think he'll be in business. As narud said, the bass he didn't dig, was another man's prized baby.
But, if AC did refund the OP, is all forgiven now? And he's back to being the great builder and business guy?
Wow. I am truly shocked at this.
I will be honest in that I never had too much regard for what I felt was overpriced Fender cloning, but I at least always respected the art of the build, and the perceived "bespoke, heirloom quality" level of attention brought to the instrument as way of "justifying" the premium price.
This travesty does not represent any of that. Furthermore I am truly convinced the maker knew full well the myriad of problems with this instrument and thought a "generous deep discount" against his otherwise great rep would make the buyer "blind" to the reality of the situation... that horn shaping alone would throw me into fits. I could not imagine spending that much coin and then receiving THAT. And the fact that it's not EVEN A "PLAYER" on top of it? If it played like butter kissed by God and strung by angels I could ALMOST overlook the chipping. But not that horn. Or the burn-through.
Anything less than a full refund and a formal apology, both to you and at least SOME sort of acknowledgement to this board publicly to try to salvage his reputation is imo, unacceptable.
A real shame. I hope things are done right by you. I have never sought to spend that kind of money on an instrument, but if I ever did, I am 100% certain A-C is nowhere on my watch list.
I will be honest in that I never had too much regard for what I felt was overpriced Fender cloning, but I at least always respected the art of the build, and the perceived "bespoke, heirloom quality" level of attention brought to the instrument as way of "justifying" the premium price.
This travesty does not represent any of that. Furthermore I am truly convinced the maker knew full well the myriad of problems with this instrument and thought a "generous deep discount" against his otherwise great rep would make the buyer "blind" to the reality of the situation... that horn shaping alone would throw me into fits. I could not imagine spending that much coin and then receiving THAT. And the fact that it's not EVEN A "PLAYER" on top of it? If it played like butter kissed by God and strung by angels I could ALMOST overlook the chipping. But not that horn. Or the burn-through.
Anything less than a full refund and a formal apology, both to you and at least SOME sort of acknowledgement to this board publicly to try to salvage his reputation is imo, unacceptable.
A real shame. I hope things are done right by you. I have never sought to spend that kind of money on an instrument, but if I ever did, I am 100% certain A-C is nowhere on my watch list.
If that's the bass he sent to a customer, he is in an untenable position. That really looks terrible for a bass of any price, let alone one of the priciest brands in bassdom.
I have built a several basses. I have sourced cheap bodies from fleabay that required extensive sanding/shaping to resolve the cutaways to the neck area. None of those started out as sloppy as this one. If that was the best I could have come up with, I would have burned it before I'd let anyone see such shoddy craftsmanship from my hands. And I'm just a kitchen table hobbyist. How that slob considers that normal wear is pure belligerence.
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