REED JAMES - Hard time with him.

[LightGroove]

Hi guys, just thought I should chime in. My pickups arrived yesterday from Jim and they are exceptional. Worth the wait. The workmanship is second to none.

Jim has had a bit of a rough go with his health and he really doesn't want to let anyone down, he's a good man. In my opinion, if you can't wait 6 months for the best you don't deserve the best. Patience.

Just my 2 cents.

Wow...another health issue...is anyone else seeing a pattern here?

 

[Toolmybass]

All I'm sayin' is, just pick up the phone when it rings, or, AT LEAST EMPTY THE VOICE MAIL. How about clickin' a couple of keys to answer an email? Stephen Hawking does.....
Look, I understand what it feels like when you come down with the oinks, and, you get sick. But, not answering ANYTHING?

+100

It's even worse when you hear promises/lies like months of ..."It's on my workbench....next tues...." over and over

Don't know how many times I have seen different customers in here saying they are getting the same BS!

Then there is the inbox filling up and no responses ...meanwhile they are on TB all day posting in other threads for hours when they could have made headway or finishing orders that are 9months overdue

Can you imagine the orders that WOULDN'T be put through if the actual delivery date flashed on the customers screen right before you hit the "send money" button on PayPal?

Carl Thompson has been in business since the 70's for a big reason...there is no BS and he knows how long it takes to build his product ...he has been sick...had family members pass away (never mind using the excuse about a cat f*****g dying) as the reason why your pups are 8months past due.

Carl "mans up" everytime he opens his mouth

My .02

 

[Reed James Eng]

irbass you pickups have bean sent you should receive them by this weekend .I do apologize for the long wait ,and have bean working hard to get back on top of things. And this is not how i do business with people on purpose things got bad ,the original set i made got lost had to remake them . like i said I openly apologize. All customers need to know that I am working long hours to pick things back up, Any more trouble with your order irbass let me know, and ill drop what i am doing to make sure you are completely satisfied with your pickups . That's all I can do

 

[irbass]

irbass you pickups have bean sent you should receive them by this weekend .I do apologize for the long wait ,and have bean working hard to get back on top of things. And this is not how i do business with people on purpose things got bad ,the original set i made got lost had to remake them . like i said I openly apologize. All customers need to know that I am working long hours to pick things back up, Any more trouble with your order irbass let me know, and ill drop what i am doing to make sure you are completely satisfied with your pickups . That's all I can do

That's ok.

Like i said before it's not personal, i just got some trouble and a lot of stress because of that.
No hard feelings.

 

[irbass]

After stress time with Reed James, I think we are fine now, No Hard Feelings on my part. Things happen!! the pup's arrived yesterday.

I'll try to do a review on a pickup, I'll be honest as much as i can.

I just install them passive for now, I'll order Audere preamp to go active.

The pup's are very well made, Mine was a custom size, and the size that i ordered are perfectly on a measurements.

I'm very impressed with the sound, Powerful and clean sound.
Great lows, Clean Mids and a kind of a very musical smooth highs.

The pup's are hot.
If you can wait for that, worth the waiting.
It's a high quality stuff.

 

[Hopkins]

After stress time with Reed James, I think we are fine now, No Hard Feelings on my part. Things happen!! the pup's arrived yesterday.

I'll try to do a review on a pickup, I'll be honest as much as i can.

I just install them passive for now, I'll order Audere preamp to go active.

The pup's are very well made, Mine was a custom size, and the size that i ordered are perfectly on a measurements.

I'm very impressed with the sound, Powerful and clean sound.
Great lows, Clean Mids and a kind of a very musical smooth highs.

The pup's are hot.
If you can wait for that, worth the waiting.
It's a high quality stuff.

This is good to hear, my experience with Jim was very positive. His customer service was top notch.

 

[Funkinthetrunk]

Good news...I knew it had to be an aberration of sorts. James does excellent work and was very prompt with my difficult order.

 

[gospel jazz]

I've dealt with Reed James and had no issues whatsoever. I would deal with him on any day. I got my pups shipped and he communicated very well with me.

 

[emjazz]

Jim's communication has been excellent with me. After seeing this thread (that I commented in) we messaged back and forth about my pickups. I very much appreciated his messages and look forward to getting my pickups in my upcoming bass.

 

[Brado]

He's getting caught up. This is a good thing.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

irbass you pickups have bean sent you should receive them by this weekend .I do apologize for the long wait ,and have bean working hard to get back on top of things. And this is not how i do business with people on purpose things got bad ,the original set i made got lost had to remake them . like i said I openly apologize. All customers need to know that I am working long hours to pick things back up, Any more trouble with your order irbass let me know, and ill drop what i am doing to make sure you are completely satisfied with your pickups . That's all I can do

Hi Jim:
This is Ray. Hello TalkBass!
Look I wasn't there, when IRbass had his issues OK...and I don't know what transpired all I can do is relate my personal experience with Jim.
Called this past Monday. DID NOT LEAVE A MESSAGE he called me back from the caller ID.... OMG!!!!!! WOW!


Had a request and a couple questions.
Jim took at least 1/2 hour out of his day to talk about my wants and desires, and found common ground, friendly chatting, open and honest. Discussed viewpoints on business and all that.
We shared a pleasant conversation, and to be honest I was a bit needy, and pushy----- I asked if I could somehow by some miracle get my Neo's this week ...................
He said he was doing a run this week, we discussed price, and he emailed me the invoice during the conversation!
I paypalled the total to him and said that I'd call to confirm later in the week as he indicated that I might possibly be able to have them this weekend.

Ok Wow again!

Called today, he answered, we had a briefer, but VERY pleasant chat, it looks like it will be Monday- no sweat. (the Epoxy's gotta set-up)

Here's the real kicker. I'm local to him and I'm going to go to pick them up in person.

He even offered to help me install them ---- are you kidding?
now THAT is service, for the PALTRY fee that he's charging for what (by all accounts will be world class pickups)

So Far:
CALLED ME BACK FROM A HANGUP!
1 hour of his time, answering my silly questions, did not give me the brush off, answered my calls, put EXTRA EFFORT to meet my impatient and to be honest RUDE request to RUSH my build..... No insinuation of extra charges......and then says bring the bass, we'll install them, and test them before you leave....
knock my A$$ over with a feather... I'll report back next week after the deal is done.

BTW they are going into my Kraken Champ....AND today just received my Bartolini Pre-amp. in 3 days from Best Bass Gear,(with a 7% TB discount, Thank-you)
My Strings from Jason at Bassstringsonline (TB'r slapinfunk) in 3 days.

SO this week (at least) i'm totally blessed by the ROCKIN customer service provided by members of the TB community, So let's give the little guy a break I'm more than a little dismayed that SO many of ya'll are so quick to condemn a business owner without ANY INFORMATION gained First hand!

NOT EVERYBODY is Mark Serio.......

thank GOD


Peace!.... See Ya Monday Jim looking forward to it!
OH here's a mugshot of the intended target.

 

[emjazz]

Jim contacted me here earlier in the week and said my pickups will be out this week. It was nice of him to do that. Looking forward to getting them.

 

[Montanamike]

I had him do a rewind for me and he stayed on good contact with me via face book.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=3457812859649

Jim Was wonderful to hang with, His dog Taco is exuberant
this was at 8:00 at night in his home, unrehearsed and unprepared after my day started at 4AM.. apologies for the playing and the appearance

I BOUGHT these pickups, so not a compensated endorsement.

Jim wired in my Bartolini Pre, and since this video i have put on new strings, and adjusted pickup height and played it through my own amp.

As a comparison, and to compare apples to apples i installed the same strings that i have on my Warwick F.N.A. with a MEC stingray pup in the bridge (only) and a Seymour Duncan pre.
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Yes these RJ Neo pickups are the bomb!
with both pre's set flat I dare say that the Kraken now has a tight clear focused voice with a hint of Growl. Both bases now sound like they're in the same ballpark.
I have not played the RJ Neo. Equipped Kraken in a band setting as yet, but since i'm so familiar with the Warwick's tone, the RJ Neo's are able to reproduce a tone so close to the F.N.A. that i have no doubt that they will perform admirably.

Zing- Depth - Body - Clarity - Growl - Dynamics (sensitivity) .... what more could one ask????

 

[Dave Curran]

I love happy endings!

 

[Brado]

Jim has always taken time for some good phone conversations with me. I'll be sporting a set of 6 string Vintage Vibe NEO Jazz pickups in a bass that I'm building for the NAMM show. Possibly a few other sets if the timing works out.

 

[emjazz]

Just wanted to pop in and say that I got my pickups. They look great. My new bass should be back from the finisher soon. Looking forward to finally hearing them.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

they just keep growing on me -- these RJ Neo's.....

clean and organic, not artificial.

The bass now sounds very much like it does with the body held to my ear.

Nicely detailed on the harmonics, and touch dynamic.

the output is low to mid without a preamp, but some of that is due to it only being in passive mode via the Bartolini Pots in the preamp...

My Warwick (former #1) is getting no play.

the strings I have chosen work really well! so much so that they are now my string of choice for my 5vr's across the board.
Ken Smith Compression Wound
Extra Light: .040 .058 .076 .096 w/a Taper Core Low B: .125T - 37" Winding

Bought via Bassstringsonline...

Small gauge Highish tension... snappy, smooth surface... bright but not zingy...

 

[irbass]

Thank's Jim for the rings. Looks really nice.

 

[emjazz]

Wanted to say that I got my custom Ristola six string, so I've had some time in the last week to hear the Neos in my bass. Jim told me he'd custom wind them to work for my chambered bass....said that he felt confident that he'd get me exactly what I was looking for....he was right. He nailed it. The pickups sound great in the bass...would definitely steer anyone else to Jim's work in the future.