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Stambaugh Designs still in business?

#62
rockosocko said:
You make a good point Jason, but I gave Chris my deposit in 2015. You sent yours two years later, yet you got your bass in August while I'm still waiting for mine. There is no proper explanation for that.
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Well, I spec'd that one out explicitly to avoid delays. Bar magnet pickups that didn't need to be custom ordered. Finishing he could do himself. All domestic woods. Top and fingerboard I purchased and sent to him. Simple construction with no fancy details or inlays.

Not saying what you're experiencing is okay, or that it doesn't suck, or that that's two years worth of difference, but it explains some of it.
 
#63
jasonbraatz said:
Well, I spec'd that one out explicitly to avoid delays. Bar magnet pickups that didn't need to be custom ordered. Finishing he could do himself. All domestic woods. Top and fingerboard I purchased and sent to him. Simple construction with no fancy details or inlays.

Not saying what you're experiencing is okay, or that it doesn't suck, or that that's two years worth of difference, but it explains some of it.
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#64
With the exception of the fretboard inlay, there was nothing really out of the way in terms of my bass. I chose stock Nordstrand pickups and Audere preamp. As for the top wood, I selected it myself and sent it to him.

Perhaps mine is an isolated incident. My prior experiences have always been good. Trust me, I'm not looking to cast aspersions upon him, it's just that I've had been given legitimate cause for concern, which I must has been alleviated since he's improved his communications with me in the past couple of weeks.
 
#68
some of his work recently caught my eye...

not that this is anything new, but a few things:

"personal issues." We all have them. why in guitar/electric bass luthier work is this so common we almost all accept it? I've never really had an issue with this, but i've heard it literally countless times. if you were dealing with an auto mechanic and had insane delays and they came back with "personal issues causing the delay," that would not fly. so strange to me that it comes up in custom guitar and bass orders so much.

interesting observation: this stuff does not happen in the bowed string instrument market. Every violin maker/upright bass maker i know of is known to run insanely precise with their estimated build times.

anyway, is there an update to this thread?
 
#69
groooooove said:
some of his work recently caught my eye...

not that this is anything new, but a few things:

"personal issues." We all have them. why in guitar/electric bass luthier work is this so common we almost all accept it? I've never really had an issue with this, but i've heard it literally countless times. if you were dealing with an auto mechanic and had insane delays and they came back with "personal issues causing the delay," that would not fly. so strange to me that it comes up in custom guitar and bass orders so much.

interesting observation: this stuff does not happen in the bowed string instrument market. Every violin maker/upright bass maker i know of is known to run insanely precise with their estimated build times.

anyway, is there an update to this thread?
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The bass was completed in February.
Club Stambaugh - Show your Stammies!! [Part 6]
 
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#70
I just read this whole thread. Wow. To think of things this way: if the OP had a child born when he first commissioned the bass, his kid would have been finishing up pre-school (depending on the state I guess) by the time the bass was done.

I had this lovely Stambaugh made back in 2010-2011. I ended up trading it to funkyjudge who sold it to someone else and I have no idea where it is now. It was perfect in every way but, at the time, I had him make a super slim Jazz style neck for me, only to discover after it was done that I really don't like Jazz necks (It took me 15 years of playing bass to realize what I really like in terms of neck specs.) I think it took maybe a year, which seems reasonable. I don't think I would have had the patience for 4+ years. That said, Stambaugh instruments are incredible.
 
#71
Just order a 32" 4-string neck-thru from Chris. Pretty excited. From everything I read, he's the real deal. I'll probably create a build thread, but just wanted to confirm that he is still taking commissions. Just don't order anything from him until he finishes mine!
 
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#72
SloanATX said:
Just order a 32" 4-string neck-thru from Chris. Pretty excited. From everything I read, he's the real deal. I'll probably create a build thread, but just wanted to confirm that he is still taking commissions. Just don't order anything from him until he finishes mine!
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Out of curiosity, how long did he quote you for wait time? Because the guy who started this thread got his in 4 years.

This sort of thing gives me an even greater respect for guys like the builder of my steel.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
When his queue gets filled up he stops taking orders until he's able to guarantee delivery in a reasonable amount of time and posts as such on the website. I've seen it happen several times. Still sells as many as he can build and no one waits years for their order.
 
#75
SloanATX said:
He said 6-months
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Marcus Willett said:
Double that.
I've had 3 Stambaughs built. Chris does fantastic work and his prices extremely fair but I learned the hard way that if I just doubled whatever time estimates he gave me, it usually worked out.
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I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt, even if that means getting disappointed. That said, art takes time and lots of work.
 
#78
Jared Lash said:
I also have a final (!?) build in the queue with Chris. My wait times have varied a lot but it sounds like 2020 dried up his pipeline so things should move relatively quickly for this bass.
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I am in line for a build this year as well. I sent the deposit late last year, his expectation was to begin work by February, but I'm not sure he's started yet. We traded some ideas on woods last month but I haven't seen any pics yet to select a top wood, so I don't know if he's waiting to start or just plowing ahead with the specs I gave him and he'll check in on aesthetics later on.

I'm not worried, though. I know that once he focuses his effort on my bass he'll build something great.
 
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#79
Update: he is shipping my bass today. Paid my deposit Jan. 2019 Here's a teaser pic. I'll make a separate post of the final product when I get it.
 

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