• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

the bebensee arrives today!!!!!!

#101
Wow, that's insane. I've gotten much better service on instruments that cost a fraction of what yours did.

I was hoping to hear Ken Bebensee's side of the story first hand, but I guess this is the best we're going to get. I'm sorry you had to go through this. Do you know what you're going to do with the bass?
 
#104
I have his side of the story in my email
it really is that exactly.
he thinks he did me right by the work and the price
saying all of whats wrong is right and just because he obviously has a god complex about the basses he builds.
?
I really want to sue or at very minimum show up at his place with my " carving tools"
but the truth is I have way too much going on and selling it New is the best I am going to get in this reality
Karma is real and He will get his

And hopefully I hear about it!
I am going to sell it

its still plays and sound great its just not even close to what I wanted or needed.
I am shipping it to the low end tomorrow.
 
#107
The michigan cap for small claims is 3k
and they eat up $500 in fees and service
I am just better off selling it new
I could at least get off with a grAnds loss
instead of $2500!

the hardline business man in me wants that $$ back and I see the best route to get it is to sell the bass new.
lawsuits take forever and the justice system is SO unfair...

heres a follow up email

"Karma ahh good, Maybe now I can build a bass for me to play. You sent me cracked wood to work with. Did you forget that it is you that sent the piece of cocobolo. Its not that big of a deal all wood has cracks in it. it is a solid body bass , it is not going to cause any difference in tone or sound quality. The crack is beautiful too. You can fill it up with glue if your care so much.



The bass is great if you would just play it. I could sell it to someone who will play, however do as you choose. Music is more fun than worrying about tiny cracks no one can see.

The problems with the bass are your own fault in the design. The headstock and the narrow string spacing are where improvements could be made.

The finish is beautiful. The bass sounds great and is easy to play aside from the narrow neck. It took me 12 years to build myself a guitar because I was building other peoples instruments. I still have many orders to finish and wont be taking on any more custom orders unless they are willing to wait as long as it takes and accept what it is when I am finished.



Id just like to let you all know
I sent the ziricote
HE SUPPLIED THE COCOBOLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

he dosent even remember that simple fact!
 
#108
A long time ago I was involved in a situation for a fraction of this money and was given free advice by a Lawyer, who was also a friend. I too had received far less than I payed. The advice: don't bother taking it anywhere and just count your lucky stars that you got something to show for your money. I know that hurts but that was his advice.

In this case you got something that looks very beautiful and plays well. It's not what you wanted but it's something. Given the situation you might have gotten nothing and if he is bankrupt, had no recourse.
 
#109
Holy crap! It's totally inexcusable for anyone to take that kind of tone with a customer, imo. Who the hell does he think he is?

And if there were all these problems with the wood and the design, why didn't he bring them up earlier?

:(
 
#112
The bass is great if you would just play it. I could sell it to someone who will play, however do as you choose. Music is more fun than worrying about tiny cracks no one can see.
Click to expand...

That's ridiculous, he's running a business not an art show.

The problems with the bass are your own fault in the design. The headstock and the narrow string spacing are where improvements could be made.
Click to expand...

It would have been helpful of him to point that out at the start, no?

I'd fill him in on these facts, but to be honest I'm not sure how far it'll get you. He's obviously so far up on his high horse there's little chance of him backing down, and you've already said you don't want to go to the small claims court. It sucks, but the most you can probably do right now is to sell the bass and move on. Obviously, if anyone makes a new thread about this guy make sure you link them to this one, people should know what this guy's about.
 
#113
tribal3140 said:
The bass is great if you would just play it. I could sell it to someone who will play, however do as you choose. Music is more fun than worrying about tiny cracks no one can see.
Click to expand...

Is he offering to refund your money and sell it to someone else that "will play it?"

Wow, I don't care what his side of the story is - you don't send an email to a customer like that. :(
 
#114
This sounds a little "Borat" to me:
"The crack is beautiful too. You can fill it up with glue if your care so much."

What does this mean?:
"I still have many orders to finish and wont be taking on any more custom orders unless they are willing to wait as long as it takes and accept what it is when I am finished."

WOW......................
 
#116
tribal3140 said:
The michigan cap for small claims is 3k
and they eat up $500 in fees and service
I am just better off selling it new
I could at least get off with a grAnds loss
instead of $2500!

the hardline business man in me wants that $$ back and I see the best route to get it is to sell the bass new.
lawsuits take forever and the justice system is SO unfair...

heres a follow up email

"Karma ahh good, Maybe now I can build a bass for me to play. You sent me cracked wood to work with. Did you forget that it is you that sent the piece of cocobolo. Its not that big of a deal all wood has cracks in it. it is a solid body bass , it is not going to cause any difference in tone or sound quality. The crack is beautiful too. You can fill it up with glue if your care so much.



The bass is great if you would just play it. I could sell it to someone who will play, however do as you choose. Music is more fun than worrying about tiny cracks no one can see.

The problems with the bass are your own fault in the design. The headstock and the narrow string spacing are where improvements could be made.

The finish is beautiful. The bass sounds great and is easy to play aside from the narrow neck. It took me 12 years to build myself a guitar because I was building other peoples instruments. I still have many orders to finish and wont be taking on any more custom orders unless they are willing to wait as long as it takes and accept what it is when I am finished.



Id just like to let you all know
I sent the ziricote
HE SUPPLIED THE COCOBOLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

he dosent even remember that simple fact!
Click to expand...

He seems to be willing to "sell it to someone who will play." Is he offering a refund? Have you asked for a full refund?

Your quotation of his e-mails, if accurate, make him look more like a hack than a quality luthier. Did he warn you about the design issues before he built the bass? Anyone charging $5,000 and requiring a 4 year wait should product a PERFECT instrument. He should also be able to decect design flaws BEFORE the bass is built, and make those flaws known to the client. No less than that should be acceptable.

He is based in CA. What are the limits of small claims courts in CA? My guess is that you would have to sue him there, anyway. Since you are displeased with the work, you should 1) demand that he fix it in a short time-frame, or 2) provide a full refund. Anything less that than, and you are complicit in his fleecing of his customers.
 
#117
tribal3140 said:
d.) and take the existing pups out put in wood blocks that mimic the top wood as to blend. and put pups in where they should have been in the first place.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to say that that would never look right, and being a neck-through... On a bass like that, I'm pretty sure the only way to get the pickups where you want them (and it not be an obvious hack job) is to <groan> start over.
 
#120
tribal3140 said:
I wish it was that easy
His idea to " sell it someone who will play
he want me to send the bass back and have my $$ then try to sell it thats what he stated in the original reply.
THERES NO WAY in HELL I am going to send anything to him.
took him 4 years to do that!
Click to expand...

So he holds the $ and the bass until he sells it?

Uh...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back