Trouble with a custom build

[bolophonic]

Can the OP post some photos of the bass? Particularly the fretboard inlay?

 

[five7]

If it were me, this would be enough to send it back and ask for a full refund now. I feel you will always have this bug stuck in your head. It's happened to me and I still don't play the instruments to this day. They might get sold one day. That's just me.

I agree, send it back and ask for a full refund. If it is as jacked up as you say it is, I would never be able to bond with it.

 

[Jonithen]

Yes he can

Zoomed in, obviously. Much less blatant in the hands but you can see by the discoloration there was a plug and 2nd attempt.

 

[Jonithen]

View attachment 3071580

I tried to run some quick simple calculations from the OPs given figures to see if there was any consistency in the amount of offset.

I thought perhaps he was placing dots at the center-finger position instead of fret position. But I'm not sure what the builder did wrong.

I cannot imagine any builder releasing something so obviously hosed. I'm not sure who or what to believe or where the misunderstanding/error lies.

UPDATE:_____________________________
View attachment 3071588

Added calculations for the OPs given scale length for bridge position at 31.625.

Results are much closer and consistent with a .25" offset for half the width of a finger. However they still aren't perfect.

We were poring over this kind of information last night trying to sort out what was happening. We couldn't nail down any consistency and our best take was it may just have been eye-balled which unfortunately isn't going to cut it.

 

[dan1952]

I would normally side with the builder, but this bass seems pretty poorly built. Send it back for a full refund. If he balks, explain that you are on TalkBass and will give him as much publicity as he can stand.

 

[gln1955]

Yes he can

Zoomed in, obviously. Much less blatant in the hands but you can see by the discoloration there was a plug and 2nd attempt.

So, he didn't change the position of the marker, he just screwed up with too big of a hole and filled it in for a do over. Shoddy to say the least.

 

[Jonithen]

So, he didn't change the position of the marker, he just screwed up with too big of a hole and filled it in for a do over. Shoddy to say the least.

Or drilled around the inlay, plugged, and redid. Either way that isn't a show stopper but inability to intonate and misplaced position markers is.

 

[mcarp555]

Thanks for taking the time to detail the situation a lot better. I think it's pretty clear that you're better off getting your money back and letting someone else do it right the first time. As others have suggested, if you keep it, you'll always have a bad taste in your mouth about it. I'd always rather have an ugly but playable instrument instead of a pretty lump in a closet or under a bed.

 

[Wfrance3]

someting to think about; shipping is pretty reliable, but every time you put something in a box and send it, ur taking a chance on breakage. right is right, but u dont want to be "dead right".

 

[MrLenny1]

Lean on the builder to correct the issue.
I had an axe made and there was a minor issue. He took
care of it by giving me a case and new strings gratis.
Good luck.

 

[Brent Arrowitz]

There is no excuse for screwing up the inlay holes like that,or the intonation problems or side dots. I wouldn't trust the guy to fix the issues because there shouldn't have been issues like that in the first place. If it were me I'd return the bass,get my money back and go elsewhere,this was clearly half-@$$ed.

 

[glocke1]

Personally I'd send it back. The fact that he sent it out with those obvious issues would always make me feel like I got taken advantage of.

 

[Christine]

Sounds like the builder knows damn well this bass is screwed up. He tried to fix the most obvious sign and hopes you won't notice or care about the rest of the mess.

I really hope he makes good on this.

This is why I suggested being very firm in any further conversation with the builder, he knew very well things were wrong and had no hesitation in sending it out like that. I wouldn't ever be able to face the world again if I did something like that to someone. The OP needs to be more hard faced than him now until this is probably resolved as in a new bass or a refund

 

[Nickweissmusic]

Has the builder made a fretless before? Does he play bass? Seems like some pretty fundamental issues have gone awry here. Seems almost as if it was built with the attitude “it’s a fretless, so it doesn’t matter.” Very strange, do keep us posted.

 

[Hopkins]

As a builder myself, I don't understand how a mistake like that could possibly make it out of his shop. No instrument would ever leave my workshop without being setup, so I don't see how he could have missed such an obvious mistake.

 

[Arie X]

Yes he can

Zoomed in, obviously. Much less blatant in the hands but you can see by the discoloration there was a plug and 2nd attempt.

no plug -it's a sawdust and glue fill.

 

[Jonithen]

Bass has to go back and either be replaced or refunded. I can call him names, stamp my feet and raise my blood pressure or give him a few days to shake off the hangover or whatever and address it. If I don't hear back then I talk to my cc company.

If it goes that road then I won't be nearly as delicate. No sense flying off the handle, a tantrum isn't going to move the bridge, the inlay, or the side dots.

 

[Chris76]

Well reading this sure dampened my want to build my own bass. I know there are bolt together projects but I was hoping to try for the whole deal. Think I'll just leave it to the pro's.

 

[Hopkins]

I am usually all about giving someone a chance to correct their mistake, but in your case, I think a refund is the only acceptable solution here. The fact that he let that bass leave his shop with such obvious issues would tell me he is not capable of better work and a replacement bass would have just as many issues.

I've seen this too many times, someone builds a bass and it turns out somewhat successful, then build a few more and think they are ready to go to market with them. I built over 20 instruments before I even thought that my quality was high enough to put my builds in someone else's hands.

 

[Hopkins]

Well reading this sure dampened my want to build my own bass. I know there are bolt together projects but I was hoping to try for the whole deal. Think I'll just leave it to the pro's.

Someone else's poor quality shouldn't stop you from wanting to build your own bass.