He seems to around these parts. I had only one dealing with him but it was bad enough to leave a bad taste.
My impression is he is a serial flipper. Buys high end gear, turns around and lists it at a significant premium. Nothing wrong with that if you are honorable and know your stuff. Matt Umanov's prices were 20-25% above market but what you got was him standing behind every single piece of vintage gear he sold.
In my case, it was clear this seller didn't even know what he had, probably because he turned around and listed it for sale the minute it got in his hands and he didn't spend time checking out what he had, it's condition, etc.
To be transparent, I bought a Modulus Q5. It was listed as all stock in perfect condition except for some clouding in one area of the finish.
When I got the bass I started playing it and the neck felt way thick (like the fat size of a baseball bat). Too thick for a Q5. So I take a close look and I see multiple side dot markers- one normal size dot in the normal place and small one one AT the fret. At the octaves there were two normal sized ones in the normal place and two small ones AT the fret. And the FB was very tick so it was immediately clear that it was converted from fretless. And because the fretless FB is a little thicker, with frets the neck was horrible to play.
I reach out to him with pics and he flat out denies it. I was able to resolve it but it was not pleasant. Here is the dialog between us (I still had this in my messages)
Me: Hi there. The modulus bass arrived today. Upon quick inspection it is evident that the bass was actually seriously modified. This bass was once a fretless bass and was converted to a fretted bass. Unfortunately this was not disclosed in your listing (which claims the instrument is 100% original with no mods). Had this been disclosed I would not have purchased the instrument. I’m attaching pictures where you can see clearly that there were one small dot markers right below where the frets have been placed. Such placement of small dot markers was the norm for modulus fretless basses.
I am going to initiate the process for a refund. Again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Him: HI, Thanks for writing to address your concern.
I can see why you might think that this was once a fretless but that is not the case. We purchased this from the original owner and he said he bought it exactly as it is. Never had frets added.
It is a great bass and plays perfectly. No issues.
Me: Respectfully, that is not acceptable. It is not my desire to get into a hostile dialog with you, but did it occur to you that the guy who sold it in to you could have lied to you? Or perhaps he was not the first owner after all?
I am not a difficult buyer and almost never return what I buy. I am a player and bona fide collector. I am often sought out on bass guitar forums for my knowledge and expertise on various bass guitars, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that this bass was converted from fretless. It took me one look up and down the fingerboard to sniff that out and frankly I am surprise you did not notice the same thing. I also sent those pictures to a luthier friend of mine who verified the same thing.
I notice that the pictures in your listing do not show this side of the fingerboard so a potential buyer would have no way of sniffing this out before buying. I will assume that this is just a coincidence.
Again, I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news but this bass was almost $2k and it is not what was described so I am again requesting a refund. I ask you to reconsider your position as I am prepared to escalate this accordingly with reverb and paypal and with my credit card company. If this bass is as good as you say, then you should have no problem selling it again at this price.
Thank you and should you wish to call me, I can be reached at ###-###-####
Him: I have no desire to get into a hostile dialogue either. If you are not happy, send it back.
Of course from there he tried convincing me to keep it for $100 back, then $200 back, etc. but I wasn't having it. I will never know if he knew what he had and tried pulling one before he realized he couldn't or what. But at the very least, it was weird if he didn't know what he had so either way this guy is on my no fly list. A shame because he does have nice stuff.
Anyway, there you have it.
