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Wishnevsky!!!!!!
- Thread starter rllefebv
- Start date
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
what gets me is that i've met quite a few artists - have a bunch of friends down at the art institute of atlanta, and they don't carve holes in their paintbrushes. most of their brushes look pretty conventional, although maybe a bit more expensive than something we'd use to paint a model. most of their brushes are also very well made and very reliable to do what they are expected to do accurately and repeatably, giving the artist the expectation of control and therefore transparency of the tool.
then again, there's artists who paint with brushes from home depot. i guess ultimately it's a subjective thing. some artists might like their artistic statements modified or abridged by the shortcomings or "personalities" of their tools of creation in an uncontrolled or unforseen manner.
you've heard the statement "it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools", right? here's another one, "it's a foolish craftsman who chooses crappy tools".
maybe this guy is capable of making really clean, precise instruments, but feels that that's just not what he wants to do.
either way, if you want to be unconventional, you have to be expecting to take a ribbing over it from the "closed minded conventional" crowd. wow, i never thought i'd say that about myself - i better apply for a job at rolling stone.
.
then again, there's artists who paint with brushes from home depot. i guess ultimately it's a subjective thing. some artists might like their artistic statements modified or abridged by the shortcomings or "personalities" of their tools of creation in an uncontrolled or unforseen manner.
you've heard the statement "it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools", right? here's another one, "it's a foolish craftsman who chooses crappy tools".
maybe this guy is capable of making really clean, precise instruments, but feels that that's just not what he wants to do.
either way, if you want to be unconventional, you have to be expecting to take a ribbing over it from the "closed minded conventional" crowd. wow, i never thought i'd say that about myself - i better apply for a job at rolling stone.
.
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
Yeah... I would take a cheap carbon-copied machine made bass over a cheap, sloppy-made custom hand made bass any day.
(doh. I first wrote cheap, sloppy-made hand job)
why is it ok to have a free for all on this guy? i remember being criticised as well as others for getting on pushic because i had never actually played one of his basses. some of his pictures have shown almost as sloppy of wood work but the general consensus was "dont comment if you havent actually played one".
(not that I went after anyone who was putting down DPs)
I've never seen any indication that DPs were nearly as "bad" as Wishnevskys (nothing even close to that pickup cavity). And, I don't know for sure, but got the impression that DP is using well-dried lumber from reputable sources.
But, I wouldn't buy a DPCustom either. (hearing about fingerboards coming unglued is enough for me, for now at least)
dhuffguitars
Luthier/Bass Wanker depending on your opinion
off his site--Resume
I have been making instruments for over thirty years, with experience in both major manufaturers and small craft shops. I worked two years at Ovation in New Hartford Connecticut, where I had the pleasure of learning from the late James Rickard, then Chief Engineer and designer of the Adamas Series Ovations. He taught me a lot about top bracing and the use of composites. Before this I had the distinct honor of serving an apprenticeship under David A. Sturgill, of Piney Creek, North Carolina. David, or "Uncle Dave" is not only a craftsman of the Appalachian school, but is also an engineer with extensive background in electronics and lutherie. He was President of Grammer Guitars in Nashville, and before that was one of the very early guitar builders in the Washington DC area.
30 years and he makes basses with this kind of quality control? And if I was in charge of Ovation I would be upset he said he worked there for two years. He didn't say what he did there, he could of been the janitor asking lots of questions.
And "Appalachian School" to me means "poor craftsmanship with bad tools"
I have been making instruments for over thirty years, with experience in both major manufaturers and small craft shops. I worked two years at Ovation in New Hartford Connecticut, where I had the pleasure of learning from the late James Rickard, then Chief Engineer and designer of the Adamas Series Ovations. He taught me a lot about top bracing and the use of composites. Before this I had the distinct honor of serving an apprenticeship under David A. Sturgill, of Piney Creek, North Carolina. David, or "Uncle Dave" is not only a craftsman of the Appalachian school, but is also an engineer with extensive background in electronics and lutherie. He was President of Grammer Guitars in Nashville, and before that was one of the very early guitar builders in the Washington DC area.
30 years and he makes basses with this kind of quality control? And if I was in charge of Ovation I would be upset he said he worked there for two years. He didn't say what he did there, he could of been the janitor asking lots of questions.
And "Appalachian School" to me means "poor craftsmanship with bad tools"
I really dig this one...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
...and at less than 350 dollars, id probably get one if i had some extra money.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
...and at less than 350 dollars, id probably get one if i had some extra money.
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
Oh lord...take it away...make it disappear. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to have to play an instrument as shoddy as this.
Man, I don't understand how Wish can stand to put his name on these instruments????
OTOH, $350 for a custom 7string
. Or you could buy a galveston 7-8 string for the same amount....and have frets. And a finish. And real controls. And not a piece of #$@$#@$
Lets just take the last pic for our example, shall we?
1. Assymetrical body lamination - intentional?
2. Off centered pickup placement - art?
3. Poorly routed pup cavity - inspired?
4. Irregularly cut control plate - vision?
5. Chisel carved fingerboard - misunderstood?
6. No-compensation nut - quality?
7. Finish applied with whisk broom - master craftsman?
And we can see all of this in an area that covers what?, about 8" x 8"?. Sorry Narud, stick up for his artistic interpretation until the cows come home but don't look at what you see here with blinders on.
By the way, concerning cutting a pup inlet. I recently found myself without a proper template for a telecaster front pickup in a body I was building for a friend. In my rush to get finished, I decided to cut it by hand with the idea that if it didn't work, I could always cover it with a mounting ring or something. However, I was determined to do as good a job freehand as I could. This body had a very nice flame ash top and I really didn't want to screw it up. I patterned it out on the computer, traced it on the blank and cut it by using a router. With just a little time (probably 10 minutes) I, luckily, was able to cut a nearly perfect cavity that rivaled the pattern cut cavities on the rest of the body. And this was in a tough, grainy piece of Ash!! So I know very well what CAN be done if care was to be taken. I don't have near the experience in guitars or woodwork Wish claims to have but I guarantee, I take more care in my work.
oy! i wasnt sticking up for the guy. i think the thing's a peice of trash
my post was just an observation that its ok to bash this guy's craftsmanship (or lack thereof) but dave pushic's wavy cuts, crooked pickup placement, and fingerboards that fall off are apparently off limits unless youve actually played one.
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
i think the issue with dave was that some people who had never played his instruments were making statements on how badly they must sound based on what they have seen.
i've never seen anything like wishnevsky's hand-hacked pickup rout in anyone else's bass.
i also think that dave pushic tries to make the technically most precise instrument that he can, whereas it seems like wishnevsky seems to be consciously choosing to make something as hapazard and hacked as possible. the fact that dp tries to make things right, and precise, makes me realize that, while there might be something that he's done that's less than perfect, he's going to come back with something that is better, which is an approach that imo should be applauded, or at least supported.
on the other hand, making something crappy and hapazardly and calling it an artistic statement is worthy of derision, imo.
if i went outside and picked up a bunch of sticks and hand-tied a bunch of blades of pinestraw to them and tried to sell them as paintbrushes, i would expect, and deserve, to be the subject of derision and scorn in the serious artist community, if they even cared to pay attention to such tomfoolery in the first place.
i've never seen anything like wishnevsky's hand-hacked pickup rout in anyone else's bass.
i also think that dave pushic tries to make the technically most precise instrument that he can, whereas it seems like wishnevsky seems to be consciously choosing to make something as hapazard and hacked as possible. the fact that dp tries to make things right, and precise, makes me realize that, while there might be something that he's done that's less than perfect, he's going to come back with something that is better, which is an approach that imo should be applauded, or at least supported.
on the other hand, making something crappy and hapazardly and calling it an artistic statement is worthy of derision, imo.
if i went outside and picked up a bunch of sticks and hand-tied a bunch of blades of pinestraw to them and tried to sell them as paintbrushes, i would expect, and deserve, to be the subject of derision and scorn in the serious artist community, if they even cared to pay attention to such tomfoolery in the first place.
I wouldn't say he tries to make it look hacked. I think it seems like he would like to have something that is more precise and professional-looking, but he doesn't give the effort or has the knowledge.
I took Narud's post to heart and went to DP's website to peruse the goods. I looked at every single bass in the gallery, up close. I think I see where Narud gets his opinion. Dave's designs IMO lack a bit of balance. I'm saying this in the artistic sense. The different curves of his body shapes quite often don't compliment each other and they don't "flow". I understand this concept pretty well, having designed my own. I worked for quite a long time trying to get that "flow" between the top and bottom halves, front to rear. One of my goals was to not make any curve or it's negative space counterpart overly attractive to the eye. It's a very difficult thing. I understand completely the desire to replicate classic designs like the Jazz because they ARE so well executed.
But the one major difference, in terms of our discussion here, is that every single contour on Dave's instruments is there by design. I am confident of that. I saw no choppy curves, poorly routed cavities, or sloppy finishes. THAT is craftsmanship. I see all of that in the Wishnevsky's and it is a little disturbing.
But the one major difference, in terms of our discussion here, is that every single contour on Dave's instruments is there by design. I am confident of that. I saw no choppy curves, poorly routed cavities, or sloppy finishes. THAT is craftsmanship. I see all of that in the Wishnevsky's and it is a little disturbing.
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
"consciously" doesn't necessarily mean that he tries to make it look that way. it means he knows it does, but rationalizes it or just doesn't care, like you said.
But "choosing" is something you do on purpose
I should have said that he doesn't choose to make it look that way, but he chooses not to try to make it higher quality or chooses not to figure out how to make it better.
I'm just being picky.
