Anyone got a bass made by this guy?

[ghoti]

Seems like he makes pretty decent stuff for a small price relative to other luthiers. Most of what I'm looking for in an instrument I can get I think. Just wondering before I spend a fair bit of money...

http://www.dpcustom.com/basses.htm

[Y-roc?]

No, sorry, I haven't played one. But how can you beat a custom-made, handcrafted, made-in-the-USA bass for $800???? I'm thinking about scrapping my idea for a $1000+ Fender bass and going with this guy. Have you played any? How do they sound? What do the necks feel like?

[Jim S]

Check out www.talkbass.com and search. There have been several threads on him.

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by Y-roc?

No, sorry, I haven't played one. But how can you beat a custom-made, handcrafted, made-in-the-USA bass for $800???? I'm thinking about scrapping my idea for a $1000+ Fender bass and going with this guy. Have you played any? How do they sound? What do the necks feel like?

I don't know (thus my question). I looked around the talkbass forums but couldn't find anything. I got a quote (the lower numbers are always "base price" which is added to with features you choose). It seems like a decent deal even so but before going through with a down payment I was wondering if anyone had any experience with him.

Testimonials on your own site are all well and good, and I think I'll PROBABLY go ahead with ordering, but wanted a more "unbiased" opinion of his work. I've been playing long enough to know how I want things to sound and feel, and it seems you pretty much have to get your ideal custom-made, but it's still a fair chunk of change for me...

[Bass Viking]

The luthier's name is Dave Pushic. Search under Pushic and you should find a number of threads, many of them not positive unfortunately. There have been reported construction problems and long wait times. Some customers have been satisfied with their DP Customs but I recommend reading the reviews and making up your mind.

[devinb]

I'm not wild about the styling of them...I know that seems trivial, but I think the aesthetics of the instrument are often tied to the market they're meant to appeal to in terms of tones...I know it's a bit judging a book by its cover, but I would be a little surprised if they weren't quite trebly...maybe a very good fit for a GK amp, and I'm more of an Ampeg guy.

[bongomania]

The appearance has exactly zip to do with the tone. Less even than a cover has to do with a book, because even the book cover is intended to represent the contents (rightly or wrongly), but the aesthetics of a bass have never, ever been represented as indicating its tone.

But B.Viking is right, there are many, many threads about Pushic, and most of them are negative- only recently have some more positive reviews turned up.

[devinb]

Originally Posted by bongomania

The appearance has exactly zip to do with the tone. Less even than a cover has to do with a book, because even the book cover is intended to represent the contents (rightly or wrongly), but the aesthetics of a bass have never, ever been represented as indicating its tone.

But B.Viking is right, there are many, many threads about Pushic, and most of them are negative- only recently have some more positive reviews turned up.

Respectfully, I disagree completely.

Even many of the large(r) companies tend to play to one niche in the market...look at B.C. Rich, Dean, Ibanez (granted they do a nice jazz box besides the Steve Vai sort of lines) and so on and so on...do you think any of them could get away with putting pastel paisley designs on those guitars? Don't you think the angles and sharp points on them are meant to appeal to people playing the music that those guitars are best suited for?

I really don't think a small time builder is going to try to proclaim their instruments are the master of all trades...I looked at this guys site, he's got some very strong opinions...not all of which I agree with. I happen to like the sound of a bolt on neck instrument, for example.

If you're looking at buying an instrument direct from a rather small scale builder, I think part of what you have to go on is the feeling that the builder shares certain style ideas with you...not just visual, but sonic...

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by devinb

Even many of the large(r) companies tend to play to one niche in the market...look at B.C. Rich, Dean, Ibanez (granted they do a nice jazz box besides the Steve Vai sort of lines) and so on and so on...do you think any of them could get away with putting pastel paisley designs on those guitars? Don't you think the angles and sharp points on them are meant to appeal to people playing the music that those guitars are best suited for?

But none of that has anything to do with the tone of the instrument. Sure, they market stylized "looks" to genres, but again that has nothing to do with tone.

[kovachian]

I almost ordered something from him before reading negative upon negative reports on him. The people who had positive experiences were very few and far between so in the end I decided against it. If I ever get another bass it'll either be from FBB Custom or CB Basses. Their prices aren't quite as low as Pushic's but they're still pretty low, certainly lower than most other luthiers. And before anyone responds with "cheaper isn't always better yada yada", there are time where cheaper IS better and it's certainly the case with the luthiers I mentioned.

Originally Posted by Bass Viking

The luthier's name is Dave Pushic. Search under Pushic and you should find a number of threads,

Unfortunately, the only thread that comes up is this one. You must be thinking of the TalkBass Forums in which case there are tons of threads on DP Custom.

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by kovachian

I almost ordered something from him before reading negative upon negative reports on him. The people who had positive experiences were very few and far between so in the end I decided against it. If I ever get another bass it'll either be from FBB Custom or CB Basses. Their prices aren't quite as low as Pushic's but they're still pretty low, certainly lower than most other luthiers. And before anyone responds with "cheaper isn't always better yada yada", there are time where cheaper IS better and it's certainly the case with the luthiers I mentioned.

Unfortunately, the only thread that comes up is this one. You must be thinking of the TalkBass Forums in which case there are tons of threads on DP Custom.

Oops, sorry. I should have specified to search on Talkbass.

CB and FBB basses get positive reviews. I'd feel much more confident going with them than DP. Also, Pushic's wait time is fairly long. Some buyers have reported waiting over a year, and in some cases having to send the bass back to be reworked. If you're going to wait that long you could just as easily save up a little longer and get something of quality.

Here's a link to a Talkbass thread about DP Customs:http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204283

[ghoti]

Thanks for the link. It's two years old, and other research gives him a decent score (hard to find though), but those are pretty serious issues...I think I might wait before pulling the trigger on a build though I guess...I CAN afford it but it's quite a substantial chunk of change for me so it might be better to wait.

I wanted a fretless 6 or 7 string...puts together the most comfortable and best sounding basses I've played and it's hard to find one that's built that way unless you get it built for you. Never played neck-through except at guitar shops...it's a LITTLE better feeling and the tone is a little different (would have to play more to see if I preferred it or not I think).

My design (besides the strings/string length/fretless) is pretty basic though, so it's probably easier to do anyway...thanks for the advice.

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by Zappatalist

Get a Carvin instead.

Yup! Great construction, doesn't take too long, and you can always get a refund if you don't like it.

[johnboy]

Originally Posted by bongomania

The appearance has exactly zip to do with the tone. Less even than a cover has to do with a book, because even the book cover is intended to represent the contents (rightly or wrongly), but the aesthetics of a bass have never, ever been represented as indicating its tone.

Sorry, but I think you are wrong on this unless you are talking about paint colors and stickers.

The shape of a bass (or guitar) is directly related to the sound wave and thus tone (and sustain) of the bass. Specificaly these basses have extended cutaways and different neckjoints.
Also the sheen (nitro, poly, natural) will impact your tone.
Now I don't think that the difference is like black and white but it's there in the personality.

[olejason]

I don't think a couple inches of wood are going to make any sort of difference anyone would possibly notice within a mix. Especially if you're playing the traditional bass role.

Wood type, neck construction, strings, pickups all contribute a lot more to the overall sound than the shape the body happens to be.