Billy Apple Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Please have a read of this thread and hope this makes sense... I've been having a long think about this whole build experience. I was very upset with The Bass Doc (Howard). He took my money with a smile and promised me that work would be done. After a while his comms stopped and no explanation was given. The last I heard was he was experimenting with different finishes and that an arm cut was done. For those of you not aware, after months of getting no response from emails my friend went over and doorstepped him. The bass was thrust back and looked like it had been stored in a damp garage, with water running out from the pups and cavities. After it was sent to John at Noiseworks it was clear that no attempt had been made to apply a finish and the arm cut was not done. I feel like he has stolen my money. treated my property appallingly and kept it to the point that it almost had to be forcibly collected. I do not know what I did to be treated so badly. I heard on the grapevine that Howard had suffered some kind of breakdown and at the time because of this I did not pursue the matter further. However, it's now become clear that Howard has carried on working in the North East and is currently taking in work. To that end I wonder if any BC'ers are using him in the North East? I want him to do the right thing and make good with what he owes me. Is there anyone who can get a message to him, as he does not respond to my emails. I'd rather someone could talk to him and we'll sort this out, otherwise I'll have to pursue legal action? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I don't have the time to read a 151 post thread, can you give a summary of what you paid for/agreed on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 1 minute ago, paul_c2 said: I don't have the time to read a 151 post thread, can you give a summary of what you paid for/agreed on? Think that’s summarised above, it was to turn a kit bass into a finished item in the style of a 60’s thunderbird. money was paid to do this work. very little or none of this work was done. no money was returned. Explanation was offered to Op that there was a legitimate reason for no work being done. in the meantime, the person paid continued to complete work for others while having claimed temporary incapacity - preventing the op’s job being done. eventulally at additional cost the bass was completed by another luthier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Ok thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 5 minutes ago, paul_c2 said: Ok thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Seems like a pretty awful affair to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 It wasnt that long ago when the Bass Doc was much revered and respected on here. What happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 5 minutes ago, Hobbayne said: It wasnt that long ago when the Bass Doc was much revered and respected on here. What happened? If Howard has communicated with me and been honest then it could’ve been dealt with. I’d heard he’d gone through a rough patch, but I was always waiting for the email that said ‘hi, sorry, let’s sort this out’ but that never happened. I’ve heard he’s active on FB and running his business, so with that in mind I’d like him to settle and draw a line under it. I’m not on FB, but I hope others who are might pass this onto him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Most of the BCers I've met have been totally solid people. I include Sean (Billy Apple) in those people. Shame when people let the side down. Hope that Howard does the right thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 There are a few of us here who were robbed by him, I think any attempt to recover anything will be futile. He clearly couldn't give a rat's donkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I used him for a pickguard once, he was really pleasant and did a nice job. But it seems not everyone has had the same experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Wow, ive only ever read recommendations about Howard on here until now. Shame these things happen. Hope Sean gets a good outcome, although doesn’t seem likely. Damnage has been done i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) I won't make a specific comment as I don't know the specifics, and I prefer to hear both sides before drawing conclusions - unless a judgement has been made in the small claims court or similar. That said, in an unrelated field that operates in a very similar way, I hear far too many stories about people paying huge amounts (as in many thousands of pounds) for work to be done or things to be made to order. Sadly, as the work takes along time and there are waiting lists, it's easy for a sole artisan to end up holding a lot of money for customers. They end up spending it and funding each job with the advance payments made by other customers. Eventually things go bad, and the customers who have been more patient and forbearing end up loosing lots of money. My advice is simple. If you are getting something made to order pay a deposit that is fair to the maker (they do have to invest in materials and time before the job is complete) but not more than you can afford to lose; if it's a really big job - agree stage payments that you will make when you see evidence that agreed milestones have been met. If the seller won't take your order on this basis, walk away. Also, do a bit of googlepokeren and maybe look them up on companies house (if applicable) or even buy a credit report if you have any whiff that they might be financially unstable. This might sound a bit extreme, but I have spoken to people who have lost five-figure sums out of their life savings and suffered tremendously from the stress and worry of being continually palmed off with excuses. Ideally, there really ought to be a protection scheme through something like the Guild of Master Craftsmen where you could pay into a secure third-party scheme that would release payments against milestones AND insure you against poor outcomes - it would cost money, but I think it would be worth it. Edited March 31, 2019 by Stub Mandrel 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I think we’re going over old ground here 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 4 minutes ago, Beedster said: I think we’re going over old ground here I agree but maybe we need to if he's still trading & taking people's hard earned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymondo Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Beedster said: I think we’re going over old ground here We may well be but ... (1) It's still current for the op and (2) some new members may not know the story. I know none of the people involved, I was under the impression that The Bass Doctor was well liked until the were were some rumblings on here a while ago and when it seemed that it was resolved due to some personal problems, I was happy to believe that this community was all good....It seems that this is not the case. There may well be another side to the story but at the moment, one of our members is out of pocket...it would be good to hear what happens. Edited March 31, 2019 by Raymondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 48 minutes ago, Horizontalste said: I agree but maybe we need to if he's still trading & taking people's hard earned. 44 minutes ago, Raymondo said: We may well be but ... (1) It's still current for the op and (2) some new members may not know the story. I know none of the people involved, I was under the impression that The Bass Doctor was well liked until the were were some rumblings on here a while ago and when it seemed that it was resolved due to some personal problems, I was happy to believe that this community was all good....It seems that this is not the case. There may well be another side to the story but at the moment, one of our members is out of pocket...it would be good to hear what happens. There's a feedback forum on this site, so I see no need for a forum moderator for open a thread to go over this in 'General Bass Discussion'. Leave feedback and have done with it. If that's not good enough, it's easy enough to find the guy in question and deal with the issue directly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I used Howard for a pickguard in jan. TBH I half remembered something had happened but went with him anyway. Did a good job and done quickly. While I feel for the OP .... If the fella did have a breakdown and everything all went wrong.... and then if he's getting back on his feet and earning a living by making the odd pick guard... that's not a bad thing for the fella. Though annoying for the OP. Which I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 39 minutes ago, Beedster said: There's a feedback forum on this site, so I see no need for a forum moderator for open a thread to go over this in 'General Bass Discussion'. Leave feedback and have done with it. If that's not good enough, it's easy enough to find the guy in question and deal with the issue directly. Ok topic police 😕 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymondo Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 51 minutes ago, Beedster said: There's a feedback forum on this site, so I see no need for a forum moderator for open a thread to go over this in 'General Bass Discussion'. Leave feedback and have done with it. If that's not good enough, it's easy enough to find the guy in question and deal with the issue directly. But leaving feedback hasn't helped. His emails are being ignored...he asks for help from any BC'er in the area that The bass Doctor operates in, in resolving the situation...Is that bad or am I missing something here? As I said , I know neither party and have no particular axe to grind, but I am interested in the outcome much the same as I was when two members on here were scammed by that guy in Staffordshire....I donated to the fund to help the guys recover some money. It's just a social justice kind of thing for me I suppose, I would rather help people if I can and that includes The bass doc in this case if he is seriously struggling... I mean no offence. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I was also caught up in the initial issues, was having a body built and sent off all the other parts (incl an official Fender neck) plus a deposit. Howard seemingly went through a very bad time, and I ended up talking to his son, after around a year of chasing as politely as I could, about how we might sort it. It was everything I could do to recover the various parts (minus the proposed body of course), but lost the deposit. I ended up being happy enough with that after assuming it was all lost. Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Quote There's a feedback forum on this site, so I see no need for a forum moderator for open a thread to go over this in 'General Bass Discussion'. Leave feedback and have done with it. If that's not good enough, it's easy enough to find the guy in question and deal with the issue directly. It's a shame to see somebody who was held in such high esteem fall from grace. I recall him being a well respected and highly recommended member of the forum and was sad to hear from people who lost out dealing with him when he was going through a rough patch. If this bad stuff is still happening, then I'm glad the experience has been shared. Edited March 31, 2019 by Shambo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) @shambo Yep agree he built my bass and it’s so totally fabulous I’ve never changed it. He was fast and fair throughout so I am sorry to hear others being treated differently Edited March 31, 2019 by Geek99 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) It’s probably worth noting that, as far as I’m aware, there’s no suggestion there is anyone being treated like this currently, this thread is a hangover from from what happened around 3 or 4 years ago. Si Edited March 31, 2019 by Sibob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshy Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 I have used Howard/BassDoc for about 30 years and still do to this day. Never ever had a problem from running repairs, set ups right through to full builds. He has had many of my basses in that time, most fairly expensive fender type things and I have never had an issue. Sorry to hear anyone has, irrelevant of the sums of money involved, and I am sure things can be sorted directly without a public execution on here. Surprised its a General Discussion topic tbh. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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