Kev

Thanks for the nice words, guys. I really am chuffed to buggery with it I can't recommend Chris and Alex enough, thoroughly decent chaps to deal with and they have a real passion for what they do, as can hopefully be seen in the wonderful bass they have made for me and all the other superb instruments they have made over the past few years. We are blessed in the UK at the moment for having such a wonderful choice of luthiers, but these two blokes up north are right up there with the best of 'em! Review now up: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/274409-alpher-instruments-mako-elite-5-string-2015-model/page__pid__2921840#entry2921840

Okay, colour me very interested.

Pro shots in NBD thread here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/274268-nbd-alpher-mako-elite-5-string/"]http://basschat.co.u...elite-5-string/[/url] Review coming soon

Belated, as I picked his up at the weekend, but after an agonising wait my first custom bass is here, and its a super instrument. Buckeye - not for everyone. Singlecut - not for everyone. Complex Preamp - not for everyone. However, they are all for me and I could not be happier with the end result. Full build diary here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/256306-alpher-mako-elite-five-string-warning-buckeye-burl-content/"]http://basschat.co.u...e-burl-content/[/url] Keep an eye out in the review section, will be doing a full review as soon as I have chance.

Sun is very much not out, wind blowing like crazy, but attempt I did This bass is truly incredible.

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1448746837' post='2917899'] Ah so it's kinda taking the duality idea but with overdrive [/quote]

Well, she's finished, and it's an incredible instrument. A little lost for words at the moment, but I will stick an NBD thread in the Bass forum when I have the pro shots back and will have a full review up as soon as I am able. No photos in this light will do it justice either, so a B&W one of it in my hands will have to do for now....

£20 says it won't go for £20

Talkbass post: [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]If you look at USA era b3k the 9v power input is below the input jack. On the Vulcan its above it. How does that work if they are pre drilled?[/font][/color] Interesting to see how Spencer responds to that.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1448657350' post='2917293'] I can see how loyaltee for lack of a better word would cause this reaction. My almost 20 years in business also tells me there is - some would say unfortunately - only limited room for sentiments. It is either a very smart or a stupid move and only time will tell if the negative pr will die down. Sibob was spot on wrt non-copyrights so unless there was a breach in non-compete clauses Darkglass will have to swallow this one and just move on. Lower the unit price by $50 and nobody would even consider not buying a B3/7K. Until Mooer brings out a Micro version alonside XV, Fender and such @ $100...... [/quote] If Mooer do that, good luck to them, it just isn't the same as this. Totally agree that nothing is trademarked e.t.c. so no laws have been broken and no lawsuits can follow there, and likely if there was no non-compete agreement (and even if there was it likely would be time limited - perhaps that is the '12 months' work he claims to have spent on this) there is nothing Darkglass can do about it. However, from the overwhelmingly negative reaction to this so far hopefully this will not impact them too much.

[quote name='RichF' timestamp='1448653340' post='2917259'] OK we are all comfortable with paying peanuts for a Mooer B3K rip off but this is different from flattering imitation. If I had spare enclosures I would do whatever i could to make sure i didn't use them for an OD. [/quote] Exactly. He has brought out the Octabvre and has rereleased a new Wonderlove. The Ovtabvre perhaps could have been designed to fit the B7K box if he was that keen to not lose all his money on those apparently super expensive enclosures.... Did he not release that little preamp box after Darkglass? Surely would have fit in his Vintage Microtubes/B3K clone box? I'm pessimistic, and I'm rather loyal to Doug and his team, but it still screams BS.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1448651840' post='2917239'] Besides morals, ethics, taste, professional courtesy etc there are a lot of pedals both series and custom jobs that are variations of the same basic circuit. Lets face it the B3/7Ks sound great so it was only a matter of time before varations on those circuits would start coming out. Imitation is the best form of flattery and it is pretty standard practise within the industry really. Some people will stick with the original, some will want to try out something a bit different, the market will decide what happens. [/quote] I think the sickener here is that this is someone who built Darkglass pedals, and not just another manufacturer jumping on the bandwagon. I really struggle to understand why he is trying to play this like he is surprised at the reaction he is getting. I wouldn't be too surprised if there was some form of non-competing agreement in place. I have spoken to Doug but haven't pressed him for the details as it is between him and his solicitors.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1448647362' post='2917185'] From the 3Leaf thread over at TB: I don't really have a problem after reading this. He basically came up with the visual design and still had a few hundred enclosures left, and the circuits are a new design. I wish him the best of luck! [/quote] He came up with the visual design? Please take a look at the original Finland design, the concept was there and was tweaked. He did come up with the unreliable bypass switch (3 failed on me, and they were not even gigged), thankfully Doug replaced this system with a far superior one when he brought it back to Finland. He claims in the biography that this new company is 3leaf and the former head of operations at Darkglass. That is one of the same person it seems, Spencer. Darkglass first heard of this company today. Deceiving wording, to say the least, and he deliberately appears to have avoided addressing this in his post. Most of that post on TB is desperate BS in my opinion, an attempt at turning the tide that is spreading across social media and forums. Its a little cringeworthy to read to be honest. I think the only truth is that he had a load of enclosures he needed rid of. Mimicking the appearence of the B7K in particular was not the only way, but the way he chose. He has subtly admitted to manipulating the DG circuit to claim a totally original pedal. Why not run this by Doug to make sure he is okay with it, call it professional courtesy? Well, we know why not. Remember when he was selling off Darkglss prototypes on his Facebook page without Doug's agreement? He had similar comments to make then, too.

He is deleting comments about Darkglass off his page. If there was any innocence here, the first thing he needed to do was explain how these citcuits are in no way Darkglass other than the aesthetics. He has missed that chance, and the sound samples speak volumes. He has manipulated designs entrusted to him to make his 'own' pedals. I have spoken to Doug and more than anything he just feels bad for him having to go this route to try and generate the business back that he lost after Darkglass resumed production in Finland. This is quite a desperate move. Commercial suicide, so hopefully this will just fall flat for him.

Actually, I'm not that speechless. I always had a lot of respect for 3Leaf audio and what they produced, and at the time they were building Darkglass units for them I had most of the pedals they made. I know something went down and Doug moved production back to Finland, with some unpleasantries from Spencer as I recall (no need to be discussed here), but the response is to release what are basically red versions of the B3K and B7K? I was very close to pulling the trigger on a Octabvre and taking advantage of Prymax's black friday offer, however not a chance now.

Speechless. [url="http://www.pikeamp.com/collections/all"]http://www.pikeamp.com/collections/all[/url]

At best, an awful wood grain. At worst, well, anything really, crack?

To quote Chris, 98% complete. Just need the ziricote knobs sorting and a final setup and I'll be picking her up, not before it has had it's pro shots of course So close...

Petty issue, but is that really the final artwork on the pedal??