Fuzzbass_TB

I was disappointed to find out that The Merkins is already taken -- it's the band who posted this, though I don't think the name will be seen in the embed. This is for GoT fans -- the lead vocal is kinda tough on the ears but it's a clever parody:

I like the forum's naughty word censor.

His statement does seem amazingly arrogant, but while I won't defend the choice of words I somewhat understand where it's coming from. His basses are incredibly complex, and on top of that he allowed extensive customizations: extra laminates, pretty much any pickups, electronics, fancy figured woods, etc. So, he's blamed his entire predicament on being too much of a "people pleaser": trying to do almost anything for anyone. (He also gets some drive-by flaming on Facebook, though he shouldn't be surprised by it). Of course the reality is that 17-18 years has been plenty of time for him to deliver all promises made to his 30? customers (20 still waiting). But he has confessed to being mentally overwhelmed by the realization that he bit off way more than he could chew, and at one point (10 years ago?) put a selfie video on YouTube in which he was literally weeping about how distraught he was by the backlog. Some insist it's all an act and he's nothing more than a thief. He's often been guilty of shady behavior over the years, but after weighing all the evidence*, I lean toward mental issues. Ask me again next year: if by then he's completed a batch of Zeller guitars and zero overdue Huff basses, I reserve the right to lean the other way. * I am aware of the yo yo fiasco, but last year he finally completed this bass and sent it to a customer on the wait list.

Darrin posted this on Friday, just going to leave it here: "So, originally I was going to ask for some input on the way I finish up the scroll basses. But I have decided against it. No matter what path or decision I make is not going to make everyone happy. I have decided on the path that will get the back log out the door the fastest. What I am going to do is finish them in the order of the ones closest to being finished to the ones furthest. That will mean some days I am focusing on just one, and some days focusing on 2-3 at the same time depending on the step they are on. What isn’t working is trying to do a whole stack at once. My shop is not big enough to multi task like that, and it is too taxing on my brain bouncing back and forth. Also I will no longer let “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” get the best of me. I will announce which ones are next in the next few days. I will not be answering “where am I in the cue?” Texts, emails or messages either. They will be announced as they are being worked on. I am doing what is best for me, and for you by no longer trying to be the people pleaser and instead I am doing it this way. This is the fastest way they will all be finished. And this bass is going to the person who has been waiting the longest FYI."

Reviving this thread three years later because the sorry saga is still going on, and with a new twist. As of early last year Darrin Huff started a new company called Zeller Guitars, for which he's building boutique guitars rather than boutique basses. No, that does NOT mean Darrin has completed the overdue basses. According to him, he still has around 20 outstanding, with the oldest being ordered back in 2002 (mine was ordered back in 2003). He stated that the only way to finish the overdue basses would be to quit his day job to work luthiery full time, and the only way to support himself financially while doing so would be to build a batch of Zeller guitars, because income from the half-paid-up-front overdue basses (fully-paid in some cases) would not cover expenses. I'm not justifying the logic, just reporting it. He basically said that this is the only path for him to get caught up, and we'll all just have to trust him to keep his word that he won't abandon the long-overdue Huff bass orders in favor of Zeller guitar orders. On that note: his most recent promise, back in early February, was that all overdue basses would be complete by his birthday, May 15 (I assume he meant 2019 but he didn't specify). This implies that the first batch of guitars would also be complete by then. I've seen progress on his Facebook page (his personal page and D Huff Guitars page; I don't think I followed his Zeller page). Almost all has been guitar work, not bass work -- but no completions that I've seen. The Talkbass thread linked in the original post is still active, but it's an extraordinarily long read, even just the past ~15 months when the latest twist began, so I figured I'd provide a TL;DR. P.S. Yes, legal action has been researched pretty thoroughly. In short: it would be tough enough even if statutes of limitation weren't a factor, and you can't get blood from a stone. I've chalked it up as a $2500 lesson learned, and have never been willing to throw good money after bad (and I happen to live on the opposite side of the US from Darrin). P.P.S. I'm not saying there's absolute zero chance I'll get my bass, but how optimistic would you be after 16 years?