Letts Bass

[EddieG]

Hey folks. Just to keep everyone in the loop, Jon Letts emailed this morning and agreed to accept and adhere to a proposal for a bass. Not a demand for a Stradivarius or anything over what I'm owed, but not a cheap option to get him off the hook either. 

 

Now, I know that a lot of folk will be hanging their heads and saying "he's f**kin' mad" , and the Stockholm Syndrome comment did make me laugh!🤣

All I can say out in the open just now is even though it may not look like it, there's a definite method to this madness, having weighed all the factors both past and present and knowing exactly how this could have ended up. And when this finally has ended, I will break things down in detail on these boards. I've no doubt most of you will agree with this action once it is all done and dusted. 

 

Just stick with me and trust me here, guys. No matter what happens, it's going to be worth it.😉

And thanks to you all for the support, between here and TB, it really has lifted my state of mind very much. It's easy to get caught in a loop of expecting the bad and being surprised at the good. 

[TheGreek]

ATEOTD there only needs to be one happy person...you. 

 

Hope it ends well. 

[Rich]

Eddie, you're obviously a far more patient man than I (and I do mean that as a compliment). All I can say is that I hope it works out for you. Given what you've just said, my instinct would be to close the thread for now and await further developments -- as I said, it can always be reopened if you wish. 

Edited February 2, 2024 by Rich

[EddieG]

So folks, as promised some updates. 
As I previously mentioned, Jon had agreed to make the bass I wanted to my specs. After a bit of back and forward and faffing around it was clarified that this needs to be completed within a reasonable timescale, so all of the details were sorted, and the wood has arrived.

It's going to be a neck-through singlecut 5-string, 33" scale, ash wings with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard.

Jon is glueing the neck blank up over the next couple of days, and it's early days but I hope this is the start of regular updates I can make on this project. 

[eude]

19 minutes ago, EddieG said:

So folks, as promised some updates. 
As I previously mentioned, Jon had agreed to make the bass I wanted to my specs. After a bit of back and forward and faffing around it was clarified that this needs to be completed within a reasonable timescale, so all of the details were sorted, and the wood has arrived.

It's going to be a neck-through singlecut 5-string, 33" scale, ash wings with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard.

Jon is glueing the neck blank up over the next couple of days, and it's early days but I hope this is the start of regular updates I can make on this project. 

Really good to see.

I appreciate he's been through it a bit, but hasn't helped himself either. He very much seems to have found his mojo more recently however, and he really love his little single cuts he's doing.

What kinda single cut shape are you going for, a scaled up version of the little ones?

[EddieG]

6 minutes ago, eude said:

Really good to see.

I appreciate he's been through it a bit, but hasn't helped himself either. He very much seems to have found his mojo more recently however, and he really love his little single cuts he's doing.

What kinda single cut shape are you going for, a scaled up version of the little ones?

I'm going to wait and unveil it when it's done.😉

But like you, I hope this is Jon "screwing the nut" as we say in Scotland, and improving the way he conducts his business as well as his luthiery. 

[Rich]

Any further updates Eddie?

[EddieG]

Hey all! Been a bit busy with family stuffs, but a quick update for you.

In the last episode, we were at the stage of Letts glueing up the centre blank and leaving it to settle.

So I emailed him late last month to see where we were at with progress. 

 

So, promising; Letts has stated he's glued it up at least.

Anyway, I left it a fortnight, then emailed again for an update.

 

 

This time, I got no response.

Getting a bit of deja vu here....

 

As I said, been busy with family stuff etc. But I noticed on Facebook he'd been recently posting about builds, and he's still active on Reverb, so given that it had been a fortnight and no response from him despite assurances otherwise, I decided to leave a comment on his most recent Facebook post, which he responded to.

 

 

But at of 3pm today, I'd had no response from Letts.

So I sent him another email.

 

 

So as of today, that's where we're at; Letts is avoiding responding to me (most likely he hasn't done anything) and I'm having to chase him again with messages.

 

So what does everybody reckon; has Letts glued up the neck as promised, or is he taking the piss again? Will he actually burn me for the second time, in PUBLIC this time, and almost certainly irreparably wreck his business reputation?  Surely not!!

 

Stay tuned for more Happy Days!😂

 

(Btw chaps, you'd be doing me and the bass community at large a big favour by sharing this out or raising awareness if you can. Jon Letts had a chance here to make amends and rebuild trust in his business, as it stands it seems he doesn't want to do that.)

Edited June 24, 2024 by EddieG

[NikNik]

You're a glutton for punishment.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Sorry, but I have zero sympathy for what you’re putting yourself through now.

 

[EddieG]

6 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Sorry, but I have zero sympathy for what you’re putting yourself through now.

 

Cheers for that.👍

[jonnybass]

Oh dear Eddie, I hope it works out but it looks like a repeat of previous issues for Mr Letts.  Good luck man, really hope I'm wrong.

 

Jonny

[Burns-bass]

If it got really bad then I’d buy some of his basses off Reverb totalling the value of yours, pay with a credit card, enact a chargeback and see what happens. 

[Wolverinebass]

All of this has been said many times, but it's not worth it. You'll either get a tossed off bass you're not happy with or nothing. Well, not nothing. You'll have drank a cargo container of Gaviscon with the stress. So there will be that. Literally nothing is worth that.

 

To put it into context. In March 2021 I ordered a Grainger Hades bass. I got it 3 months ago despite the initial thought being 6-12 months. Now, there was no messing about from Darren and Gavin. Both of them got covid multiple times. There were delays to parts and wood. Because I'd asked for quite an odd electronics wiring, that took a while to sort too.

 

The difference is, I got an absolutely amazing bass exactly as I wanted. Plus, I'd only paid a third deposit, so it wasn't that big a deal for the delay.

 

You won't have that outcome as Letts is I'm sure hoping it all goes away. Your mental health will thank you for ending this.

Edited June 24, 2024 by Wolverinebass

[Wolverinebass]

4 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

If it got really bad then I’d buy some of his basses off Reverb totalling the value of yours, pay with a credit card, enact a chargeback and see what happens. 

Brilliant! I love it!

[binky_bass]

@EddieG - Jon hasn't changed in 10 years. He won't change for you. 

Edited June 24, 2024 by binky_bass

[Burns-bass]

47 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

Brilliant! I love it!

This is sort of a joke, but I hate to see anyone ripped off by dishonest people like Jon.

 

I recently had my kitchen done and the guys took no payment at all until it was done and we were happy.

[bass_dinger]

I admire the noble and patient stance of @EddieG. Very dignified, and I applaud you.

 

The thread has certainly helped me to decide who to use if I ever order an instrument. 

 

Lett's Not....

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, EddieG said:

Cheers for that.👍

Probably sounded a bit harsher than I meant, but I am staggered that you gave this guy another chance after all the grief he has caused you, especially in light of the fact he’s still doing business and making (let’s be honest) $hit YT videos.

You need to see him for what he is and what he will always be.

[EddieG]

54 minutes ago, bass_dinger said:

I admire the noble and patient stance of @EddieG. Very dignified, and I applaud you.

 

The thread has certainly helped me to decide who to use if I ever order an instrument. 

 

Lett's Not....

 

👍🏻😉👍🏻

[spacecowboy]

I find myself rooting for Letts to fail in this particular instance as it makes for good drama and an excellent read on here, I feel like we all know the outcome we’re just here to see how bad it gets.
 

However I’ll again express my sympathies with your plight as it’s just every bassists worst nightmare surely!!

[Beedster]

Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice…..

 

[Beedster]

32 minutes ago, spacecowboy said:

….as it’s just every bassists worst nightmare surely!!

There really are worse things that can happen, this outcome was inevitable and preventable 

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Probably sounded a bit harsher than I meant, but I am staggered that you gave this guy another chance after all the grief he has caused you, especially in light of the fact he’s still doing business and making (let’s be honest) $hit YT videos.

You need to see him for what he is and what he will always be.

👍

[EddieG]

6 minutes ago, Beedster said:

There really are worse things that can happen, this outcome was inevitable and preventable 

Perhaps there are "worse things that can happen", but when you're someone who has two disabled children, and really can't afford to hand £1.5k to a thief, I can't really think of much worse than a man who knows all that and would accept the money, and then refuse to provide the instrument. 
You may see things differently though.👍🏻