Direwolf needs to go back........

[kmh364]

I'm sure Alembic will make Flax's masterpiece better than before...the Six-Million-Dollar Bass? LOL! Seriously, no wine before it's time and all that row. Jeff is suffering now, but I'm betting the Wolf will be more than stellar when it finally emerges from hibernation.
 
I'm thinking of sending my slightly wounded Series I back to the mothership for neck finish repair and an upgrade to Series II electronics, amongst other things.  
 
How'd you ship Wolfie safely back home, Flax? I don't think my heart can take another DHL debacle...you mean an $11k bass doesn't bounce like a basketball? LOL!
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[811952]

Jeff,
 
They will make Direwolf good as new, or better (if that's possible!).  It will be worth the wait, and Direwolf has now become another learning experience for the great minds at Alembic; an awesome work of art they will remember forever for the beautiful piece it is and the challenges getting it right presented.  
 
Hang in there and try not to lose too much sleep over it, because Direwolf is in the best of hands...
 
John

[tom_z]

Kevin - I can't answer your shipping question for Flax, but I recently shipped my Skylark back for some TLC. I shipped it in it's case in the same shipping box in which I received it. I wrapped the case in bubble wrap, and used that popcorn shipping stuff to fill the ends of the box. Granted it was a much shorter hop from Southern Nevada than from NJ. No problems, in any case. Got her back and she's as good as new. =)
 
Peace  
Tom

[tom_z]

UPS - by the way.

[lbpesq]

Doesn't UPS deny claims if the shipper uses a used box?
 
Bill, tgo

[keith_h]

Bill,  
I think your correct on the UPS damage statement. I've even been told by one of their stores they would only insure a package I needed shipped if they packed it.
 
However from some of the packages I've received via UPS a used box might be safer. Why would they need to drop kick an already torn and damaged item? A new box on the other hand cannot be allowed through unscathed. :-)    
 
Keith

[flaxattack]

well guys..... here;s the scoop.....
and you are going to cringe...  
firstly if you are having to ship a bass back to alembic and you need a box- let mary or mica know and they will ship you an empty and you can ask for a return label
in my case i did not know this....and who'd a thunk that i would have to send it back?
 
so i had ups build a box and pack it balls to the wall...i have a great relationship with my local ups store as all my business stuff gets dropped there.
they did a great job
the insured value was 15,000 as that is the replace cost. i shipped 3 day air.
now for the bad news
cost to me? $500!!!!!!
the bass was delivered to alembic in 18 hrs.
why?  easy.... internal staff at ups saw the insured value and said- get it out of here!@!!!!!
i did not ask for full reimbursement for the shipping as it is exhorbitant- but ya know what?
it got there in one piece and that was my goal
 alembic and i agreed that we will discuss a small reimburse/barter? before tribute ships
 
my best advice- let them pack it for ease of mind. you'll get gouged, but was 500 bucks a lot to spend to ensure it got there?  no........

[flaxattack]

btw- alembic did clean up some scratches on wolf- never lift a bass over your head with a ceiling fan present!
and we tweaked the electronics to twin volume controls and no pan
not having the wolf is worse? than having no weed!

[spliffy]

500 bucks to safeguard a $15,000 bass is a small cost to pay. Having said that.... ouch!
I am interested to find out what is causing your bass to do what it did!

[flaxattack]

this is a particulalry dark grainy coco bolo and a very oily type sample of this wood.the area of saturation is right over some tight dark grains. my guess and maybe theirs as they dont seem to really know exactly why either is
even though these types of woods are aged for a long time before it even gets sold to alembic
wood changes with time and i am guessing again that as this wood gets more stable or the oils dry,its porosity is changing causing a sponge like effect. so james sprays it.. it sits... gets buffed out- sits again and we wait to see if the absorbtion continues.its almost like a vacuum.think about having a hardened clear coat being absorbed. so all they can do is spray until it saturates the wood and stops
we had this same situation right before it was ready to ship originally and it took 3 weeks to fix- that was in another spot right below the wolf at 7pm

[flaxattack]

we had hoped to hold off until tribute was ready, but once i saw some more migration and a pimpling effect traveling over one particular grain....in 3 different spots
we had no choice but to return it

[lbpesq]

While UPS may know how to pack the guitar case in a shipping box, I certainly would not leave it to them to properly pack the instrument in it's case. The most critical issue in packing a guitar or bass for shipping, air travel, or any situaion where someone else is handling it, is peghead support.   Talk to any luthier that does repairs and they'll tell you that by far the most common damage from shipping is a broken peghead.  The overwhelming majority of instrument cases support the neck only and the peghead hangs out in midair where it is susceptible to the whiplash caused by the crate falling, being thrown, shifting in the cargo hold., etc.  When shipping or travelling by air, be sure to add bubble wrap, padding, foam, old T-shirts, whatever, inside the case to give support to the peghead.
 
Bill, tgo

[811952]

...and to think I always thought drop-ship meant something else!    Glad it got there okay.  Sounds like cocobolo still doesn't like to play nice, even after all these years of building stuff from it...
 
John

[flaxattack]

my wolf went right into its case and right into a box surrounded with bubble wrap and solid styrofoam on the exterior and then 2 layers of corrugated 125 lb max protection....
like i said- they packed it well...

[flaxattack]

spoke to the boys friday. last weeks sprays didnt take well. apparently the bass was moved to another room after spray and some shrinkage occurred. they resprayed on monday and its been sitting in the spray room since. since it wouldnt ship until 6.2 earliest,they will let it sit some more then james will do a rub out. ,if its stable, it might ship after the girls get back