Low Down Custom Rods

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spoon2610
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Low Down Custom Rods

Post by spoon2610 » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:53 am

I've been doing some research on these Low Down Custom rods built by a guy named Ben from California. Has anyone tried these rods? It comes two ways Production model or a full custom. Their production model comes MH 1-5oz., H 3-7oz., and XH 5-8oz.
Also you can choose either 7'9" or 8'0" in length. These rods are also spiral wrapped which is very cool and it suppose to help land the fish easier. The production rod cost $200 plus shipping i'm guessing $50 in the US. So my question is has anyone compared these rods against the Dobyns 795, 806, 807, or 867?

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by trav » Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:58 pm

Havent fished the 795, 806 or 867, but I have 5 LDC rods currently. They are, in my opinion, top of the line as far as custom swimbait rods go. Ben is a really nice guy and very easy to do business with. Shipping is $35 anywhere in the US. He will also make any length rod you want, Ive seen up to 9 feet. The production rods start at $200 and the customs start at $350. He can also spiral wrap the guides any direction you prefer. Anyone who has fished these rods will tell you to get the production rod over the Dobyns. Its cheaper and you can customize it any way you want. Hope this helps.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by dragon1 » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:31 am

I did not personally have a great customer service experience with him due to slow replies, and Ben not answering certain questions to my satisfaction...but yes, I would choose an LDC over a production Dobyns rod for anywhere near the same money.

Direct copy from my email to Ben:

Hello,

I am very interested in your “black custom” MH Swimbait rod. Can you please help me to understand and maybe justify why I should choose your company and your product?

Here are the factory rods that I am considering:

- Daiwa Zillion Swimbait 8’0” MH
- Dobyns ML845 Swimbait
- Phenix Custom Classic 8’0” MH Swimbait
- How will your 7’9” and 8’0” MH compare to the listed rods above for performance, weight, balance and obviously attention to detail?
- What would be my price on the mentioned “Black Custom” MH Swimbait, spiral right, in either 7’9” or 8’0”?
- What are the inherent differences, advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses of the 7’9” and 8’0” MH?


Questions that I would like answered on your blanks and finished rod:

- Who is your blank provider? Differing ones for different lengths? Are these readily available blanks or are they proprietary designs as requested by your company?
- What is your warranty policy and what history do your rods have in so far as reliability, durability, performance and quality?
- How do you rate your work vs other well-known rod builders, ie, George Roth, Otterods, ShakeDown Rods (Stan McLean), Rich Forhan, etc.
- What guides are used for your swimbait pre-built and custom rods? Fuji, Pac Bay, Kigan, etc.? Also, when you note using “micro guides”, how micro are they? Do you use SS micros for added strength, and what material (alconites, SIC, etc)? Do the micros you choose for your rod allow for easy passing of say 50lb – 60lb braid to 25lb mono connections like an Alberto Knot?


I would like to pair this MH Swimbait rod with a Daiwa Z2020H and 50-60lb braid and/or 20-25lb mono/co-poly. Lures will be in the realm of 1oz Buzzjets, 1.5oz -2oz spinnerbaits and swimjigs, wood Punker Jr., and soft/hard swimbaits at ~ 1.25 - 4oz max. I hope that you are able to answer the above questions in good enough detail that I will have reason and confidence to do business with your company.

Cheers and thank you very sincerely in advance for your time and efforts.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by SwimbaitsatLMV » Wed Sep 18, 2013 3:20 pm

dragon1, you have to keep in mind that you were asking proprietary information, if you asked any rod builder that had a line of rods, most don't volunteer that information. Even those that do keep things to themselves. Otherwise what would prevent the rods from being copied?

To the OP, I have 4 LDC rods and I love every one. About to add a 5th. I have the customs, however I can tell you hands down the rods are better than a Dobyns. Even just looking at the guides, anything but kigan is at least decent, and Dobyns uses kigan. I have seen more rings pop out of kigan guides than I even care to mention. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the specific rod in question, but the guide itself. Dobyns rods have a specific feel to them, and so do LDCs, but I prefer LDC any day of the week. Hope this helps some. Also note that the production rods (that I have handled anyway) tend to be a more moderate action, but I would consult Ben as he may have changed the rod since I saw one of the prototypes.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by igl00jx » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:22 pm

Ben can be slow with email. Ordered a rod in July with an expected turnaround time of 3-4 weeks. Actual build to receipt of rod was about 8 weeks. Didn't receive updates regarding delays and had to initiate emails on my end to see where the build process was. Responses to emails was 4-6 calendar days.

Not sure if he was busy or not, but would have liked him to keep me in the loop regarding updates and delays without me initiating the emails. Packaging was impeccable and rod build is nice and clean. Would I order again? Maybe, considering the build is excellent and you have the option to add a spiral wrap for around the same money as the Dobyn's. Not too hot about the slow customer service as I factor that into a majority of my purchases.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by dragon1 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:25 am

Most of my questions were not based upon "proprietary" knowledge of the blank. And trust me, any rod can be broken down and copied on components, seats, design...the actual blank aside.

I have dealt with custom builders for nearly 11 years and have never had a one not share information about components, or answer straight about how their build, warranty or fishability/design compares with other known builders or even factory rods...so while I agree that no builder needs to share "proprietary" information, it still doesn't explain the rest of my query not being answered, especially in terms of what my intended techs/reel/line were to be at the time? :-k

Of note that I did not mention, pricing was obscure (to me anyway) and not clear on his site or by phone conversation...something else that I did not like.

FWIW...nearly all of my rods over the last decade have been customs.

Like I stated, I would choose an LDC over a Dobyns for like money...however, my customer service experience was not up to par in so far as what I expect.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by thelatrobe33 » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:34 am

dragon1 wrote:Most of my questions were not based upon "proprietary" knowledge of the blank. And trust me, any rod can be broken down and copied on components, seats, design...the actual blank aside.

I have dealt with custom builders for nearly 11 years and have never had a one not share information about components, or answer straight about how their build, warranty or fishability/design compares with other known builders or even factory rods...so while I agree that no builder needs to share "proprietary" information, it still doesn't explain the rest of my query not being answered, especially in terms of what my intended techs/reel/line were to be at the time? :-k

Of note that I did not mention, pricing was obscure (to me anyway) and not clear on his site or by phone conversation...something else that I did not like.

FWIW...nearly all of my rods over the last decade have been customs.

Like I stated, I would choose an LDC over a Dobyns for like money...however, my customer service experience was not up to par in so far as what I expect.
It sounds like you had a lot of similar questions to what I've had. On the swimbait sites they talk about these rods as being the holy grail of swimbait sticks. I know I wouldn't be able to pull the trigger on any "custom" rod, production or otherwise, without knowing what blank or guides I'm getting.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by dragon1 » Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:38 am

Apparently, I was not deemed "worthy" of owning one of the LDCs - this is what I personally felt after my experience. I just went with another custom rod, a light-med CSW 808 Seeker blank built as a "swimbait rod" from my local builder.

Still, as per the OP's query...I would choose an LDC over a factory Dobyn's for like money, if I had the choice.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by hoohoorjoo » Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:00 pm

Ben has Phenix build blanks to his spec's. The closest production blank is the Black Diamond Hybrid. They even have the same carbon fiber weave pattern in the blank-at least looks the same to me. He has ever officially stated this-but the blanks are virtually identical, except for the length. Gotta be Phenix blanks.... :whistle:

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by ILIKEBIGBAITS » Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:42 am

Happy customer. Will be adding more to my arsenal. no other rod out there for the money.... yea it might take some time, but in the end, you are getting the best bang for each buck you spend....... ive thrown a dobyns 806 and prefer my LDC H any day of the week......

i have an XXH on order right now as we speak and i do not mind waiting 6 weeks....

it helps that Ben is super awesome dude, that answers every question ive had, and isnt afraid to tell me his opinion on matters...

only rods i will throw for big baits are LDC rods.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by Gblaze » Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:18 am

Ben is awesome. His custom rods are the best u can buy for the money and he goes out of his way to customize it your way. Ive never had an issue with him- I dont expect him to be waiting on my call- but you get far more bang for the buck if you show some patience IMHO. The guy keeps his proprietary info to himself - thats his style -

You have to fish these sticks - then u wont care that he doesnt give u all of the specifics. Think about it this way- I have a super red demon- i bought it without getting Megabass proprietary info from ITO. :lol:

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by dragon1 » Tue Nov 05, 2013 3:08 pm

Gblaze wrote:Ben is awesome. His custom rods are the best u can buy for the money and he goes out of his way to customize it your way. Ive never had an issue with him- I dont expect him to be waiting on my call- but you get far more bang for the buck if you show some patience IMHO. The guy keeps his proprietary info to himself - thats his style -

You have to fish these sticks - then u wont care that he doesnt give u all of the specifics. Think about it this way- I have a super red demon- i bought it without getting Megabass proprietary info from ITO. :lol:
Most of my Q's were not proprietary based. Aside the singular query about the blank provider...the rest are reasonable and asks for comparison vs other rods listed, along with asking for his advice and guidance as to what rod would match my intended techs and purposes.

I am also very patient...as stated, most of my rods the last 10+ years have been customs. Most take 1 - 2months to build on average. My point with Ben is that he did not take me seriously and did not offer/attempt to answer the questions I sent him in the above email. Even after I got him on the phone, he did not put out the effort to answer these same questions. ](*,)

Ben, LDC and SwimbaitUnderground have a following...the "inner circle", IMO, is well known. For me, I could care less about any "inner circle" when it comes to a product, whether it be LDCs, NRXs or Megabass...I fish what I like and what I deem to work best per my intended techs, not what is "liked or hyped" by others. :-k

Also, MB likely provides the specs on your SRD, listing the components and what type graphite they use, reel seat provider, etc. ;)

Regardless, he had an opportunity to earn my trust and my business earlier this year, and whether he had a bad day/week or whatever, I felt that he dropped the ball with me.

Just sayin...it happened to me, whether it was a "one off" for Ben, doesn't matter. This is now my personal experience with him and LDC. Maybe my "wound" will heal enough that I will get back on the wagon next year and try again, as I like the looks of his work, and the owner reviews have been very positive.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by dcorp » Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:31 am

I have a few Dobyns swimbait rods and recently purchased a used LDC xh production rod. After fishing it on a few trips I ended up selling it because I preferred my Dobyns over it. I know they have a loyal following and people tend to love their rods but I didn't like how long the handle was and how the rod loaded up when throwing baits.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by zenbassr » Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:06 am

dcorp wrote:...but I didn't like how long the handle was and how the rod loaded up when throwing baits.
how long are the handles for either production model? can't seem to find that detail on the website...

right now am weighing between an LDC or 807 and handle length is a consideration for me.

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Re: Low Down Custom Rods

Post by hoohoorjoo » Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:47 am

zenbassr wrote:
dcorp wrote:...but I didn't like how long the handle was and how the rod loaded up when throwing baits.
how long are the handles for either production model? can't seem to find that detail on the website...

right now am weighing between an LDC or 807 and handle length is a consideration for me.
Handles on the production models are 16" IIRC. That's from butt to back edge of reel seat. Made that way to tuck the rear part of the butt between your arm and side.

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