While I don't have a DeSalvo, Mike lives just up the street from me, and his bikes are ridden by many people around here, including several friends and riding partners, so I feel obliged to respond.

Last year when I had some money and thought I wanted a custom touring frame with S+S couplers, I stopped by Mike's shop (which is in his backyard), and he took me in his shop to show me some of the bikes he was building with the couplers, and spent about 20 minutes just talking about design and options for bikes and stuff. I was impressed by the level of knowledge he had and the breadth and depth of skill he had; looking around his shop made it obvious that he's a real craftsman who both knows what he's doing and cares enough to do it perfectly. It's worth mentioning that he's the kind of guy who will take the time to understand you and your riding style to be sure he builds you the perfect bike.

Many people consider one framebuilder way "better" than another in some objective sense, implying that one (or many) framebuilder(s) are much "worse" and build "bad" bikes or something. I think if that were true, the "bad" framebuilders would find themselves out of work pretty soon. The famous framebuilders got that way more because of their artistry than because of their skill or craftsmanship. Building a frame isn't rocket science and there are a lot of people (including a few framebuilders) who will effectively try to distract you with the myriad arcana of details that make perhaps 1% difference. Given the long refinement of the bicycle, there's really no new ground to be broken, and a good frame is one that's built by someone who knows and cares. Artistry and refinement are important, but they don't make a bike; experience and skill are what makes the bike, and the artistry is what makes a good bike beautiful (and its builder famous).

That said, choose a framebuilder based on what's important to you, not based on some notion that one will build a "good" bike and the other a "bad" bike. How many people have you heard of who are unsatisfied with their full custom frame? Getting a full custom frame from a skilled and experienced small framebuilder is certain to be something you'll be very satisfied with; all the little details matter only in so far as you want to find someone whose values and approach to bikes is similar to yours. A local builder is important because they can meet with you and take the time to get to know you well before they build a bike to suit you. So, if you live nearby, I heartily recommend DeSalvo bikes. If not, you're probably better off finding a skilled, experienced local builder whose values are similar to yours.

Alex