Ian McFly

Yeah, considering $100-200 is £75-145 too...

Well, thing is... how can they expect to be high demand for those "limited" supplies, especially at these prices? I understand they want to make up for the fact they will sell less, so then need to hike prices. But this is beyond ridiculous here. How can the same model go from £2099 to £2749??? And, what next? Things improve after COVID, EBMM can spew more Stingrays out of their production line, so more supply... what will S&T do? Decrease prices? That never happens. You don't want to upset people who paid high price. So you keep the same price, with more supply... but not necessary more demand. Since EBMM's prices in the US have "reasonably" increased (still too much IMO), S&T's greediness will seriously harm EBMM. I can't imagine them having the same demand as usual. Never....

I posted this on Talkbass Well, I was gonna get a Special 4HH, thinking it would be roughly £2200 tops. Not getting one anymore at this actual price. They’ve lost me as a customer. Now, you could be like “who cares”, and think they’ll still have loads of customers to buy their instruments.... fact is: they won’t. It’s 2021, we’re in the middle of a freaking pandemic, and some of the most impacted people are musicians. What we love to do, which is playing music for audiences, cannot happen. Some of us (not me) do that for a living. There’s no job in that field at the moment. So, how can you justify a 43% price increase on an instrument which has NOT evolved since last year (except new colors)? What has changed in their building process and costs, to justify that increase? Consequently, how can you expect severely impacted musicians, who have no idea when live music (or even practice) will resume, to swallow up a 43% price increase when.... well it’s the same instruments as last year!!!! Again I don’t consider a new color as innovation. So yeah, they won’t have my money, but they won’t have a lot of people’s either, because it’s the worst time in years to be forking out 3 grand on an instrument. Again; had they been more reasonably priced, I would have made the effort probably. But I cannot accept the idea of spending 3 grand on a kind of mass-produced instrument that gives me ZERO customisable options. For the price of one Stingray, I can get two fully customised to my specs Maruszczyk basses. Not mass produced in Poland. Or even, a Valenti bass, with great advice from Nino himself, and options available to choose from. And that leaves me with another grand to go on a nice holiday when it’s doable to do so. Yes. I’m frigging annoyed at this policy of ramping up prices like mad. I know they’re not a charity and their aim is to make money. But not to that ridiculous extent.

I had been GASing form a Caprice years ago... unfortunately I can't afford a bass "now" so I'll have to pass on it.

Ok, so it's not to do with Brexit as apparently the import duty has gone down. Also, the dollar/pound change rate has changed in a year... but not the way it should to explain that increase. Indeed, a year ago, a $2200 Stingray would be £1692 (I know, it's not how it works but all I'm doing here is a simple rate calculation). Now, January 2021, the same $2200 Stingray should be £1605. So prices shouldn't have gone up in that regard. BUT, let's take into consideration the US price increase. OK, so let's take the exact same model: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StRay4HESC--ernie-ball-music-man-stingray-special-bass-guitar-smoked-chrome-with-ebony-fingerboard https://www.andertons.co.uk/music-man-stingray-special-smoked-chrome-roasted-maple-ebony-black-headstock-black-pg-black-hardware If you take the american price, $2,399, it translates to £1,750. It is actually sold £2,899 !!! Yes, I understand you've got to add import taxes, shipping, etc.... but still! That's a staggering difference. And I also know that most USA states add their own tax on top of the price so it's not an actual reflection, but that changes from state to state, plus some states don't even have a tax on goods.... Anyways, I'm just stunned....

Fact is, EBMM won’t get my money (boohoo haha), I was super keen to get a Stingray Special 4HH as I want a GOOD, solid 4 string for years to come (I already have that in 5 string with my Maruszczyk, but my two 4 strings are “ok” basses, not fantastic quality). Now, I refuse to spend 2800+ for a Stingray. Heck, I paid £1400 (instead of £1800) for a brand new Sterling 4H (the US one) back in 2016... well, my friend works for a music shop in the UK so got me a good deal, but still... we’re talking double the price now! (Why on earth did I sell that Sterling?! ) Anyway, moving on from the Stingray realm and sound, I’ll get back to what I love the most, in the bass world: Jazz-like basses. I’m either gonna get Nino Valenti to build me a nice 4-string Jazz, that would still be way cheaper (even with shipping and taxes) than an EBMM and I get to choose my specs. Or, if money’s a bit more difficult, maybe another Maruszczyk, this time as a 4-string Jazz (love my 5-string Jazz from them)

If you’re talking about the multi-coloured Iroquai bass, one of my best mates back home had one made... stunning bass, but it cost him something like 6000€ ten years ago.... paint job was amazing though (but not perfect, some details were a bit meh).

Like this https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_masterbuilt_streamer_stageii_4.htm Not even a custom shop bass... and that's without VAT!

Good shout mentioning Warwick. I've had 4 Custom Warwicks in the past (as in 10+ years ago), when they were affordable (-ish). Since then, prices have become absolutely ridiculous, and I genuinely wonder how they manage to survive as a company. I NEVER see any famous bands play Warwicks anymore...

That’s a really good point. Now it makes me think.... I just paid £350 for an indonesian made SUB Ray4. Ok, it’s a cheap bass and some parts do feel cheap-ish. Overall it’s quite a good bass still, and it makes me wonder.... is an US-made Stingray actually worth 8 times the price of the SUB? It’s definitely worth more, there’s no debate... but eight times?!

That’s the thing about Music Man: they’re not bespoke in the slightest. Unless you’re an artist, you’re stuck with limited options: a whole bunch of funky colours that appeal a limited amount of players, and no choice for hardware/fretboard wood. I understand that it helps streamlining their building process, but since every EBMM instrument is made to order (either by a local reseller to have stock or for a customer order), I don’t see why we have to be so limited with options. Plus, again, colours are a matter of taste but man, enough of those sparkle colours.... Bring back some classics: a nice red, black, white, butterscotch, even that Teal .... and then, add a few more funky colours on top of that. Like, I love white basses.... and I can’t even get a White Stingray with Black hardware.

Don't see why they wouldn't be? I'd assume they remove their 19% german tax for export, no? Then you pay the UK VAT upon receipt? Any indication that the shipping fees have changed though?

That's a 42% price increase. FORTY TWO PERCENT. I'll let that sink in....

Surely these are temporary prices as they just got announced and available for pre-order... well I truly hope so. American prices have slightly gone up too, but I can’t see what would justify such a jump....

Are we going to talk about the price increase? While it looks like they have increased roughly $100 in the USA, look at the prices on Andertons: https://www.andertons.co.uk/music-man-stingray-black-roasted-maple-maple-black-pickguard-black-hardware https://www.andertons.co.uk/music-man-stingray-5-special-snowy-night-roasted-maple-maple-matching-headstock-white-pg-chrome-hardware When the models from last year were between £2000 (4 string) and £2200 (5 string).... Surely, Andertons got it wrong right? An increase of around £800??? WTF?

No different for you maybe. But here, practice rooms had reopened and we got back to practice a month ago... with all the proper health measures.

Yeah so good news for England. But not for bloody Scotland where it’s only two households!

The new rule in Scotland says no more than two households.... which means that our 4-piece band can’t even practice. We’re bummed.

Agreed. Yes, there’s the odd issue (and not always the best resolution too) with Maruszczyk basses, but it’s the same with Fender, Gibson or any other builder. The fact that Maruszczyk makes custom builds makes it less “forgiving”, as QC issues shouldn’t go unnoticed. But overall, they make great instruments, and I personally couldn’t be happier with mine as it ticks all the boxes. I just hope it’ll withstand the test of time!

Very happy with this bass!

😂

Aren’t the pickups the wrong way around?

Alright, back from practice. The BDDI V2 wins the battle against the VTDI. I switched between the two throughout the band practice, and whilst the VTDI didn’t sound bad at all, there’s something with the BDDI V2 that gives my sound more body, depth and presence. I realised I don’t need to keep both to be fair, I’d rather use the VTDI money into a different type of effect. Plus the VTDI’s switch kinda died of me after the first practice, only responding 1 time out of 5... not ideal. I’ll send it back and ask for a refund, I only received it a week ago. To each their own, and the VTDI is a pretty great preamp which can surely sound good with some tweaking. But I’ve found my sound with the Bass Driver V2!