Chownybass

Yes. Still going. Although have had to scale operations WAY back and are building back up again.

Say Hi to Simon for me 😁

October? No runs that I know of! Will probably have some guitars again by then too! With that said. I'm only £44 from my London Marathon sponsorship target. I'll shamelessly plug that anywhere. And you brought it up! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephen-chown-london-marathon

40mm nut. C profile.

Sure. Dates depending.

Haha. Probably because I’m exhausted!

Ok. It's time to talk about what things cost. We've put our prices up to reflect the new UK manufacturing and have already had several angry emails from potential customers. So I want to address a few things. The cost of manufacturing in the East Even if we'd kept our manufacturing in India, our prices would probably have gone up 30%. This is due to the cost of wood going up. Shipping prices skyrocketing. Import Duties (we used to get our instruments tariff free on an EU trade deal. That's now gone). And just simply the factory in India raising their price. So although our new 60% price increase seems a massive jump. It's two jumps in one. One of which we were already absorbing. The sustainability of manufacturing in the East First - it's a bit wanky - but it's not too environmentally friendly shipping guitars all over the world by ship. Ships are massive polluters. It's not a great idea. But even that aside - all the manufacturing capacity at the Indian / Indonesian / Korean manufacturers is being bought up by the big boys. Smaller manufacturers like us were being pushed to the back of the queue ALL the time. They're just not interested in manufacturing for us. A move to the UK We know that if the ONLY thing we're offering for the increased price is that it's made here - then people are going to see that for what it is. So we are taking advantage of the fact that we can now work more closely and flexibly with a UK factory to squeeze in some improvements. Chambering / Weight Relief, Boutique Woods, Better Finish, Carbon reinforcement in all necks, Blind Fretting, Rolled Edges on Fretboards, Better parts. ALL of these are included in our price increases. So you're getting a lot for our money. Come along on the journey with us. We KNOW we are going to lose sales. Spending £850 on a bass is a lot more than £530 on a bass. We are not worried however about where we sit in the market. It's a totally fair price for what you're getting. Our confidence in the market on the whole is a bigger concern. Higher bills, national insurance and inflation makes us worry that people might not have the money to buy a bass. But it is what it is. Come on a journey with us while we build a proper UK build bass brand. It's going to be fun! Thanks for letting me ramble.

I think the idea is for it to be a mixed show - but with each having it's own dedicated area. Bass Area / Guitar Area / Acoustic Area. I guess a LOT of people dropped out of the show over the course of the 2 years since it was supposed to be on. So they had to roll it all into one. Pure speculation here though.

Proudly UK made basses at the show in Liverpool this weekend. Also pleased to say that our new production partner is Crimson Guitars, who will be making our basses to our specification and price point. SWB-1 / Pro / Deluxe pricing will be out soon too.

From an exhibitor perspective we are obviously not thrilled. I spent the money and booked this show in 2020. So I don't resent the spend - it's long gone. The organisers have taken on board feedback and I've been passing on the feedback from here to them as well. They've committed to making the show a success and made me an offer I can't really argue with for exhibiting again next year. I think they will have to work extra hard to win people back round. But I don't think it's impossible. For those that came to see us and have a play on our basses - Thank you! It was good to see you. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive about the new stuff. If you played one - spread the good word.

U.K made Chowny CHB-2 bass ready for the show this weekend! Proudly made in the West Country. Hand tinted 3-tone burst in Amber/Cherry/Black. Come and play it! We WANT you to!

Depends what it’s for. SWBs and Evos are busy being dispatched. Things are slow because our main luthier has damaged his retina. But we’re getting there. CHBs will be fulfilled from the new U.K. made stock so will take a little longer

OK! Here's the bad news. Prices for CHB-1 and CHB-2 basses are increasing from £500 (Made in India) to £895 (Made in the UK). Here's the good news. MASSIVE bump in quality. Made by highly respected luthiers in the West Country UK. Totally UK made and finished. Assembled by ourselves in Bristol. This means lower carbon footprint. Quicker leadtimes. UK jobs being created. We are collecting samples on Friday and will have them available to look at, and play, at the ACC Liverpool for the UK Bass and Guitar Show on the 2nd and 3rd of April. We hope to see you there.

Great. Come work for me in customer relations 😉

One word. Neck Dive! .... no wait. that's two words. WEIGHT! <--- that's the one word.

We'd have to change the tailpiece and bridge top make the CHB a 34" scale bass. But I'm not ruling it out.

Quick photos from our NEW NEW production partners. These are samples for taking to the Liverpool Bass/Guitar Show.

You're welcome to pop up to Bristol and try our new basses any time 😉 Office always open to you.

I'll be there. On my doorstep innit.

Good news is there's been some further positive developments. The bad news is further price increase. Will update more soon - but looking like manufacturing may be with a very well regarded Dorset based luthier/guitar-company. SWBs and CHBs from the £530 to the £800/£850 mark.

FYI new CHB-1 is 3.45kg vs the old model that was 4.1kg

CHB-1 is short scale 30.7" CHB-2 is a longish medium scale at 33"