scrumpymike

They've already gone up since I bought mine, and looks like that trend will continue.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1476439831' post='3154288'] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Essential Polish: [color=#212121]Topem z klonu płomienistego, korpus jesion i klon szyjka z palisandrową pokładzie palec (courtesy of Google). [/color][/font][/size] [/quote] You can't beat a nice flamed-maple top though!

"Although...are we sure it's shop policy rather than the salesman seeing the opportunity to get the cost of a pint out of an unsuspecting punter?" I'm guessing you've hit the nail on the head there.

Great news - love mine! Wonder if they'll make some more...

My local independent store (well, nearest - it's 15 miles away) were happy to give me a nice box recently, no questions asked. Only things I've ever bought from them are a £150 bass and a few bits and pieces. Mind you, it could have been the most expensive box I've ever bought - had a play on a mint used Stingray they had in and loved it! Too big and heavy for me nowadays but what a sound - I was seriously tempted. Perhaps there's a moral in this story for GAK Brighton!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476393621' post='3154007'] Sounds good to me. My girlfriend is Polish so we travel in that direction from time to time anyway. Adding a bass-related reason would be perfect. She also plays bass, so she might even join! Did I say the beer is great too? [/quote] Neat! This trip could finally motivate me to take some Polish lessons - been meaning to do it for years but never got round to it.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1476375000' post='3153795'] [/quote] That's real class - 5er sounds good too!!

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1476433364' post='3154179'] Mine's gone sticky but it's the only one I have and used every gig, can't really do without it at the moment so can't send it back for replacement until theres a break in gigs, maybe December. Its only the bit you briefly touch to lower and raise the centre shaft, it doesnt come in to contact with any instruments. The foam bits that touch the body and the headstock grabbers are all fine so far. [/quote] As far as I know, they don't ask for the faulty stand to be returned - certainly didn't with mine. Mind you, I did send a couple of pic's.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476360787' post='3153619'] AND flights to Poland are soooo cheap, and the beer soooo good... hmmmm. I [/quote] Too right! My feeling would be to wait until they're 'open to the public' in Poland. As it happens, it was the Polish connection that sparked the visit idea in the first place (my wife's suggestion would you believe!!). My dad came over from Poland in WW2 and she thought it would be great to kill 2 birds with one stone: factory visit and holiday in 'the land of my fathers'. She doesn't know much about basses but she's fallen in love with my new 'Cazzie' - yep, she's even given her a name.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1476342773' post='3153405'] If I run a factory I wouldn't want people traipsing round it, it would kind of interfere with the process of building things, require someone to organise and provide a tour etc, and I am sure have an impact on your insurance price. [/quote] Could also be something to do with security/intellectual property - maybe they've developed some smart methods or equipment.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476294712' post='3153157'] right! who drives the van??? [/quote] The van would certainly be handy for bringing a few basses back

Had a quick look at the map and Aldenhoven is close to Germany's borders with the Netherlands and Belgium. Nearest cities with airports are Maastricht (36mls away), Dusseldorf (48mls) and Cologne-Bonn (also 48mls). I know I can fly from Bristol to Dusseldorf on BMi.

[quote name='pierreganseman' timestamp='1476292815' post='3153139'] the shop is at adrian's house in Germany, around one hour from me. The Factory is in Poland.... somewhere [/quote] Ah, my mistake - Germany will probably be easier/cheaper. Where's the nearest airport for cheap flights?

I thought the shop was at the factory. Anyway, while a factory tour would be nice, I wouldn't wish to disturb the Kobolds and Gnomes. All I really had in mind was a meeting with Adrian in the company of lots of finished basses, some of which I would hopefully be able to try out.

"The best bet is a sort of mass produced custom imo, if the luthier builds a random bass with funny pickup spacing and crap hardware because it's what the customer wants it will be crap but a luthier that has a sort of base model design that the customer works around then everyone wins and the builder has done things like the body cut, neck pocket and headstock/tuner layout many times." Totally agree with Pete on this. That's the 'Maruszczyk' way, which is why I bought from Adrian. They are a large-batch rather than mass producer and, because they build for stock as well as custom orders, I was able to look at hundreds of photos/specs on their website and then say: "I want you to build me a bass that looks like (quote the SKU reference number) but with the following changes." I had a price/delivery quote within a couple of days - and now I have the bass I wanted with no nasty surprises. Btw, I'm not implying that M are the only ones doing this as I don't know enough about the other options. There are obviously some great luthiers out there and with a bit of research it should be relatively easy to avoid making a costly mistake.

Yep, there's history behind this! The manufacturer has to date replaced a bunch of them FOC - mine included. Not sure whether that generous offer has timed out now but it would certainly be worth giving them a try. Just fyi, when I contacted them I didn't let on that I knew about the history of FOC replacements as I didn't want to back them into a corner - just told them that I have 4 of their stands and expressed my disappointment with an otherwise quality product. To be honest, I would have been happy if they'd just given me a discount off my next purchase.

OK then, who would be up for a UK M-Club factory visit in Spring '17? Perhaps based on cheap flights to a nearby airport (assuming there is one) and local B&B-type accommodation with at least a full day available in the factory. If there's a demand for a group of, say, 6-8 of us, I'll run this by Adrian, get some prices, and do the organising. Do you think Adrian would be OK with this pierreganseman?

Tidings of great joy!! Just discovered that the tone pot on my Cazpar 4p is also a push-pull knob that switches the humbie to single-coil mode. That puts the cherry on top of a very nice cake.

[quote name='Paulhauser' timestamp='1476118429' post='3151501'] Sell it as it is with a honest description so the buyer knows what he's getting and can add up the cost of the fix. Who knows, he might have a fitting bridge and/or an expert at fret dressing so what you'd spend on the bass to fix things up may not worth the extra cost (and increased price) for the buyer in this instance. I personally would not do anything but sell the bass as it is with all the info (pics) so the buyer is safe. [/quote] Totally agree - you just wouldn't get back what you spend.

[quote name='pierreganseman' timestamp='1476169155' post='3151838'] indeed same people building both. When Adrian took over 11 years ago Mensinger had 3 or 4 people left working there (the Brand had its Golden Age in the 80's) and he put them back on track. There's now around 15 or so people working there. Keeping in mind communication in English is not always easy so it may not be totally accurate but its something like that. [/quote] That nice little success story is good to hear. It's all about finding a 'niche' nowadays, and Adrian has obviously done that. Even better that it's all based on a core of local, skilled people rather than the usual 'let's design something nice and send the drawings to China'.

"They're so ugly they're beautiful. Like a Bison. Powerful beast." Yep, know exactly what you mean - they ooze a kind of strange, generic quality.

I think it's down to the frequency of doing. If you only do a job once in a blue moon, it's like you have to start again - you never get into that routine that lets you do stuff on auto-pilot.