If you think the Fender price rise was significant, wait til you see these!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1344026060' post='1758995']
ACG and Shuker might make great basses but the re sale has always put me off, and the 6-12 month wait.
[/quote]

If you were going to buy a custom hand-made bass why would you want to sell it?

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1344026787' post='1759014']


If you were going to buy a custom hand-made bass why would you want to sell it?
[/quote]

Only if it didn't work out as what I want. I don't sell basses now. I try to keep the ones I like no matter what.

Maybe this is the time to go custom.

[GarethFlatlands]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1344026787' post='1759014']
If you were going to buy a custom hand-made bass why would you want to sell it?
[/quote]

The same reason we didn't all save up and buy custom gear which we're still playing to this day.

I have no idea what that reason is mind you.....

[drTStingray]

This has happened before - not too long after I bought a new Musicman for a very reasonable price (late 2003), they started selling them with the hard case as an added extra, to keep the price down.

This lasted about a year before the prices dropped again - IIRC the hike then was to do with the exchange rate fluctuating significantly.

Whether prices remain at that level will all depend on whether they can sell enough instruments at the higher price. I don't think these fluctuations affected the price of secondhand instruments significantly.

Also, I have noticed that dealers undercut the distributor's recommended selling price significantly so it may not all be bad news.

Edited August 3, 2012 by drTStingray

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1344027219' post='1759019']
Maybe this is the time to go custom.
[/quote]

Or vintage?? There seems to be plenty of even modded and refinished vintage 70s timber out there at quite exhorbitant prices......certainly on a par with new Musicman and Warwick prices.

[Musicman20]

I'll always want another Musicman though no matter what. To be honest it could be worse case scenario here as GuitarGuitar are crazy expensive anyway.

[BassPimp66]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1344009290' post='1758701']
The Metro's are overpriced IMO. £2000 for a pretty standard 5 string Jazz?!
[/quote]

They are more than pretty Jazz models. The craftsmanship is amazing on these basses and they sound fantastic.
And now that the price of standard basses is going to the roof, I will add "great value" for Sadowskys.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1344033443' post='1759118']


They are more than pretty Jazz models. The craftsmanship is amazing on these basses and they sound fantastic.
And now that the price of standard basses is going to the roof, I will add "great value" for Sadowskys.
[/quote]

They look great, and the quality is pretty good, but in the end I still don't see them as worth £2k.

[Raggy]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1344027219' post='1759019']
Only if it didn't work out as what I want.
[/quote]

If you're getting a custom made bass, isnt the idea to get something built that will be what you want

[Dingus]

[quote name='Raggy' timestamp='1344036636' post='1759146']
If you're getting a custom made bass, isnt the idea to get something built that will be what you want
[/quote]

If only getting a custom made bass was that straightforward! O.K, you are quite right -of course you should order something you are sure you will like- but in reality though a lot of the time you can never be really sure what the final result will be. No matter how specific you are in outlining your requirements, there is always the possibility that there will be some problem or niggling design flaw that you haven't thought of or experienced before , or that what you end up with just doesn't please you in the way you thought it would. It's a gamble , to one degree or another. The best scenario is if you have tried a custom -made production model , such as say a Sadowsky or Wal , and then can specify any special customisation requirements (if any) to the bulider when you order. At least you have a fairly concrete idea of what you will end up with.

[Pinball]

The big price rises aren't a problem to me as a non-prefessional I would not buy a bass for 2k!

If its for tax reasons fair enough but otherwise there is loads of choice out there.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Pinball

[stingrayPete1977]

I didn't realise there was a limit?

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Raggy' timestamp='1344036636' post='1759146']
If you're getting a custom made bass, isnt the idea to get something built that will be what you want
[/quote]

Exactly, but how many custom basses do you see for sale? I think part of it is the specs, at the time of order, are spot on. Roll on 12-24 months, the buyer receives it, and isn't as happy as he/she hoped.

I think its that 'let down' I'd be worried about.

[charic]

I bought my ACG because it was cheaper than a musicman that was the MAIN reason. That and I wanted something in greenburst

[Conan]

Good marketing strategy. Raise your prices at a time when everyone is skint

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1344070178' post='1759300']
Good marketing strategy. Raise your prices at a time when everyone is skint
[/quote]

My thoughts exactly. I've seen online that the prices have hit virtually all of the Musicman stores in the UK. Its now cheaper to buy off Thomann.de. That is saying something when it comes to these basses as normally Thomann prices are £300 more than us (only on Musicman for some reason).

There couldn't be a worse time to do it. Musicman basses are, IMO, always a touch more money than a Fender (say £200 for a comparable bass eg 4 string, no fancy painted headstocks etc).

On the other hand, my Big Al 5 SSS in Vintage Sunburst is now retailing for about £2k which im quite happy about

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1344069230' post='1759283']
Exactly, but how many custom basses do you see for sale? I think part of it is the specs, at the time of order, are spot on. Roll on 12-24 months, the buyer receives it, and isn't as happy as he/she hoped.

I think its that 'let down' I'd be worried about.
[/quote]

I think the main reason why so many custom basses end up for sale is because the musicians who have them made don't really know what are the important things in the build. There is a tendency to try a order "Homer's Car" so they spend ages agonising over the choice of woods, pickups and pre-amp, which are all really details the luthier should be worrying about. Also the closest or cheapest luthier is not necessarily going to be the right one to build your bass.

As a player what you want to specify is:

1. The shape. Find a luthier who is already building something that looks like what you want. Unless you want to get into prototypes and the extra expense that incurs, tried and tested designs work best. Besides there are so many custom luthiers out there someone will be building an instrument very close to what you want already.

2. The feel. Ideally from existing instruments that you like, and best is from an actual example that can be measured. When I was ordering my Sei and was unsure about some features, Martin took me upstairs to the shop and I spent a hour playing basses to decide on neck profiles and weight and balance.

3. Colour and Sound. I don't care what woods are used in my basses, so long as if they are visible I like the look of them, and the finished instrument has the right weight and balance. Similarly with the pickups and other electronics. Again when I had my Sei built, I had a picture of a Nordstrand bass I liked the look of and I wanted to sound like Japan-era Mick Karn. I let Martin make the wood choices and just picked the actual examples I liked the look of from his suggested pieces. Same with the pickups. I tried some basses in the shop and told Martin which ones sounded best to me.

I've had 2 guitars and 2 basses made for me this way and they are all instruments I will never sell. I don't use them all right now, but that's because they don't necessarily suit the music that I'm playing at the moment. However next year that might be a completely different story.

Edited August 4, 2012 by BigRedX

[stingrayPete1977]

Trying to individualise something always has a possibility of going wrong, someone tries someone elses custom bass and says "I love that I want one exactly the same!", then when they order it they think well I dont want to copy so and so 100% if I'm making a one off it needs to reflect me etc etc, thats where the trouble starts, they already loved the pickups and preamp arrangement yet they are often the first to get changed on the order from to something they have never heard or at least never heard in the same type of bass maybe, the plain top that they said made it really subtle and useable for any gig even ones where most people would demand some kind of standard Fender now gets the chop for a bowling ball burl walnut with mother of pearl yin yangs all over it! etc etc you get the idea

[ashevans09]

£2200 for a stingray?! Jesus Christ. They're not that good.

The best bass I've ever played is my Sandberg and despite having a load of upgrades that was around the £1300 mark. Much better value elsewhere. Jeez.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1344073116' post='1759351']
I think the main reason why so many custom basses end up for sale is because the musicians who have them made don't really know what are the important things in the build. There is a tendency to try a order "Homer's Car" so they spend ages agonising over the choice of woods, pickups and pre-amp, which are all really details the luthier should be worrying about. Also the closest or cheapest luthier is not necessarily going to be the right one to build your bass.

As a player what you want to specify is:

1. The shape. Find a luthier who is already building something that looks like what you want. Unless you want to get into prototypes and the extra expense that incurs, tried and tested designs work best. Besides there are so many custom luthiers out there someone will be building an instrument very close to what you want already.

2. The feel. Ideally from existing instruments that you like, and best is from an actual example that can be measured. When I was ordering my Sei and was unsure about some features, Martin took me upstairs to the shop and I spent a hour playing basses to decide on neck profiles and weight and balance.

3. Colour and Sound. I don't care what woods are used in my basses, so long as if they are visible I like the look of them, and the finished instrument has the right weight and balance. Similarly with the pickups and other electronics. Again when I had my Sei built, I had a picture of a Nordstrand bass I liked the look of and I wanted to sound like Japan-era Mick Karn. I let Martin make the wood choices and just picked the actual examples I liked the look of from his suggested pieces. Same with the pickups. I tried some basses in the shop and told Martin which ones sounded best to me.

I've had 2 guitars and 2 basses made for me this way and they are all instruments I will never sell. I don't use them all right now, but that's because they don't necessarily suit the music that I'm playing at the moment. However next year that might be a completely different story.
[/quote]

Say what you want, don't tell them how to achieve it is the rule. Fairly hard to get people to understand that.