Shuker Bass course...some reflections

[Kiwi]

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This week was spent with Jon Shuker in his workshop developing and building a couple of bass bodies I've designed. It involved 12 hour long working days mainly because so much care needed to be taken with measurements and making templates. That, AND I had to make life more complicated by choosing to do edge binding, a carved top and back. (Turns out the edge binding was a really good idea anyway for hiding all sorts of router slips!)

However my experiences REALLY opened my eyes about what it takes to build good basses.

1) One of the things I wanted to learn was tolerances because different materials have different tolerances on different parts of the bass. I discovered that Jon isn't so much a craftsman as an engineer when it comes to joints. He effectively operates a zero tolerance policy...by that I mean, for things like gaps in joints and routing neck pockets...it's perfection or nothing. My conclusion? Sure we are aware of tolerance issues in 70's jazz basses but now I realise how sloppy even a mm gap in a neck joint is.

2) Operating on a zero tolerance basis for joints and neck pockets TAKES TIME...for example, it took me two hours alone just to measure up and rout the pickup template because it needed to be aligned with the neck properly (and even then I messed it up). Rough carving the top and back took the best part of three hours. (Even CNC milling of a carved top takes a long time to program so for a single instrument there is no advantage compared to doing it by hand.) Jon was also adamant that these things should not be rushed. For the basses I'm building, I've put in 53 hours in 4 days so far and while one body is ready for carving the top and back, the other hasn't had the edge binding or rear facing glued on. My conclusion? Never again will I question how long it takes to make a [i]completely[/i] custom bass (including templates) or hand crafted features like edge binding or a carved top.

3) The price of materials has gone up by 50% in the last 4 years. Exotic woods such as 5A quilted maple and electrical components like dual gang pots are being bulk purchased by Far East manufacturers as soon as they can find them. A modest slab of 4A flamed maple has gone up from 150 quid to 400 quid. Already my Noll preamps have gone from 190 to 300 euros. Hopefully there will be other sources of supply which Jon can help out with. My conclusion? Unfortunately for Mr Aspirational Bass Player, this means that both electronics and fancy woods will push the price of exotic basses through the roof once existing stocks have been used up.

I don't want to sound like I'm an endorser, I paid full whack for the week and it goes without saying I recommend the course. If anyone wants more info, feel free to ask.

The point I was left wondering about is...given the work and increasing cost required to build a boutique bass by hand, what is it going to do to the market? My conclusion: I think we will be seeing the smaller one-man bands gradually being priced out of the market as the cost of materials becomes more unaffordable for many.