Dingus Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 [quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382196110' post='2249166'] ................ [/quote] I rest my case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 [quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1382195672' post='2249163'] Gotta echo that to be honest. That, and Ritter threads. [u][i]If you aren't the target audience, don't worry about it.[/i][/u] Seriously though, Fodera make instruments that are clearly different from your average off-the-shelf bass, and even other custom builders to a degree. They're selling them for what they think they're worth, and if people are buying them, they must be doing something right. In fact, if you compared all basses in the £1000-£1500 price range, you'd find many people would be able to pick out the overprices ones. [/quote] well this thread is getting rather silly isn't it? But if someone will sell me a fodera for £1000-1500 I'ld be quite happy to play it for a year or so and report back a definite answer to this thread. Wanting to open another tangent on the OP, say I had £1000-1500 what's the most underpriced bass I could get for my money (new or secondhand)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Paging Molan. Anyway, chin up - I have no idea how some of us can take these discussions quite so personally. Let's keep it on the right side of classy, BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1382199910' post='2249238'] Wanting to open another tangent on the OP, say I had £1000-1500 what's the most underpriced bass I could get for my money (new or secondhand)? [/quote] IMO the second-hand Gus that I bought (or my first Overwater which was significantly less than the lower end of your price range but it was 20 years ago). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 I remember a thread almost identical to this just recently, definite déjà vu here. What next, which bass is best for metal; oriental, cross dressing bass players or gold lame jacket wearing drummers doing odd things on video? This thread really is a case of, nothing new to see here, move along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 IBTL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The winner has to be a Westone Spectrum 2. At £125 it was the most expensive piece of fire wood I've ever purchased...I could have bought a whole bloody tree for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 (edited) [quote name='roger' timestamp='1382180438' post='2248940'] Can't get my head round status, seems a lot of money for a plastic neck! Ok I'm sure there's more to it but when I read from various posts that the neck heel is hollow! [/quote] There is more to it. The 'plastic' Status neck is synthetic graphite (carbon fibre) which is combined with resins and/or polymers to form a composite. [size=4]Perfect for bass guitar necks due to its high-stiffness, high tensile strength and low thermal expansion.[/size] [size=4]Edit: IBTL, too.[/size] Edited October 19, 2013 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstraker123 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Surely it's a Wal - never played one but they all look like 70's wardrobe timber to me ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The Vester Clipper bass i've just seen for £400 in a shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 [quote name='edstraker123' timestamp='1382201750' post='2249266'] Surely it's a Wal - never played one but they all look like 70's wardrobe timber to me ! [/quote] If you've never played one how do you know they're overpriced?? There's lots of Wal love on here. You had better hide in the wardrobe with a saucepan on your head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382202013' post='2249274'] You had better hide in the wardrobe with a saucepan on your head! [/quote] Less of the kinky stuff please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Recently saw a few Foderas and Ritters and I didn't get on with the MG Fodera as it was so geared to his playing and about 40% of mine so on that basis I wouldn't be interested. I prefer glossier finishes as well which brings me to Ritter. Very well made indeed but too stylised for me. Really nice to play but not something I would gig...so again, no point....didn't even check the price tag. I am sure they are fab basses for someone though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 As a spotty-faced ado I visited the Ma Nichols 'shop' (actually the front room of a house...), in Hampton Wick. On the wall was hung a Hofner Verithin bass. It was for sale at £40, several week's wages for a poor apprentice such as myself. No, I didn't buy it, as it was concave. Yes, that's right; concave. Not pretty for a hollow-body bass. Water damage, maybe; certainly not just string tension. No real idea how it got into such a sorry state. I've always loved this style (I now have one...), but that poor, sad instrument was definitely overpriced by around... hmmm... maybe £40 or so..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 I think it is a personal thing as to something being overpriced some people might say wow that Fender is way to expensive at 2 grand but some one else may think wow that's a cheap Fender for 2 grand so there's not really a definitive answer to the original post......is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 I don't really understand 'overpriced' as a thing, my opinion has changed over the years and frankly I don't give a sh*te how much I - or anyone else for that matter - is willing to pay for an instrument based on what I or anyone else considers it to be worth. It's massively subjective nonsense really, with snobbery and reverse snobbery acting as bookends either side of the debate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) All the basses in the for sale section are overpriced, I think they should all be reduced by 30% For what I do, and I expect for what alot of us on here do, a simple MIM, VM, or cheap tangle wood/yamaha/bass collection around £250 would be all we need, having said that I haven't gigged one for a while Edited October 20, 2013 by lojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Sorry fella but you've obviously never played one.The construction on every one I've ever owned has been totally faultless,the "plastic neck" is a joy to play,is even with no dead spots,and will stay rock-solidly in tune in the most demanding of gig temperatures.Undeniably superbly made instruments,whether you like their "styling" or not Yeh I've owned one and I loved it, I'm not saying it's not well made and I loved the styling I just think they're a bit overpriced as the thread was asking, sold it bought a stingray which was amazing (which has now since gone too!!!) mid life crisis maybe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1382207142' post='2249358'] I think it is a personal thing as to something being overpriced some people might say wow that Fender is way to expensive at 2 grand but some one else may think wow that's a cheap Fender for 2 grand so there's not really a definitive answer to the original post ...is there? [/quote] No, not really. Electric bass guitars are all fairly affordable relative to the price of orchestral instruments. For example. Edited October 20, 2013 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382270634' post='2249838'] No, not really. Electric bass guitars are all fairly affordable relative to the price of orchestral instruments. For example. [/quote] and most likely why we all suffer from GAS and keep chopping and changing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Yup, a lifelong orchestral double-bass will often price in at around £50,000 etc But then, those guys are often much more about getting on with playing and not messing around with gear. Price of a bass (any gear), utterly subjective, pointless comparing them......anything. MIM vs Squier example? Still pointless, even if the materials are considered 'better' (assuming its not made of beans or something), if one speaks to you and the other doesn't, then which do you think you'll pick? That said, better materials often, not always, means it might be more likely to produce a more pleasing sound and feel in general. Fodera; If I played one and that was it, bass for life, I'd find a way to pay for one, never happened, so I won't. Do I resent them for pricing the way they do? of course not, it's a wonderful state of affairs that a small team of craftsmen are that successful whilst staying true to their roots. Of course, if you've owned one, and it fell short of the mark, then surely question why you purchased it in the first place? An assumption that something utterly subjective will be the one for you based on rhetoric and others' experience should be a lesson on how to purchase gear . If, to you, it fell short of the mark simply because of one customer's opinion of the sound, and you sold it for that reason, then I would suggest that you're in for a LOT of gear changes haha Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 [quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382158382' post='2248754'] And Fodera's don't even come finished! It's bare wood, so it looks worn just a few months after purchase. The funny thing is, besides a few famous endorsees (who I assume get basses for free) it seems that the people buying these instruments are more hobbyists looking for that "dream instrument" than pros who need a solid workhorse. [/quote] Obviously a well informed post, I'm not sure it could actually be more incorrect. Foderas come with amazing, lovingly hand-crafted, finishes. The finish lasts for years without a blemish - I owned a 30 year old one that was near perfect and it had been played a lot. All Fodera endorsing artists pay for their instruments - and they have to get in the queue behind all regular customers as well. I have been recently involved in helping someone buy a new Fodera that costs over £10,000. He's a professional musician who makes his living from playing bass. He will only have one instrument and he wanted the very best he could get. He chose a Fodera and is working every hour he can (including a lot more teaching) to be able to afford it. I've personally sold four Foderas valued at over £5,000 each - every one of them to full time pro players who wanted something really special. Every one of them has kept them for a long time and still owns them. The guys who run Fodera are unpretentious, down to earth, hard-working (they all do long hours and in not great conditions) and universally really nice friendly people. They don't have lots of money and they aren't remotely flash. What they do is love their work with a passion I've rarely seen, strive to do the very best they can and look after each other and their employees. The level of professionalism they show is streets ahead of most custom builders, a truly inspiring business. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziphoblat Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1382182085' post='2248970'] My answer to the original question is US Fenders. How they can justify such a comparatively high price for a factory mass produced instrument is beyond me. [/quote] So how about a Lakland? Mass produced in Asia instead of the USA, shoved in a sh*t gig-bag with nothing in it, same price. But I suppose it isn't as cool to bash a bass that isn't made by Fender. Not to single Lakland out, there are plenty of other companies that are the same, the mind just boggles at how regularly Fender get singled out for their prices when you look at the number of companies selling Asian made products in crap cases for the same price, if not more at times. Edited October 21, 2013 by Ziphoblat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Am i allowed to use the word "Rickenbacker"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 I know it's not a bass, but a few Ovation electro acoustics from about 20-25 years ago were so badly made and finished in comparison with every £300 guitar I could find, but cost about £800-£1000. Tops splitting, splinters in your fingers if you tried checking the finish of a strut in the body, I could carry on. Not seen anything anything close to that bad by any other company, not sure what was going on then, maybe a truly horrific batch or something? A Glen Campbell model was the worst I saw. Truly shocking. Nothing else I've seen has really been such an obvious thing to label like this, definitely not a lovingly crafted instrument like a Fodera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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