Why Shuker?

[Delberthot]

I've been seeing a lot of Shuker basses in the build section.

Whenever I hear something new, I like to find out about it.

What can you tell me about these fine basses?

[Machines]

As a non-Shuker owner here's my opinion. Shuker are hand made boutique instruments that are generally made to your own requirements. He does have several off the shelf designs if you just want a well made version of a classic design however. Being able to wait a very long time is also a pre-requisite if you want one made for you .

Have a nose through the website:

[url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/[/url]

[The Burpster]

^ Wot Matt said +1

[Bigwan]

'A long time' you can take with a grain of salt... yes Jon can be unrealistic with his quoted build time. But he's not in the same league, build time-wise, as say Martin Peterson/Sei (I believe the wait for Sei is more than a year now). It's pretty well known if Jon gives you a build time double the highest number he's given you. But the result is well worth the wait. I'm totally chuffed with what he built for me. He's also relatively inexpensive.

[Kiwi]

The most important thing to me about a custom bass is the neck. Jon builds superb necks, at least on the instruments I've tried. Apart from that I can't say anything else until mine arrives.

[simon1964]

[quote name='Bigwan' post='328856' date='Nov 14 2008, 08:42 AM']He's also relatively inexpensive.[/quote]

+1. Jon's prices are very competitive for a custom builder. You can get a hand built bass, to your own unique spec, for the price of a mass produced US Fender.

[clauster]

I was pondering the popularity of Shuker basses over my coffee this morning.

I think some of it can be put down to his excellent website, which IMO is much clearer and informarive than a lot of other luthiers' sites.

[Clarky]

Presumably to all of the above should be added the fact that Shuker is British and this is a UK based Forum!

Quality instruments, a fair price and 'flying the flag' is a pretty good combination

(just wish I had the dosh for a JJB P bass!)

Edited November 14, 2008 by Clarky

[yorks5stringer]

Having watched him at close hand for over a week, I have to say a lot of his skill is in the handbuilt nature of what he does. I expected lots of jigs and templates but he does a lot just by eye, especially the necks and even though my bass was relatively quite unsophisticated construction wise, it all fits together well.
My bass built under his tutilage is on the "Build" section and called 1-2-1 with Jon Shuker or something like that, it's now on p2.

Edited November 14, 2008 by yorks5stringer

[Johngh]

I've got to say that my Shuker 6 is unbelievable in terms of build quality, playability and wow factor, its got side LED's and totally exceeded my expectations. Jon built it exactly as I wanted it. It was a long wait but well worth it. For the spec, it was very cheap as well.

[Rich]

+1 for what Kiwi said re: the neck. Jon based the neck profile of my bass on the neck of an old Yamaha 5-string I have, which I've always found to be very comfortable. The end result is perfect. Cost-wise, well all I can say is that my bass worked out cheaper than a new Stingray 5.
As always, other luthiers are available... there are plenty of them out there, all doing fine work, some of them representing better value for money than others. We are lucky in this country to have so many fine artisans pandering to our whims.

[BigRedX]

Why Shuker?

1. He's in the UK - we're a UK forum and most of us aren't ready or have the need to start looking abroad for a custom-built bass.

2. He builds a variety of models so unless you have a hankering after something particularly unusual or simply just don't see eye-eye artistically with his designs they'll be something for you.

3. For what you get the prices are very good indeed.

However if you are in the market for a personalised custom-built bass, I'd also check out ACG and RIM before making any decisions.

My take on choosing a builder for your instrument is to find someone who's already doing something very close to what you have in mind. There are luthiers out there who say they'll build you anything, but I feel more comfortable picking someone who's done roughly what I'm after before and just making minor changes. Also don't expect anyone to make you a copy of someone else's work (unless it's a Fender-based design), if you want a particular style of instrument go to the luthier who makes them.

As for wait times, the whole point of a custom built is that it's tailored to your spec. I'd be wary of anyone who claimed they could make me a custom bass in less than 12 weeks, unless mine was the only one in production at that time. As luthiers get more popular (and more busy) the build times will get longer. It took 15 months from initial discussions with Martin to picking up my finished Sei bass, but I know that nothing had been rushed and it shows in the quality of the instrument. Besides a long build times gives you plenty of time to save the money for the balance of the payment!

[thedontcarebear]

To tell the truth, I like the look of Shuker's a lot, but the price from his website put me off getting a quote, for the single cut, it says from £1795, which is quite a bit.

[Dr.Dave]

I can tell you why I got mine if it's any help.

Several members here (all of us on the old Bassworld site) had Shukers made. All shapes and sizes (and I mean the members - seriously) so I figured that being 25 mins away I should pay Jon a visit. I did. Though I really went out of curiosity I got attached to a stock bass Jon had in his workshop. After a bit of a chat we agreed that he'd alter it significantly for me for the same money plus a bit extra for the side LED's I wanted in the new neck he would build. It would take 6 weeks. It took only slightly longer and I was very happy.

I'm also happy with the new top and refinish Jon did on my Status , though it took ages , and with the (free) afer sales service Jon did on my Shuker after an inept sound crew blew the electrics to hell - and nearly me with it.

[Rich]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='329135' date='Nov 14 2008, 02:29 PM']To tell the truth, I like the look of Shuker's a lot, but the price from his website put me off getting a quote, for the single cut, it says from £1795, which is quite a bit.[/quote]
Have you tried getting a quote from anybody else?? The Sei singlecuts start at 2300.
Just how much are you expecting to pay for a handbuilt custom instrument?

[crez5150]

If your gonna buy a hand built instrument then you gotta expect to pay for it..... £2k up i'd say....

[yorks5stringer]

Alternatively one of the stock Jazz type Shukers is only £650, a hand-made bass for the price of an American machine-made Fender

Edited November 14, 2008 by yorks5stringer

[Tait]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='329001' date='Nov 14 2008, 12:00 PM']Having watched him at close hand for over a week, I have to say a lot of his skill is in the handbuilt nature of what he does. I expected lots of jigs and templates but he does a lot just by eye, especially the necks and even though my bass was relatively quite unsophisticated construction wise, it all fits together well.
My bass built under his tutilage is on the "Build" section and called 1-2-1 with Jon Shuker or something like that, it's now on p2.[/quote]

+1. ive done the same course as york4stringer, and what he says is true. a lot of it is about measurements, but then a lot of it is just done by eye, and jon's done so many it just comes naturally to him.

anyone else think jon's got one of the best jobs ever?

[bass_ferret]

He is very good with the website and also is prepared to take lots of photos and that is ideal for a forum. Some builders are just good at building basses.

[nick]

I do like the of what's been tweaked here with the traditional P-Bass design ;
[url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jjpb.htm"]Shuker JJ Burnel[/url]

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='LWTAIT' post='329237' date='Nov 14 2008, 04:40 PM']+1. ive done the same course as york4stringer, and what he says is true. a lot of it is about measurements, but then a lot of it is just done by eye, and jon's done so many it just comes naturally to him.

anyone else think jon's got one of the best jobs ever?[/quote]

If you enjoy building them around 70 hours a week and then going home and dealing with their detailed emails for around another 14 hours a week......

I hasten to add this is solely my perspective and not anything he has mentioned or intimated: as a breed I think we are all fairly needy!

[OldGit]

[quote name='clauster' post='328932' date='Nov 14 2008, 10:38 AM']I was pondering the popularity of Shuker basses over my coffee this morning.

I think some of it can be put down to his excellent website, which IMO is much clearer and informarive than a lot of other luthiers' sites.[/quote]


Well Ok .. but his fine website would be worth bu66er all if his basses were not superb. You don't get the kind of word of mouth personal recommendations Jon gets just with good marketing.

Other builders are available (always have to say that or people moan)

1 he builds fabulous basses
2 he knows exactly what to do to make a bass do what you ask for in the design spec
3 he knows what is possible and also what is advisable
4 he's not afraid to try something a bit different if that's what you want (see the Doodle - 7 string, SC and purple flip paint)
5 he'll build a traditional bass if that's what you want
6 he takes a long time - longer than his estimates
7 he's cheaper than he should be (as someone said, a hand made custom for less than an off the shelf machine and factory built bass)
8 above all he's a mighty nice bloke and always nice to deal with, or just to chat with.

However, at least in the old workshop, his coffee leaves a bit to be desired .

[OldGit]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='329135' date='Nov 14 2008, 02:29 PM']To tell the truth, I like the look of Shuker's a lot, but the price from his website put me off getting a quote, for the single cut, it says from £1795, which is quite a bit.[/quote]

It's a fair point.
That is a lot of money when you can get a perfectly servicable bass for a few hundred pounds.
You also have to take into account the resale price of custom made basses is relatively low because of the individual nature of the things.

I'm pretty sure there's no single cuts around from mass market manufacturers though so if you want one you'll have to get a hand built one or a Fodera. Not much there for under 2K even used ...

[Sean.Robinson]

[quote name='OldGit' post='330350' date='Nov 16 2008, 11:18 PM']Well Ok .. but his fine website would be worth bu66er all if his basses were not superb. You don't get the kind of word of mouth personal recommendations Jon gets just with good marketing.

Other builders are available (always have to say that or people moan)

1 he builds fabulous basses
2 he knows exactly what to do to make a bass do what you ask for in the design spec
3 he knows what is possible and also what is advisable
4 he's not afraid to try something a bit different if that's what you want (see the Doodle - 7 string, SC and purple flip paint)
5 he'll build a traditional bass if that's what you want
6 he takes a long time - longer than his estimates
7 he's cheaper than he should be (as someone said, a hand made custom for less than an off the shelf machine and factory built bass)
8 above all he's a mighty nice bloke and always nice to deal with, or just to chat with.

However, at least in the old workshop, his coffee leaves a bit to be desired .[/quote]

Cant agree with this more, especially points number 3 and 4, hes being very helpful in the design for my bass, were definitely trying new things, body shape, neck woods (zebrano), tremolo, onboard phase inverter, midi, and while im sure other builders will have done these things i very much doubt they have done so with so much help for the customer and there own time invested into getting that spec just right. Jon has taken my ideas and presented me with lots of options along with the pro's and cons and if one of my ideas is not so good he has not just said no, or even worse gone away and done it, hes explained why in great detail.

Though if he tells you he'l get back to you next week add a few extra days lol.

In short a brilliant builder and nice guy, cant recommend more.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='OldGit' post='330350' date='Nov 16 2008, 11:18 PM']However, at least in the old workshop, his coffee leaves a bit to be desired .[/quote]
Still? Even after I got him a kg of single estate bourbon coffee and a link to a website where he can get more? Has he got a mini fridge yet so the milk doesn't go off? I'll probably end up having to give him that as well. Jeez the things I have to do for a decent cup of coffee...