Elwray Basses - First Bolt-on 4 string

[Guest Marcoelwray]

1 hour ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Paua dot?  Looks nice, whatever

Supposed to be green abalone but....

Oil is drying.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Marcoelwray

[Andyjr1515]

8 hours ago, Marcoelwray said:

Supposed to be green abalone but....

Oil is drying.

Oh my goodness!   That is breathtakingly beautiful...

[eude]

10 hours ago, Marcoelwray said:

Supposed to be green abalone but....

Oil is drying.

That is stunng,!

[Guest Marcoelwray]

-removed video-

Edited May 22, 2019 by Marcoelwray

[Guest Marcoelwray]

Hello hello,

Last project is still waiting, Delano TF are quite expensive. And I did the Rockbass, and I have to finish a fretjob.

But, I'm planning a new project, not too fancy this time; my first bolt-on Infinga.

And it'll be for sale.

So far the project consist as an Infinga bass with the following specs:

- 4 string bass BO construction, 19mm string spacing, 38,5mm nut

- Afzelia body with wengé veneer

- Bubinga neck 3 ply, C shaped

- Maple fretboard with 24 brass frets

- Delano P/J or P/twin J configuration

- Passive electronics Vol/Blend/Tone (w/ switch if Twin Jazz used)

- All Schaller Copper Vintage hardware (Schaller 3D, M4 90 machine heads, copper vintage knobs and stralocks)

IF anyone is interested or know somebody that could be interested, please share as long as I didn't start the process (woods are already chosen, but all the configuration can be customized)...

If not, I'll put this on the Marketplace for about 1000€, delivered with Gigbag.

Thanks ! I'll share the process here, as usual.

[Guest Marcoelwray]

Question;

Admitting the bass it flawless, delivered with Gigbag (Ritter), Strings (Elixir), is equipped with Delano pickups and Schaller Light machine heads, Hipshot bridge (oh my, those are expensive!),

Is 1200€ (£1060) a fair price?

@Andyjr1515 @Jabba_the_gut @Manton Customs guys, you're more experienced than me, I'd love to have your opinion on this...

[Henrythe8]

From what I saw, most 7ender copies made by hand by luthiers are about 1000 to 1500€. That's what Stevie-G asks for a relic'd assembled bass. 

But, you're not as famous for now. ANd it's not a 7ender copy. On the other Hand, it's handmade, and wayyy more interesting than yet anotehr Jazz Bass. 

IMHO, it's about right, for the market. Given the quality of your craftmanship, it's even on the cheap side, but I'm not sure the Market is up to it 🙂 

That's an amount I'd be willing to give you for a custom bass, where I would select wood, shape and everything. 

 

[Jimothey]

I had the same problem when I was selling handmade furniture pricing is a minefield price it too low and some people will think its of an inferior quality, price it too high and some people will think its over priced,

In my opinion the price is very subjective so you need to price it to what you think is a fair and reasonable price for the materials and your workmanship 

The only problem I think you might encounter is that the price you have indicated you would sell it for is in the premium bass price bracket and there are so many brand snobs out there that because you aren't a brand they have any experience or knowledge about they might not even bother looking at your product irrelevant of the fact your workmanship is of a amazing quality but saying that someone might look at it and think that's cheap I'd have paid 2000€ for it??............. 😀 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Jimothey

[Jabba_the_gut]

38 minutes ago, Jimothey said:

I had the same problem when I was selling handmade furniture pricing is a minefield price it too low and some people will think its of an inferior quality, price it too high and some people will think its over priced,

In my opinion the price is very subjective so you need to price it to what you think is a fair and reasonable price for the materials and your workmanship 

The only problem I think you might encounter is that the price you have indicated you would sell it for is in the premium bass price bracket and there are so many brand snobs out there that because you aren't a brand they have any experience or knowledge about they might not even bother looking at your product irrelevant of the fact your workmanship is of a amazing quality but saying that someone might look at it and think that's cheap I'd have paid 2000€ for it??............. 😀 

This is what someone has said to me before! You'll see from posts in my build diaries that I'm not the best at determining what can be charged for a handmade bass (I don't know what to ask for one, so I don't and I have lots of basses at home)!! I have only parted with a couple of basses....

But a lot of this is back to the old chestnut that it is worth what someone will pay for it regardless of how nice the woods, components etc. are. There are quite a few people out there that will pay £1000 - £1500 or more for a bass be it custom or off the shelf so there is a market, it is a question of finding out where you fit in.

I also think that not many folk work out just how quickly the component costs can mount up when you are buying things as a one-off; just plucking figures from thin air but say £90 for a bridge, £75 for some tuners, £150 for a pair of pickups, £100 for a preamp, nut/strap buttons/knobs another £40 - that's over £450 before any wood has been bought! Even a basic body blank would easily be £60, basic neck blank £50, fretboard £40. Want a nice top and a better body wood then add another £200 say.....that's around £800 of parts. Admittedly, not everyone would want all of these but it shows how quickly costs can go up. And you haven't cut or shaped anything at this point, let alone applied a finish.

It also comes down to if you are making a one-off for some one or a small batch. Someone may be willing to pay more for something that is unique to them rather than you making a bass then trying to sell it. I think people are also aware that they may spend a lot on a custom bass for them but if GAS strikes, the used value may be considerably lower.

Then there is the reason you are doing this; are you wanting to make a living from it, subsidise another income or just doing for the enjoyment of building and selling to cover costs? These are the same questions I ask myself!!

Not a particularly helpful response I know (sorry!) - just my thoughts. I think you just have to try and see what happens.

All the best

Jez

 

 

[Guest Marcoelwray]

Thanks for all your replies! Very interesting and helpful.

To be honest, everything is already calculated... So with 1200 euros I pay all the Materials and gear, including shipping and gigbag. Of course my handwork is undervalued here but it is, indeed, for the enjoyment of making basses, not for a living.

My price point is, IMHO, nicely placed. Because I selected the wood myself, and the components, and the pickups. So it'll be not a "custom shop" instrument. In the other hand, I count on someone's GAS on this.

Anyway, it'll be only for sale on basschat, and like Henry said I'm not famous so this price tag seems correct to me.

Still, it's a full handmade instrument, built with love. And yes, I will make templates this time to plan a small batch of these, but not necessarily in the same woods (same model although)

My build diary is open to ee, so the job previously done is public.

I try to look at companies prices, like Warwick for instance, and for a bolt on German streamer "handcrafted" you have to pay 1700 euros. So 1200 seems totally fair, even if the work done is undervalued.

[Jimothey]

27 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Then there is the reason you are doing this; are you wanting to make a living from it, subsidise another income or just doing for the enjoyment of building and selling to cover costs? These are the same questions I ask myself!!

That's a really good point if you want to do it as a business then till your an established builder with good brand exposure you probably won't make a lot of money, but if your doing it just for the love of building and aren't really bothered in how much profit you make then your laughing really anything you get above cost price is a bonus

As a side business from my bespoke furniture business I started doing French Polishing and got a few jobs but working out how much to charge was a complete nightmare as most of the people wouldn't pay the exuberant price I needed to charge to make any kind of a reasonable profit! On one job it worked out I earned less than 50p and hour because of the time it takes to do it properly so needless to say because it was a business I knocked it on the head........ 😀 

Edited May 22, 2019 by Jimothey

[SpondonBassed]

15 minutes ago, Marcoelwray said:

Anyway, it'll be only for sale on basschat, and like Henry said I'm not famous so this price tag seems correct to me.

Maybe you're not famous but then fame is vastly overrated.  We like you anyway.

May I ask how your pass-around bass is doing - any news?

[BreadBin]

7 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Maybe you're not famous but then fame is vastly overrated.  We like you anyway.

May I ask how your pass-around bass is doing - any news?

Agreed, I am interested to know this too. 🙂

[Guest Marcoelwray]

Actually the bass has returned, it's on my wall... I said I will make a video but I didn't find any time for it.... My bad.

It was cool anyway, this bass has now a story...

[SpondonBassed]

4 minutes ago, Marcoelwray said:

Actually the bass has returned, it's on my wall... I said I will make a video but I didn't find any time for it.... My bad.

It was cool anyway, this bass has now a story...

Any chance of a follow up topic for the forum please?  Don't worry about your English.  It's better than some of our native speakers these days.

I only watch music vids these days due to a tightly limited data allowance.  So I shamefully  admit to never watching your videos.

[Manton Customs]

6 hours ago, Marcoelwray said:

Question;

Admitting the bass it flawless, delivered with Gigbag (Ritter), Strings (Elixir), is equipped with Delano pickups and Schaller Light machine heads, Hipshot bridge (oh my, those are expensive!),

Is 1200€ (£1060) a fair price?

@Andyjr1515 @Jabba_the_gut @Manton Customs guys, you're more experienced than me, I'd love to have your opinion on this...

You’re building a bolt on!!?  

It’s a totally fair price, it’s in fact cheap considering the work and parts that go into them. However the problem is getting other people to see it that way, as there’s so much choice out there and you get a lot for your money these days on mass produced basses. So while the bass would definitely be worth that sort of money to the right person, I think you might struggle to find someone on somewhere like eBay or reverb (where similar basses typically sell for less). The bass will also need to be near perfect at that price point too.

Selling on here though I’m sure will work to your favour and hopefully someone on BC who’s watched your threads may be interested in it. It’s hard to try and predict it, but you’re definitely not far off.

Look forward to seeing it take shape.

[Guest Marcoelwray]

8 minutes ago, Manton Customs said:

You’re building a bolt on!!?  

It’s a totally fair price, it’s in fact cheap considering the work and parts that go into them. However the problem is getting other people to see it that way, as there’s so much choice out there and you get a lot for your money these days on mass produced basses. So while the bass would definitely be worth that sort of money to the right person, I think you might struggle to find someone on somewhere like eBay or reverb (where similar basses typically sell for less). The bass will also need to be near perfect at that price point too.

Selling on here though I’m sure will work to your favour and hopefully someone on BC who’s watched your threads may be interested in it. It’s hard to try and predict it, but you’re definitely not far off.

Look forward to seeing it take shape.

Thanks ! We'll see. Worst case scenario, I'll keep it !

But with the bolt on, I can make as much necks as needed of course, if it's not perfect, I will not sell it! But it'll be!

[Geek99]

Pic please

[Guest Marcoelwray]

37 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Pic please

?

[Andyjr1515]

As economists say, price is all about what the market will bear.  But in more practical terms, it is influenced by many, many factors.  In basses, those certainly include style, performance, quality and - in my view for basses but NOT for guitars - uniqueness.  And yours have oodles of all of those.

  It is also influenced by expectation of the price.  I look at your basses and I immediately have €1200 - €2000 in my head.

However, for a relatively unknown builder, I think to be heading towards the upper number, most customers would want a custom build.  But I would say that's the sort of range you are in.