edstraker123 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I was down at Jon's last weekend and he showed me the beginnings of a couple of high end basses which he said were going to be aimed at the Ritter / Fodera end of the market. Even at this early stage they looked absolutely amazing, so can't wait to see the finished products. As Jon is synonomous with producing basses which are good value for money I can't even begin to imagine what the spec of these is going to be if they carry a £4k price tag. Suffice to say I will be buying loads more lottery tickets between now and completion ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 There are low end Shukers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 It's funny that Ritter was referenced. I specifically went to see them in Frankfurt... and whilst Jen's finishes look amazing on the web, I was a little underwhelmed when I saw them in the flesh. Each to their own though I guess. I am still no entirely sold on the Fodera thing... they are good, granted... but I don't see why they have the mystique that they have come to have... If Jon can get his stuff up there with Fodera, good on him! The top of the top is a very hard market to break into! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 piiiics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonster Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 OOOOOOOOO, I wonder what the wait time on these ones are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstraker123 Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='Bassmonster' post='482976' date='May 8 2009, 02:41 PM']OOOOOOOOO, I wonder what the wait time on these ones are[/quote] I asked Jon the same question and he did say it would be ages before they would be ready. The fretboard has got an S inlaid in it made up of 2 seperate curves - it's hard to describe but looked really classy. One of them had an olive wood facing and was as nice as anything I've seen at any price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Sounds lovely. Will have to keep my beady eye out for them when I go up there later this year. Hopefully they won't detract from my enjoyment of my own custom bass when it's finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='482954' date='May 8 2009, 02:21 PM']I am still no entirely sold on the Fodera thing... they are good, granted... but I don't see why they have the mystique that they have come to have...[/quote] Because they make you play better. Obvious really. Victor Wooten sounds better than me. He's got a Fodera, I don't... Must be the bass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstraker123 Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='482954' date='May 8 2009, 02:21 PM']It's funny that Ritter was referenced. I specifically went to see them in Frankfurt... and whilst Jen's finishes look amazing on the web, I was a little underwhelmed when I saw them in the flesh. Each to their own though I guess. I am still no entirely sold on the Fodera thing... they are good, granted... but I don't see why they have the mystique that they have come to have... If Jon can get his stuff up there with Fodera, good on him! The top of the top is a very hard market to break into![/quote] I'm with you on this one -Ritters are a little too "Prince" for me if you know what I mean , they do look fantastic but wouldn't really fit the bill playing in a working man's club in Barnsley ! Looking at my "Fodera's are they worth it ?" post the jury seems to be out on these too. I think the thing with Jon's high enders are that you know you are going to get the value in the instrument -quality components with exquisite craftsmanship, rather than paying for gimmicky finishes or a premium for the brand name. I also hope these really succeed it would be nice for a british luthier to have a world class reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='edstraker123' post='483003' date='May 8 2009, 03:10 PM']I'm with you on this one -Ritters are a little too "Prince" for me if you know what I mean , they do look fantastic but wouldn't really fit the bill playing in a working man's club in Barnsley ! Looking at my "Fodera's are they worth it ?" post the jury seems to be out on these too. I think the thing with Jon's high enders are that you know you are going to get the value in the instrument -quality components with exquisite craftsmanship, rather than paying for gimmicky finishes or a premium for the brand name. I also hope these really succeed it would be nice for a british luthier to have a world class reputation.[/quote] It's really odd you should say that - I was only watching a video of Prince playing his purple "symbol" guitar yesterday and thinking how cool it was... but not so great for the masses - unless you happen to be playing in a stadium! There will always be a market for "gimmicky" finishes because there is as much skill as doing a good finish as making a good instrument. Just ask Paul Reed Smith... I'm quite open minded when it comes to finishes so if I can find a decent instrument with a cool finish.... even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I hate to be a killjoy, but would people with £4k to spend have a Shuker instead of a Fodera or a Ritter. Even before you get to £4k your looking at USA Sadowskys, Fender Custom Shop and a whole raft of others. I wish the guy all the luck in the world but aiming at such a market is going to be very tough even more so in a recession. Usually it's a case of a luthier creating a cheaper version of an existing model, but this would be a huge leap. Saying that, he must have done his market research so fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I suspect Jon's been getting a little frustrated at the amount of business that has been passing him while he's been working on the custom instruments. I think having high spec instruments available off-the-shelf is a great step forward. The custom work we've all been giving him has bogged him down quite a bit (I'm as guilty as anyone) and I wouldn't be surprised if his bottom line has suffered a little by not being able to get enough instruments out the door quick enough. Having said that, most of us who have commissioned him for custom work may have helped his thinking along a bit, I suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Sounds like he has homes for the new basses then. No point taking the huge amounts of time and effort building them if they're just going to hang around waiting for buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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