BITE Custom Bass - Owners?

[Bobo_08]

Hey All, 

 

I was recently looking at BITE custom guitars from Austria, there are a few review videos online, but what I am looking for is owners medium/longterm experiences with the instruments. Many of the videos online are from bass players that you might call 'influencers' these days and they describe a bit the instrument but they don't go into much detail and don't provide any follow up review etc. 

 

So anyone here own a BITE bass?

 

Edited June 11 by Bobo_08

[Bobo_08]

Certainly seems like there are not many owners at all!! 

[Beedster]

4 minutes ago, Bobo_08 said:

Certainly seems like there are not many owners at all!! 

 

That's my impression, aside from a few discussions as to the merits/faults of the design and process, I don't recall anyone discussing ownership (and the reality here is that if someone owns a bass there's a good chance that same person will - at some stage - sell that bass, and I've not seen one for sale either) 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

They look a bit cheap & nasty in my humble opinion with the tacky graphics and the corny bite taken out of the headstock. Ugh!

[Reggaebass]

I quite like some of them, not sure I’d buy one though, there was a thread about them and they are a member here 

 

[Bobo_08]

Thanks for this, I think I somehow missed this thread... I will have a good read. 

 

Cheers

 

[lemmywinks]

The design aesthetic reminds me when we first did graphic design at high school (Corel Draw back then), some kids had never had the freedom of so many fonts, colours and clipart before so just used all of them together out of sheer excitement.

[phipschi]

I do own a Bite Bass, the P Body with two reverse P pickups with positioning similar to a 70s Jazz Bass.

 

Im happy with mine, I only have (had) an american L2K for a proper high-end comparison. 

 

The Bass feels very well put together, very comparable to the build quality of the L2K. 

 

The pots got a bit scratchy as ftet 4 months of owning it, I still have to figure out why that is.

 

I can send you an MP3 of a sound comparison versus a Squier CV60 equipped with an EMG Geezer P Pickup. I'll probably switch the pickups out to Geezers because I personally prefer the slightly more Vintagey voice of the Geezers. The Bite pickups do have their merrit though, they work perfectly in many applications, live aswell as in my very unprofessional home studio. 

 

I've actually picked up my Bass from their little Workshop because I live in Vienna (where there HQ is located) very lovely people. 

 

If you have any specific questions (anybody in the thread) please ask me them. 

[Machines]

For me, it feels that their selling point is that it's CUSTOM ! Yes, but - you are still very pretty much to a certain pair of Fender designs* and number of colours. I don't think there's much there you couldn't achieve with a parts build, other than some unusual pickup configs.

 

The graphics for me are a little gauche, but each to their own.

 

*They have recently added an 'Evening Star' model. The shape looks OK, but this is one of their stock images 🤔. A reasonably specced build came out at nearly 3000 Euros. For me - there are many much safer options from well known builders.

 

 

 

Edited June 13 by Machines

[phipschi]

4 minutes ago, Machines said:

For me, it feels that their selling point is that it's CUSTOM ! Yes, but - you are still very pretty much to a certain pair of Fender designs* and number of colours. I don't think there's much there you couldn't achieve with a parts build, other than some unusual pickup configs.

 

The graphics for me are a little gauche, but each to their own.

 

*They have recently added an 'Evening Star' model. The shape looks OK, but this is one of their stock images 🤔. A reasonably specced build came out at nearly 3000 Euros. For me - there are many much safer options from well known builders.

 

 

 

They have 8 base colors which are a bit cheaper. I went for a custom color which was 30-40€ extra I think. They do every color, burst or graphic but it obviously gets pricier the more special you want. Not much different from other builders.

 

I included a picture of my Bite Bass which is how I mentioned in a custom color -Eggshell white because their blonde was to blond and their white to white.

[Bobo_08]

@phipschi Thanks a lot for you post, your bass looks really cool. I would very much like to hear a sound comparson. There is very little info out there regarding ownership or reviews. I am interested in the craftsmanship, neck pocket, fret work, neck feel, weight, balance etc. 

 

@Machines Indeed there are a several options between 1500 to 2000 euros... Sandberg, Maruszczyk being an obvious european made options. Then there is FGN which are very high quality Japanese made instruments as well as Lakeland models. Several of these brands would maintain reasonable resale value too. 

 

I also noted that compared to some of the promotional videos and other sources, the prices have increased dramatically, more or less doubled in the last 2 to 3 years, making a fairly basic P bass just under 2k Euros. 

 

 

Edited June 13 by Bobo_08

[Bobo_08]

8 hours ago, Machines said:

For me, it feels that their selling point is that it's CUSTOM ! Yes, but - you are still very pretty much to a certain pair of Fender designs* and number of colours. I don't think there's much there you couldn't achieve with a parts build, other than some unusual pickup configs.

 

The graphics for me are a little gauche, but each to their own.

 

*They have recently added an 'Evening Star' model. The shape looks OK, but this is one of their stock images 🤔. A reasonably specced build came out at nearly 3000 Euros. For me - there are many much safer options from well known builders.

 

 

 

This shape reminds me of a Yamaha TRBX but a bit flatter /non contoured top.

[phipschi]

14 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

@phipschi Thanks a lot for you post, your bass looks really cool. I would very much like to hear a sound comparson. There is very little info out there regarding ownership or reviews. I am interested in the craftsmanship, neck pocket, fret work, neck feel, weight, balance etc. 

 

@Machines Indeed there are a several options between 1500 to 2000 euros... Sandberg, Maruszczyk being an obvious european made options. Then there is FGN which are very high quality Japanese made instruments as well as Lakeland models. Several of these brands would maintain reasonable resale value too. 

 

I also noted that compared to some of the promotional videos and other sources, the prices have increased dramatically, more or less doubled in the last 2 to 3 years, making a fairly basic P bass just under 2k Euros. 

 

 

I'll give you answers to every question you have regarding the Bite Bass during the Weekend with some pictures. 

 

Sandbergs are obviously no-brainers. You can find them for a rather good price second hand too (I've seen one for 1.3k at a british shop). Alternatively there is also the Sandberg electra line which uses German parts and assembly in south Korea (or the other way around, i forgot). 

 

I would personally stay away from Maruszczyk. The guy is a prick and the Instruments don't hold up well over the years. I've also heard stories of terrible customer support.

 

FGN is also a save bet with their Mighty Power PP Bass. LowEndLobster Reviewed the Bass and gave it 5/5 claws (stars).

 

 

[Bobo_08]

On 14/06/2024 at 11:28, phipschi said:

I'll give you answers to every question you have regarding the Bite Bass during the Weekend with some pictures. 

 

Sandbergs are obviously no-brainers. You can find them for a rather good price second hand too (I've seen one for 1.3k at a british shop). Alternatively there is also the Sandberg electra line which uses German parts and assembly in south Korea (or the other way around, i forgot). 

 

I would personally stay away from Maruszczyk. The guy is a prick and the Instruments don't hold up well over the years. I've also heard stories of terrible customer support.

 

FGN is also a save bet with their Mighty Power PP Bass. LowEndLobster Reviewed the Bass and gave it 5/5 claws (stars).

 

 

Hi @phipschi,

 

Did you have an opportunity to make some photos and review your experience as a rare Bite Bass owner?

 

Cheers

[Kev]

On 13/06/2024 at 20:21, Bobo_08 said:

@phipschi Thanks a lot for you post, your bass looks really cool. I would very much like to hear a sound comparson. There is very little info out there regarding ownership or reviews. I am interested in the craftsmanship, neck pocket, fret work, neck feel, weight, balance etc. 

 

@Machines Indeed there are a several options between 1500 to 2000 euros... Sandberg, Maruszczyk being an obvious european made options. Then there is FGN which are very high quality Japanese made instruments as well as Lakeland models. Several of these brands would maintain reasonable resale value too. 

 

I also noted that compared to some of the promotional videos and other sources, the prices have increased dramatically, more or less doubled in the last 2 to 3 years, making a fairly basic P bass just under 2k Euros. 

 

 

How much?!

 

When i've seen influencers with these, I assumed they were super cheap.  Did they used to be, or have they always had that kind of price??

[Bobo_08]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

How much?!

 

When i've seen influencers with these, I assumed they were super cheap.  Did they used to be, or have they always had that kind of price??

Seems like they started off around €800 mark 2 to 3 years ago, they are now closer to €2k euros for a basic 4 string jazz bass.

[jd56hawk]

3 hours ago, Kev said:

How much?!

 

When i've seen influencers with these, I assumed they were super cheap.  Did they used to be, or have they always had that kind of price??

Once they were priced accordingly, but now, £1,500 and up...way up!

Seriously, I'd rather buy a Fender, and I 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 buy Fenders.

Edited July 16 by jd56hawk

[AlexJD]

I own a Bite bass. I had never heard of them before until I entered an online giveaway and I was actually lucky enough to win. I got to go on their "configurator" and design a bass and then they build it and sent it to me. You can see my bass below (yes, I went over the top with the design, perhaps, but since I wasn't paying for it, I figured I'd just go for it. I still like how it looks though, ostentatious or not). I wrote a review of it for their website shortly after I got the bass, which you can view here. I've had it since October of 2021, so almost 3 years now. It's held up in that time. After owning it for all this time, I can still say I honestly love it. I was probably going to end up buying an American Professional II P Bass from Fender, to have a nicer P (I have a few basses, but I am definitely a P bass person), but since winning this bass I haven't felt the need. I think the neck is better than the fender bases I've tried. I did get the "J" style neck on it, which is something the Fender mod shop still won't let you do on a P Bass. It feels great and has flawless fretwork with no sharp ends. The while they use CNC machines for a lot of the build, the finishing and fretwork are apparently all done by hand. I like my action medium-low and I have no issues with buzz. I also really like the tone. It's got tone you'd expect from a P bass, but maybe just a little brighter than typical. It cuts through a mix really well and sounds great in all of the various projects I play in that span several genres. I get compliments from other musicians frequently on its tone and looks when I'm out gigging. I really have no bias here, since I won it and didn't pay for it. I could sell it and it would all be profit, but it's become my #1 bass now, so I don't have any plans to part with it.