Kiwi Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Found this series of Youtube vids from the same people who made the Spector vids. 12 hours of work in each instrument, excluding finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Only 12 hours? Wow, I thought it would be a hell of a lot more. A fully handmade instrument takes a lot more time to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashevans09 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Thanks for this! Makes mine feel so much more special God I love it I'm off to go play it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm just so glad I bought my 535 back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) [quote name='LeftyJ' post='521750' date='Jun 23 2009, 02:43 PM']Only 12 hours? Wow, I thought it would be a hell of a lot more. A fully handmade instrument takes a lot more time to build.[/quote] Carl Thompson basses take years to arrive and they are handbuilt...so above basses must be heavily tool based! What IS handbuilt this leads to question...12 hours is too quick man... Or is it 12 hours over a few days / weeks to let things set? Edited June 26, 2009 by Kongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Kongo' post='525022' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:11 PM']Carl Thompson basses take years to arrive and they are handbuilt...so above basses must be heavily tool based! What IS handbuilt this leads to question...12 hours is too quick man... Or is it 12 hours over a few days / weeks to let things set?[/quote] Trust me, pick up a 535 or 635 and you will not care how long it took to build, they are truly one of the best boutique basses out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Josh' post='525027' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:16 PM']Trust me, pick up a 535 or 635 and you will not care how long it took to build, they are truly one of the best boutique basses out there.[/quote] Not my style TBH. Not complaining about them just...y'know, the "handbuilt" price factor on some basses now leaves me to question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Kongo' post='525033' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:21 PM']Not my style TBH. Not complaining about them just...y'know, the "handbuilt" price factor on some basses now leaves me to question.[/quote] IMHO I think MTD, Sadowsky, Valenti and a few others are generally the best at putting out such astonishing basses as quick as they do, especially when compared to the waiting lists for Fodera, Alembic and CT. Also the aforementioned vendors have considerably cheaper prices compared to the latter. 12 hours doesn't seem much but honestly my 535 is truly unique, I'm still yet to find a similar one. Edited June 26, 2009 by Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Josh' post='525039' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:25 PM']IMHO I think MTD, Sadowsky, Valenti and a few others are generally the best at putting out such astonishing basses as quick as they do, especially when compared to the waiting lists for Fodera, Alembic and CT. Also the aforementioned vendors have considerably cheaper prices compared to the latter. 12 hours doesn't seem much but honestly my 535 is truly unique, I'm still yet to find a similar one.[/quote] Sadowsky are a prime example! Great basses, yes I do like them...kind of an overpriced Fender though but I do like them...But £2000 for a 12 hour job or whatever when you could go to someone else and have it built to perfection...My own work place annoys me cause I like quality, but everything is rushed, quick as can be, then you pay through the nose for it! I'd rather do something perfect from start to finish. So THIS is why I've played some high end basses with intonation problems? This thread has opened my mind and made me a bit more choosy on what I buy next...Learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XB26354 Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Kongo' post='525022' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:11 PM']Carl Thompson basses take years to arrive and they are handbuilt...so above basses must be heavily tool based! What IS handbuilt this leads to question...12 hours is too quick man... Or is it 12 hours over a few days / weeks to let things set?[/quote] Have you seen the videos? In it he says that everything is hand carved (apart from basic blank routing and pin routing for chambered instruments). He also mentions that it takes 12 [i]physical[/i] (not consecutive) hours to build the instrument - which is about normal in the industry. Wood is precut to blanks then rough cut to dimension. The hand carving on MTD's isn't amazingly ornate so it wouldn't take that long. You also mention Carl Thompson basses taking years to arrive - perhaps this is an order backlog? There isn't a bass made that takes years to finish. Even Fodera will be able to knock you up a bass in a similar timeframe to MTD - it is just the order book that dictates the wait. Having (briefly) owned a 635 I can vouch for the perfect finish and amazing feel and tone - they really do feel hand made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Kongo' post='525051' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:34 PM']Sadowsky are a prime example! Great basses, yes I do like them...kind of an overpriced Fender though but I do like them...But £2000 for a 12 hour job or whatever when you could go to someone else and have it built to perfection...My own work place annoys me cause I like quality, but everything is rushed, quick as can be, then you pay through the nose for it! I'd rather do something perfect from start to finish. So THIS is why I've played some high end basses with intonation problems? This thread has opened my mind and made me a bit more choosy on what I buy next...Learn something new every day. [/quote] Honestly, I find it rather funny that you think 12 hours isn't enough for these basses . Not trying to be awkward but honestly man if you just held an MTD, you don't even need to play it to realize that they are built to perfection. This is totally in regards to MTD basses, Sadowsky's I know can be hit and miss but I doubt you'll find many disappointed NYC owners on here and they wouldn't say no to a second or third. Each player has their own idea of perfection, it's just some are lucky enough to have a vendor to pass their ideas on to and proceed to get their dream bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kongo Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote name='Josh' post='525065' date='Jun 26 2009, 05:43 PM']Honestly, I find it rather funny that you think 12 hours isn't enough for these basses . Not trying to be awkward but honestly man if you just held an MTD, you don't even need to play it to realize that they are built to perfection. This is totally in regards to MTD basses, Sadowsky's I know can be hit and miss but I doubt you'll find many disappointed NYC owners on here and they wouldn't say no to a second or third. Each player has their own idea of perfection, it's just some are lucky enough to have a vendor to pass their ideas on to and proceed to get their dream bass.[/quote] I'm just speaking generally, not about MTD alone. But MTD are not my kinda bass so it's doubtful I'll lay hands on one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Sir Robin Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 12 hours for 1/2 way, 24-30 hours total. Seems a bit fast, but say 1 hour a day average, letting the glue set, drying and finishing, that would push it to a couple of months. you do 6-8 basses in parallel, that's 40-50 basses a year. That seems about right? I've seen the Ken Smith video, and it's amazing how quick and precise they are for some tasks, mainly routing, shaping and frets. Great videos by the way, if a bit short. The Ken Smith tour was amazing. So, another day at the office of Mike Tobias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyheath Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) I build basses and I recon if I have two on the go (allowing glue to dry on one while the other is worked) then I can pretty much fill up my day, an two basses takes on average 2 weeks, I would say with no hesitation that a standard bass will take onwards of 40 hours without any finish on it, a high gloss finish would take at least 12 combined hours over 5 days, this is for a a bass with not to many crazy things going on. so 12 hours has to involve a fair bit of machinery, rendering it not hand made at all! but 30 hours without finish seems not to crazy. I like to do as much as possible by hand only using machines to do the heavy work where hand working would be time consuming for no good reason. (band sawing the body, routing the truss rod, type thing) It can take me up to 8 hours to carve a body and 4-5 hours at least to carve a full neck (thru neck) with volute and body join (theres my 12 hours gone, lol) but then I do like the customer there at the time for the neck carving, a perfect neck is only perfect to the person buying the bass an that can make or break a bass. take into account that a bass for a small builder including trade discounts will cost upward of £800-£900 then a price tag of £2000 isn't too crazy, taking into account your workshop has to be paid for, bills, working when you get home to sort out orders, (maybe even staff) and selling 40-50 basses a year at £2000 a pop will make you vat registered, meaning you have to lose 20% of that to the tax man, course you will claim back your vat for materials (more work) and of course you could end up in the upper tax band paying 40% tax! if i'm honest its not a profession you get into to be rich, its a passion, a time an soul consuming passion!! watched the videos and he seems a really nice bloke an his basses are lovely! Edited January 23, 2012 by harleyheath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket123 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Anyways , I would like to have one of his basses , I happened to have been there 2 years ago , what a good guy & knowledgeable person . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thanks for posting the vid's, I really enjoyed the clips I am aiming for an MTD one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket123 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Yep , would like to have one too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 [quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1334575607' post='1617777'] I am aiming for an MTD one day [/quote] Got one now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket123 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Congrats on new MTD Chris . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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