Buying second hand custom bass or buying /getting one made new?

[ziggydolphinboy]

hi people,
im in a predicament,
Ive sold both my 4s got my warwick dolphin 5 Which im selling.
But i got my sei six that i swapped with my thumb six and my shuker 6 fretless that i got for a lovely 600.00.
I want a bass made but am struggling to warrant the cost.
I love my sei six and just had a shack put into it it fits me like a glove i cant fault it and i dont play my others (thats why im selling them)since i swapped it.
Bought my fretles shuker on a whim!!!!! i love it and am planning to get lessons and start maybe a few jazz jams.

now when i bought the shuker the guy i got it from said to me there is nothing like having a bass made for you...
but there are so many nice basses for decent dough im struggling to warrant buying a new one.
i played a sei jazz in the gallery the other day and it was sweet very sweet and i could have it for 1500, or any ones on here, still have my sei six, shuker six and save up and get a 4 string later next year.
Any ideas guys and girls and us undeciseve ones!!!


and ps kindest regards
to all who have contacted me regarding my posts.
regards
Ziggy/john.

[geoffbyrne]

I suspect certain salesmen rub their hands with glee when they see you coming..................



G.

[ziggydolphinboy]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='563708' date='Aug 8 2009, 08:02 PM']I suspect certain salesmen rub their hands with glee when they see you coming..................



G.[/quote]


mmm yep i am undessicive but i know how some bassses are just miles in front of others!

[lowdown]

[quote name='ziggydolphinboy' post='563665' date='Aug 8 2009, 07:21 PM']hi people,
im in a predicament,
Ive sold both my 4s got my warwick dolphin 5 Which im selling.
But i got my sei six that i swapped with my thumb six and my shuker 6 fretless that i got for a lovely 600.00.
I want a bass made but am struggling to warrant the cost.
I love my sei six and just had a shack put into it it fits me like a glove i cant fault it and i dont play my others (thats why im selling them)since i swapped it.
Bought my fretles shuker on a whim!!!!! i love it and am planning to get lessons and start maybe a few jazz jams.

now when i bought the shuker the guy i got it from said to me there is nothing like having a bass made for you...
but there are so many nice basses for decent dough im struggling to warrant buying a new one.
i played a sei jazz in the gallery the other day and it was sweet very sweet and i could have it for 1500, or any ones on here, still have my sei six, shuker six and save up and get a 4 string later next year.
Any ideas guys and girls and us undeciseve ones!!!


and ps kindest regards
to all who have contacted me regarding my posts.
regards
Ziggy/john.[/quote]


I think i get what you mean dude.
It was hot in Essex today

Garry

Edited August 8, 2009 by lowdown

[alexclaber]

I would only recommend getting a custom bass built if you really really really know what you want, which certainly isn't the case for most judging by the posts I see on here!

Alex

[Jobiebass]

Luckyly the 2nd Hand Shuker I got was 95% of the spec I was looking to go for on a new build. if it had a BAii bridge and maple fretboard it would have been identical practically. so 1-0 me.

Id say get one made... but your gonna be waiting over a year for it and its a little costy. At least it'll be everything you want from a bass (if you know your exact specs and you work with Jon about what tone your after)

[Jobiebass]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='563724' date='Aug 8 2009, 08:18 PM']I would only recommend getting a custom bass built if you really really really know what you want, which certainly isn't the case for most judging by the posts I see on here!

Alex[/quote]

I dont think MOST people know what they want out of a bass, cause if they did they wouldnt swap/buy/sell basses as much as they do... wait... is this just me? 9 basses in the last 2 years :S

[BassBunny]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='563724' date='Aug 8 2009, 08:18 PM']I would only recommend getting a custom bass built if you really really really know what you want, which certainly isn't the case for most judging by the posts I see on here!

Alex[/quote]

+1 To That.
Took me about 18 months after deciding to have an ACG built to be really confident in what I wanted. A lot of Basses came and went in that time, but it gave me all the elements I needed to spec out a custom job, (and then still took almost a day picking the wood. Well Alan does have a lot of wood to choose from...)

[mrcrow]

[quote name='ziggydolphinboy' post='563665' date='Aug 8 2009, 07:21 PM']hi people,
im in a predicament,
Ive sold both my 4s got my warwick dolphin 5 Which im selling.
But i got my sei six that i swapped with my thumb six and my shuker 6 fretless that i got for a lovely 600.00.
I want a bass made but am struggling to warrant the cost.
I love my sei six and just had a shack put into it it fits me like a glove i cant fault it and i dont play my others (thats why im selling them)since i swapped it.
Bought my fretles shuker on a whim!!!!! i love it and am planning to get lessons and start maybe a few jazz jams.

now when i bought the shuker the guy i got it from said to me there is nothing like having a bass made for you...
but there are so many nice basses for decent dough im struggling to warrant buying a new one.
i played a sei jazz in the gallery the other day and it was sweet very sweet and i could have it for 1500, or any ones on here, still have my sei six, shuker six and save up and get a 4 string later next year.
Any ideas guys and girls and us undeciseve ones!!!


and ps kindest regards
to all who have contacted me regarding my posts.
regards
Ziggy/john.[/quote]


Jon Shuker will be doing a second hand Shuker page shortly on his website...thats where to go for a decent second hand
regarding a new one
my take is...its too new and you might scratch it etc
a played in good custom is still a good custom and you save 20-30%, depending on original price, into the bargain

[steve]

I would recommend having a chat with Alan (Skelf) at ACG

[charic]

Have you considered acg? It would make quite the variation to what you already have. Also mines nearly done, about 9 months and VERY competitively priced.

[jmanfunk]

Hey Ziggy,

I decided to reply to your comment here rather than in your 'items wanted' topic. I agree with most folk on here about getting a custom bass made if you have specific requirements that you simply can't get on a stock bass.

I'm in a similar predicament as you as I've owned a lot of basses in the last few years all which I've loved and were adequate but have fallen short in what I'd like in terms of playability and sound. Also, the more basses I've owned and more my playing has developed in a certain direction, it has become much clearer as to what I want in an instrument. Which is why I've decided to have Alan of ACG build me a custom.

The Sei jazz that you played in the Gallery is an amazing instrument (sorely tempted myself) and my current Sei is perfect but it's missing a string. I'd highly rate the Sei jazz and you seem to like it so I'd say go for it. Little sense in paying for a custom that will be very similar to one you could pick-up for a fraction of the price second-hand. Also, with the way the second-hand market is going, you can get some fantastic basses for silly money.

But if it is a custom you're after, then give Alan or Jon Shuker a shout.

All the best,

Jay

Edited August 8, 2009 by jmanfunk

[Rayman]

[quote name='jmanfunk' post='563796' date='Aug 8 2009, 09:15 PM']I'm in a similar predicament as you as I've owned a lot of basses in the last few years all which I've loved and were adequate but have fallen short in what I'd like in terms of playability and sound. Also, the more basses I've owned and more my playing has developed in a certain direction, it has become much clearer as to what I want in an instrument.[/quote]

Ditto.

I've been through dozens of basses over the last couple of years, two of which were second hand custom builds. The first one, an Overwater was truly beautiful, not built for me, but it felt like it when I owned it. Letting it go was a mistake. The second custom bass I've owned is the Kinal I now have. Again, second hand, but again it feels like it was made for me, and it maybe suits me even more than the Overwater did.

There's something special about a custom made bass, something I've never quite felt from a mass produced brand, and having one built to your own spec by someone like Alan must be even more so I'd say, but as pointed out above, you need to have a pretty certain idea of what you want, that's why I've found buying second hand easier than having to choose woods and hardware etc.

[xilddx]

After a similar journey, albeit not as high altitude , I am so glad I have found Warwick Corvettes satisfy all my requirements. I love the feel, the wonderfully thought out ergonomic touches, the superb hardware design, flip tronics cover, adjustable nut, lovely fingerboards and frets, the assembly and finishing, the woods, the reliability, the tone, everything.

I would be SO hesitant to go the custom route, unless, as others have said, I knew precisely what I wanted.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='silddx' post='564284' date='Aug 9 2009, 05:48 PM']I would be SO hesitant to go the custom route, unless, as others have said, I knew precisely what I wanted.[/quote]

It took me almost as long to work out my custom bass as it did to design my first bass cab. Literally hundreds of hours!

A key thing for me was that I'd found a bass that I loved in so many ways (my '87 Warwick Streamer) but there were just a few things I wanted to change about it. In the end I went further than that, going with an extra string and a longer scale, which itself took a load more investigation into string spacing, neck dimensions, string tension, etc. If you're starting from a blank sheet of paper there is no hope of getting what you want, it's too much of an art and not enough of a science for that!

Alex

[xilddx]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='564293' date='Aug 9 2009, 06:08 PM']It took me almost as long to work out my custom bass as it did to design my first bass cab. Literally hundreds of hours!
If you're starting from a blank sheet of paper there is no hope of getting what you want, it's too much of an art and not enough of a science for that!

Alex[/quote]

Completely agree with that.

One thing I did was to learn how to fret a bass. I got a StewMac kit and refretted an old Jap Squier Jazz which I'd defretted years before. I learned a huge amount about how a neck works and managed to get a very decent feeling bass by doing it. It was by no means a great fret job, but it was a very valuable experience.

[4000]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='564293' date='Aug 9 2009, 06:08 PM']It took me almost as long to work out my custom bass as it did to design my first bass cab. Literally hundreds of hours!

A key thing for me was that I'd found a bass that I loved in so many ways (my '87 Warwick Streamer) but there were just a few things I wanted to change about it. In the end I went further than that, going with an extra string and a longer scale, which itself took a load more investigation into string spacing, neck dimensions, string tension, etc. If you're starting from a blank sheet of paper there is no hope of getting what you want, it's too much of an art and not enough of a science for that!

Alex[/quote]

My first 2 Seis, both built for me, were less successful than the 2 I own now. Why? Well the first was a 6, my first custom and my first 6 (only the 4th I'd played with a total playing time of about an hour!), so I didn't have much to go on; it was kind of a whim. The second was based around my bass du jour, rather then my bass du vie (I have no idea if that's correct ), which was a mistake. The 2 I've got now are great (although I'm always thinking of tweaks to the 4). If I had one done again, I'm pretty sure I'd get it right. however I might not!

So much to consider, so many options; the thing that really stuffs me is pickups & electronics. Because each individual bass sounds so different acoustically, and you never really know what it's going to sound like until it's finished, fitting the correct pickups/electronics for what you want can be a bit of a crapshoot unless you really know your stuff.

[ziggydolphinboy]

[quote name='4000' post='564342' date='Aug 9 2009, 06:09 PM']My first 2 Seis, both built for me, were less successful than the 2 I own now. Why? Well the first was a 6, my first custom and my first 6 (only the 4th I'd played with a total playing time of about an hour!), so I didn't have much to go on; it was kind of a whim. The second was based around my bass du jour, rather then my bass du vie (I have no idea if that's correct ), which was a mistake. The 2 I've got now are great (although I'm always thinking of tweaks to the 4). If I had one done again, I'm pretty sure I'd get it right. however I might not!

So much to consider, so many options; the thing that really stuffs me is pickups & electronics. Because each individual bass sounds so different acoustically, and you never really know what it's going to sound like until it's finished, fitting the correct pickups/electronics for what you want can be a bit of a crapshoot unless you really know your stuff.[/quote]


guys thank you for all youre advıce.
ım gonna have to go down the second havnd route just beacause ım not that specıal a player and cant warrant ıt.
ı love my seı sıx so ı may go for the seı jazz but there ıs also a couple of lovely shukers about.
BUT I THINK MY MISSUS HAS DONE OVER 300 QUID OF MY BASS STASH!!!!!!!!

[Veils]

I toyed with the idea of getting my own bass built for some time. I spoke to a number of luthiers and paid one or two a visit. I decided pretty swiftly that Jon Shuker was the man for the job but at the time it was as much a financially dictated decision than anything else. If you feel you are looking for something specific or personal that an off the peg bass just wont cater for, then obviously custom builds are the way to go.

You just have to balance the pros and cons such as price, lead times, materials available, etc etc. For me the flexibility of paying in installments while the bass was being built suited me perfectly and Jon's choice of woods was awesome. Not to mention the fact he was willing to tinker with his standard body shape to give me something closer to what I wanted (funnily enough the Sei Original shape!).

For me there is nothing to match the feeling of speccing your bass out with your chosen luthier. There are some awesome options out there who can cater for all tastes and since you have an idea of the quality of end product you know you won't be disappointed with the outcome.

I think it comes down to whether you are happy enough having 2nd hand customs which were built for someone else or do you really want something that is all you That is what did it for me and I truly believe there isn't a better bass out there for me!