UK Valenti

[paul h]

I often find myself planning my dream bass with no real intention, or funding, to make it happen. It always leaves me wondering why I don't know of any notable parts builders/assemblers in the Valenti vain over here.

For example all I would really want is a passive p/j with the j in the 70's position and a zero fret. It seems overkill to go for full custom for such a basic spec.

Is it a prohibitive cost thing? I know Shuker stock can be had for a bargain so maybe it's not really that viable.

Who knows? Do you?

[Beedster]

[quote name='paul h' post='820745' date='Apr 27 2010, 03:41 PM']I often find myself planning my dream bass with no real intention, or funding, to make it happen. It always leaves me wondering why I don't know of any notable parts builders/assemblers in the Valenti vain over here.

For example all I would really want is a passive p/j with the j in the 70's position and a zero fret. It seems overkill to go for full custom for such a basic spec.

Is it a prohibitive cost thing? I know Shuker stock can be had for a bargain so maybe it's not really that viable.

Who knows? Do you?

[/quote]

Market forces, same reason as everything else

[paul h]

So I am the only potential customer for such an enterprise? I imagine that [i]would[/i] be expensive then!

[OldGit]

Prose?
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=3436"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=3436[/url]

[paul h]

He's top of my list Si but I am concerned he will be too far ensconced in the weird shortscale world to do a parts bass! My plan would be a jap p bass (mmmm, where to get that???) and get Paul to do the mods. Got to get one of those pesky job things first!

But of course that is part of what got me thinking about Valenti alternatives. I am sure there would be a market for it. Mind you, I am usually wrong about these things.

[OldGit]

[quote name='paul h' post='820771' date='Apr 27 2010, 04:05 PM']He's top of my list Si but I am concerned he will be too far ensconced in the weird shortscale world to do a parts bass! My plan would be a jap p bass (mmmm, where to get that???) and get Paul to do the mods. Got to get one of those pesky job things first!

But of course that is part of what got me thinking about Valenti alternatives. I am sure there would be a market for it. Mind you, I am usually wrong about these things.[/quote]


I'm sure someone on here used to do parts bass .. Throught it was Paul but I may be wrong...

Getting a J added to a P bass is relatively straightforward for a luthier. ie one with a router. Zero fret might be a challenge. How about a brass nut instead?

[Toasted]

Arrowhead guitars in the past have quoted me extremely low prices for assembling a full set of parts I bought myself.

[Marcus]

Can't speak highly enough of Dave Wilson

I've taken every bass of any significance I've ever owned (Alembic's, Sadowsky's Fodera's Custom Shop Fenders, GB's etc etc) to him to set up. He's building my 40th Birthday bass with such attention to detail you'd not believe (I really need to put a thread up on this)

He's constructed a 62 P bass from the finest parts available (Lindy Custom wound pups etc) and it's the best P bass i've ever seen !!

Dave's now actively building instruments to rival the likes of Sadowsky Valenti etc

[url="http://www.dwilsonguitars.com/"]http://www.dwilsonguitars.com/[/url]

[Kiwi]

There's also Alan Knight. Does relicking but works off squier and fender parts.

[Russ]

I think it's because once you've bought the parts and shipped them over from the likes of Warmoth, Allparts, etc, the cost benefits of a parts bass are somewhat eroded. When you've got Jon Shuker, who'll make you a fully custom Jazz for £900, and ordering the Warmoth parts might come to £600 without the cost of assembly or finish, you can see the problem.

There is definitely a gap in the market for someone to do this sort of thing though. If someone bought bodies, necks, etc from Warmoth in bulk, there'd be cost savings to be had.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Russ' post='821906' date='Apr 28 2010, 02:05 PM']I think it's because once you've bought the parts and shipped them over from the likes of Warmoth, Allparts, etc, the cost benefits of a parts bass are somewhat eroded. When you've got Jon Shuker, who'll make you a fully custom Jazz for £900, and ordering the Warmoth parts might come to £600 without the cost of assembly or finish, you can see the problem.

There is definitely a gap in the market for someone to do this sort of thing though. If someone bought bodies, necks, etc from Warmoth in bulk, there'd be cost savings to be had.[/quote]


Well maybe.

I've had chats with a couple of guys looking to do this sort of thing, or doing it in the US and looking to sell in the UK.

The problem is that very few people will pay anything like the cost of parts plus a decent hourly rate for the man's time when they can wander off down the high street/interweb and buy a perfectly decent Squier Vintage Modified for £250 ....

We are so very, very lucky n the UK to have so many basses available from £100 up that any small producer is going to struggle.

Oh and I think you'll need nearer to £1500 for a custom Jazz from Jon Shuker these days .. ie the same as a production line Fender American Vintage 62 re-issue Jazz .. Mad isn't it.

[NJE]

After reading about the system Nino Valenti had going on I seriously looked into doing a similar thing to what he does.

Essentially get someone to CNC manufacture bodies and necks to my shape (like USA custom guitars) and the idea was that I would have two stock body and neck shapes for a 4 string and then two bodies and one neck for 5 string. I would then in theory offer a pallette of colours and then let the end user customise pickups, preamp, and hardware to an extent, so basically use the big players like, East, Bart, Aguilar for preamps and then Delano, EMG, Dimarzio etc for pickups and ABM, Schaller,Hipshiot for hardware.

It would be a sort of kit that would need to be assembled and wired up and set up but there would be minimum woodwork involved similar to what Valenti does (from what I have read). Its a good idea but using named parts is expensive and you would need to do some bulk purchases to bring costs down.

Its a nice idea but as someone said you would need to charge more than your avergae Squier if you wanted to put quality parts on and who would takle a punt on a expensive bass made by a unknown brand when you can get a good Jazz from John Shukers Stock page for £950 and get some brilliant basses for less than that secondhand.

I still might do it for myself though and see how the process works. My friend wants me to build him a bass too.