skej21

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1421345051' post='2660228'] ^ shocking choice of finish too, "wow, now I can see where the woods join on the body!". [/quote] It's so 'side seaming' looks like a luxury feature on the more expensive models like American Vintage and custom shop lol

Quick payment and friendly comms. A credit to basschat :-)

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1421176700' post='2658120'] This. ^ I take your point about declining markets but we owe shops nothing at all. If you like the item/price/service then do it but it the stock is in poor state then that leaves price and service. Why would you as a shop owner not try even just a little...speculate to accumulate and all that? [/quote] I completely agree. However, a significant point has been overlooked. The wages that high street music stores pay are pitiful. You can't expect to get staff with experience of set-ups, basic repair work and maintenance AND trained in sales when you pay peanuts. It's a catch 22, because you won't sell gear if it's not in decent condition but in order to get gear playing at its best, you need knowledgable staff (who cost more money!).

Hard to write something that hasn't been said. Bought a precision bass wiring loom from John. Super fast, pleasant and easy transaction with hassle free fitting and a significant improvement on the tone of the instrument. I also got a free screwdriver which proved to be invaluable as it meant I could tighten the screws on my glasses and have full vision of what I was doing lol! Deal with confidence :-)

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1421008726' post='2656176'] Molan There's no way I'm going to ask what the order was for. That's company business alone. Judging from the products for sale the charge could be on products retailing at £2000 odds and the company would go bust up to a retail value of £32,000 where it's about 5%. That's still a lot of money but in line with normal business practise. Import duty is 3.5% and Customs Clearance is £8 so the importing company's fee isn't high. As the VAT is pasted on to the customer it's not at issue here nor is the cost of importing and insuring small quantities of valuable instruments. My problem is Fender,Gibson et al banning companies from selling direct to the UK and forcing us to pay prices they set, not what the UK shops have to charge.It costs no more to ship a container from the Far East to the UK than it does to ship to the US. That's why I used the Squier example. I said those companies won't get my money not the shop used as an example. Hope that's clear, this is not a dig at UK shops. [/quote] You're actually right about Guitar Center having much lower prices. However, it is well known that that single store turns over more instruments (not profit!) from a single, well-known brand that has been mentioned by itself than ALL UK retailers combined. With that in mind, I imagine they are given a 'bulk buy' discount which they can pass on to consumers. In the UK, even chain stores don't have that kind of buying/negotiating power as they don't turn over stock as well, therefore prices are more even.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1420924645' post='2655202'] Which firms are moaning and have owners living in big houses and driving sw***y cars? Just interested because I've never met any of them. I'm not doubting they might not exist just interested to know who they are? [/quote] It's interesting how differently those within Music Retail are viewed by those who aren't! All these false ideas about huge profits, bad attitudes to customers and everyone living like Premier League footballers. I don't think anyone who has ever been involved in music retail would ever support those ideas as they couldn't be further from the truth. My friend worked for a VERY big UK music retail multiple and they used to have their lunch on the shop floor as they couldn't afford to have lunch away from customers as they needed the tiny commission percentage to top up their wages (which were substantially lower than a living wage!). Luckily, my experience was with a music retailer who paid a salary which meant I got paid the same whether I took £10 or £10k in a day :-)

I must admit, I don't have any. I own two basses at the moment that are 'keepers' (one of which I've had for 11 years now) but I honestly wouldn't sell them unless I was forced to. Everything else comes and goes, like most things in life and I'm fine with that.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1420884163' post='2654466'] That Marcus Miller bloke is the same, he has 3-4 Foderas (I think he sold one in 2013 for charity) that he uses regularly and records with [/quote] What a couple of clowns! Don't they know they'd sound the same on a Squier? Also, P bass with flats trumps everything so they should just get a Squier P with flats or give up now.

[quote name='madshadows' timestamp='1420880621' post='2654420'] What a great house he has, the photo gallery at the top of the page is great, love the photo if him with his basses, some cool instruments [url="http://www.wsj.com/articles/bassist-nathan-easts-california-castle-1420739563"]http://www.wsj.com/articles/bassist-nathan-easts-california-castle-1420739563[/url] John [/quote] Some nice gear, including a Fodera. I thought they were totally 'unplayable', 'ugly' and 'obscenely priced'?! He would've known that if he spent less time recording and touring the world with legendary artists and spent more time on basschat...

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1420810828' post='2653736'] Not sure if they still do it, but Fender dealers could have their franchise removed if they were caught discounting as well. They'd also only allow one Fender dealer within a certain area, which called for a little 'creative thinking' to get round when we wanted Fender kit. We were 'Gibson' so we did a deal with a 'Fender' shop in the next town - they supplied us at cost plus a drink and we did the same back. [/quote] On paper, price fixing is illegal so I think you'd find it difficult to find proof that companies make such threats :-) You're right about dealerships being carefully controlled though. Certain companies have levels of dealership, like Fender won't allow you to order custom shop stock unless you have a custom shop dealership etc. Nearly all of these companies also protect existing dealers by not opening new dealerships up in nearby locations and creating competition. However, if they have a really successful online retailer with no showroom, they may allow another shop location to have a dealership as they are unlikely to take business away from each other.

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420799311' post='2653467'] Want to start a discussion re instrument prices/pricing on both new and second hand. When visiting a local music shop recently, It came as quite a shock the price of a new fender, more specifically the road worn Mike Dirnt precision. I love the look of these basses and pretty much want one. New in shop, they cost £1067 however, on-line I can pick one up for £850. Still expensive but should shops start realising that, given the mark-up is already around the 45%, perhaps they should be more competitive with on-line retailers? I get the overheads and staff cost argument but again given the mark-up, does this really stand up to scrutiny? Given the state of the economy and marketplace, musicians and most buyers are fairly tight for money meaning equipment is more or less sitting in shops or warehouses right now so, why is gear so over priced? Surely a bit of realism in pricing and maybe lowering would see lots of gear shifted really quickly? I started looking at the second hand market and found some of the asking prices nothing short of ridiculous! Fender P new £1100 s/h £800, its no wonder they don't sell!! Again, equipment appears not to be moving as quickly due to most finding extra cash a little tight at the moment so, again, should sellers price their used gear more approriately? As with the above example, Fender seems the most ridiculous in the market. Look around the sites, pre-loved, gumtree, ebay or the more specialised sites and its staggering what some want! Why buy secondhand when for another £100 you could have new! Crazy times we live in ... [/quote] Based on first hand experience, I can promise you that mark up is nowhere near 45% at street price (which is always much lower than the RRP). Additionally, when you purchase the item off the manufacturer, you pay a cost price EX VAT, so that's an extra 20% of the price you bought it for that you have to add on at store level just to cover your own costs/bills. That's before staffing overheads, premises rental and all the other etc. You're VERY lucky if the percentage is half of your quoted 45% on most items.

[quote name='Tweedledum' timestamp='1420568768' post='2650763'] I ordered my Limelight '63 P in Shoreline Gold. [/quote] That's going to be real tasty! I was thinking about a medium relic Jade Pearl Metallic for my next one but might have to refrain (hopefully it's not possible!)

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1420239077' post='2647173'] I've used TASCAM and Focusrite products and would recommend either brand. If you're thinking of buying a Focusrite 2i2, also have a look at the 2i4. It's about £50 more expensive but it has more output options (e.g. for connecting monitors) and a Phantom power switch for use with certain microphones. I personally think it's worth the extra money - which is why I bought one myself [/quote] The 2i2 also has the 48v/phantom power. The only difference is the output options. Some people might not feel the RCA and Jack outputs are worth the extra £50 if youre only ever using headphones or one set of monitors, as you still have a left/right RCA output for one set of monitors on the 2i2 :-)

Just a quick groove after I got my Nate Mendel Precision :-) http://youtu.be/StprZAGF4Yo

Transcribe by ear into notation. Alter any structural differences between original and intended performance structures. Learn. Next.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1420446331' post='2649338'] With a pretty price tag to match! As a previous Dingwall owner I'd like to try one of these (but would no doubt be disappointed in the ridiculously tight string spacing and pencil-thin neck - but that's Ibanez for you!) [/quote] The tight string spacing and pencil thin neck are the exact reason Id want to try this!! Different strokes, ey?!

If they did this fan fretted model in ANY other finish (ie the same finish as the SR500, SR600, SR1200, SR1600 etc etc) I would have bought one but that finish is putrid!!

Ibanez SR 605 - £499 Fender rumble 200 - £339 Mooer Ana Echo - £45 Korg pitchblack - £47 Total - £930 Nice little setup that will do everything I need and if have some money left over for a couple of spare batteries for bass and pedal :-)

[quote name='grenadilla' timestamp='1420242805' post='2647215'] Fender has a Mystic Blue that is a new colour. (Mistic Blue ? -dark blue ) [/quote] Mystic blue is a similar finish to Lake Placid Blue but with a darker shade of blue (more like Baby or royal blue). It has the metallic undercoat. They also do mystic red which is a darker version of Candy Apple Red :-)

[quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1420225205' post='2646955'] I understand Bandcamp are stating they'll do all the VAT and you do nothing but I haven't read that anywhere. If you only sell via Bandcamp I guess none of this affects you. [/quote] The link is in an earlier post but here it is again :-) http://blog.bandcamp.com/2014/12/30/eu-digital-vat-changes-and-bandcamp/