neepheid

Beerflation

Increasing prices is all the "premium" manufacturers have got left to justify their existence in the face of improved quality and value at the cheaper end. They can't improve quality, because they're already "the best", right? They can't offer more/better value because that'll eat into the bottom line - plus they've already done much of this - beyond a certain price you generally expect a hard case, for example. All they've got left to do is try and tug on that thread of "it's expensive so it must be good, right?" The trouble with tugging on a particular thread too hard... there's only so long you can take the p!$$ out of your consumers before they eventually go "remind me - why am I paying this?"

The amount of money you need to spend in order to be taken seriously by people who find that sort of thing important/impressive has certainly gone up, yes.

I'm not a fan of having to make an appointment to visit a shop. I've never had to - none of the shops I've been in work that way. Makes it feel more like an event than it needs to. I'm usually timewasting anyway, because I don't go in all "I have x budget and I want to buy a bass today", I'm more of a "I'll buy something that takes my fancy and blows me away when I try it" - the appointment system does not lend itself well to this way of shopping. But nice to hear good experiences - nothing stopping me using their services online...

Off topic, but I'm getting a bit hot under the collar for one of the Modern Player Dimensions with the three coil pickup.

Anything that isn't bog standard Fender, best get the original cloned for no surprises when fitting the new one.

Yup, I had a 5 string OLP (MM3) and remember it being volume for each coil also.

Brian Pillans (earlpilanz on eBay)

Coax - there's a white inner wire, I think.

No, IME that's a pointless way of doing it - the tonal differences between having either coil or both in parallel is minimal in the extreme. I wired mine parallel (both)/single (rear)/series (both) - there's definite differences between series and parallel that make it worth actually doing. See the thread about the bass in particular here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/484563-belated-nbd-harley-benton-hb-50-prototype

Two tone controls? Seems unusual. If it was mine, I'd rewire it. If the coil split is available, I'd replace one of the pots with a series/parallel or series/parallel/single switch of some sort - probably a rotary. The Schaller Megaswitch made it super easy when I did this to a single MM bass recently (Harley Benton HB-50 prototype)

Well, good news then, if you want to buy one and the values are on the rise.

Cheap to buy, cheap to sell, unless they gain some sort of mythical status in future (have you seen the prices of Gibson Grabbers, Rippers and G-3s now? Couldn't give them away in the 90s/00s)

Where did this "would of" thing come from? It's "would have", or "would've" if you're desperate to shave off two characters from what you're typing. Is school crap now? When did the word "neck" begin with a k? Why can't people be bothered to spell "Squier" correctly? It's right there in front of you on the bloody headstock! I see break/brake regularly swapped, along with heel/heal. Yes, they sound the same. Sounds mean nothing when you're typing/writing... OK, I'm done. Or am I?

If it's hurting you it's time to change, after you've done whatever mitigations you can - wide, cushioned strap is the #1 mitigation. I've owned 12lb+ basses (Gibson RD Artist, Gibson Victory Artist) and the wide neoprene strap (Neotech Mega strap) made them tolerable. I do enjoy the "grounded" feel of a heavy bass. I am the centre of my own personal bass black hole.

Yes, he did one for my G&L Tribute LB-100. Perfect replica, went straight on the bass with no fuss.

Get your current one cloned.

Sorry, I'm a copper pervert. There's something I find very satisfying about a shiny, copper lined cavity. Mmm, shiny.

No, Fender binned them before anyone could buy one

Why, when EBMM are charging so much for these basses can't they make two different pickups with different pole piece spacing to factor in the difference in string spacing? What in the F are people paying for?

Someone on the internet will be along shortly to tell you how wrong you are...

Those ones don't look reversible to me. The key is not designed to be removable. Believe me, I've had such a tuning machine fail on me and the key did not want to go back on after it was removed to find out WTF was going on.

Is your friend waiting for the tree to grow that the bass will be made from? If it was ordered last year then it's fair enough - it was intended to be last year's intake and through no fault of their own it has been delayed into this year. I believe it's order date that counts, and it's ok if it's been paid already or is pending payment. No new business though this year.

There's no problem with you helping out with future adjudications, crack on!

I don't make the rules either, they're by consensus. Re: straps - pretty generic accessories, I don't think I'd fail someone at Tier 1 for buying a strap - Tier 2, more likely, unless you're replacing a broken strap.