Chownybass

Sample assembly in progress. Other than being made in the UK. Changes are : * Maple Neck to Mahogany Neck * Satin Neck Finish * Satin finish on the back of the body * Considerably lighter weight

Correct. Will all be updated soon. We need to get everything photographed and up on the site. On the way to the factory today as it goes to fetch samples and get organised!

Finally some SWB-1 and SWB Deluxe Images :

Then UK made CHB-2 & CHB-1 semi-hollow bass images:

Massive Dump of development photos incoming! First our revamped and redecorated video studio (yes, for those that know me, i've lost a lot of weight 🤣 )

We're still hard at work and should have new photos to show this week. Watch this space Hoping to have a fully assembled bass by Christmas!

Spamming some more UK product development pics. Here are CHB body blanks ready to be routed (and be painted and have necks fitted).

Morning all! UK production moving on nicely. Here are some more photos of the SWB-1 and SWB Deluxe basses in progress.

YOUR WISH IS COMING TRUE! The Evo will be short and medium scale in future. Probably winding down the Davie504 relationship though.

And here's the real bass porn! UK Manufactured SWB Deluxe Basses on the go /

More UK manufacturing photos. Here's SWB-1 with it's top on.

Possibly alder instead of red cedar.

Yes we are.

Photo showing first UK built body ready for the top to go on. The holes are the cable routing for battery cables and some weight saving chambering. Fully Ash Body SWBs will now be an ash body with an ash top. So it'll look like one piece, but underneath you've got some stuff going on.

Rotosound. With a few exceptions where we're using GHS.

Bodies and necks made, painted and finished here. Products assembled here. Strings from here. 90% of the value of the bass will literally be tooled and created in the UK. I think I can say "made in the UK" 😉

New bodies will be chambered. So weight will come down.

Be nice guys! So. Yes we could get our own hardware made. We've looked into it for sure. But we'd have to make LOADS of it to make it economical - tying up capital (which is stretched because of covid and brexit). So it's just not practical. Or not economical. And by all means we'll be looking at local woods where we can. Yes - the goal is to make as MUCH in the UK as possible. Some things are easy (strings) and some things are hard (pickups not in a standard jazz/soapbar housing for example) But to try do that all in one go is just not practical. One step at a time.

Hardware unfortunately still comes from Korea. And the USA. There just isn't an alternative. Yes we will try use UK sourced wood where we can. But things like Maple come from Canada/USA.

TBF We'd have had to put up the price of the Indian Manufactured ones too anyway. Maybe 10-12%. Timber has increased massively in price, parts have increased too, as has shipping.

There are some improvements in the standard model that make up that price too. Chambering in the body to get the weight down some more. Improvement in quality of parts. A second battery compartment. Improved bridge positioning. Veneer on the headstock. etc.

Currently we are struggling with a massive global shortage of shipping capacity. Every day it confirms more and more our decision to move the production here to our own country. On that front - SWB samples already being made in the UK. Will put photos up on our facebook page. If there is interest I can post them here too. We're introducing a new bass to the SWB line. The SWB Deluxe. CHB-1 / 2 samples will be coming pretty soon too. Although not fixed or sure yet. Prices look something like the follow : Looking at the costs SWB-1 will go from £530 to £660 . SWB Pro will go from £850 to £895 SWB Deluxe be approximately £1195 New CHB costs coming soon.

Maybe. Gotta walk before we can run! There’s a Retrovibe 51P coming in 32” scale. And I think our Retrovibe EVO will be medium scale too after a redesign. But will keep it in mind for our 5 string brethren.

It was easy. Factors are : * Shipping has gone up 250-450% and lead times are SLOOOOOOOW * Prices in India have gone up * It insulates us more from currency fluctuations * It allows us to control stock better * We are also making careful changes to the range to be more efficient in production without a cost in quality. The cost is effort. Expect some improvements to the SWB. Announcements to follow but sneak peak. It'll be : * Lighter (chambering in the body) * Design tweaks * New Deluxe Edition Thanks EVERYBODY for your positivity. We're excited and nervous in equal measure!

We're also formalising our partnership. Expect announcements soon. New partnership to sit on top of the two companies inbound!