crez5150

As I mentioned on another thread.... the route to market for some manufacturers is part of the problem. Distribution channels can be a real big problem for price discrepancy and cross border selling. It shouldn't happen as most distributor contracts will state, but, the fact that some will take the large quantity order to be shipped to x country is to bigger fish not to catch.

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420802182' post='2653529'] That's an example and not what I'm saying re the Standard P. I want a roadworn Mike Dirnt P but unprepared to pay £1067 for it, Isn't cash king? [/quote] You can always haggle.... but thats a two way thing. As I said initially.... [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]majority of people purchasing don't give a toss about anything other than price of what they want.[/font][/color]

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420801764' post='2653521'] I know how ridiculous the ipad/iphone/macbook cost to make and the margin added as there are many many programmes on TV and on-line which criticise Apple for this and highlighting the plight of their cheap workforce. However, bass gear is of interest and I want to keep the focus there. The demand thing though, surely selling 10 at £300 is better than seling 2 or 3 at £500? [/quote] But most manufacturers will have products that cover various retail points..... so they will obtain this business anyway. Just because they have a product you want at £500 but you really only want to pay £300 for isn't their problem

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1420801586' post='2653517'] My local shop says that Thomann can sell at a price that they can't buy at..which has led to a few shops buying direct from Thomann. [/quote] This..... I know of several UK dealers and installers buying product from Thomann because the price is so low. As I mentioned on the Thomann thread previously, Thomann will always strive to be cheapest on-line as that is their business model. Especially out of their own territory (Germany).

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420801192' post='2653506'] The Fender thing, prices just went skyward on USA and custom shop in such a short time! I paid £700 for my first US P bass in 2007 now £1100 however, the Mex Standard P is as good quality as my first US P. Somethings just don't add up! Re the 25% perhaps realism is coming to the front. The 45% came through a discussion with a rep some years ago, won't name him as I don't drop and a few on here will know him. Great chat with him though. Re wanting discount on £10 - cannae help some people! [/quote] 45% is a usual discount from list price with a lot of manufacturers in the trade. This does not reflect the margin the dealer makes.... as I said... most are lucky to make 25%

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420800497' post='2653489'] Once I find the article I'll post however, the article was stating that a Fender P (roadworn) cost $350 to make and assemble and then its marked up by 300% bit odd no? [/quote] Why is it odd? The price is driven by demand..... Fender is a Brand that (certain) people aspire too. People will pay the money. How much do you think an iPhone or iPad cost to manufacture and compare to the retail price. If there is a demand, price will reflect that

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420799311' post='2653467'] 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? [/quote] If you think that shops are making 45% then you are sorely mistaken. Most will make 25% if they are lucky. The majority of people purchasing don't give a toss about anything other than price of what they want. The main issue for the industry is that you cannot control pricing easily therefore prices will vary wildly. Some brands suffer worse than others. Also the larger on-liners that will work on a much smaller margin to shift vast quantities of product they've bought from the manufacturers on a deal. It's no really the dealers fault.... the manufacturers are also responsible

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The song that I see a lot of bands 'saying' they are going to cover locally is the new Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson number 'Uptown Funk'. For me this is just another of those tracks such as Get Lucky, Happy etc that the majority of cover bands will absolutely murder..... and stick in alongside AC/DC, Guns & Roses covers..... [/font][/size]

We have two Xmas Parties.... My Disco band is split into two bands, one for the South East of the Country and one for the South West..... We had the party for the South West last week, party in Somerset.... this week its the South East, party in Romford..... bit chalk and cheese!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1418738637' post='2632825'] Interesting... When I bought my Beyer mic stand I looked at the K&M range because I have one of their mixer stands and it's fantastic - however the Beyer was far more attractively priced. I wonder how they managed that? [/quote] Konig and Meyer are the Manufacturer..... they sell through distribution. Beyerdynamic is one of their biggest distributors worldwide.... Imagine how many stands they buy ;o)

[quote name='72deluxe' timestamp='1418650243' post='2631964'] In addition to the line arrays (which put out midrange and treble and perhaps some bass) they will put subwoofers, perhaps in front of the stage or under the line arrays. As you can't really perceive where bass is coming from, they can get away putting them pretty much anywhere haha. [/quote] Most Subs used in conjunction with Line array systems have some sort of polar pattern.... most tour companies are using subs in Cardioid configs as to keep the majority of the bass within the grouping of the audience rather than just letting it wander. Even in smaller venues.

The Beyer ones are K&M...... Beyer Branded....

Konig and Meyer is the standard tour product..... The Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser ones are all made by these guys. a Standard boom with ext should set you back around £45. Failing that Studiospares boom stands are very good value for money and are fairly well built but not as heavy duty as the K&M

You should get it in front of the Mic's, especially if you are mic'ing the kick.... you'll get a load of boom/rumble from that. Can you not place it underneath one of the mid/high cabs and use a speaker pole between the two?

Alex... I part run a sound company based out of Ongar in Essex. Our charges are from £175 for a basic 24 channel desk, 2 x subs/2 x high packs plus a couple of monitors and an engineer (4kw) which would cover up to Herts.... maybe a bit more dependant on distance. We have a selection of systems from two speakers on stands up to 12 a side Line array (Electrovoice), so can cover most bases. let me know if you need our help - [email protected] 07702 164183

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1418118667' post='2626919'] So many times I've seen a singer on stage, singing in to a mic, but totally inaudible. I turn to look at the soundman, and he's playing with his phone, or grabbing a drink from the bar. In what other profession would you get away with that? [/quote]

I always take a music stand with me onstage..... Mine has a mirror on it so I can look at myself while performing knowing that I'm far superior to those around me. ;o)

Saw a pub band last night with set lists in front of them..... the cheating bastards!

Are Ric's even really a bass ;o)

I work for for an Audio manufacturer and get to see both sides of the argument with Thomann. They are an incredible company. I had a visit to their set-up and was blown away with how they have distribution down to a fine art..... They ship around 9,500 products a day! They have a turnover of something like 600m Euro.... They are aiming to turn that into 1Bn within the next year!!!!! It's quite amazing. You will see a lot more stores disappear in the UK because of the model they choose. Some of the manufacturers are changing the way their distribution to market is run to help bricks an mortar stores but I'm not sure this will have a massive impact. Thomann will always be the cheapest, thats their online policy. It's not to do with the price they buy from the manufacturers, they will make very small margin on products or even a loss! It's about making an average % growth over a period of time. I see people moan all the time about the loss of their local high street.... no butchers or veg or chemist stores any more... its all Tesco, Sainsburys etc.... It's the same mentality. You want cheap prices and a vast selection.... fine, go to Tesco. but don't moan about losing your local high street to betting/Charity shops and Estate agents ;o)

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1417430368' post='2620150'] Yes thanks, though I did say that no one cares about the music so I guess we're making the same point. [/quote] Of course people care about the music.... it's just thats not always why people are there.... This years Glastonbury was one of the best Ive been to in recent years despite being vastly overcrowded these days.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1417430307' post='2620147'] Disco bands don't get to play the pubs but then they probably don't want/need to either. Very little market there... [/quote] This is us... though we get calls all the time from the pubs asking us for dates for the diary because we offer something 'different' to the other 99% of the bands playing on the circuit, we are turning them down because its not worth the hassle financially . There's a couple of 80's bands around here that do well on the circuit too

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1417429186' post='2620124'] The thing is I've seen these bands that do "something different", it's often played very well but to an empty room! [/quote] Depends on the band.... Not that we do pubs regularly anymore but we never had any issue getting a crowd and I think the most common song we had in our set list with any other band was half of long train running. It's all about your audience engagement

I guess it depends.... It's not a system I'd entertain even for just vocals in a pub band.

People fall into the trap of believing that Classic rock and Indie is what people want to hear on the pub circuit..... I think this is a bit off. Do people really believe that these are the only genre's the punters listen too?