throwoff

My opinion to the OP is simple. Regardless of whether this decision is due to your faith, your spare time, your interests etc it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I agree with some other posters, don't sell your gear and cut something out you have so much love for but do take a break, take the time to reconcile your feelings and emotions and make a decision when you are good and ready. I fall in and out of love with bass and want to sell all my gear twice a year and I have no faith to speak of that effects my decision further. You will make the right choice for you, and it's not a damn one of our business what that decision is. (unless you sell your gear cheap, in which case, dibs.)

Haha, never but I'm getting up on stage with the next band I see.

Punter seems to be having a laugh with it and not pissed falling into your gear etc. I would be pretty happy with that happening to me tbh.

Also. Agreed its a stupid bargain. I think the new price of a Streamer $$ is comfortably around 2.5k

I know a lot of the Warwick artists swear by the duncan 3 band instead of the MEC. I personally like the MEC pre and the pickups although I do find barts on a fretless Warwick sound much sweeter than MECs Sad fact is replacement MEC pres are normally stupidly expensive, unless you luck out and find a second hand one. Probably best going for something different.

I forgot to post this earlier but let me tell you a story. A true story I was told by a good friend of mine in the business a few years ago at Messe (the store workers here might already know it) A few years back a well respected guitar company I will not name (not a Fender or Gibson but a well known brand) publicly announced they had received so many requests for a lefty version of one of their instruments they where happy to do a limited run. The deal was simple, they needed to make 200 of them, charge a 10% upcharge for the lefty bridge etc to be made, all of which cost them more. If 150 lefties went into dealers world wide and paid a small deposit allowing the store to order one they would do the run. They direct emailed all the people who had ever emailed complaining about the lack of a lefty model, put out a press release and got all their reps letting stores know they could offer it. 6 months later the whole thing was cancelled as under 20 people had actually put their hand in their pocket and said yes I want one. This was not an expensive bass (sub 1k by a chunk) but it goes to show that those who shout loudest don't always equate to those who are willing to do something.

[quote name='Mark Dyer' timestamp='1397676428' post='2426433'] I think you missed the point, read it again with a bit of heavy-handed irony PS: Business is not about money, it's far more complicated than that. [/quote] I think fundamentally it is about money... like I said before, with any business you have only three things to worry about - x, y and z. and the only one that really matters is y. Build at X Sell at Z And Y, well Y needs to make it worthwhile. If you can do that and then operate with some such direction then more power to you and I genuinely respect the small numbers of firms that do but really you need to make pound notes. Everything else is extra.

[quote name='mcarp555' timestamp='1397555138' post='2425010'] This is a quote from another post that I'd like to discuss in depth. As it might turn out to be a lively subject, I thought it would be better to break it out into its own thread. To cut to the chase, my opinion is that this is complete and utter BS. It's all part of the lie that many companies use to justify their anti-left bias. Part of this bias stems from the idea that left-handers are a marginal market, and therefore it's easy enough to dismiss us. While it's true that the economy and tight markets, increased competition, etc. all make the guitar biz a cutthroat one, I would like to point out that guitar manufacturers exist for one reason: to make instruments. If you're going to commit to the idea of making musical instruments, then that would entail the concept of making them for both right- and left-handers. It's not like left-handed people appeared in 1955 and Gibson was caught unawares. We've always been here. So the idea of making RH and LH guitars/basses should not be news. Instead, LH models are seen as irrelevant, like changing the specs on pots or wiring or cheaper wood you can cover with paint. If Fender changes the source of their 'included' straps from Korea to China or Indonesia in order to save a few cents per unit, no one cares. Dropping X number of LH instruments next year elicits (they hope) the same response. In many cases, what happens is that the idea that "We don't have to make LH instruments" becomes a self-fulling prophesy, and one that's repeated over and over until it has the ring of truth about it. People take it as an axiom that there's no money in LH gear, and it's difficult to do, and all the other horses**t, without really knowing if it's true or not. And thus it becomes easier to not bother, or not ask. As for jigs, reprogramming the machines, etc., that's all part of doing business. Doesn't all this need done if you move from making say, Precisions one day to Jazzes the next? Does it cost money to make left handed instruments? Sure it does. But it does for right handed instruments as well. Whatever you manufacture, you have to spend the money. I can't take crying about the cost of jigs or reprogramming CNC machines when I see abominations like this: Was this [i]really[/i] cheaper to make than a left-hand bass? Besides, the problem of crying about cost for LH instruments could probably be solved very easily: make the rightys pay for it. When a guitar or bass is priced out at the factory level, don't break out the cost of a small number of LH versions separately. Add it in and adjust the MSRP accordingly. If you need to raise the list price of a new bass by £10-20 to cover a small (maybe 2-3%) of LH copies, fine. I don't mind if the larger market pays to allow the smaller market more access. And as for instruments sitting around in warehouses for extended times, perhaps they could try making something different. We've all seen the black instrument gathering dust in our local music stores. Why do they keep making the same model, in the same colour, year after year, then complain when nobody buys them? For years with Fender (again), it's been that you can't get a Jazz with a maple neck. The two models they make every year are always rosewood. Would it kill them to make maple? Would it really divert precious resources away from things like the item above? You make one or two depressingly humdrum models year in and year out. They don't sell of course, so you can then point to your sales reports and justify not doing anything to improve the market. For some companies, their solution is to upcharge. It's an unfair tax upon being left-handed, and even so, you still can't get any model you want. Most places only allow for certain models to be "upcharged". What other industry can get away with doing things like this? So the bottom line is, it does take money to make money. Guitar manufacturers should have always considered doing a certain percentage of ALL their models in a left-hand version. If I have money and want to buy a particular guitar or bass, I should be able to do so. If not, they are discriminating against me (or people like me). Some people don't like that ugly word, "discrimination", but that's exactly what it is. Many companies would like to just make righty instruments all day and not have to deal with people like "us". We didn't just drop out of the sky yesterday, however. So they come up with one excuse after another to justify their ability to discriminate against "us". You and me. So what can we do about it? Don't pay for an upcharge, for one thing. Support left-hand friendly companies. The biggest thing is to contact the manufacturers and complain. I've had the marketing manager of Hofner send me a very abusive letter when I wanted to know why a company who's single biggest endorsee is left-handed only features five LH models in their entire catalog (minus that famous bass). When I bought my Gaskell T-bass, I wrote to Gibson and sent them a photo of the bass and told them that was well over a grand of my money they weren't getting. They are not mind-readers. If we want more left-hand instruments, we need to contact them and let them know we're out here, with plenty of money. As I've said on several forums, if they can't be bothered to make guitars and basses for people to purchase, they should give it up and make toasters instead. [/quote] Let me start by saying I have worked in the Guitar industry for a good number of years, I am now out of industry as I decided I wanted to move into a completely different field. I will try to answer all your points. I will not name the companies I worked for as I don't speak for them, only from my personal experience but let me say one is know for it's perceived lefty friendliness and one for the opposite. Also, I am a left handed person and play left handed. First off assess the language you are using, 'anti-lefty bias' ? This is a ridiculous term in my opinion, guitar companies exist for a prime reason, to turn a profit, there are some who are more in it for the love of crafting a superb instrument but at the end of the day you build at x and sell and z and if y is not enough to live on then you don't last very long. The idea any company would decide to ignore a profitable market is shortsighted to say the very least. Leo sat down and made his first guitar yes because he was an inventor but you are a bit naive if you think he wasn't wondering how much he could flog it for. The idea Fender switch jigs day to day for P's or J's, no, they have a factory full of CNC rigs that can make each one, they don't batch build, they mass produce. The truth like it or not. Lefties DO cost more to make They DO take longer to sell They DO cause problems elsewhere with different cases, bags etc being needed They DO need a flipped jig that takes time and a good few thousand to make They DONT have a huge demand They DONT turn a profit anywhere near as quickly as a righty. A company of the size of a Fender, Gibson etc make over 95% of their money on righties, like it or not this IS the world we live in. As several people who work in stores have already stated lefties don't move, when a manufacturer builds them they will sit on stock for far longer. As for your point about increasing the price of righties to make more lefties... I really don't have a way to answer this, the whole idea a company would increase prices for 95% plus of their customers to abate 5% is ridiculous, it is tantamount to suggesting Ford add several thousand pounds to the price of their Focus so they can lower the price of their GT40 for the 10 or so people who buy them each year. The reason you see Black and Sunburst lefties everywhere? They are the biggest selling colours right handed, so why would a company that chooses to make a lefty limited run choose another colour? They wouldn't they pick the most popular and therefore easiest to sell. I am afraid discrimination is not the term to use in this situation, it is a loaded word designed to evoke an emotional response, if Gibson want to only make Pink Les Pauls left handed and no other instruments is that discrimination to everyone else? No, they are a private business selling a high end consumer product, they can make whatever they want. I am currently. alongside my new career in discussions with investors, designers and some stores about a limited run of basses I want to manufacture, the first thing my business partner asked was how many lefties we would do in our initial 150 piece run? The answer from me, a left handed player? NONE. We won't sell them, and will pay through the nose to store them. You obviously feel very passionately about this and will likely not believe a word of what I say but no amount of emailing companies and kicking up a fuss will change the way the world is. We are a minority, we are not profitable to manufacturers and with the big guys you have to remember, we don't need left handed strings, straps, amps or picks, they will get their cash out of us without ever having to make a lefty bass. Oh and for future reference, please don't call me out for 'BS' in public like this, if you want a discussion I am happy to have one but this is slightly uncool.

Thats sad if they have killed the Euro range, they are very nice basses.

As someone that has worked in industry for many years an upcharge is about as friendly as it gets, they do need to switch the jigs to make them which takes time away from far easier to sell right handed instruments being made, there is also an amount that needs to be added simply for the length of time said instrument is likely to sit in a warehouse opposed to a righty when it comes to bulk manufacturers. I am a lefty but having worked for guitar companies for yonks I completely 'get it' when it comes to left handers not being made, when you check stock reports and sales numbers the money just isn't there for most companies to bother, sad for us as players sure but this is a business with firms who need to make money. The Gibbo stuff is coming, I think they just spoke before they could actually show anything.

The most lefty friendly companies to my knowledge are - Spector - Most Euros and some USA Warwick - Complete range of German, almost all China and Korea built Sandberg - I think everything is available lefty Mayones - Upcharge but the whole range Musicman - Almost everything Rickenbacker - Most models Clover - Everything MTD - Almost everything Roscoe - I think everything Gibson - Full 2014 lineup is available lefty in all colours Lakland - Almost full range Eastwood - I believe full range Schecter - Range changes faster than the weather but most stuff is available lefty Fender Japan - I think every model except the Mustang Bass Then if you go into UK based Luthiers then almost anyone, but from companies whose work I have seen - Feline (as Southpaw) Shuker ACG Of course then you can go into the real high end coffee table market with - Ritter - Everything and anything is available lefty Nordy - Everything Alembic - 10% upcharge I think Trussart - Everything

Nice basses those.

oof. Porn of the highest caliber.

Lovely bass! Can't beat a bit of Shell pink

Talkbass is a different beast in many ways, if you want information on their inside decision making you would be best asking there. For all we know they have mods operating full time in their FS section, they might have a paper agreement with Ric, who knows.

I'm with WPD on that. I have seen a few bands play the local pubs and bars to the same 20 locals who are in whether there is music on or not and who dress in such a cringe inducing fashion you do feel sorry for them. I get the argument that they are just having fun and more power to them if it's true but more often than not it seems to be for shock value than putting on a good show.

I always liked the Highway series, I turned down a sandy coloured Strat in Soundcontrol just as before they went under because it had a dink in the back, they wanted £295 for it... slightly silly of me looking back at it.

It will be almost certainly heavier than the maple bodied bass, Waynepunkdude had one that got passed around the forum, the consensus was it weighed the same as a small moon.

Been seeing rumours of this company all week....